[TR] Cars for kids

[Steve Ball]

Let me add my 2 cents worth.  I'm 61 now , and my first car, in '67, was a 
'57 TR3.  Everything went wrong with it, and I cut my teeth (mechanic-wise) 
learning to work on it, and it was a blast to drive.  When I met my wife she 
had a '50 MGTD, and since then we've had an newer MGB and two more TR3's, 
the last of which I'm in the middle of restoring right now.   In '86, when 
our daughter got her Learner's Permit, the only car she wanted to drive was 
the TR3.  At first it wasn't the coolest car in her High School parking lot, 
but then a bunch of kids discovered what a great car it really was, and it 
was amazing how popular she suddenly became!  We were always careful about 
how far away from home we let her drive the TR, and the car did have a 
rollbar which gave some sense of security to her mother.

Yeah, we had our share of mechanical problems, and a few rescue missions, 
but I always got her to help me fix it.  When she was 15 I had her changing 
oil filters, and tuning carburetors, and neither of us would trade those 
days for anything!  Someday she'll inherit this last TR, and it will go in 
her garage right alongside her own car, a 60's A/H Sprite.  Once bitten by 
the Britcar bug, and you're infected for life!

Steve Ball
Lompoc Ca.