Hi Gordie,
See that's what i thought when he asked $4600 for it (which i would have
been happy to pay), although i definately also got the MG-lovers discount
(he turned down a dealer who offered him more, because he said he trusted me
to look after the car properly!). Certainly it was the best condition i had
seen a MGB in three months of looking. There were however been certain
things that needed fixing, and other things that have cropped up since. Some
of which i suspect he knew about. For instance a vapour lock problem due to
the resorbtion canisters, which someone had patently attempted to fix by
replacing the tank in the vapour line. Also there was quite a bit of
half-assed electrical work which i had to pull out and replace or fix. The
PO didn't do any work on it himself, he always took it to a shop (which
isn't listed as an mg-specilaist) which probably explains some of the funny
things that have been done to the car.
Other than regular servicing, i had the car fully serviced just after i
bought it, and tidied up the electrics considerably, replaced various random
bits and bobs that needed fixing, and put in a new ignition system. total so
far probably $800.
This month i intend to have the carb pulled and stripped (the cost of the
tools = the cost of getting someone to do it for me, who knows what they are
doing far more than i do). The vacuum advance doesn't work, and the timing
needs adjusting. Other than that, the front springs need replacing at some
point, and a little bit of steering play fixed by fiddling with them bloody
shims (which may as well be done at the same time). The transmission and
engine both leak a very small amount of oil. Oh, and there's a mysterious
white spot on the radiator, which the mechnic who checked out the car
spotted and cautioned me to keep an eye on. Finally the soft-top will need
replacing in the next few years, and he'll get a new paint job in that
time-frame too.
The car is already in much better mechanical shape than when i bought it,
due to my TLC, and i intend to more-than keep it . So if i ever sell it,
maybe i could sell it to you for an even more-inflated price! ;-)
cheers
Joe
___________________________
Dr. Joseph Garner
University of California
Department of Animal Science
One Shields Avenue
Davis
CA 95616
USA
Phone: (530) 754 5291
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gordon Bird [mailto:gb@the-bdc.com]
> Sent: Friday, July 07, 2000 11:56 AM
> To: Mgs@autox.team.net
> Subject: RE: MGB advice/opinions
>
>
>
> > compression. The mechanic who checked it out was very
> > impressed (he said it
> > was the best non-restored car he had ever seen) but found a
> > couple of small
> > things that would need fixing within the next year. the owner
> > wanted $4600,
> > i bought the car for $4000 (which a couple of mechanics i
> > know agreed was a
> > fair to cheap price). I have probably spent $800 in the last
> > few months
> > fixing the things which needed doing, so that squared up. for other
> > estimates of price check out online trader.
>
>
> IME that is a very cheap price! I ran across the 80 B that I
> bought new,
> now on its 4th owner, but still as orig as I sold it
> (desmogged with Weber
> DCOE) and looking immaculate. Orig paint, top, everything, even Ansa
> exhaust I put on. I sold at 42k miles, now has 64k miles.
> Current owner
> said he paid $8k in '98. I sold it in '89 for $4500, and he
> turned down my
> offer of $10k to get it back. I guess I would consider one
> with 7k on the
> clock, and original in great shape for $11k.
> I agree with Joseph that it does need a thorough checking out though.
> Just MHO,
>
> Gordie Bird
> 62 MGA
> 80 MGB (not orig, or even real nice, but fairly cheap
> ($2500)and real solid
> body)
> 86 Audi 4kq (not worth squat, but great shape and fun in snow
> and on track)
>
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