Ok. I still do not have an MG. But hopefully that will change soon. As many
of you know I have been rallying my parents to allow me to purchase my
neighbor's 1970 MGB GT. My dad was enthusiastic about the idea from the
start (about 7 months ago) but there were a few major problems: Space and
$$$. My parents, when they bought this house 10 years ago, made an agreement
that they would never have a home with multiple vehicles parked outside (a
few list member names spring to mind). 4 cars is ok, which would be one for
each person in the family (the dog doesn't drive), but not 3 drivers and one
restoration. Kind of an excessively clean decision. Now I have found
multiple people who live near to me and have extra space in a rented garage.
Whew! 1 problem down. Well, the money was the other big issue. When the idea
of restoring an MG first went public, I was only 13 years old. So, where in
the heck was I going to get all the money for a complete subterranian-up
restoration?? I did'nt know but started to save anyway. I have about 1K in
mutual funds now, all my own money and all on my initiative. This is only a
fraction of the cost of a proper MG restoration, however, and I am still
saving. I hope to be able to afford it through the sale of my pictures and
writing for various magazines. I am now 14 years old and will get my full
fledged driver's license in 2 years. This leaves me with plenty of time for
a good restoration (boy, will I be working hard) but not enough time for a
completely throrough restoration. My dad, since I recieved a membership to
the SDMGC for christmas, has been itching to go on a rallye or funkhana. So
am I. He wants me to get an MG as soon as possible, but not my neighbor's.
My arguement was that I have become emotionally bonded to my neighbor's MG.
This is as true as the pope lives in Vatican City (or something like that?).
But today I went down there and took a neutral position on the purchase. I
forced myself to think that I was an interested buyer who had never seen the
car before. I finally realized what dad was talking about. It is a piece of
crap. Any car with the MG Badge has some degree of quality, and this car is
at the bottom of the list. So, I have made my decision. I am officially
shopping for a 1970 MGB GT american export model. I am still going to buy my
neighbor's (he is practically giving it away) because it has a brand new,
never run BMH engine in it. I will salvage all the useable parts. Hopefully
I will have the car of my dreams soon. Remember to read my article in the
latest issue of MG World. With any luck I will be writing running reports
soon!!
Ben Carufel
www.start.at/mg
p.s. No, you can't have my neighbor's phone number :-)
|