WHEN Grant Chugg bought his 1965 MGB GT eight years ago, it was a complete wreck.
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Chugg acquired the vehicle from his Targa Tasmania navigator, Andrew Williams, who restored it back to condition perfect to race.
"It has been on a fairly steady growth curve as far as development; I guess that's part of the fun," Chugg said. "You start out with a car, then want to improve something, then go to another level and find something that needs improving and you just keep developing the car along the way."
Chugg and Williams are the only team entered in this year's Targa Tasmania early classic category and are coming off a 12-year hiatus.
The duo have won their category twice.
Chugg said it was sad older-model cars taking part had dwindled and been overrun by later-model drives.
"There were plenty running around in Targa 20-odd years ago . . . obviously some are becoming a little more rare but more people are looking at the early modern and modern categories," Chugg said.
"It means more horsepower and parts are even easier to get.
"I do think the older cars do hold a certain place in Targa and Targa do try to encourage that but it is just a matter of getting people to roll their old car out of the garage."
Chugg said Targa Tasmania provided him with the best week of the year, giving him a break from business commitments.
"While we enjoy it and take it seriously, we are not too serious to have a few laughs - that's the biggest part of it," he said.