I have a hard time remembering anything really specific about this car, other than it was a reliable, unremarkable, dinged around, and just generally cheap MGB GT that did what I asked it to. I have no photos of it, which probably says enough right there.
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Well, not much going on…which is generally good when it comes to old cars.
- The MGB, Triumph, and BSA are tucked away for the winter in their locked storage
- The Landy seems to be doing just fine, knock on walnut veneer
- The Ferguson is stalwartly sitting in the carport. I start and run it for awhile every once in awhile…
- Nothing is happening on the E-Type
I’ve been looking for another old Ford truck, without any luck thus far. Test drove a ’64 the other day…kind of a neat old truck but while I was there the gentleman selling was pressing me to make “any offer” and by the time I got home there was an email saying it was sold…kinda weird. (It’s pictured at the top of the page.)
I have a new neighbor who also has British Car Disease. In fact, I was able to help him drop a few dollars on a 1963 MGB very close in age to the one I own. Nice looking car.
This is my “new” Discovery…it has 107,000 miles, but all in the hands of the original owners, who seemed to take care of their machine. More or less.
It has a slight ding to the rear bumper. The LSE used a chrome version of the regular bumper. $1250 to replace. The normal black item is $250. I’ll probably be living with it for awhile.
The only glitch so far was dicovering that the plastic fill plug for the radiator (cost: $1.50) was broken off by the last shop to work on the car, and just sort of left in place. Because of that, I was more than a quart low on coolant, and the heater had zero fluid in it. I replaced the plug with a 69 cent fitting from the local hardware store, and it seems fine now.
The F250 that I just sold blew up on the way home for the new owner. I wish I could feel good about the timing, but it sucks all the way around.
Well, sold the ’68 F250 with mixed feelings today. I just wasn’t going to get around to fixing it, and I think it went to a good home. But I’ll miss it, it was in many ways “the perfect truck” for me, as far as specification, color, year, etc. goes. But realistically, I never would have gotten around to it. Sigh…
Despite some advice to the contrary, I think I’m going to see exactly how painful owning a Land Rover as my “winter car” will be. The one I’m considering is a 1998 Discovery LSE in British Racing Green. It has just over 100,000 miles on it and was covered under warranty through 100K. It’s one owner and appears to be in good condition.
There are lots of these machines around with 150K miles on them, and it would take me years to get there. We’ll see. It will be handy for hauling dogs and junk around, and especially good for those occasional trips into Seattle and outlying regions.
I’m contemplating buying a “cheap” car for winter use.
Old Yeller, the F250, isn’t making healthy noises, and I don’t want to rely on the old goat over the winter. I would really like a Mini (one of the original ones), but they’ve shot up in value (my theory is purchasers of new Minis interested in classic cars will buy an old Mini to have a matched set).
This is what a carport should look like. Reggie, Fireball, and Fergie. Old Yeller sits outside, knowing that come winter he will take the place of the two fair-weather machines. Or something like that, anyway. Bike is running OK, though the blasted carb is really a piece of junk. Time to try a different one, me thinks.
Just a photo of reggie taken today. Slightly overcast and temperature a bit cool for summer–summer 2005 summed up right there!
I brought the BSA out of slumber to get ready for annual Vashon Island shin-dig, hosted by the local Vintage Motorcycle club. (Note: The photo is from a show the bike was in a few years ago, now!)
It started right up, considering the inactivity it has had–it still only has 650 miles since it was restored. Smoked like hell for a bit, wet sumping to blame, I think. I have a list of things to do, starting with having my friend Robin take a look at the carb to my replacing the kill switch and the absolutely dreaded task of pulling apart the front end to fix the forks, which leak like there is no tomorrow.
