A Mostly British Obsession
Valuable, if hard, lessons learned
I bought this car in 1989, when I was 22. It was a rattly, smokey, tired old car–I loved it anyway. I went through 17 cases of oil in the year I owned it; about half went out the tailpipe and half went onto the ground. Environmentally sound it was not.
I have the GT back on craigslist. No replies this time, I have probably worn out my welcome (ie, the people who were likely to respond have already seen it). If I can’t move it before the end of July, I’ll take it over to the All British Field Meet and put it in the “cars for sale” section.
I took the XJR across on the ferry today to show a potential purchaser. All went well, but the minute he went on his way, the idler pulley for the supercharger seized and immediately went to pieces. How’s that for timing?
This was my first “vintage” truck, and it wasn’t a bad one. I bought it from a Navy guy just down the street from our rental in Whidbey’s armpit, Oak Harbor.
My E-Type project is stalled, but it’s been a hectic few years and I’m not done with the hectic part yet. However, I’ve not given up, I’m just taking a breather.
Status: The body is just about ready for paint. A lot of pieces have been accumulated, but still more are needed. The mechanical components are still at the machine shop, waiting for the go-ahead. Mostly, I need space to work on it, and hopefully within a year or so I’ll have my “dream shop,” or something close to it, ready to go.
I always used to scoff at people who couldn’t seem to get their projects done. It turns out I’m one of them!
If it’s so easy to get “suckered” into buying a used Jaguar of recent vintage, why is it so hard to find someone else to do so when it’s time for it to go?
I owned this bike for all of two months. Bought on a whim from a neighbor, I was just too stretched to really afford it. I now wonder: what was I thinking?
This was my second Healey, and in theory what I had always wanted…a “Healey Blue” tri-carb 3000. I enjoyed the car, but it constantly needed attention, which just didn’t mesh with the 70 hour weeks I was working.
I have to laugh, I found an ad on the internet for a 1975 Buick Century, my first car–described as a “classic.” Mine was definitely not, and somehow earned the nickname “the soy-sauce mobile” among my friends.
Sometimes, in an effort to do good works, you get bitten. That’s how I ended up with this MGB-GT–not a bad car, but one which can’t carry the baggage we’ve accumulated together.
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