Hello all,
I've been following this thread with interest for the last few days. I am
looking at the general theme of the replies and find that many of the
listers are perhaps too quick to scrap or part out a car which, being a
Series 1, is among the last of the purer Abingdon products produced when BMC
was still at the reins. Thereafter the bean counters began to cause the slow
but steady decline in quality of components, workmanship, craftsmanship and
so on.
With the series 2 cars, other than a stronger gearbox (actually developed to
handle the torque of the MGC), the seats went to vinyl, the switches to
cheap plastic rocker types, the North American market got stuck with the
ugly "Abindon pillow" dashboard, the first forms of pollution regulations
saw a recirculating air pump and less horsepower, and so on.
The Series 1 cars will be the first to become "collectors items". Don't
scoff at that statement, I know folks will say, "too many were made to ever
become collector's items" but they said that about the original VW beetle
and Willy's series 1 jeeps too, and they're all on the climb now.
What I guess I'm trying to state here is that there very soon will come the
day when the increasingly rare Series 1 B's will become the high dollar
cars, and the best ones to give garage space to. Every one that is scrapped
from here on will be most unfortunate, when it could actually be resurrected
and begin a new life. If you are afraid of the cost of restoration
exceeeding the market value, this will only change for the better as time
goes by. And you will never be able to restore one cheaper than you can
today.
It isn't the car to buy to fix up and sell, expecting to make money, but if
you can find a keeper for the long term, grab it, do the best job you can on
it, don't screw with it's authenticity, and when completed, drive it...a
lot!
Rich Chrysler
|