My first car was/is (I still have it) a '75 MGB that I got when I was 16.
Primarily I
wanted something that _wasn't_ big and American, being a nerd in Arkansas, big
and American to me meant under-educated rednecks. Nowadays I laugh at that,
my younger brother (who was pretty much a redneck in a '70's Camaro) now has
a Honda Civic autocrosser and I'm putting American based V8 engines in my
LBCs...
When I was in high school and college, my buddies and I followed Kelvin's
pattern;
it was cheap! We towed home the oddest collection of MGs, Triumphs, VW bugs
and Things, and even a Renault! From this I ended up with:
'68 MGB -- I think I spent $350 on it.
'60 Bugeye -- it was listed in the paper as "Bug I, needs work, $500".
'77 Midget
'77 MGB (saved from the police impound lot then sold)
'68 Renault R10
'70 Beetle (may its steel be used for rebar in a highway somewhere)
'77 TR7
Then I moved to California. Prior to my move I bought a rust bucket '64 'B and
"reshelled"
my '75. After meeting my wife I bought an '81 RX7 -- she needed a car and the
Spec RX7
class was just really coming to life.
Well, then along came my son. Steph drove (and raced!) the RX7 until she
couldn't
fit in the car any more, and we bought our '87 Range Rover. It was British,
could haul
us, take us off-roading/camping, and still look good at business meetings.
And, most
importantly, it fit me. I am a firm believer that a car should fit your
personality. I don't
think I'd look right in a brand new Rover or Jaguar. But a clean older example
with a
bit of the right patina (or "pinstriping" in the case of a Rover taken
off-road) is fine for
me. I'm not a snob, I just think I've got good taste in cars.
After the Rover came my '68 MGB-GT, the infamous rally car. I built this car
for a number
of reasons (remember kids, it is much cheaper to buy a race car than build
one!). The
California Rally Series had a class called "stock". Two wheel drive, 4
cylinder, carbs only,
blue book value under $4k or something like that. Well, to me it was either
build an MG,
meaning I had tools, parts, and knowledge, or buy something full of metric bits
that I
had no seat time in. So I built the car.
While in Cali I also bought a '70 Midget ex-race car, but this car was in Texas
and towed
to the family barn (in Arkansas) by my folks. It was a find and a steal, $1000
with lots
of Trick Racing Shtuff, lowered and fiberglass flared...
After moving back to Arkansas (am I insane?) and going to grad school (um, I
guess the
answer is yes!) my car buying slowed down. I did manage to trade a couple of
VW engines
for a pair of Spitfires, one a '67 built as a race car "back in the day" but
having spent many
years sitting in the woods. I got these because a mechanical engineer friend
of mine builds
home-built airplanes and wanted the VW engines, and I figured (since my Baja
Bug had long
outlived its usefulness) that I would do more with a couple of Spits than the
engines.
Our latest is my wife's TR8. That is my current restoration project, along
with my 'B V8.
Steph fell in love with Wedge when she first saw one.
-Keith Wheeler
Team Sanctuary
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