Chris Ball asks the general status of pre-war cars in terms
of parts & drivability.
Well, Chris, in general pre war cars take more maintenance,
have less effective brakes, poorer handling, and more mechanical
problems. That's in general. Part of the charm of pre-war cars
to me though is that there's so much more to do on them-I had a
1950 MG TD and after I'd done a frame up on it it worked well
and very little ever went wrong. So I looked for more of a
challenge and found a '39 MG TB. This car has sliding trunions
(bronze bushings that the springs rotate and slide in), a two
position charging selector (none of this voltage regulator
stuff), and first generation hydraulic brakes (why did they
even think of using copper brake lines???). Add to this a
diff that's much weaker, steering that becomes very sloppy
with only slight amounts of wear, archaic suspension design
and you've got a challenge.
That said, to me the rewards are greater. I get to noodle out
more complex repair problems, have more fun with a mill and a
lathe, and drive a car that's much more of a challenge to keep
pointed in the right direction. The driving experience is that
much more direct IMHO. Boy I can just wait for the flames to
spring up now-let me say that I've enjoyed post war TC's (really
very close to a pre-war car in many ways), TD's, TF's MGA's,
twin-cam A's, B's, bugeye's, Healey 100-4's, 100-6's, 3000's,
Morgan's and even the TR's. But in general they're built stronger
and don't break as much, and the brakes are more powerful (TC's
excepted). Then again, I remember GT6 gearboxes, TR6 thrust
washers, Morgan frames and sliding suspensions.... But if you have
more time and money than you know what to do with now with a post-war
car, and like the pre- war cars, I'd say go for it.
As for parts availability, I'm only familiar with MG's, in
which case parts are find-able for the most part. The MMM
cars (OHC) are even more challenging and rewarding than the
TB IMHO (I've had a couple good friends with PB's, J2's, and
a C-type racer) and the parts are a bit more difficult and
expensive to locate. But these cars rev more freely, have
non-synchro boxes, and are for the most part faster than a
number of the post-war cars. My friend's stock J-2 would
do over 80 on the straight and level, and I've never gotten
a TD to do that. Anyway I'll stop expounding the glories
of pre war cars now with one caveat: I would not recommend
one if you plan to do a lot of driving in heavy traffic-
the poorer brakes and more flimsy construction make them
very unsafe in an accident, and there are fewer overall so
we need to keep them cared for and in good shape (not
smashed up on some ugly freeway). But if you live in an
area without a lot of traffic and want to devote your life
to the preservation and enjoyment of these beautiful
machines, go for it!
About significant other's and LBC's: My wife grew up riding
around in the boot of a TD just like I did myself, so she is
very understanding :) (this also may show my lack of age.)
Bill Putnam
1939 MG TB
putnamw@caelab1.cae.wisc.edu
|