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advice on B-GT's sought

To: british-cars@autox.team.net
Subject: advice on B-GT's sought
From: Jeff Dutkofski <jeffd%kay@[129.188.176.100]>
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 94 9:11:08 CST
And so I find myself seeking advice and guidance from the 
Scions of Lucas.............

As I was running some errands after work yesterday, I happened to 
pass by a used car dealership and what to my wondering eyes should
appear but a quite immaculate '73 B-GT.  Before I knew what was 
happening I found myself driving into the lot to take a closer look
at the car.  It was parked close to the office and _wonder of wonders_,
it was even unlocked!!  I got a good 5-10 minutes of uninterrupted 
perusal before the salesperson showed up.

Apparently, the B-GT was a 2 owner car.  First owner was in the 
Air Force, and sold the car to a friend who found himself sorely
lacking in garage space and also needing a Blazer for hauling.

Now for the car:  it appears to be in really fantastic shape.  Body
is in white (apparently original color) and straight and free of 
any rust rat damage.  I looked in all of the usual Brit car places for 
rust--everywhere!  Seriously, door edges, rocker panels, and fender 
edges all looked to be in really good shape.  Interior looked average--
seats were cloth covered (I'm not an in-depth expert--I thought seats would
be leather?), rear seat looked to be in good shape.  

Engine area was _extremely_ clean--no dirt/grime/mung anywhere.  Twin carb.
According to the salesdude, PO (which one--I dunno...) had the motor pulled
and rebuilt at "British Motor Works, or something" (yes, kids, actual 
words used by actual salesguy :-).  Supposedly, all receipts are included
with the car.

About the only thing wrong with the car I noticed was the paint was cracked
and checked in a number of places.  No rust anywhere, just a bit of cracking 
and checking.  Is this normal behavior for factory paint?  I would perhaps
expect to see this in new paint that was improperly mixed/sprayed over an 
improperly prepped surface.  I did see this cracking over the show metal
and in door sills.

Car has, according to the clock, <29k miles.  Title is available for 
review to see if this is correct, or perhap 129k miles.  This does not
look like a 129k miled car, though.

Drivability:  I need to go back and drive it.  I want to look at it again
tonight ro tomorrow.  I do need assistance in approaching my baptism into
SOL-do though.  From the experienced folks in netland, I would like to get 
help in answering:

1.)  What body/frame spots should I pay special attention to in looking for 
hidden or obvious signs of rust?  The B-GT does have Ziebart plugs
in the door sills, BTW.  Will this sort of treatment do anything to 
harm the car?  I know originality/faithfulness from the factory is lost,
but does the Ziebart goo help stop lbc's from rusting?

2.)  I was short on time, and it was getting dark last nigh, so I did not
take the car for a test drive.  What should I listen for?  What suspension
woes should I be on the lookout for?

3.)  Personal comments and feelings are asked for here.  Although I was
primarily looking for a droptop lbc, I feel that sometimes Providence 
puts things in your path for a reason.  How does a B-GT "compare" to a
droptop MGB?  I know I would be giving up the tousled hair look, but is
a B-GT still a fun car to drive?  It should be more rigid since it is a
hardtop.  This will be a summer only and for fun car for me.  Will it 
work for the occasional autocross?

4.)  This car has British/europlates on it, and no apparent mounts for 
'merican plates.  Does this mean anything?

All inputs will be appreciated......Thankyouthankyouthankyou :-))

-jeff

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Jeff Dutkofski - Electrical Engineer             | IL33 
Motorola Inc. - Wireless Data Group              | Mail Stop M2 
50 E. Commerce Dr. Schaumburg, IL 60173 USA      | Voice: 708-576-7153
e-mail: jeffd@wes.mot.com                        | Fax: 708-576-8585
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