• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Someone talk some sense into me...

Share this page

Alana, I can certainly relate - I'm on year seven on my restomod of Chance - thought I would get it running this year until I found the hidden rust in the frame. There are days I can't stand the sight of the car, but then there are days when I remember why I got into this in the first place and get back at it.

I think you and Tinster are in the same boat - you know you're sooo close to having a car that you'll really enjoy, but Murphy seems to keep getting in the way!

The best advice I can give is step back, take a deep breath and try to remember what your goal was. If you don't think your car can give you what you were looking for when you started, then maybe it's better to move onto something else.

Either way you go, I respect what you set out to accomplish with the TR6. It's going to be a heckofa ride for someone when sorted ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
 
Alan, sorry to here about the thoughts of a change. I am into my 7 year on my garage beast and have thought the same thoughts myself. Now on to the Caterham , I am more of an 11 guy Almost bought 1 20 years ago . the only thing that stopped me was welding knowledge and a garage. Taken care of the garage problem,still don't know how to weld. What ever you do we are all behind you.
LOTUS11.jpg

Don
 
I've always like Lotus Sevens and the assorted derivatives. They were always available as kit cars, nothing new there. If I had the resources, I might very will pursue a Caterham myself.

Peter Egan commented in an article once on when to know if it is time to sell your car. If it was stolen tomorrow and you got full value for it from the insurance company, would you go out and buy the car again? I think that's a pretty good way to think about it.

An advantage we have here in the LBC hobby is that by and large our cars aren't loosing value. Take some time, drive the TR6 once it's back, and see if it still has that something special for you. If that is gone, then it would seem to me that it's time for you to find another car.
 
Can I throw my unsolicited two cents in? I rebuilt my first TR6 a million years ago and in the end I'd had enough. I sold it to a friend and so convinced was I that I'd never get another, that I gave him all the bits I collected. All I kept was an original Haynes workshop manual. Six months later I woke up one morning and said to myself "what have I done?" It took me two more TR's but I finally found the right one, and have owned it for 22 years. Cars will come and go, but I won't make that mistake again. Let it sit for a while Alan, take the winter off, and look at anew in the spring. Good luck!
 
I found that when they were daily drivers, back in the day, I got fed up with having to repair them overnight just so I could get to work the next day. So I would reach a point where I traded them in for something sensible. Within a year I would be back to another character car. Because of this I no longer have my TR5 or my Elan S4 Sprint and I just look longingly at the photos we took of them.

With the "new" TR4, it is not as important if I don't drive it one week as I will get to it when it's ready. I am not going to let another classic car (cardboard transmission cover and all) get away this time.

There are great cars (some are occasionally affordable) and then there are classic cars. It all comes down to what you really want from the hobby. Just my perspective.
 
You'll never get another one just like yours, so why sell it? If it were stolen or wrecked and you had to replace it, fine, but I think that you'll regret parting with it.

Besides, you're part of the continuing saga and day/night soap opera know as "Days of Our Triumphs". Actually, maybe we're more like "Desperate British Car Owners".
 
[ QUOTE ]
Seems more like Jerry Springer to me.

[/ QUOTE ]


/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif Oh goodness, I almost sprayed beer all over my laptop. Nearly a Dr. Entropy moment there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
Hey Alan, listen up dude!

If I can keeping putting up with the Crypt Car-
where each component I repair/replace reveals
5 new PO destroyed parts, you can certainly put
in a few more months with yours.

It's kinda like my tuna fishing trips in our sport fisherman. The tuna caught costs about $400/pound
on average but the fun of it is worth the entrance fee.

I am exactly where you are with your TR.

Dead TR6 for 9 months with 17k in repairs in return for
maybe 6 miles of a fun drive.

Now a couple more $k in new parts, a few more months
in the crypt plus a several more $k in mecanhic's time
and I figure by mid-March I might have the Crypt Car
touring some twisty mountain roads here on the island.

Back in the day, I owned a Lotus Europa for a spell.
You want to talk about a money pit? And THAT beast was
almost brand new. FWIW- forget the Lotus.

tinster-hanging in there with the Crypt Car
newcrypt.jpg
 
Drove it today. Went round to a friends house so he could take it for a drive and see what he thought (he has a freshly rebuilt stock 72). He was very surprised at the difference between this and a stocker.

Then of course it went wrong. Boiled in traffic (at 45 degrees). The new thermostat - that I know was working at one point - has failed. Grounded it to run the fan constantly to drive it home. It's sitting in the garage - one room over - right now.

I think that might be the straw that broke the camels back. If I can't even face changing the thermostat on a car with a drain on the radiator then I can't face doing anything on it.

Anyone want to make me an offer? You can drive it away. My friend is pleading with me not to sell it, but I'm just sick to the back teeth of the constant problems.

I'm fed up /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Yeah, I feel that way many times. And
the Car Crusher is walking distance from
home.

Know how you feel, for sure.

d
 
Ive been in the same boat for 18 years with my TR6, Im going on my second restoration with only 700 miles on the first (for improvment and updating purposes) and Im not giving up. You need to be pretty tough when it comes to theese projects and develope patients that may not always be instinctive. If you cant do alot of the work yourself (to guarantee getting it done right and/or personal satisfaction) and you have lost your patients-----then Alan it is time to sell.
 
If I had a garage to keep it in, I'd take it from you and store it for your cool down period, then give it back when it warms up again.

Please don't make any hasty decisions when you're upset. At least give it a week without going near the car before you accept any offer, no matter how good it seems today.

And then decline them all and get it ready for spring.
 
Back
Top