A Mostly British Obsession
Valuable, if hard, lessons learned
This Jaguar was bought on a whim, probably for too much money, and cost me an arm and a leg for the year or so I owned it. When it was working right, it was a lovely car…there’s nothing quite like the V12 engine. When it went wrong, even seemingly minor jobs ended up costing hundreds if not thousands of dollars
When I first started at Microsoft (as a contractor, please don’t get any ideas that I might be rich!), I noticed this seemingly abandoned TR6 in the parking lot outside my building. After a few inquiries, I found the owner and it came to pass that it was sitting there because the brake master cylinder had died…to make a long story tolerable (or not) I ended up buying it from him for $1200.
The Fergie was delivered today, and I had a pretty good time trying out the brush hog. I clearly need more work on that part, but the tractor runs well and only has a few mechanical items that need attention (that I know about now, anyway!). That seat is definitely not original and needs to go away…soon!
I took the Triumph over the ferry to the bank today…it’s great to use a motorcycle on the Washington Ferries because you don’t have to wait to board, you go straight to the front of the line. In any case, when I came to leave the boat on the mainland side, I couldn’t get the bike started. How embarrassing. And all operator error, in the end!
Try as I might, I cannot recall any of the many MGBs I looked at while searching for my first one. The car pictured is the one I ended up with, a ’74 with fake wire wheels (though they weren’t absolutely horrible). It was painted silver when I bought it, and I can remember the first glance I took of it. I was sold immediately, it just looked so great compared to what I had seen.
$300 Rovers (company logo: prow of a Viking ship) like this used to haunt the local paper’s classifieds–you could count on one being for sale if you needed it. Alas, I think they’ve all been scrapped by now, which is a shame, as the Rover 2000 was a very capable car, comfortable and quiet, and quite luxurious.
I bought this car because it needed saving (and who can resist a Mark I Mini?); I sold it to my friend Matt, who still has it and drives it regularly. It needs a paint job and some other cosmetic work still, but it’s a very honest old car.
This MG Midget was the very first British car I owned. My faithful but abused Toyota was getting pretty long in the tooth, and I was ready for a change–however, whatever British car I bought (and there was no question it would be a British sports car) could only be funded out of the proceeds from the Toyota. That put my budget at $1500 or so.
This is what my Fergie is supposed to look like, and will perhaps one day. Nice thing about tractors is that the finish was never that good to start with, and painting it yourself will return results that will be the equal to how they were delivered.
In many ways, 1967 was the peak year for MGBs. They still had the classic styling of the early cars, but had a 5-main bearing engine for smoother and more reliable power. Federal safety and emissions regulations still hadn’t come into effect, so the interior was still classic–low-backed leather seats and the beautiful metal dashboard.
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