This got sorta' long, but it made me look at the photos of the 1960 MGA that
I received in the mail today. I'm sounding off more than anything else...I
want the car, but I wonder if I'll live long enough to be able to drive it!
>PO said: It is low milage (45,999)
Max nix when the engine is in the boot! Many pieces...
>PO said: but has been sitting for ten years,
at least!!
>PO said: covered up.
With what?? The seats are gonners. The floors?? and the off door has a
rusty bottom sill.
>PO said: I have pictures of it
They *do* tell a tale, too!! The story goes "Once upon a time, there was a
cute little MGA that some S/M-type bought so he/she could wrench the soul
from her...."
>PO said: It will need rockers,
And sill and.... rusty doors, too.
>PO said: floors
You can't see the ground through them, but I'll bet you could if you put
weight on them.
>PO: and the usual but otherwise is all there
Nothing "usual" about this at all!! Nothing. That poor car...
>PO: and for the price I believe reasonable."
Bwahahahahahahaha!!!
>Carol asked: And...how much work am I looking at here?
How does 5 figures both in time and in $$ sound??
Dennis said:> I'll take it sight unseen at that price!!! Dennis Nelson
Ohhhh....Dennis! You may live to regret that statement!! <g>
Details:
Front view:
grille dented (reparable??), near front lights missing & chrome ring for
headlight dented, vertical part of bumber on near side gone, bumper bent on
near side, no mirrors (I think I saw them in the boot photo).
Rear view:
trunk appears to be misaligned (adjustable?), rear bumper buggered on near
side (looks like it may have been damaged by chain pulling it?) -- the more
I type, the more I think I see rust in the rear and on the near rear wing --
it looks like it has dimples. (could be shadow, too), has luggage rack
Off Side view outside:
door looks "funny" like not lined up or maybe ajar a tad, off front wing
crimped above wheel, standard wheels (and I like the look!)
Interior (from what I can see):
all gauges are there, steering wheel is ok, has radio, all knobs are there,
judging from inside of off door, the car was originally that British white,
NO interior panels in sight (not on doors or in legroom part of cockpit
area, doors not reinforced with that little steel bar. seats used to be red
(now the color of old mildew...mostly black mildew), dash was painted red (I
can see the wood underneath it), wood pieces around doors and dash look to
be bubbled (partially rotten), no rear mirror
Boot view:
Looks ok, full of engine parts, lamp parts, has crank and clip to hold it (I
didn't know that!), no spare
Engine compartment:
probably what one would expect in a 36-year-old car (not awful, but not
good), wires and lines everywhere, contains engine block (mit or mitout
critters in it??)
So...we're looking at body resto, complete new interior (not redo), complete
engine rebuild, new grille, rust for sure on off side (don't have photo of
near side -- outside or inside! Wonder if that was intentional??), redoing
everything to the car. Don't know whether it has curtains or frame for the
top, either. If it's redone I think it should be a frame-off restoration.It
wouldn't make sense to put that much money into the car without starting
from the beginning.
All the "little pieces" are there. The badges, the hubcaps, the gauges, the
knobs.
What am I overlooking besides $$$ and lotsa' time. I wonder if I would live
long enough to drive this car?? I certainly wouldn't have time to work on
the car and to use the internet, too!!! <g> And to work?? What a decision!!
I am going to scan the photos this afternoon, and will be happy to send them
to anyone who is interested in taking a closer look. I may even put up a
half-baked home page to contain them....never done that before, either..
If you got this far, thanks! By writing this to Dennis, I pored over those
pix much more closely. Even found another smush on the grille -- lower off
side. I'm satisfied the bumper and grille damage was incurred from moving
the car improperly.
Now what do I do? I figure the car to be a LOW 6. The guy wants $1500.
That's too high, but I don't want to insult him by offering $600 or so. He
thinks it's really worth $2000 in Austin! The car is in St. Louis, in case
you don't remember that.
Decisions, decisions...
Thanks!!!
Carol
|