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Re: rebuild or part out?

To: "MG List" <mgs@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: rebuild or part out?
From: "Rich C" <richchrysler@quickclic.net>
Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 20:05:05 -0500
Hello all,
I've been following this thread with interest for the last few days. I am 
looking at the general theme of the replies and find that many of the 
listers are perhaps too quick to scrap or part out a car which, being a 
Series 1, is among the last of the purer Abingdon products produced when BMC 
was still at the reins. Thereafter the bean counters began to cause the slow 
but steady decline in quality of components, workmanship, craftsmanship and 
so on.

With the series 2 cars, other than a stronger gearbox (actually developed to 
handle the torque of the MGC), the seats went to vinyl, the switches to 
cheap plastic rocker types, the North American market got stuck with the 
ugly "Abindon pillow" dashboard, the first forms of pollution regulations 
saw a recirculating air pump and less horsepower, and so on.

The Series 1 cars will be the first to become "collectors items". Don't 
scoff at that statement, I know folks will say, "too many were made to ever 
become collector's items" but they said that about the original VW beetle 
and Willy's series 1 jeeps too, and they're all on the climb now.

What I guess I'm trying to state here is that there very soon will come the 
day when the increasingly rare Series 1 B's will become the high dollar 
cars, and the best ones to give garage space to. Every one that is scrapped 
from here on will be most unfortunate, when it could actually be resurrected 
and begin a new life. If you are afraid of the cost of restoration 
exceeeding the market value, this will only change for the better as time 
goes by. And you will never be able to restore one cheaper than you can 
today.

It isn't the car to buy to fix up and sell, expecting to make money, but if 
you can find a keeper for the long term, grab it, do the best job you can on 
it, don't screw with it's authenticity, and when completed, drive it...a 
lot!

Rich Chrysler




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