I've told this story before so if you find it redundant, delete.
As a farm boy in the midwest, I was turned on to LBCs by "The Red Car" and
Tom McCahill's columns in Mechanics Illustrated.
My first car of any type was a new BJ8, purchased in Rockford, Illinois on
April 4th 1965, from Forest City Imported Cars, Ltd., 315 So. Church.
HBJ8L/30107 (British Racing Green, Black interior). $3870-$ 320 "discount" +$
154 "tax, license, etc." = $3704. Equipped with tonneau, wire wheels,
overdrive, white sidewall tires (!), windscreen washer, heater & seat belts.
Let her go during grad school in Utah, 1966. (Dumb).
Managed to get #2, new, in the summer of 1967 (Red/Black interior) in
Rockford (same dealer) while "negotiating" with the government regarding how I
should serve our country. Don't have that number, wish I did. It was one of
the last Healeys in U.S. Entered the U. S. Navy in late '67, lost that Healey
to a family sedan in 1970 (Dumber), was "without" until February 1977 when I
got HBJ8L/39981 (BRG/Black interior). Lost her in a winter storm in Chicago
(Overnight, parked on the street, ice, crunched by means of an Olds).
A brief fling with a Bugeye (AN5L/11488) from Rich Chrysler, Canada, soothed
my move to North Carolina in 1979. Then, nothing.
Until 1996, when I acquired my lovely wife, wonderful Wanda and we got
HBJ8L/40045 (orig. Old English White/Black interior, then Silver !?) New on
Dec. 15, 1967 $3600 in Raleigh, NC Equipment unknown. I paid $16,000 to the
second owner, put a couple grand in it and starting with Park City, we have
gone, in the Silver Bullet, to Conclaves in Park City, UT; Boyne Mt., MI; St.
Louis, MO; Indianapolis, IN; Lake Tahoe, CA; Washington, D.C.; San Antonio,
TX. Our license tag = RSATLAST. We are happy.
Press-on-regardless,
Gary Brierton
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