My sincere thanks to Josh Kablotsky, George Haynes, and Scott Fisher for
advice on rubber bumper MGB's. Especially to Scott, who prepared a
veritable treatise on MGB's. I'm glad he Cced it to the group; it would
have been a shame if only one person read it. I wonder if it is too late
to cancel my order for "Guide to Purchase and DIY Restoration MGB." I
don't feel I need the purchase information now.
I may buy a B someday myself, if the right 71 or earlier chrome bumper car
appears before I find a solid Mark V Alpine, and if any purchasing power
survives the divorce (details someday on alt.angst), so this is useful
background for me.
For those who care, the only positive note in our expedition to see the
rubber bumper 79 B was the owner's enthusiasm and hope it could be saved.
She was the original owner, and loved it dearly. Her price of $1000
represented memories of past pleasure more than it did realism.
The car had been parked unsheltered since 87. We couldn't open the
bonnet; it was rusted shut. Reaching under the car, one could remove
handfuls of what may once have been sill. The door gaps looked ok, but if
either of us had sat in the car, I think it might have folded. Front
fenders were lacy. Not just on the tops where most of them are, but on
the sides! I remembered the adage that what you can't see is surely worse
than what you can see, and the mind boggled. The color of what little
remained was brown. Brown! I have always wondered why anyone bought a
brown MG or the similarly colored TR6. This was the perfect chance to ask
an original purchaser what possessed her, and I was so taken aback by the
pile of rust before me that I missed the chance.
We passed on this particular example; what kind of bumpers or emission
control it had was academic. If anyone knows of a fundamentally solid,
fairly cheap, chrome bumper B in the vicinity of Burlington VT that would
be a good candidate for a rolling restoration, please let me know. My
friend Tim really has the fever. He is british himself, and really,
really needs a LBC.
On another front, good news is I won grand prize in the automotive trivia
contest at a local car show by knowing the proper name of the Rolls Royce
hood ornament (mascot). The bad news is the grand prize was two tickets
to a Beach Boys concert. I like classical music, celtic music, country
music, blue grass...but the Beach Boys? What made them think that anyone
who knows what Rolls Royce calls its hood ornament would want to hear a
superannuated rock group?
Ray (who has a nice treefrog green 60 bugeye in his estranged wife's
garage and the final Morgan scene from "War of the Roses" very much on his
mind) Gibbons
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