I'm old enough to remember the bad old days of British Leyland. My
first car was a '64 AH Sprite 1100, bought in '68. I had a great time
in that car until my Dad crashed it, and I dreamed of getting another
LBC over the intervening 25 years or so. Now, at last, I have a '74
TR6 and I'm amazed at how readily, and cheaply, parts are available.
You could build a new one from the ground up with what's out there! In
the BL days parts were expensive, backordering was the rule and
quality was hit and miss. Sure, anything can be improved upon, but
just compare the availability of parts for our cars with what owners
of other types of old sporty cars have to put up with and you'll
realize we're sitting in clover. I just hope it lasts...
Some example prices I remember (in 1969 dollars):
left rear axle half-shaft (mine would sometimes snap the welded end
piece off on hard cornering due to a boughered up axle housing and the
resulting wobbly bearing - yes, I actually drove the car that way for
3 years. Why am I still alive?):
$110.00
New sliding side curtains after some #!@hole ripped mine off:
$200.00 **each**
Jim
TR6, top-down in the California sunshine - Oh, sorry you guys!
P.S. How do you midwesterners stand it? If I go for more than a week
without driving my TR6 I begin to suffer withdrawal symptoms -
irritation, fidgetyness, loss of concentration caused by a pervasive
longing for the wind in my hair and that marvelous sound a TR6 makes
at 3500 rpms on the open road. I mean, I'd be in the Funny Farm by the
time Spring finally came. I'm serious here: what gets you through?
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: We're SPOILED! (was Re: The Roadster Factory)
Author: "Lindberg, Andrew (MN12)" <Andrew.Lindberg@CORP.honeywell.com> at
smtpcc
Date: 5/9/96 3:12 PM
I agree with all the nice things you folks have said about our suppliers,
and I am truly amazed at how many parts I can get so easily for a 36 year
old car (1960 TR3A).
But why in the heck doesn't somebody make an honest-to-goodness thermostat
for my car? You know, one with the little sleeve that covers the by-pass
tube when the engine warms up. Are the tooling costs prohibitive? Isn't
there a market? Is it because concours judges never take a cooling system
apart?
Andy Lindberg
TR3 in Minnesota (where, quite frankly, my cooling system has not had much
of a workout yet this year)
|