New member needing advice on first vintage car purchase

[GregAW]

Hello from Chatham-Kent, Ontario, the classic car capitol of Canada and home to RM Restorations and Sotheby’s Auctions.
I was and raised in a town where there has been a strong collector car community and I grew up with a gearhead father who spent his life working on cars with me holding the flashlight and learning creative curse words.
My wife and I were fortunate to be able to retire last year at the tender young age of 58 and I am finally looking at fulfilling a lifelong desire to purchase a vintage car to tinker with and get involved in the local car scene.
Buying local and trying to decide between a 1967 MGB roadster and a 1959 TR3A, both restored to honest driver conditions in the last few years and neither requiring any urgent attention and would allow immediate driving enjoyment.
Looking for some advice before I test drive them both this weekend and hopefully take one home to enjoy the tail end of this season of open road cruising.

Looking forward to the camaraderie!

 

[JPSmit]

Welcome and a lovely part of the world to be sure (I am in Prince Edward County). Congrats on your retirement and I can't imagine a better way to fritter away your pension than a little British car!

I don't think you can go wrong with either car. A lot will come down to how you fit and what you want to do. The Triumph is almost a decade older and doesn't have 'ammenities' like wind up windows. On the other hand it is the more unique car. If you want to go on longer trips I would likely lean to the MGB as it is the more 'refined' (refined being a relative term) if you want to poodle around to picnics and cruise nights I might lean to the TR3A.

Let the cars speak to you to help you decide - and in both cases (especially the B) there are lots out there so don't feel pressured to buy.

Finally if you don't already know British Car Day is on the horizon in Oakville - 3rd Sunday of September and the largest single day British show in North America - great place to show off.

British Car Day – British Car Day – September 17, 2023

 

[equiprx]

home to RM Restorations

Looking forward to the camaraderie!

Is RM Restorations the shop in the reality TV show?
That was my favorite of all the car resto shows.
Not only because of the prime cars they worked on (some were not worth a second look), but because of the interesting stories.

 

[GregAW]

Not sure if RM was featured in any reality television shows but in the classic car and restoration world, there is only one “RM” so it could very likely be.

RM stands for Rob Myers, a humble car guy from Chatham-Kent who grew up with simple means but grew one of the world’s premier auto restoration companies. Started restoring by cars for himself in his home garage, self-taught. And word got out about his work and it became his full-time job and the company just grew by leaps and bounds. They purchased Southebys auction house several years ago and the company RM now holds several records for auto sale prices at auction.

When I was a teenager in the early 80s Rob would let us car geeks stop by his shop (it was a small garage with maybe 3 bays and one lift) and he would give us a tour of what he was working on. And he always had at least 3 cars inside he was working on and a half dozen outside either in queue or with For Sale signs in their windows. Very simple, down-to-earth guy.

 

[GregAW]

Welcome and a lovely part of the world to be sure (I am in Prince Edward County). Congrats on your retirement and I can't imagine a better way to fritter away your pension than a little British car!

I don't think you can go wrong with either car. A lot will come down to how you fit and what you want to do. The Triumph is almost a decade older and doesn't have 'ammenities' like wind up windows. On the other hand it is the more unique car. If you want to go on longer trips I would likely lean to the MGB as it is the more 'refined' (refined being a relative term) if you want to poodle around to picnics and cruise nights I might lean to the TR3A.

Let the cars speak to you to help you decide - and in both cases (especially the B) there are lots out there so don't feel pressured to buy.

Finally if you don't already know British Car Day is on the horizon in Oakville - 3rd Sunday of September and the largest single day British show in North America - great place to show off.

British Car Day – British Car Day – September 17, 2023

Thanks! Retiring early was one of the best decision we made and we’re glad we began planning while we were young to make it happen so we can enjoy retirement while we still have our health and energy to do the fun stuff we put off for so long.

I’ve been a lifelong car-guy but only as an admirer, having to be the ever-practical minivan dad and now grandpa-taxi.
But now we have the means and the time to invest in a toy to occupy some of my free time. And keep me in the garage and not underfoot of the wife .

Besides American muscle cars, I’ve always been a huge fan of British two-seaters. And now that we have had some time to really think and talk about making it a reality, we decided to go with a Brit two seater, and with my wife’s input, bonus points for British Racing Green and spoked knock-offs. Tan leather interior is just icing on the cake.

So I started looking at only MGAs and TR3s because of that classic retro styling but there are just so many MGs around that we opened it up to looking at MGBs, specifically the 1967 model because not only is that the sweet spot for MGB styling but it is also my wife and my own birth year.

I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty and I’m fairly mechanically inclined and adept, but we are looking for a turnkey vehicle that we can enjoy and drive immediately. And we aren’t interested in travelling far and wide to search for a good specimen so we are keeping our search fairly local, which is fine because Chatham-Kent hold the unofficial totals of the collector car capitol of Canada. Seems like everyone here with grey hair and a garage owns at least one classic and there isn’t a weekend during the summer or a night during the week there there isn’t a formal or informal car show or car club or enthusiast group gathering.

 

[Jerry]

I have driven both your choices, and the MGB is more comfortable but not more fun. The TR3 will get more thumbs up!

 

[GregAW]

I have driven both your choices, and the MGB is more comfortable but not more fun. The TR3 will get more thumbs up!

SPG (smiles per gallon) trumps creature comforts, since long distance cruising isn’t our priority.
I will be test driving both models for the first time (in fact, I have never driven any convertible vehicle in my life lol).
My original desire was to find an Austin Healey but realistically financially speaking, we turned our minds towards MGAs and TR3s for the classic styling and SPG.
We are only keeping the 1967 MGB option on the table to test drive because it’s our birth year and it does have some of the classic British sports car vibe…
but I feel like the Triumph will triumph in comparison.

 

[BobHaskell]

Is RM Restorations the shop in the reality TV show?
That was my favorite of all the car resto shows.
Not only because of the prime cars they worked on (some were not worth a second look), but because of the interesting stories.

The shop on MotorTrend was the Guild of Automotive Restorers. An hour north on Toronto in Innisfil.

 

[AngliaGT]

Welcome!

 

[equiprx]

The shop on MotorTrend was the Guild of Automotive Restorers. An hour north on Toronto in Innisfil.

Thanks for clearing that up, now I remember.
Great show.

 

[JPSmit]

The shop on MotorTrend was the Guild of Automotive Restorers. An hour north on Toronto in Innisfil.

I have toured the Guild and while impressive (very impressive) I am less enamored with the owner.