Poor guy, I really feel for him because I know there is no cure.
I stopped to get something cold to drink after work and this guy pulled in with a 69 Midget.
He also has a CHERRY 62 Morris Minor pickup that has been gone through and a Mini on top of that.
The worst part is the enfeebled fellow also has a damn Edsel he is working on!
Double Whammy.
The dreaded and often fatal British/Ford Disease.
I self cured of the Ford part of it after suffering for a few decades.
I know how bad it can get.
His is a later generation than mine and I have a bunch of parts for those that I tried to GIVE to the guy but he didn’t want them.
There may be some small glimmer of hope for him after all…
Some of us still enjoy our affliction.
Better than the alternatives.
Leigh
Whitehall, NY
Yeah, it could be worse I guess.
Hell yes it can! I served my Brit time with a Spitfire. Had the car for 8 months. 7.5 months IN THE SHOP!. Got rid of it. Then a beautiful Fiat Spyder winked at me. I thought it said “come do me now”. Nope. What it really said was “hold my beer”. I owned that car 5 years. Rebuilt the engine 3 times. Total mileage was LESS THAN 2 MILES. Sold it to a kid whose father was a GM tech. He made engine mounts and put a shitty GM 4 banger from a Sunfire in it. Served it right.
I feel your pain
I’m afflicted with the dreaded “Old Japanese Car” variant…..
Volkswagen- Making owners into mechanics since WWII.
Shit, I have ‘Old Jap Bike’ disease. I’ve got 6 in the garage; one runs at the moment.
Worse yet, I have an affinity for Honda CB F-bikes. They’re sort of rare in this country, so everything’s expensive. I can use SOHC 750 parts for a lot of it, but the engine parts have to be DOHC.
Hey, I’ve seen one of those (the black one) tooling around town before.
Next time wave and yell Howdy.
That one is mine.
I’ve never understood how the Brits could build some of the most beautiful cars ever made, yet reliability was treated like a disease. Damned shame.
Hey, SOMEbody has to love the Morris Minor – knowwhutimsayin?
Hats off to BOTH of you for keeping up the efforts, Phil!!
I wanted various British cars for decades despite owning a 1952 Ford Prefect, a personal representative of evil.
I still want a few Jags, a Bently and an Aston Martin.
But own one?
Not unless I inherit the Brazillian Fortune.
Oh god, there are more of you out there?
We’re everywhere……
My ex Father-in-Law had a rare variant … antique wooden sailboat syndrome.
After a ’68 B, a ’66 Sprite, a ’64 TR4 and a Rover 3.5 I switched to ’68 to ’72 GM j bodies (Chevelle, LeMans, Cutlass and Skylark) and never looked back. Though afterwards I apparently had way too much beer money for my own good.
My old man had a 60 MG-A, a B convertible and a MGC-GT (a 6 cyl.). I got to help him work on them and learn all about tools and foul language but mostly how to “hold the flashlight still dammit!”
The guy is an idiot for not wanting the parts.
I had more than a few brit sports car in my time. best one was a 69 bgt that had a buick 215 engine in it, punch out to 300 ci. it was too much for the wire wheels though. had to go with disc ones instead. other ones, a couple of MGs and another bgt68 that was kept stock. electrics where always a problem- virgin brass
was given some grease compound they used on high voltage x ray machine leads
and that fixed that problem. the only time it dies after that was when the alt or starter died.
when they work, they are a blast to drive. nothing gives the same feel of a tiny 4 banger running its heart out on a turning road.
they are not great in snow- do not ask me how I know this !
never paid more than 2 grand for a running one either.
drove a Mg 1100- a fun but very weird car to drive- kind of like floated along ?
anyway, went cold turkey about 12 years ago, sold off a lot of parts and gave one guy a hell of a deal on the rest.
over the years I have learned there are 2 main types of brit car nuts. the ones who will slide under the car with you along side the road and even help you get the parts you need to get going again.
and the others, the ones who badger you about “getting a good deal” on parts you already gave them a break on . but will rob your ass if you need anything from them.
the guy who came to buy a pair of NOS fenders went away with a ton of stuff for
a extra 50 bucks. brake lines in the box, valves and springs, head bolt set- new
api. and god knows what else I gave him, tools I know and a lot more.
his little pickup truck was LOADED DOWN with parts.
HE was a very nice guy with a couple of kids and he didn’t try to cry over the price of the fenders- sold and take all of this other stuff with you too !
he had a 1971 MGBgt that he was working on at the time.
he had while he was in school and was rebuilding it, or so he said.
had a MGA twin cam engine too at one time, sold it at hershey car show for 3 grand and change I think.
still have a metal box that held a timing chain for something, I forget what now.
sold off a ton of old new stock lens and lights and other small stuff I pick up at a sale one time, a very long time ago now.
got them at a auction from a old brit car dealer that closed down back in the 1980’s
too old to mess with any of that stuff these days. hell I even have a old volvo
SU repair book still !
funny thing though, when they are set up the right way, they are amazing carbs
and great for gas mileage too !
but if you want to go fast in a hurry, go with a weber carb every time.
so, yes. it is a sickness that is very hard to break. I fully understand why Phil has a damn old sprite !
if I ever hit the lotto, I might get another MGBGT in v8 as they are a real blast to drive. hell, you even look good driving one !