If James Bond Drove An MGB GT

by R.L. Corn

Sixty-one years ago, “Q” presented James Bond with a highly modified Aston Martin DB5 so that he could save the world from Goldfinger. The next year, the good folks at BMC released a Pininfarina-styled hardtop version of the extremely popular MGB to save the world from pricey, high-end sports cars while providing a reasonably priced, sophisticated alternative—the MGB-GT.

The MGB-GT made its debut at the 1965 London Motor Show. Some of the showgoers even commented that the MGB-GT looked like a miniature Aston Martin. One can only imagine how Q must have felt when he realized how much money he could have saved MI6 if he had purchased James a GT instead of a DB5.

Five years later, on a day not as well known to history, I purchased my first car and, to my knowledge, became the first and only owner of an MGB-GT in Maury County, Tennessee. The red 1970 GT was my dream car. My mini “Aston Martin” kicked off my fifty-five-year love affair with English cars.

So far, the similarities between 007 and me were basically non-existent.

In 2021, I wrote a three-part article for Moss Motoring about my last MG restoration—or so I thought. Within a year after selling my newly restored 1970 MGB, I had a severe heart attack. There are few things that can refocus your attention like an ambulance ride to your local cardiac unit. So, I reconsidered my position on restoring another MG.

After a short search during my recovery, I found a beautiful red, 1970 MGB-GT in New York State. The previous owner had done a very nice job of keeping the car maintained with careful and thoughtful repairs. There was still work to be done, but for the most part, the car was solid.

About the same time I purchased my new car, I read an article about Aston Martin making 25 tribute cars of the James Bond Goldfinger car. If these cars did not come with a three-million-dollar price tag, I might have considered trading my new GT for a spy car. But that sparked an idea. I had another viable option… convert my MGB-GT into something Mr. Bond would be proud to drive.

Not to take anything away from the British Secret Service, but how hard could it be to build a secret agent’s car? Maybe a smoke screen here, or a couple of machine-guns there, but as long as I didn’t try to build a rocket-powered ejection seat, it should be a cinch.

In order to be a true “spy car,” my GT needed to look the part… not so much as to say, “Yes, I am a spy,” but enough to say, “I’m on my way to pick up my tux and a martini—shaken, not stirred.”

I started by changing out the front grill to make the car look a little more “Aston Martin–ish.” As it turned out, a Ford Granada grill seemed to work just fine. I popped in a couple of Mustang driving lights and the transformation began.

While the grill was out, I decided to install a couple of prop machine guns into the engine compartment with sound effects coming through horns mounted behind the grill. Due to space limitations in front of the radiator and the oil cooler, I only had the room and budget for two barrels illuminated with high-intensity LED lights.

Next, I had to deal with the issue of the revolving license tag. If you buy enough British license tags on eBay, you can come up with a plate number close enough to James’ plate (BMT 216 A), and enough parts left over to make a secondary plate. The changeable tags are manual, but can be done in seconds.

The MG bumper guards made for perfect battering rams, but once again, the lack of space created some opportunities for building a working mechanism, without altering the car to the point it could not be returned to its original condition.

Because our one-stoplight town could one day become a hub for international spy stuff, I decided I needed to install some defensive, as well as offensive, gadgetry. I converted the back seat into a long luggage deck that doubles as a remote-controlled bulletproof shield. I feel protected from BB guns and paintballs, but unfortunately, the local hardware store does not stock Kevlar.

The smoke screen is the ultimate evasive feature. With a trip to the local parts store for a piece of exhaust pipe, and smoke bombs—the big ones—from a fireworks store located just across the state line, I now have a twin-exhaust-piped GT that can deliver a two-minute smoke screen of dense black smoke.

In case you are starting to wonder, I have talked to the local police, and they have been very supportive of my entry into the world of spy-craft. They love the car and all the gadgets, but are more than a little skeptical of my discretion about their use. For example, I am not allowed to deploy my machine guns just because someone cuts me off in traffic.

All of these gadgets are fun, but you have to be able to activate them without getting out of the car. Stopping in the middle of a car chase to ask the bad guys if you could have a moment to manually light the fuse on the smoke bomb kind of defeats the purpose.

That brings us to the control panel. This may very well be the reason Q chose the DB5. The size of the DB5 armrest is much larger than that of the MG’s, but… you have to work with what you have.

I altered the MG’s console to open from the side instead of the front. From the console, I can extend the “bumper guard battering rams,” deploy and light up the machine guns, and set off the smoke screen. The newly created wiring harness leads to the new storage space under the bulletproof shield. In this new space, I have installed a separate fuse box, amplifier for the radio (which drives the sound effects), and a secondary battery in the other battery box. There is also a very small mounted ice chest to hold Diet Cokes and M&M’s.

I am still working on how to deploy the prop machine guns, turn on the LEDs, and start the sound effects at the same time, but I guess that is why MI6 paid Q the big bucks.

So now, at the age of seventy-three, the similarities between me and 007 are still pretty much non-existent, but I do drive a car that Q would be proud of. It is my hope that any spies I encounter will be chasing me in a Midget, Bugeye Sprite, golf cart, bicycle, or on foot.