Al:
When I first started restoring my own 75 B, a friend who'd been in the
game far longer than I said, "Being realistic? These cars, including
initial investment, are usually 5k to run well, 10k to run well and look
and feel nice, and 15k to show."
That was two years ago; including initial investment, I've got about
$5,500 in Rags. I won't count hours, or my own time cost. The car looks
okay and runs well (I'm being objective here; personally, I think it's
the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my garage, but I realise
that's somewhat, ah, subjective). I could have sold it, just after I
bought it, for around $2,500 or so; I paid $1200 for it. Right now, I
could probably sell it for $2,600.
But these numbers lie! Lie like dogs!
What they don't show is how much enjoyment I've gotten out of repairing,
restoring, and driving Rags. They don't show a graph of my mental
health going up, and stress level going down, every time I work on or
drive the car. They don't show the joy of teaching a 15-year old girl
about engines using the B as an example and family project. They don't
begin to measure the quality of life I've gotten, not to mention a fine
piece of transportation, for a very small investment. Using the same
money, I could've gone to the movies by myself twice a week for two
years straight. The way I measure it, what a bargain!
I'd put the car in storage if you don't have time to work on it right
now. Read some manuals in your (copious) free time. If the car runs,
well, drive it! It doesn't have to be a show quality car to be fun, and
it makes pretty good basic transportation. For the money you could get
for the car, you'd be hard pressed to buy something that would work any
better, even 10 years old or so. Rationalised well enough? KEEP IT!
Corey
75 MGB 'Rags'
RD#373750
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