< Around here, anyway, an MG in very good shape is easily worth as much as a
< five year old econobox. Is a daily driver LBC doable? Of course. Economic?
< No. A five year old econobox will not need to have all the rubber brake
< bits replaced, new suspension bushes, a patch in the gas tank, rust-related
< bodywork, a new radiator, or perhaps a new wiper motor. A five year old
< econobox will not have corroded electrical connections, a scratched up
< windscreen, tired seats, a worn carpet, or worst, six previous owners. What
Depends on the starting condition of the LBC and what you consider as very
good condition. I expect that $1500 can get you a solid, if not pretty,
MGB. Driveable on a regular basis. Fixing the problems that come up is
part of the LBC Easy-Payment Plan.
< An LBC is *not* cheap transportation for someone who just wants cheap
< transportation. It's an alternative where one trades lots of time, TLC
< and significant money for something fun and a little different. Resources
< like this list are a big help, but you still have to change your own U
< joints. And yes, you get a good feel for your car and some personal
< satisfaction, and while I find making up TRF orders entertaining, lots of
< people would rather spend the time going to the movies. Or spend the money
< on a VCR.
A strict comparison with middle-aged econoboxes is probably never going to
be quite fair without some weighting for ownership/driving enjoyment. It
particularly depends upon what you want to end up with. Perhaps an
economic factor to consider is what you have after spending
repair money on it. $1000 spent on a $1500 econobox leaves you with
a $1700 econobox. $1000 spent on a $1500 MGB leaves you with a $2500+ MGB.
(If you wanted to do it all at once, I would also contend that $1000
and 3-4 weekends is more than sufficient to turn any reasonable non-rusted-out
MGB with a decent tranny into a reliable commute vehicle.)
Part of the respect I have for my 68 MGB is based on how few times it has
let me down over the past 19 years. Under all conditions including years of
regular commuting. In fact, seems that most problems that kept it off the
road occurred after sitting for some time. Its only been in the past few
years that it has received much more than just regular tuning and maintenance.
John Sanders
|