At 11:27 AM 1/1/99 +0000, Denise Thorpe wrote:
>.... I love to hear stories from people like Barney who still really drive
older cars and our friends down below who sound like they're having a lot
of fun.
Oh, that sounded like a solicitation, so here goes. I will be approaching
50 next June, but it doesn't quite feel like old fartdom just yet, as my
MGA activities keep me feeling more like 27. I am however leaning towards
affiliation with the Old Fartz organization within SCCA, where one can pass
on some experience to the Speed Freakz (the younger generation).
Now about that driving stuff. In the fall of '96 the MGA with an attitude
was approaching 97,000 (hard) miles since its restoration. In anticipation
of many more miles to come, it got a fresh engine, a little touch up to the
gearbox and brakes, and a new set of tires.
After the 19,000 mile run to Alaska in '97, and a little more autocrossing
and back-road rallying later in the year, the car was in need of more
attention, going on 124,000 miles.
So the spring of '98 saw it getting fresh paint and new top and tonneau
cover, and some fresh chrome. This was promptly followed by rebuild of all
the hydraulics, and just recently new carpeting. And just for good measure,
there's another fresh engine and gearbox for spares on the side. Having
gotten a late summer start after the paint job, I regret to say that it
hardly accumulated any miles at all in '98, only about 8,000 more on the
clock.
So now that it's looking all perky and fresh again, what's next? Well,
maybe another run from Chicago through Canada, and a ferry ride to
Newfoundland. Then there's NAMGAR GT-23 at Lake Tahoe, just over there on
the other side of the Rockies. And if that comes about, then probably
another week of cruising around the Rockies before heading home. All this
of course has to fit around and in between a full schedule of autocrossing
and rallying nearly every weekend, and lots more back roads along the way.
After all, what else should one do with such a nice new paint job? And
then in another 10 years or so I'll likely get to do it all over again.
Remember folks, tires and brakes are designed to wear out, and paint is
just a preservative, and all can be refreshed from time to time. But once
old fartdom sets in, it's there forever, so lets do what we can to put it
off a little longer.
Drive 'em 'till they drop,
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg
PS
Is the simple act of talking about old fartdom any indication that it
actually is sneaking up on me?
BG
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