Hi Brad & welcome from a Lurker!
What part of "Eastern " Canada are you from? If you're truly in the
East, then you're close to me and Terry (another Lister) here in Nova
Scotia and you should consider joining the British Automobile Touring
Association of Nova Scotia (with members from all of the Atlantic
Provinces and beyond - see: www.BATANS.ns.ca)
Spridgets are great cars to work on yourself, if you're willing to learn
a few new cuss words. Parts, for the most part, are easy to find.
Performance is in the eye of the beholder (as is beauty). You'll see
lots of comments in the archives about 5-speed conversions, 1275 cc
blocks, etc., and Bugeyes vs. later Spridgets vs. Spitfidgets For me,
there's nothing more beautiful than driving a Bugeye with a 948 cc down
a winding country road (and not much that's more painful than spending a
lot of time on the highway at 110 km/h but I used to do it regularly).
There are lots of quality books on mechanics and body but this List tops
them all! If you're interested in originality, I suggest you get the
Sprite Concours Standards.
The biggest challenge you'll face, I suspect, is locating a car in
Canada that is relatively rust-free. The body is the expensive part of
maintenance, in my experience. I recommend developing contacts in local
Clubs to assist with finding the car that's right for you.
Geoff Muttart
gmuttart@mtdc.ns.ca
Bugeye Sprite
Nova Scotia, Canada
----- Original Message -----
From "Brad Stevenson" <bstevenson at imagictv.com>
To: "Spridgets" <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2000 5:05 PM
Subject: Looking for a little guidance
> Hi all,
>
> I've been lurking on your group for a few days now, so I thought it
only
> polite to introduce myself.
>
> My name is Brad Stevenson and I live in Eastern Canada. I've been an
LBC fan
> ever since I was I teenager, but for reasons of practicality I've
never
> owned one. I currently don't have a garage at my house or an abundance
of
> extra $$, however by this time next year I plan on being in a position
where
> I have a garage and perhaps a little extra money to spend on some
> non-necessities. So, for now I'm doing my research to try and minimize
any
> huge blunders when I go to purchase my first LBC.
>
> The things I consider to be important in a little sports car would be
> 1 Performance
> 2 Looks
> 3 Price
> 4 Availability and price of parts
> 5 Availability of resources (advice, tech books, local mechanics, etc)
>
> Living where I do, there's not a lot to choose from. I'm prepared to
do a
> little traveling to get something worth while. I'm certainly not a
mechanic,
> but I'm not completely mechanically declined either. Given a book, I
can
> usually learn to do anything. I would say my budget to get started
will be
> less than $5000. This car isn't intended to be my only vehicle, so
down time
> won't be a problem.
>
> Alright, so I'll just get to the questions:
>
> - Is this just crazy for some one of average mechanic ability and who
can't
> afford to have a 'real' mechanic always working on my vehicle?
>
> - I guess given the things that are important to me, I'm leaning
towards say
> 67 - 74 MG Midget. This seems like a reasonable entry level purchase,
based
> on what I've read so far, but I'd like to hear what the voices of
experience
> have to say. Hopefully not "My God man, don't buy one of them!"
>
> - Any specifics books you recommend I read over the next few months?
>
> I picked this car because they seem reasonably priced. Reasonably
plentiful,
> so there should be some parts around. They are a damn fine looking
car, and
> seem to have a bit more guts than some of the earlier Spridgets.
>
> Anyway, I'd sure appreciate any advice/words of wisdom anyone might
wish to
> share. Also, if anyone would like to take the time to give their
thoughts on
> a compare and contrast discussion around Midget vs MGB (given the
criteria
> above), I'd be real interested in listening. Possibly same discussion
on
> Spridget vs. TR6?
>
> All right, time to take a breath.
>
> Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post! I truly look
forward
> to hearing your comments and opinions.
>
> Brad
>
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