Hello all.
I'm new to this list and I'd like to introduce myself.
My name is Bob Skelly and I live in New Freedom, PA (just north of
Baltimore). I currently own a '76 TR6 which I bought in 1986. It
was really rough (lots-o-rust) and I spent the next three years trying
de-rustify it.
My first TR experience was with my brother's car when I was 14. It was a
'68 Spitfire Mk III that he bought with a blown engine and a very solid body.
I remember pulling the engine in our unheated garage during a very cold
Christmas break... we just lifted the powerplant out, my brother on one side,
me on the other. I learned so much from working on that car (but not so much
as to not want to own another one).
I eventually took possession of that car when I was in college. I kept it until
I had to sell it for tuition money... it was a sad day for me watching its new
owner drive it away. I had spent most of my "formative years" with it and
I felt like I was losing a friend. I vowed that I would own another.
And I did. I bought a '74 Spitfire in 1985. I really didn't have much of a
place
to work on it other than an old shed behind the house that my wife and I were
renting.
It was fully equipped with a dirt floor and a hole in the roof the size of a
Spit radiator. I brought the car home without brakes (master cylinder shot) and
without headlights (seller yanked his stereo out along with the lighting
circuit).
I fixed the mechanicals, repainted the car, re-did the interior and drove it for
the summer. I had to sell it in the fall since we were trying to scrape up
enough
money for a down-payment on our first house (with a real garage).
The following summer, I bought the TR6. I was a little apprehensive about
switching
away from Spitfires, but it turns out that the two models are very similar. I
really enjoy the car as do my wife and two daughters... it's always a fight to
determine who is going to ride with me.
Anyway, when I "discovered" this list, I stayed up most of the night reading
thru some old SOL Digests... thoroughly enjoyed reading them and feel like I've
found a home. Hope I can contribute when I can.
-Bob
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Bob Skelly rjs@caess1.cae.aro.allied.com
Applications Engineer bob_skelly@mentorg.com
Mentor Graphics Corporation (301) 990-1265
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