I can no longer resist adding to this thread-
I, too, have fuzzy childhood memories of LBCs and old cars in general.
I grew up with 5, mostly car-loving, older brothers, so some of it
naturally rubbed off. Back in the mid-60's when I was around 7 or so,
my then-18 yr old brother got an MG. I don't even know what model it
was, but I loved it. He used to let me shift (he pressed the clutch &
told me when it was OK to move the gearshift). Sad to say, though, this
was one of those cars that gave our loveable LBCs a bad reputation. It
was a lemon, through and through. My parents, in fact, were responsible
for a local dealership losing their franchise after they reported the
problems (with the car and the dealer) to the regional manager. The
regional manager accompanied them to the dealership (pretending to be a
concerned friend) on yet another effort to fix the car, and promptly
shut him down and refunded the purchase price when he saw how they were
treated. But, it was too late for me - Lucas was already in my blood,
waiting for it's time to strike.
I have other childhood memories of driving an old 40's-era Pontiac
around our cottage, and my uncles Model A's (which he bought to restore
and got bored with - My aunt got sick of looking at these cars in
pieces, so she grabbed the manual and restored them herself - AMAZING
LADY!), but the LBC's were what I coveted most in my teens. Around
1976, when I had $100 to spend on a car, there was no way my parents
were going to let me buy an LBC after that previous MG experience, so I
ended up with a 1968 Dodge Coronet (Dad had a Challenger at the time, so
he approved the deal, even though Mom thought I was too young to own my
own car). I got $50 for it 4 years later (if I had only known what
those muscle cars would be worth today!), when I bought a '79 Ford
Fairmont (when, with Ford, "Idea was Job No." 257!!) I have since owned
an '81 Chevy Chevette (the dealer I traded it to couldn't get it started
again after I dropped it off), and an '85 S-10 Blazer (wonderful vehicle
-137,000 miles when I finally sold it two years ago).
Fast forward to 5 years ago:
Then I saw what was to become MY MG!
I owe it all to my now-deceased cat (funny how cats always end up tied
to these MGs, eh?). She tore a tendon in her leg, and the vet we took
her to was across the street from a small rip-off-artist-type used car
dealer. While I was passing the time looking out the window, a car
hauler pulled up with a Burgundy Midget, and I fell in love. Oh, I knew
it was nuts, but I couldn't help driving by every few days over the next
few weeks. Lucas was awakening in my soul and made me finally stop and
look more closely at this car that had stolen my heart.
Her paint was badly faded and had chipped off in places, revealing the
original color: puke yellow. The brakes and tires were shot. She had
holes in the floor so big it looked like the seats were about to fall
out at any moment. The windshield was so badly smoked that you could
barely see. The top was ripped to pieces which, actually, was good.
You see, the plastic windows were impossible to see out of, so you could
at least see out the holes! The seats were ripped to pieces, the dash
was cracked in several places, the carpet was torn to shreds, half the
electrics didn't work, and she sounded like a helicopter when she ran;
but love is blind, and I was in love. They told me how cheap all the
parts were from VB (I told you he was a rip-off-artist-dealer), and
quoted me a price ("hey, it's a Florida car" - valuable when you live up
north), which I now know was rediculous for a car in this condition, but
I didn't know anything about LBC's - just that I was in love. Looking
back, I know I was ripped off (In many ways, my parts car was a much
better buy) I didn't even know how to drive a standard, but it sure was
fun learning how in the Midget!
I bought it, and the rest is history. Oh, some of those problems are
fixed now, but it still has a long way to go. Thanks to the parts
suppliers, and stumbling across a parts car, it now has much nicer
seats, windshield, top, and bootlid, rebuilt carbs, new floors, carpet,
rear springs, brakes, tires, and other miscellaneous bits. Oh, and
she's now teal blue - cheap paint job, but it looks a little better,
until funding arrives for a proper job (donations gratefully accepted).
Everything works now, though not perfectly, and there's plenty more to
do (front suspension & new top coming up), but I've loved every minute
of the ownership/learning experience.
As they say in the Nissan commercials: "Life's short. Enjoy the ride".
With my LBC, I'm enjoying the ride, whether it's running or not. (-8
(warned you it was long)
BTW, HEY PHILIP! These are the "different" kind of stories that would
be fun to see in MG WORLD.
-NORY
Don't assume that because you have found one problem, you have found the
ONLY problem.
'74 Midget & '71 parts car
'94 Ford Ranger
'86 Ford Escort
'89 Ford Probe
'96 North American Shepherd
'94 Tigger Cat/Wheel Chock
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Way/9101
NEW Home Improvement Homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/ny/nory
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