I know I'm not alone on this, but back in the day ( 60's and 70's ), many of
us drove them for both pleasure, and for daily transportation. It didn't
matter whether they were MG's, Healey's, Triumphs, Jag's or whatever. The
more
you drove them, the better and more reliably they seem to run. Out of all the
LBC's I owned back then, the one I owned the longest was a '71 MGB. I drove
that car on a daily basis from '72 to '85, and never had a mechanical
breakdown, except for one time when I blew a head gasket running time trials at
Bridgehampton Race Circuit on Long Island. (We changed the gasket in the
paddock
and I drove it 86 miles home that evening). That car also took me across the
country 4 times, never with a breakdown or malfunction of any kind. I must
say however, I was in my early 20's during that time, had not much else to do
with my time, and had a ton of interest in playing with cars. I was a fanatic
about periodic maintenance and in doing it "by the book"....or more
frequently. Back then when many of us would decide to go on an extended road
trip at
the drop of a hat, we'd just pack up the boots and head out. Not to say one
wouldn't at least change the oil & filter, give the ignition system a quick
once over, check the belts and remainder of the fluids, and check the air in
the
tires, but that was usually about the extent of it. Again, these were cars
which were driven daily, which racked up many miles per year, and some such as
mine, which were maintained on a VERY routine basis...these were not "garage
queens".
If you keep your car in good shape, and promptly and properly attend to
mechanical issues as they crop up, I see no reason why you couldn't enjoy
driving
it everyday. I hope you do it.
Howard Collins
Va. Beach, Va.
|