• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Don't you just wonder

Share this page

jlaird

jlaird

Great Pumpkin
Country flag
Offline
Who or what kind of folks let these little jems get in such bad condition. Park em outside under a tree and just let em go. I have seen so many over the years in such a poor state, including many in junk yards in years past. It's enough to make one sad indeed.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonod.gif
 
Those same people that neglected our favorite cars back then are now neglecting their Honda's and Toyota's.
Only today the cars go longer with no maintainance.
Back in the 60s, car maintainance was a monthly chore, in the 30s it was a weekly chore, today it's an annual chore.
100,000 miles on plugs. Geeze, I was lucky to see 2500 miles on a set of plugs. I bought many Sprites cheap that only needed a points ajustment or a couple of spark plugs to get em running perfect again.
 
The other side of the coin is...If they haden't taken
such bad care of them,most of us wouldn't have them now.

- Doug
 
I got the Midget I have to day for $450.00 because the PO couldn't figure out a simple electrical problem. I had it running by the end of day one. Of course I still have less driving hours than time spent working on the vehicle. It's a trade off. I don't think I would want to own or drive a 100,000 mile maintenance-free econo-box. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/pukeface.gif

(I can hardly believe I'm saying that though after having every vehicle I own break down this past weekend!) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nopity.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

JACK
 
I saved my Midget from being under a tree, of course it ran when I bought it, but at least it didn't fall apart. I spent 2000 on the car in 1997 and here it is 2006 and I've spent almost $5000 in storage fees. but in my crazy mind it was worth it, because it stayed dry, and with the exception of the tires rotting, and a little dust she's a-ok.
 
I spent $1300 on mine about two months ago, and I probably have an equal amount of work and drive time on it so far (however the work time is starting to increase). Yet, I drove the thing home about 100 miles the day I bought it and haven't had to shell out a ton of cash for anything yet . Of course I probably just cursed myself with that sentence. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif The PO is quite a LBC nut himself, although he did neglect this car a bit. He loaned it out to his brother-in-law to use as a driver, and he duly drove it into the ground. It's an ugly duckling, but it drives (well did as of last weekend).

As for 100k mile econo-boxes, well something can be said for them. I drive my Wife's previous car, a Suzuki Aerio on a daily basis because it gets great gas mileage, starts right up and goes everyday, and it has enough room in the hatchback to hold all of my Army gear. Yeah, kind of hilarious to see a guy in BDU's getting out of a little Suzuki. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif But, I don't treat it like a 100k mile econo-box. It gets regular oil changes, sparkplug replacing and various other pamperings alongside the Sprite and my Wife's 4Runner. I know this will kill some of you guys, but the fact that it was designed and actually assembled in Japan gives me some sense of ease as well.

My goal with the Sprite is to get it into a condition that can compete with the Suzuki for the "Simmons Household Most Favored Daily Driver" status. But if it leaves me high and dry before a formation one day and I have to do several hundred push-ups because of it, me and the Sprite will have words. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif

Okay...that was a bit of a rant. Gotta stop drinking coffee. Back to speaking Chinese.

Joel
 
[ QUOTE ]
.... I don't think I would want to own or drive a 100,000 mile maintenance-free econo-box.

[/ QUOTE ]

There's something to be said for reliability, and being warm and dry when its cold and wet.... But I'm not as young and resilient as I used to be.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonod.gif
 
The only reason I bought a midget is because it was in need of rescue and I felt sorry of the way the owner had left it there.
 
I bought my 76 midget as an inexpensive way to get into the classic car restoration world. The car is not complicated (except for the electrical) and my wife can't wait till the restoration is complete.
 
[ QUOTE ]
....and my wife can't wait till the restoration is complete.

[/ QUOTE ]

My wife's like that too... but she also seems oddly determined to find everything she can to put in its way too.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
It is a shame that so many of them end up rotting away. Mine was rescued from a friend's garage after it broke down a long time ago. He just never got around to fixing it since it wasn't his daily driver anyway. On the plus side, it only had 28,000 miles on it, but 18 years of sitting around coupled with a few problems it had before it broke down didn't help matters. I just got to talking with this guy once and I mentioned I've always wanted an MGB or a Midget and he told me about it. He didn't want to junk it since he figured it could be worth something someday, and he was always hoping somebody who could fix it up would give it the TLC it needed. Lucky for both of us! So, I bought for $600 and put another $2000 (at last count) into new parts and repairs. The P.O. and I did reach an agreement that if I ever decide to sell it he gets to make the first offer. Anyway, we're happy that it had a rebirth and is actually on the road instead of gathering dust in his garage, and I'm happy that I found one that wasn't a complete basket case.
-Dave
 
Dave - my '74 RWA Midget was like that...a female friend of my wife owned it since new but it had been sitting in her garage forever with a bad fuel pump...her daughter was almost 16 & was eyeing it so she sold it to me to get it out of her daughter's plans.....wife actually found it & made the deal...new fuel pump & tuneup & its a blast!
 
I've rescued a bunch that way, myself. I was driving down a back road in northern California a few years back, and caught a glimpse of a Bugeye in a guys yard, sitting on a delapidated trailer. I stopped, and he told me it had been his nephews, who had planned on turning it into a race car. It had been in his barn for 13 years, and he wanted it gone. $75.00, and I had to take the trailer, too. THAT was a "no brainer."
The latest was a '74 Midget that had been sitting at a friends shop for 10 years. A woman had dropped it off for service, and had never come back to claim it. All I had to pay for that one was the cost of the gas to towbar it home. Only had to replace one tire before starting on the 25 mile tow.
Jeff
 
Back
Top