While flipping through some old papers today I came across a Peter Egan
article from a few years ago that you'll appreciate. I am currently
wrestling with the purchase of another LBC, and I'm debating in my head
whether I should buy something restored or something shot and then restore
it. A friend in Florida says I need to buy a car no one else would save so
that *one more* LBC will remain on the road. Egan's perspective:
The title of the story is "Driving A Miata To See A Man About A TR-4". Egan
is in possession of a loaner Miata, and is enjoying his drive to the
Wisconsin Dells from Stoughton, WI, on his way to see a TR-4 and he ends up
debating whether it is better to spend $10,000 on a low mile used Miata or
$500 on a shot TR-4. On the Miata:
"Think of the tools I'd no longer need. I could sell my parts cleaner, bead
blaster, lathe, engine hoist, engine stand, Whitworth wrenches and sockets,
Uni-Syn carb tool, micrometers, cylinder hones, ring compressors, gasket
scrapers, kingpin reamers, and SU wrench for starters. What would I do with
my life??"
On the TR-4:
"Straight body, not much rust, carpeting and interior panels gone, old MGB
seats, baby blue paint with overspray on wiring harness, wiper motors, etc.
Loose wires hanging to the ground, no top... In other words a perfectly good
candidate for a complete restoration that would probably cost several
thousand dollars more than the current asking price of the world's nicest
TR-4."
"If you don't restore it yourself", said the evil voice inside my head,
"you'll never know if it was done right. Better buy it now and get to work."
Personally, I'll probably follow the evil voice. The Bugeye I have now was
perfect when I bought it and I pretty much ended up ripping it apart anyway.
Kind of like the windshield replacement I'm going to do myself tonight
despite advice to the contrary.....
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