Hello,
I just found this list and boy am I glad. I'll probably just lurk
most of the time and read the posts, but wanted to share my personal
"horror" story on the front end.
In 1987 I purchased a 76 B roadster for about $500. I owned a used
car biz at the time and the guy I had turning wrenches out back was
able to get it up and going easily. I drove it for a couple of years
and really enjoyed it.
It needed a lot of cosmetic things, that I planned to get around to doing.
I was also dealing in antique car parts and "bird dogging" restorable
cars for people.
I made friends with a couple of brothers who owned a Brit car
restoration shop in a neighboring state. Over the course of the next
2 years I located cars for them and did some title work, etc.
The B was needing some body work on the doors behind the mirrors and
the trunk lid (where some previous owner had attempted to close the
lid with the prop in locked position). It also needed a paint job.
After one particular time that I located some cars for them, one of
the brothers offered to do the body work and paint on my B instead of
just paying me for the locator work. It was what I thought I wanted,
so I took them up on it and delivered the car by trailer to their
shop in fall of 1989. One of the conditions of this "great deal" was
they would do it when they had time.. I was thinking "Spring 1990"!
I let them keep it a couple of years before I said anything much, we
were all pretty busy in those days. I finally told them I would just
bring the car home, but they assured me they would get it done. The
next year, I offered to pay them to get it done and they still
assured me they were going to do it. I know, I should of just
dragged it home, but I had this blind faith in the overall good of
people.
Along about that time, I got out of the car biz and had an auction to
sell off some of my antique cars and parts. They brought some of
their cars over to sell too. Several if them didn't sell and they
left 2 of them in storage at my shed.
After that, life got real busy for me, when my parents became ill and
I put all my outside hobbies and endeavors aside. The restoration
shop went bust along about that time and I lost track of the brothers
and the MG, so I just went on my way, figuring I would sell their
cars I had in storage to recoup my losses.
About a month ago one of the brothers called me up, wanted to know if
I still had his cars. I replied, "yeah, you still have my damn MG,
in one piece?"
You know what? They brought my MG home. It's still all there,
except it sat in the weather a long time and the interior is gone.
However, the body work was done and looks like it might of been
painted at some point. The motor is intact and turns over too, so
hope burns eternal in my heart. I want to put her back on the road,
but I'm not in a big hurry this time. I want to slowly restore the
car and keep any work I don't do, local and in a timely manner.
Daddy always told me to never look a gift horse in the mouth. I just
had to learn it the hard way.
Thanks for being here.
John
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