Mike,
I believe you hit on it exactly. I never got a ride in an old Model A or T
when I was in my formative years and I still haven't. Not that there is
anything thing wrong with them. Geez, Fred Thomas has one. :>) I did have
lots of rides in 60's and 70's muscle cars -even owned a couple- but I
don't share the current craze for them that has them bringing $40,000 + for
Mustangs and Camaros. Quite a lot of collectors cars of any type do just
that- collect (dust) . I for one am glad that I'm part of that hardy lot of
Triumph owners that have their top down on a winter's day- enjoying the
cold crisp air and the gentle amount of warmth that can be obtained from an
LBC heater on full. We may well be nearing the end of another era,
according to the general public,that of the LBC. Thankfully, I'll not know
when that day comes because I'll still be puttering about in my TR6.
Jeff Johnson
'76 TR6 CF50378U purchased new
At 08:47 PM 3/13/00, Michael Thompson wrote:
>Hi Paul,
>I am very afraid you are right. I remember going to car shows in the 70's
>and 80's and seeing oodles of T's and A's (and maybe a little T n'A too) But
>it seemed thru the eighties the number took a dive. Our car club tried
>different things to get them out, but nothing seemed to work. JC Whitney
>used to have lots of pages dedicated to old Fords. Where did they all go?
>Did serious collectors buy them up after the wills were settled or are they
>all rotting in the grandkid's garages? Are our LBC's that are going to our
>kids destined to have thumping stereos, neon lights and hydralic
>suspensions? Or maybe just get pushed into a dark corner of the garage.
>
>What can we do to preserve the LBC way of life as well as all of our much
>appreciated support network of business'. The answer is: Everyone must find
>a new project work on. There are plenty of still unrestored TR's and MG's
>out there. Then we must nurture the little greasey LBC genes we passed down
>to our children so that they will continue to restore and drive our little
>rumbling gems of fun.
>
>That brings me to another observation. When I attended the VTR meet in
>Columbus in '99, I noticed a great number of TR's that do not see the
>outside of a garage. That is one reason I left the old american car clubs.
>They no longer get pleasure out of driving their cars. They are content just
>making sure that they are as shiney as possible, then sitting by the car and
>watching people look at their pile of parts. I ,for one, use my TR3 to get
>to work during 60% of the year and the rest of the time I drive my Series 2
>Land Rover. I continually try to educate the masses to appreciate what a
>Triumph, MG and etc. are. And yes I get tired of telling them "It's a
>Triumph not a MG" or "no it's not a Jeep, it's a Land Rover"
>
>Sorry for going on so long...
>Cheers,
>Mike Thompson
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