> husband is thinking of buying an MGTF that has been
> disassembled, dipped and primed. It was original. It needs
> about 1K worth of work on tub and some minor stuff.He's asking
> $5000. Any advice - how hard is this car to assemble, say,
> compared to a Big Healey? How does the price sound if it
> is as represented?
That's a tought one. On one hand, you have to worry about missing parts, and
a lot of other unknowns. You'll probably need interior, chrome, and paint,
plus a lot more to get it together, plus not knowing how it came apart.
That's the problem, and the chalenge of basket cases. On the other hand, part
of the restoration is done. How's the engine? Has it been built, or should it
be rebuilt? Most parts are readily available, and while not truely
outrageous, some are fairly expensive. MG's of just about any sort(1) are
quite easy to work with.
Will you be doing it yourself, or paying someone? If you pay someone, you
will likely surpass the car's value quickly. You can get running TF's for
under $10 K, and fairly nice ones for $12-17K. There some exceptional ones
priced in the 20's too, but that is way above the norm. If you do it yourself
for fun, you may meet the normal price range. Is it a 1250 or 1500 engine?
The 1500's are worth a bit more. The price sounds possibly reasonable for
what's there, but it could still cost a fair amount to put Humpty Dumpty
together again.
***********************
(1) After the time it took to get the engine out of my Midget 1500 parts car
last weekend, I have another reason not to like the '75 and up cars- What a
pain! The job took about 3 times as long as for an A-series engine, and
putting it back will be much worse. Between polution control, British F.S.
Leyland's use of the Triumph 1500, and other stuff, there's a *LOT* of extra
parts cobbed in there, and a bunch are hard to get at, or out, without
messing with 3 other things first. Maybe I'll just put my Rover V8 in the '79
Midget instead!
________
/ _ \ Roger Garnett (Roger_Garnett@cornell.edu)
/ /|| \ \ Agricultural Economics |
| |\/ || _ | 3 Warren Hall | "The South Lansing Centre
| | || | | Cornell University | For Wayward Sports Cars"
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