Okay, I'll pipe in here.
I've been driving one or another MG daily for the last twelve or thirteen
years. The decision to buy the first one was based on economics of all
things; we had 4 thou stashed and needed a car, and decided that with that
money, ANY car we'd be able to get would have inherent problems, so why not
get a car that would be worth the problems it came with. We ended up with a
'74 maroon which I crashed stupidly while putting the final tune on the
carbs after porting. Got a primrose '69 after that which never was more
than a touring car owing to a poor engine rebuild from the DPO. That one
was crashed for me by a young arab student with a cell phone but no
insurance rear-ending me in mid-conversation. My insurance company bought
me the red rocket '67 I now drive every day.
I'v never been late to work once because of car problems and two of them
have saved my ass in wrecks because of the crumple zones ingeniously
designed into the bodies by the British engineers who knew that their
country's steel industry was still recovering from WWII and purposely had
the worst rust areas built entirely from an alloy of used women's underwear
and Velveeta cheese, knowing that if they had tried to push the idea of
crumple zones through the Leyland Bean Counters they would have been
summarily fired for not thinking of the bottom line.
The cars (with the help of this list, but mostly the cars) have taught me
how to work on them and have led to several close relationships, a new home
in a neighborhood we love, building a driver's club from scratch and a fair
amount of community involvement that I don't believe I would have had
without them.
Last year my mother-in-law gave me a photo of the three things I enjoy most
in this world (in altitudinal order)- my wife holding our oldest beagle
posed in front of the red car.
Glenn
_________________________________
Glenn Schnittke
Vice-President
Tennessee Spokes Sports Car Club
schnittke@mindspring.com
Safety Fast!
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