Bugleditor
Freshman Member
Offline
After having garaged a friend's 1960 MGA Roadster for seven or eight years, we finally bought it. I practically grew up in a service (gas) station in the 1960s, which my father owned. I limited myself to washing windows. My younger brother pumped the gas and later went on to teach material science (auto shop, to us older folks). Alas, the mechanical inclination was something I was never too interested in, and now find myself wishing I had paid a bit more attention.
My husband and I, enjoy driving the MGA but when adding up the receipts from our local "atomic age" garage, realized we spent more in repair bills than the car was worth -- at least monetarily. I've just found that all the things which I paid dearly to have fixed, really aren't fixed, so I find myself wanting to finally get my hands dirty. My next project will be to borrow back some service ramps (which I had given away), and figure out how to install seat belts. Then, I'm going to replace the fuel-sending unit gasket and the oil filter gasket. Hopefully, that'll keep my garage floor cleaner.
We did spring for a fuel injection system (rather than the dual carburetors), changed the wiring harness, and converted the car to 12 volts with an alternator. I have learned my lesson and any of the next, major upgrades will involve my brother, round-trip airline tickets for him and his wife, and perhaps a few shows on the Las Vegas Strip. Sadly, had I done that before blowing up my budget at "molecular motors," I would have saved at least $15-20k.
Anyway, that's all behind me. I love driving this car. We're staying off the highway until I get seatbelts installed, but it's so fun to take for weekend breakfasts, a quick jaunt to the supermarket, and the occasional, quick errand around town. The appreciative glances and comments, make me wish I had bought it long ago, while it was just garaged in an extra space at my home.
I have one of the Morris Garage "Safety Fast" signs and plan to install it on the garage door, as quickly as I get the seatbelts done.
My husband and I, enjoy driving the MGA but when adding up the receipts from our local "atomic age" garage, realized we spent more in repair bills than the car was worth -- at least monetarily. I've just found that all the things which I paid dearly to have fixed, really aren't fixed, so I find myself wanting to finally get my hands dirty. My next project will be to borrow back some service ramps (which I had given away), and figure out how to install seat belts. Then, I'm going to replace the fuel-sending unit gasket and the oil filter gasket. Hopefully, that'll keep my garage floor cleaner.
We did spring for a fuel injection system (rather than the dual carburetors), changed the wiring harness, and converted the car to 12 volts with an alternator. I have learned my lesson and any of the next, major upgrades will involve my brother, round-trip airline tickets for him and his wife, and perhaps a few shows on the Las Vegas Strip. Sadly, had I done that before blowing up my budget at "molecular motors," I would have saved at least $15-20k.
Anyway, that's all behind me. I love driving this car. We're staying off the highway until I get seatbelts installed, but it's so fun to take for weekend breakfasts, a quick jaunt to the supermarket, and the occasional, quick errand around town. The appreciative glances and comments, make me wish I had bought it long ago, while it was just garaged in an extra space at my home.
I have one of the Morris Garage "Safety Fast" signs and plan to install it on the garage door, as quickly as I get the seatbelts done.