I just got a good look at a TC that an acquaintance has had in storage
for the past 17 years. The car appears to be absolutely complete, with
no rusted panels that I could see or feel, and no wood problems either
that I could detect. He wants to sell it to me, and I need some advice
and/or encouragement and/or warnings!
The owner is a recently retired car dealer - in fact, the TC is still
being stored at the shop at his old dealership where he maintains an
office. His top mechanic clipped a battery charger to it, dropped a fuel
line tube into a can of gas, and it started right up and PURRS. He says
the brakes are completely out, and I noted a LOT of play in the steering
wheel (we didn't move or roll the car at all). There are the requisite
dust, scratches, scrapes, and dings in the body, but no real damage. The
tach is missing. He said that the gas tank will need cleaning out and
repair of some sort, but that they (he and the mechanics at the
dealership) have started it and looked after it regularly while it's been
there. He has the original manuals and a couple of other old TC books.
Here are my questions. Are there any serious problems that such a car
might have that I should look for? (Note: define serious to mean
"expensive") The owner is a good acquaintance (but not a beer-drinking
buddy) who I generally trust, but he is, after all, a car salesman at
heart and the line "I really want you to have this car, Bill, so I'm
going to make it easy for you to buy it" sounds, well, you know...
For me only, the price is $7000 ($9000 or more for anyone else). I
have a Morgan +4 in the middle of an expensive frame off restoration, and
just bought a '59 MGA a few weeks ago. I'm not a rich guy, and my wife has
all the usual hangups about spending money, but this is really tempting.
So, fellow lbc'ers, what should I do? Walk away from it? Jump on it?
Take it for a test drive w/o brakes? Offer him less? I couldn't
possibly do anything with it or to it until I finish the Morgan, and
that's at least another year.
These decisions are tough! All help will be greatly appreciated.
Bill
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