What started out as a pretty good day ended up in a complete disaster. As the day started out, I received my Porter manual and the Bentley book for '75-'80 Bs (already had the green book from early 60s). I installed my new fuel pump and ran new rubber hoses under the car. I fed in some fresh fuel and attempted a startup. No go on the startup so far; probably need a tune up, not unexpected.
Now, for a bit of background: I still live at home with the 'rents, and as such, the garage is not essentially mine. It is, for lack of a better term, a cluster bomb of junk piled up every which way but loose. This is not good for a little MG. In particular, one member of the family isn't exactly careful around the car; over the last year or so, a bicycle was dropped against the car, resulting in a huge gash in the paint. I would frequently come home and find various things "stored" in the interior, on the luggage rack and even on the convertible top. Recently, my nephew was allowed to play inside the car, resulting in his breaking of the wiper stalk on the column. Not exactly a cheap or easy item to come by or repair.
Today was a breaking point: I came home and found 10 big sheets of plywood propped up against the car. After I cleaned my glasses and found what I was seeing to not be an illusion, I went ballistic. The reason? "No one was here to help unload it from your truck." And: "Where else was I supposed to put it?" WHA?!
I'm not sure if it was sheer anger giving me added strength, but I moved every sheet of it out of there and out to where it should've been. When I got the last sheet out, my horror was realized: the side mirror was broken from the weight. The mount bracket tabs were sheared off and the housing cracked. There are things that make you go "hmmm" and things that make you go "ARGH!". This is the latter of these.
With all that's happened so far and the current circumstances, I'm beginning to seriously consider if keeping the car at this stage is the responsible thing to do. I don't really see the garage situation changing in the near or distant future; if anything, it would probably get worse. That may, however, be the cynic in me. I realize that making decisions in the heat of the moment isn't the best thing to do, so I will take some time to mull things over.
If it came down to it, I'd much rather sell the car to someone who could/would take care of it and love it as opposed to keeping it in an environment where it would be subject to damage and lack of proper care. Selling it isn't necessarily something I want to do per se, but responsibility to the car would supersede that.
I apologize for the lengthy post...any advice or thoughts you might have would be greatly appreciated.
Now, for a bit of background: I still live at home with the 'rents, and as such, the garage is not essentially mine. It is, for lack of a better term, a cluster bomb of junk piled up every which way but loose. This is not good for a little MG. In particular, one member of the family isn't exactly careful around the car; over the last year or so, a bicycle was dropped against the car, resulting in a huge gash in the paint. I would frequently come home and find various things "stored" in the interior, on the luggage rack and even on the convertible top. Recently, my nephew was allowed to play inside the car, resulting in his breaking of the wiper stalk on the column. Not exactly a cheap or easy item to come by or repair.
Today was a breaking point: I came home and found 10 big sheets of plywood propped up against the car. After I cleaned my glasses and found what I was seeing to not be an illusion, I went ballistic. The reason? "No one was here to help unload it from your truck." And: "Where else was I supposed to put it?" WHA?!
I'm not sure if it was sheer anger giving me added strength, but I moved every sheet of it out of there and out to where it should've been. When I got the last sheet out, my horror was realized: the side mirror was broken from the weight. The mount bracket tabs were sheared off and the housing cracked. There are things that make you go "hmmm" and things that make you go "ARGH!". This is the latter of these.
With all that's happened so far and the current circumstances, I'm beginning to seriously consider if keeping the car at this stage is the responsible thing to do. I don't really see the garage situation changing in the near or distant future; if anything, it would probably get worse. That may, however, be the cynic in me. I realize that making decisions in the heat of the moment isn't the best thing to do, so I will take some time to mull things over.
If it came down to it, I'd much rather sell the car to someone who could/would take care of it and love it as opposed to keeping it in an environment where it would be subject to damage and lack of proper care. Selling it isn't necessarily something I want to do per se, but responsibility to the car would supersede that.
I apologize for the lengthy post...any advice or thoughts you might have would be greatly appreciated.