mg.gurus,
Well, I've sufficiently recovered (physically and emotionally) to
let you all in on the closing of the wanna-be saga. Bottom line is I flew
from Texas to California to buy a 1970 MG BGT (sight unseen) and flew back
without the car. Here's what happened.
After many many hours on the phone with the owner (can't wait to get
the phone bill) I decided that this was the daily driver, one-owner from
new, already restored car I wanted. Bought a one-way $99 ticket to
California and off I go. Visit relatives, go to lunch, yada yada, go see the
car.
Looks OK from 20' (just like the pictures). Paint is more worn than
I'd been told (and earlier paint job wasn't done very well). Body is very
straight. Extremely minor surface rust on tiny parts of hood (bonnet).
Chromework pretty clean but lots of little dents. Engine bay looks worn but
neat. Heater broke but bypassed (I knew that). Inside - well, after being
assured it was in fine condition (except for the dash which I knew was torn
but a spare was included) I was shocked to see tears on the door panels,
tatty seats (with little tractor tire inner tubes slid under the seats for
support!), and more dirt/neglect than had been described. Uh oh. How does it
drive?
Took it on the road (what's the deal with those seatbelts?!?). Lots
of pep. Some squealing on the brakes. Backfires, LOUD, on every gear change
(owner says it's cause of smog regs in California and can be fixed). Fairly
smooth at highway speeds (lack of OD no longer a concern). Overall though it
wasn't as smooth as I'd imagined given what the owner had told me. Smell of
burning oil in the air when we get back. Also it was only about 85 in
Sacramento that day but after a 20 minute drive it was blazing hot inside
the car (hotter than I'd imagined though I had been forewarned).
Checkout: Take off wire wheels and check the splines - almost cut my
fingers. Uh oh. Engine details - 125K miles, top of engine rebuilt at 75K
(was told car only had about 90K miles). Uh oh. Three strikes - yer out.
That means I'm looking at rebuilding the whole bloody engine within the next
2 years. Wire wheels seemed OK but old (painted, not chromed).
Bottom line - It wasn't the car I'd been told about. I kinda picture
it as the perfect rolling restoration car but I wanted a turn-key daily
driver. A couple of years from now when money's not so tight and the kids
can keep themselves busy I'd have probably bought it for fun. But to depend
on to get to work every day it wasn't for me. If you think it might be for
you, call Jim Lyle at 510-455-8321 ($3000 US firm). On the plus side he has
tons of spares/the original parts taken off/knowledge of the car (he bought
it from new).
Finale - Got a redeye one-way ticket back for $210. Had the next day
to see Sutter's Mill (where the CA gold rush started) and the giant
redwoods. Won $12 from the slot machines in the Las Vegas airport. Will
continue to look but only as far as I can drive in an hour. Heard about some
60's F**d Mustangs in Austin about 2 1/2 hours from me (wife has always
wanted one) in my price range so MAYBE I'll check them out someday. <sigh>
Oh well, I took a shot.
Cheers,
Lee.
P.S. Many many thanks for all of the encouragement/support/advice from
everyone on the list. If/when I get my lbc, I'll be back with a vengeance.
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* Lee Vick * "Herr Torvik, if I had a drink in my hand at *
* leevick@ti.com * this moment I'd shove it down your throat." *
* +1 713-274-2241 * Neil Burnside, The Sandbaggers *
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* Standard disclaimer: TI as an organization is much too smart to *
* to agree with anything I have to say. *
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