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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | M a y / J u n e 2 0 1 9 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 11 This MG's beauty is only skin-deep M Y S W E E T R I D E What Can We Do For You? 860.871.1111 www.nemsi.com 166 Tunnel Road, Vernon, CT 06066 Choose an Award-Winning Partner For Over 50 Years, Clients Have Counted On NEMSI For: • HVAC, Plumbing and Process Piping • Design-Build Construction • Energy Management Systems • LEED Certification Programs • Electrical Services • Comprehensive Preventive Maintenance Programs • 24/7/365 Emergency Response Recent Awards Include: » ABC Platinum Safety Award » ABC Accredited Quality Contractor (ABC-AQC) » ABC Excellence in Construction Award » ABC Specialty Contractor of the Year » Contracting Business First Place Design/Build Award License #s: E1-104939 • S1- 302974 P1- 203519 • F1- 10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 Offices in: New London | Trumbull | Pawtucket, RI | Palmer, MA | Manchester, NH | Albany, NY Offi ces in: New London | Trumbull | Pawtucket, RI Palmer, MA | Manchester, NH | Albany, NY Choose an Award-Winning Partner For Over 50 Years, Clients Have Counted On NEMSI For: • HVAC, Plumbing and Process Piping • Design-Build Construction • Energy Management Systems • LEED Certifi cation Programs • Electrical Services • Comprehensive Preventive Maintenance Programs • 24/7/365 Emergency Response License #s: E1-104939 • S1- 302974 P1- 203519 • F1- 10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 What Can We Do For You? 860.871.1111 www.nemsi.com 166 Tunnel Road, Vernon, CT 06066 Recent Awards Include: » ABC Platinum Safety Award » ABC Accredited Quality Contractor (ABC-AQC) » ABC Excellence in Construction Award » ABC Specialty Contractor of the Year » Contracting Business First Place Design/Build Award P hyllis Sochrin's 1953 MGTD convertible is a beauty. Sochrin, a residential Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Milford, has lovingly cared for this blue baby, taking her out only in good weather. Improbably, the roadster has just 37,000 original miles on it. She's also an imposter. (e car — not its owner.) Sochrin's MGTD is actually a replica — constructed in 1989 by Duchess Classic Roadsters Ltd. e vehicle is constructed of a fiberglass body on top of a 1967 Chevelle 300 chassis. Under the hood is the four-cylinder Chevelle powertrain linked to a thoroughly modern automatic transmission. But that doesn't make her any less sexy. MG produced some 30,000 TD Roadsters between 1950 and 1953, most of them exported to U.S. shores. Baby boomers will recall that in the late 1960s and '70s the MG was the one "British sports car" that was kinda-sorta within the reach of young middle-class Americans (unlike, say, a Jag XKE). MGBs in BRG (British Racing Green) were a fairly common sight on American highways and byways then. Now, they're hen's teeth. Which is why there's a market for replicas — which may actually be more numerous in the U.S. than original MGs. Driving it "is heavenly," Sochrin says, "and you make so many friends! It's a fun car to drive around on backroads in Litchfield County on a Saturday or Sunday — just drive around and take a right, take a le and not know where you're going. It's just a lot of fun." BTW, if your lifelong dream is to get your hands on a "new" MG, you're in luck — the brand was purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group and production restarted in 2007. In China, that is. n — Michael C. Bingham T R E N D I N G The 'birth certificate' of Sochrin's MGTD says it's 66 — but it doesn't look a day over 30.