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Since Peter spilled the beans over in the pub I might as well come clean.
https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?101616-Does-AAA-do-interventions-
There's a long backstory, starting with a lousy year in 2014, moving to a show quality '67 VW Beetle, going through conversations in California and a drive to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, finishing with a bored afternoon search for RHD cars. This car showed up, and I got interested.
Decided to try one of the commercial inspection companies, and got a good inspection done (took a bit longer than I would have liked, but things happen). Made the call and the deal, and the car is mine. Still deciding if I'm going to ship it or drive up and tow it home.
Car is a 1966 Morris Minor 4 door sedan, sold originally in the UK (RHD, of course). Mechanicals are all very similar to our Spridgets so that's a bunch less to have to learn about. Still has its original UK plate, and I was able to look it up in the DVLA (British DMV) system and find its original date of registration. Neat.
So why another car after my prior mishaps with more than one car? Partly it's the reality that finishing my Bugeye is going to take a while, and I really don't want to be without something to drive for the next couple years -- I need the stress relief of a nice drive. The lesson learned was that I needed to be much more careful to buy a car at a fair price (not always been my strong point) and to find something I really felt a connection with -- the MGBs never really did it for me despite their qualities. This is also a more comfy car (compared to the Bugeye) so it's something my wife will ride in with me.
Been interested in the Minor for a few years now, especially given the shared mechanical pieces with the Sprite. The more I researched this car in particular, the more it felt like the right car for me. It's a driver for sure, with a few things to sort out eventually, but it should be up to some use right away.
So what about my contract with my wife that I wouldn't buy anything else for a few years? Well, contracts can be renegotiated or even bought out sometimes. In unrelated news, she now has a brand new Mac laptop and likely some new earrings on the way. :grin:
https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?101616-Does-AAA-do-interventions-
There's a long backstory, starting with a lousy year in 2014, moving to a show quality '67 VW Beetle, going through conversations in California and a drive to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, finishing with a bored afternoon search for RHD cars. This car showed up, and I got interested.
Decided to try one of the commercial inspection companies, and got a good inspection done (took a bit longer than I would have liked, but things happen). Made the call and the deal, and the car is mine. Still deciding if I'm going to ship it or drive up and tow it home.
Car is a 1966 Morris Minor 4 door sedan, sold originally in the UK (RHD, of course). Mechanicals are all very similar to our Spridgets so that's a bunch less to have to learn about. Still has its original UK plate, and I was able to look it up in the DVLA (British DMV) system and find its original date of registration. Neat.


So why another car after my prior mishaps with more than one car? Partly it's the reality that finishing my Bugeye is going to take a while, and I really don't want to be without something to drive for the next couple years -- I need the stress relief of a nice drive. The lesson learned was that I needed to be much more careful to buy a car at a fair price (not always been my strong point) and to find something I really felt a connection with -- the MGBs never really did it for me despite their qualities. This is also a more comfy car (compared to the Bugeye) so it's something my wife will ride in with me.
Been interested in the Minor for a few years now, especially given the shared mechanical pieces with the Sprite. The more I researched this car in particular, the more it felt like the right car for me. It's a driver for sure, with a few things to sort out eventually, but it should be up to some use right away.
So what about my contract with my wife that I wouldn't buy anything else for a few years? Well, contracts can be renegotiated or even bought out sometimes. In unrelated news, she now has a brand new Mac laptop and likely some new earrings on the way. :grin: