Doug,
>From the Digest, the great team here has addressed your question well. The
answer seems to have been reached. However, I can't resist contributing.
But, I am one of the worst folks to give advice on your important question.
The reason is that in 1985, we were faced with the problem of a baby on the
way, the Healeys were years and years away from being able to run and our
work horse vehicle had 200k plus miles.
What we did was secure an '85 Mustang GT. We drove it regularly,
autocrossed it a bit and enjoyed the heck out of it.
The '85 is still with us and has less than 70k miles. Five years back,
thought presented itself that it should be sold to fund getting the 3000 in
shape. One problem there was that even though the car is undamaged, wears
near
perfect paint, runs great, the resale value is near zilch. It is a
conservative body style (I could never appreciate the '86 add-ons), it is the
last of
the series to have a carb - a good and bad thing- , has the HI-PO, roller cam,
Freon AC that has never leaked and has no problem chilling that greenhouse
down as cold as one could stand, etc, making it somewhat special to us.
However, it is not special to most.
So, we keep it in good (i.e. great) shape, enjoy the heck out of it on hot
days, cold days without snow, rainy days and for long Western trips that
exploit its true GT heritage. Fifth gear is not quite usable unless you over
60.
On the other hand the 3000 gets out as often as possible; for long mountain
drives, shows, tours, club functions, etc, etc.
There is no shorting the quality and character of many of the Mustang folks
we know either. Although, most of them have become vintage oriented too.
The passage of time will do that, I guess. The Healey people are a special
lot. A breed apart.
As much as the cars are different, they also show similar roots.
This is why I am one of the worst to consider about the situation. Parting
with either seems unthinkable. If pressed to the ultimate decision point,
the GT would be put up for sale. The A-H society, the feel of the roadster,
the sounds, the history, etc., etc., Cutting loose the 3000 would make a
vacuum in our lives that would not be easily filled.
Best Regards,
Bill
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