As much as I tell myself that I will have a car ready to be in the show each year. This year I had the best chance and it wasn’t even close. I bought a friends 72 MGB last year for my Bride and properly took it apart to fix the brakes. It cascaded into a fuel pump rebuild. Engine compartment paint job, brake line and clutch line replacement and heater box refurbishment along with replacing multiple perished rubber parts and complete rebuild of the peddle box and peddles. But that is only because I have shown some restraint. My bride on the other hand had her list and her son got us 4 new tires that I need to mount on the wire rims.
So this year on a Thursday I found out the show was that Saturday, I didn’t even bother kidding myself that I could pull a couple of all nighters to get it done. While physically it would wreck me, mentally I know that it’s a crap idea and always was. Things that get done after 2am need to be thoroughly checked then next morning for correctness, safety and sanity.
So Saturday morning, I got up made some coffee and screwed around in the house till I had no excuses for not going. I loaded up my new backpack with my big camera, and other useful crap and headed out.
I have been more active lately and walking around for a couple of hours really didn’t bother me. I parked across from the feed store in the city parking lot, and walked the 1 block to the main square green where the event was taking place. I bought a shirt like I do every year and headed out to see the vehicles.
First up were a couple of Morgans, no Robbin’s egg blue one this year, that belongs to the father of an acquaintance. I actually gave him my spare Lotus engine that he was going to promptly install. I have yet to see it in that car but whatever. The ones there were interesting two oldies and a newer BMW version.
Right after that a couple of MGCs. I had heard of them but didn’t realize they were around the same time as the MGBs. The C is a 6 cylinder version of the B. It may have some other differences but that is the major one that stood out to me.
The owners were by the vehicle and were happy to answer questions and offer more information. There was something about the engine compartment that really looked clean and well put together. Turns out he had painted it with a truck bed liner product that looks amazing
The under hood details were amazing. The rest of the vehicle was just as good but I failed to get any other pictures of it, because I was busy getting more details about how he managed to make it look so great. He is a car guy like I strive to become. He did most of the work himself, including converting an old oven into a powder coating curing oven and really cleaning parts by applying the powers of as many harbor freight tools as he can fill his shop with.
The hood struts, pedal box and the brake lines and especially the engine bay paint are all things I plan to do on the MGB. I may run into him again next time I am up in the thriving metropolis of Comfort TX. It happens to have one of the closest locations of Harbor Freight, to my house.
Here are some shots of the other vehicles that were there.
The owner of the mini Formula racing car was kind enough to offer a seat in the car to any kid who came by with their parents. That is the sort of gesture that will keep the next generations interested in these old vehicles.
The last car in the gallery is a Morris Minor. I know dad had one at some point when I lived in England. He had to replace the transmission in the driveway. My favorite memory of this vehicle is the semafores in the B-post that literally extend out and upward with a yellow light so everyone knows if you are turning. I think I need to find a way to bring those back. Lights on the mirrors are pretty good but lights that pop out of the body to signal a turn, oh yeah.
In the meantime I will stick to the massive list of things I need to do already. Like my brides MGB….
