Barn Find

[Member 10617]

Hi, MG guys. I don't have an MG... I have a 1958 TR3A and I normally post on the Triumph thread. But I wanted to show you a barn find that belongs to a friend of mine. She doesn't want to spend the money to restore it, and she cannot bear to part with it (it was her late father's), so there it sits and will continue to sit for another 30 years... Sad sight.

 

[drooartz]

Very cool -- and a real shame that it won't be restored anytime soon. Looks pretty straight, really, under all the bird poop. But given the family connections it's understandable.

 

[Member 10617]

It's in really great shape (for the shape it is in), and best of all it is all there. None of the parts are missing, although some will have to be replaced.

 

[drooartz]

I'd be tempted to offer free (proper) storage for it, just to keep it from getting any worse.

 

[Member 10617]

I would gladly offer free storage, but I only have a one-car garage, and it holds my TR3. The 51 MG TD is under a shed and is protected from rain and snow, but not from the elements and animals, as you can clearly see.

 

[Marvin Gruber]

Car needs to be cleaned up and protected. She needs to do something with it soon or its going to be a parts car. I know of a TF thats been sitting in a car port for 30+ years and the owners won't do anything with it.

Marv

 

[Sarastro]

Sigh. Here I am busting my tail to restore a TD, and then I see one deteriorating like this. It's disheartening.

Still, a little creativity might solve the problem. Maybe you could find someone who is willing to restore it and value it as much as her father did--perhaps that might be a more fitting memorial to him than letting it rust away to nothing. Maybe if you put it to her that way, it might work.

 

[Member 10617]

Steve,

Good suggestion, but I tried that. She doesn't want to part with the car because she remembers riding around in it with her father, etc., etc. I even thought of offering to restore it for her -- I'd do the work for free and she would supply the parts -- but there is no adequate place on her farm to do the work and it's about 20 miles from my house. And, besides, after all the work on the car, it wouldn't be mine. Not an attractive deal for me.


I urged her to protect the front end, which is aimed at the open end of the shed. Otherwise, it is protected from storms, etc., etc. I believe it will just sit there and eventually become a parts car. Worse case: the old shed will collapse on the car ... and that will be that!

 

[drooartz]

Sad as it seems to us (especially as this one is not too far gone right now, but it's getting to that point), I suppose it's important enough to her to have it there as is.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Ed -

I went through a similar situation with Tony Barnhill's wife. If you want, I can email you the journal I wrote during the acquisition and rebuild of the BGT he was restoring for her.

Mickey

 

[aeronca65t]

I have a friend who has a Ford Model T pickup that belonged to her Dad. Same deal.....she can't deal with parting with it, so it just sits in the old family home (near Lime Rock).
She sold an MGA she restored with her Dad years ago still regrets it, so the old Ford may sit another 30 years.
I keep in contact with her, just in case.....

 

[PAUL161]

I know the feeling! I tried to buy a 1932 Chevy deluxe 6 wheeler once. It had been setting outside long enough for the roof to go bad and rain got inside and started rotting the wood frame. Chevys back then had Fisher bodies and the sheet metal was attached to a wooden frame. I asked the fellow if he would sell it and he said it was his fathers and didn't want to part with it! He had no money to cover it or store it inside. No way could I convince him to let me have it to restore it back to like new. I tried a couple more times, but no deal! About 5 years later I was in his area and drove by his house. The car was still in the exact spot, body was laying on the chassis in a pile of rust. Some people are funny that way. Naturally I just wrote it off and never looked back. PJ

 

[MarshgrassA]

It is a same but I can understand her feelings. Is there not a local club that could at least get it to a driver condition for her as a project?

 

[Member 10617]

Yes... I have made many suggestions, but she is unwilling to part with it and unable to have it restored. Unfortunately, the neariest British car club (or LBC club) is about 50 miles north of here. There isn't anyone around here in this small, country town who would take it on.

Because the car is under a shed, it is unlikely to melt away into a pile of rust, but it isn't going to get any better. I'll touch base with her once a year in the future to see if she changes her mind. Although, without a garage to put it in and to work on it, I can't purchase it, and although it is a nice car, it isn't a "valuable" MG.... If one were to restore it, there would be more money in it than it is worth or will be worth.

I just wish I had not seen it...

 

[Member 10617]

Hi, Mickey,

Thanks for the offer of the journal. I would like very much to see it. How should I send you my email... by PM?

 

[Mickey Richaud]

That'll be fine.

 

[Basil]

Oh man, what a find! I hope she eventually sells to someone who will give it the restoration is so richly deserves!

 

[vping]

Hopefully this one will not melt away. Close enough to me to save but if she's not parting with it no point in asking. One day she should part with it though along with the story of the car. That way the memories and car will live on.

 

[Member 10617]

Fraid so... she just doesn't want to part with it. If she were closer (she lives about 15 miles out in the county from me), I would stop by from time to time and tinker with the car to try to repair/restore/preserve some parts, but she's too far away.

If she ever changes her mind, I'll post it here. Unfortunately, I only have a one-car garage, so I can't take it on myself.

 

[SwamperCa]

Teasing us, I sure would like to get one like that.