BOOMERANG B

Mick Tillott sold this early B in 1975 to make way for a new company Cortina. He knew even then that it was the wrong thing to have done and, years later, he was able to make up for it.

- Bernard Holloway

It’s many years since I have sat in a B and the restrictions of the Bermuda hardtop do not make life any easier. I pull on the door handle (no push-button or anti-burst locks here until April 1965), fold my body and squeeze through the aperture into the seat of Mick Tillott’s black, June-built, 1964 model; one of 26,542 made that year. For some reason I found this more difficult than the Morgan Plus 4 I recently drove; that had narrower doors and the hood was up, an awful admission, but my excuse was heavy rain and thunderstorms. Perhaps I have just got used to the extra inches afforded to me in my C GT?

After a few more attempts, honed by the need to stop for photographs, it becomes second nature and I take the time to look around the interior. The carpets and leather seats are replacements but the well-preserved dashboard and door cards combine to provide a period feel to this car. I realise that this aftermarket hardtop may not be to everyone’s taste but it makes the interior a very pleasant place to be. Compared to a Roadster with the hood up, the interior felt more spacious, brighter, with slightly more headroom and better all-round vision.