Cherished car: the late Allan Pike discusses care and attention for his MGB GT V8 with Grendon Garage service manager Peter Nutt

His daughter, Jacqueline Labbe de Montis, said the car was the love of his life.

"He insisted on only going to Grendon Garage in Buckinghamshire because the service manager, Peter Nutt, had served his apprenticeship at an MG dealership in Oxfordshire.
My father covered more than 220,000 miles in the car and kept receipts for everything, even for oil, fuses and light bulbs. He left behind two crates of documents containing its entire sevice history and all its MOT certificates," she said.

Simon de Burton

Greater love hath no man...

Allan Pike was what you might call "particular" about the maintenace of the MGB GT V8 he bought new in 1973.
In fact, Mr Pike took such care of his car that every 3 months for 28 years he drove 60 miles from his home in Battersea to a garage in Buckinghamshire

to have it serviced. Mr Pike was still using the 120 mph MG regularly until he decided to sell it after celebrating his 91st birthday earlier this year.
Sadly, he died last month before seeing it come under the hammer at the Coys Spirit of Motoring auction.