Why do you want the car?
After 35 years of driving a car to get from here to there, I did not much
enjoy driving anymore because I wanted to be here or there but not
inbetween. I decided to buy a fun car that I could work on in pure
ignorance. (I did have a mechanical, but not mechanics, background.)
Bought a '76B just about a year ago for a lot more than your $1000
opportunity, replaced the water pump over the winter. Am in the beginning
stages of replacing the drive shaft U-joints (ie., bought the parts but
haven't started the work), anticipate changing carborators during the
summer (ie., bought all the parts but haven't started the work), and I've
never done either job before.
But last Monday, I drove the car at 7:50 am to my local mechanic to see it
and help diagnose a noise. The temperature was a brisk 55 F. The cherry
trees along Chapel Road in Cherry Hill!, NJ, were all abloom for 2 miles,
and I swear nothing was wrong in my world despite the sh*t all over, and I
know it is there.
That momentary pleasure was poetic to me and that is why I bought a small,
British built 23 year old car (2 years older than my son!).
Am I crazy...sure and even my wife thinks so, but I'm looking for another
one already.
If you want to plug into a fun car, buy a Miata. If you want a car to put
your stamp on, you might have found a good one. (I always envied the
passion with which Patrick McGoohan (of Prisoner fame) said that he new
every bolt in his Lotus seven.) I hope to get that far with my MG.)
Let's face it. This decision is not always practical.
Good luck,
Bill
At 09:49 AM 4/28/1999 EDT, you wrote:
>I'll try this again. I posted earlier that I was considering buying an MGB,
>but it didn't post for some reason. In my original post I was asking if I
>was nuts for wanting a MG (my wife thinks I am). I am not a mechanic by any
>stretch of the imagination, but am hoping to learn. I am somewhat beyond
>this decision as I have stumbled upon an original owner '75 MGB. I would
>like your opinions on two things:
> 1. He mentioned in our conversation that 75 was the worst year for
>MGB's, do you think this to be true? Are there a lot of problems after the
>transition for all the USA requirements?
> 2. He put a Webber Carb. on it a few years ago. Ever since the car
>blows plugs every 300 or so miles. Any thoughts? Unfortunately, it has not
>been driven much.
>
>The car has 65,000 miles on it. The body has NO rust, it is in the middle
of
>a rebuild (interior), but has the interior kit and all the parts to put it
>back together. All this for $1,000.00. What do you think?
>
>Thanks,
>Mark Michael
>Tallahassee, FL
>Soon to be Jefferson City, TN
>
**********************************************************************
Dr. Bill Saidel
Assoc. Prof. Vocal phone (609) 225-6336
Department of Biology FAX (609) 225-6312
Science Building email: saidel@crab.rutgers.edu
315 Penn St.
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Camden, NJ 08102 -1411
http://crab.rutgers.edu/~saidel/saidel.html
"Between the approximation of the idea and the precision
of reality, there is a small gap of the unimaginable."
Milan Kundera - "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"
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