Barney,
That's the way!! Wide open till you see God, then brake!
Walt Goddard
waltcpa@sierra.net
77B
-----Original Message-----
From: Barney Gaylord <barneymg@ntsource.com>
To: xyzabcde@earthlink.net <xyzabcde@earthlink.net>
Cc: mgs@autox.team.net <mgs@autox.team.net>
Date: Friday, January 01, 1999 6:40 PM
Subject: Re: MGs & old fartdom in Blighty
>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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