Bill & Suzanne Young
Bill Young with his TC
Name: Bill & Suzanne Young
Location: Sonoma, California
TCs owned:
1948 TC 3830 / XPAG 5490, Red / Black
Bought the TC in 1971 and sold it in 1973, then bought it back in 1987.
About Us:
ABOUT BILL YOUNG AND HIS 4 TCS
The first time I saw an MGTC was at a car show at the Huntington Library in San Marino. I was just 12 years old. It was owned by a man named Frank Mason (who, it turns out, was Bobbie’dine Rodda’s father). Yes, this was the famous black “square TC.” I simply loved the looks of a TC and vowed someday to own one.
I was in college when I bought my first TC – for $350! It belonged to my brothers new father-in-law and hadn’t been running in years. It came with 16″ wheels, no windshield, a ratty interior, very faded bright red paint job and boxes of extra parts that turned out to be for a TD. It was parked outside near the ocean in Laguna Beach in the salt air for over 10 years. What a start for TC ownership! We got it running (sort of), found a windshield, registered it and promptly sold it for a whopping $300 profit. But, I was hooked on TC’s.
My next TC was a fully restored car. I purchased it from the owner of Hershey’s Market on Balboa Island. It was black with chrome wire wheels, machined turned dash, and red leather. I paid $1,800 and thought I paid too much. I joined the TC Motoring Guild with this car.
My third TC (BRG) would best be described as “mechanically challenged.” I first met Mike Goodman soon after I bought this car. One time late at night, I drove this car from Arcadia to Mike’s shop on Venice Blvd. freeway). There was a two gallon gas tank in the battery box with a hose to the carburetor. The car had no rear fenders, hood, windshield or working lights. After spending more than it was worth at Mike°’s, I sold it to an attorney friend in South Pasadena who spent thousands restoring the car. He gave it to his wife as a surprise Christmas present. She hated it and traded it in on a new Mustang.
In about 1966, I purchased my fourth TC from a man who lived on Crenshaw near Wilshire Blvd. It was red with black interior. I enjoyed this car for 2-3 years and sold it to Ann Prothro, the daughter of UCLA football coach, Tommy Prothro. She hardly ever drove the car and several years later sold it to the trombone player in Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show band. One day in 1987, I was driving by Mike Goodman’s shop and stopped in to say hello. He mentioned that the trombone player wanted to sell my old TC. Well, I went to look at it and I had to have it back. There was just one problem; I didn’t have any money (I’d just purchased some diamond earrings for my wife for our 10th anniversary). Of course I did the only sensible thing to do; I took cash advances against four credit cards and bought the car. Then I went to the bank and got a car loan to payoff the credit cards. This time I’ve owned it almost 20 years and no, it’s not for sale. It sits along side my 1957 Morgan drophead in the garage. Over the past 50 years, I’ve owned over 100 cars (is this a hobby or sickness?). I’ve owned a Rolls Royce, a Toyota 2000GT, Citroens, Porsches, VW Things, even an AMC Pacer (ok, a sickness). But, nothing compares to a MGTC! I often wonder, what part of Mike Goodman’s beautiful Encino home was paid for by me?
– Bill Young