A Mostly British Obsession
My writing is as rusty as your sills
I’m contemplating buying a “cheap” car for winter use.
Old Yeller, the F250, isn’t making healthy noises, and I don’t want to rely on the old goat over the winter. I would really like a Mini (one of the original ones), but they’ve shot up in value (my theory is purchasers of new Minis interested in classic cars will buy an old Mini to have a matched set).
I guess every machinery addict has a wish list of machines they’d like to own. I know I do…I’m a sucker for an old British car in need. I’m trying to temper that a bit, though, as I realize that once you have a certain number of machines, it’s very difficult to get much done on them, and you end up driving only one or two of them with any frequency.
Well, it looks like both the GT and XJR have sold. I’ve only lost about a billion dollars between the two of them, but fortunately they both seem to be going to good homes.
I will be posting bits and pieces from time to time about my past cars, as I remember them and especially if I find any photos. In the meantime, there may not be a lot of actual content behind that intimidating and very sad list on the right-hand side.
I’m trying to sell the XJR and the MGB GT, both via free internet ads. This has worked well for me in the past (on occasion) but this go-round I’m getting all of the bums. My short list of peeves about the process:
Welcome to Rusty Heaps…the blog’s name has its genesis in my bride’s catch-all term for any and all of my vehicles. Sadly, she’s very observant.
This blog isn’t meant to be a restoration diary, though some of it may end up looking like that. I fell in love with British cars when I caught my first glimpse of what I now realize was probably a 1969 MGB*–this would have been in 1982 or so, when I was 15. I was fascinated by the driver’s mirror on the door and the passenger mirror way up the fender…it seemed exotic and cool. I realize now that the mirror was just a silly affectation, it had zero practical value. But try to explain that to a 15 year old.
In any case, that mirror has led to my owning more than 20 British cars over the past 20 years…most tired old dogs, because that’s what my wallet leans towards. My wallet has never learned the lesson my head knows instinctively (and which my heart refuses to acknowledge): tired old dogs always cost more in the end. Always. I’ve mouthed that platitude numerous times to others and yet I’ve never taken my own advice.
In any case, join me as I attempt to justify, or at least record for posterity, my involvement with old cars, trucks and bikes.
* I’m sure I saw MGBs before this, but I just didn’t care in the same way that a soon-to-be-driving teenage boy cares.
© 2025 RUSTY HEAPS
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑