Hello,

My partner misjudged a bend in our '72 MGB GT on Saturday and, to cut
a long story short, we ended up on our side (nearside) in a ditch. Both
of us were fine, and the car has sustained surprisingly little damage.

The left front wing and left door have both dented, but no paint
breakage. The windscreen is broken on the left side, and there is
kinking in the roof - it looks like the A-pillar has been pushed back a
smidgen. There is almost no scratching or scraping, most likely due to
the squelchy muddy nature of the ditch - I'm still fishing handfuls
goopy mud from the bodywork :-).

For a better idea of the damage, see the photos:
http://www.photonhunter.co.uk/photos/events/mg-crash

Sensitive readers will be pleased to know that she (the car!) has been
given a wash, wax & hoover since then, and looks almost better than she
ever has, apart from the obvious...

So, I now have a few questions. I am insured with Lancaster/Groupama
under the MGOC scheme. How likely are they to be amenable to repairs
(if possible) being undertaken at a repairer of my choice, rather than
one of their 'approved repairers'?

If I am allowed to choose the repairer, given it's a classic MG, am I
likely to be better off taking it to my friendly-but-standard garage
(who happen to have an accident repair business), Drewett's in
Headington, or to somewhere less geared to accident repair but more
geared to MGs - e.g. Manor Farm Garage near Wantage, or Oselli in
Witney?

Should the shell be deemed unrepairable, I am considering a rebuild
around a Heritage shell. I see these cost GBP 4060 - how much are
labour for transfer of the bits from my car, painting, etc, likely
to set me back?

Finally, the poor car was unceremoniously dragged out of the ditch
backwards by the rear axle (nngh). I can't see any signs of resulting
damage, though I will probably get the alignment checked. Was this the
most sensible purchase point for the winching, or could I have
recommended something better?

TIA,
Arthur

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| Arthur Bullard | | |
| | http://photonhunter.co.uk/ | |
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