On Tony Barnhill's http://www.theautoist.com web site he related the story
recently of his most recent purchase, a 63 B.
A quote from the blurb talking about the previous owner...
"He bought her in 1971 with 60,000 miles on the clock, and put another
350,000 miles on her before he decided a restoration was needed."
I, being the incurable pedant that I am dropped him an email letting him
know that he had a typo on his web page, that he had said "350,000" when he
had obviously meant 35,000 or perhaps 50,000, as there was no way I could
conceive of a 63 B with 410,000 miles on it.
He wrote back saying that the guy had, in fact, put 350k on it, and had done
5 transmission rebuilds, two ring/valve replacements between 71 and the mid
90's when he decided on a complete overhaul.
Compare that to the car that took me back and forth to college back in the
day, a 1985 Ford Escort, which I put more into repairs in the three years I
owned it than its book value.
Or my wife's old 1992 Toyota Tercel which threw a rod at 35k miles.
Or, say, my father's old 1988 Acura Integra, fresh out of warranty, the
battery cable needs replaced due to corrosion. Part is dealer only, $125.
I have a 1968B that is my 2001 winter project. Yes, 2001. A dotcom downsize
and three jobs spent staying one step ahead of contracting Internet business
I'm finally ready to bring it back to driveability. I bought the Dr.
Doolin's MGB Engine Rebuild VHS tape from Moss. I'm not a car guy, changing
the oil and plugs are about the limit of what I've done to date, but after
watching the video it looks like even I could do it.
Actually, the comment I made to my wife after watching the video was that it
appeared you could almost pull an MGB engine with two strong guys, some rope
and an adjustable wrench.
I see several Rubber Bumper B's here in Cincinnati during rush hour, and
even during bad weather, so I'd have to imagine you could do well with one
as a daily driver.
I sure hope so, as I intend to refurb my B and use it to replace my current
daily driver, a 1983 Toyota Supra. :|
--
_______________
Chris Thompson
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