Talk me off the ledge

It depends. If he's doing a full restoration, only the original drivetrain will up the value of the car. If those replacements are older, they'll be technically inferior, depending on how much older. If they're '54s, they'll be valuable to a restorer of an older Pontiac. Depending on how lucky he is at marketing those, including the one that's still in the car, all of it can be money in the bank and help out that poor 400 which is waiting impatiently to get dropped in

 

Nothing like a little cattle-prodding with your breakfast coffee

 

My father in law was poking around a scrap yard around where he lives in Georgia and called me up about some hubcaps he had found. He told be about them “really neat, solid chrome cover with ‘Pontiac’ in a sort of script font, like handwriting across the middle. Do you want them? $2 a piece.” Well heck yeah I said send me a picture!

 

The Buick writing is okay. But, do the wheelcovers necessarilly have to have some drunken homeless person's reflection on them?

 

Now that is beautiful.
There's some motivation for ya Grizz.

 

Motivation is a nice excuse. I was just nagging

 

Ooh, I haven't heard Jimmie Osborne in a loooonnnggg time!

 

I can't get enough of it. There's nothing like vintage Bleugrass. I don't have to go into detail about modern "Country MuSick" and all the phoniness behind it

 

These days, nearly all music is phony.

 

I love Bluegrass. It always makes me happy. A bluegrass artist can't hide behind synthesized or amplified tricks.

I suppose if you like hip-hop and rap mixed in with an occasional banjo, then modern, mainstream country music is for you...

 

We call modern country "twang pop"

 

There's this combination dealership, bicycle shop and filling station where I go get my wagon tanked. I asked the owner about possible trades, after I get my inspection completed. There was this Diahatsu which was thrifty. But, it had a rust through, because the owner didn't clear the wheelwell from debris. There was still packed together leaves behind the rust hole.
Since I don't like being in the apartment, I went for a walk, Sunday morning, and went by the station. Since I wasn't driving there, I happened to see the following vehicle in the side of the building seen only possible by walking by. It's a version of that roadster pictured left of the Peugeot.
I went back, this week, and asked the owner if it was for sale. He looked open for a trade and was telling me that it had a small hole in the top and that it was a one previous owned vehicle. He was honest to mention it needing a head gasket which is common on these, until an aftermarket gasket was developed. He said he intended fixing it up for himself. But, had no time for it. Maybe, he just didn't want to deal with what had to be done to get it through inspection, since the dealership was selling other non-exotic brands. This is one of the early models, using a type of hydro-elastic spring system, similar to the older Austin 1800s and Metros. They are inheritently unintentional programmed failures, because the nitrogen gas, sitting at the top of these rubber units, seeps through, just like ordinary air seeps through tires. That's why you have to pump your tires up periodically. He wants 2,500€ which seems fair. But, replacement suspension bellows cost around 170€ each, not including taking it somewhere to have the system bled and pressurized. Knowing that it'll sag once again, within 10 to 15 years, going back to this system is out of the question. The second alternative would be to replace the bellows with an aftermarked consecutive spring unit set with compatable shock absorbers. There's a set on ebay going for 1,020.30€ without shipping (around 48€) which should last for the life of the car which I find more in line with sensibility, despite the rediculous amount they want for the update. My practical mind says that I should stay away from something I would have to continually insure, until I found a garage, and would only be practical for joyrides, since there's no place to store anything you would need a wagon for. Since it's mid-engined, you haven't got a trunk usefull for more than a pic-nic, if the spare tire's up front. My practical side also says that driving it around in an uncivilized country like this one turned out to be, after losing the war, will just ruin any fun, as soon as texting tailgaters show up on my mirror while cops sit behind computers chasing dissident internet posters.
My impractical Devil in my ear reminds me of the good times I had in convertibles. One of them being the older MGB my buddy had and the mid-engined X 1/9 FIATs I used to work on and wished they had made them to accomodate persons of my size, without having to go out and find its rarer larger Lancia Monte Carlo cousin. The color isn't my preference, whatsoever. But; it's got a cool dash with silver instruments and is a rare car with an undeserved poor reputation, only because of the suspension and head gasket (okay, so the earlier ones didn't yet have the chassis-stiffening upgrade yet. But, I don't intend to risk a roll-over, through racing it anyway) of which can get easilly ironed out. It's also mid-engined which should be pleasant to drive. Painting it and replacing the ugly grey fabric interior with a leather one can stay on the agenda, for now. The dealership might let me keep it there, until I accumulate a couple paycheques needed to get the suspension update. So, what should I do?

 

Any convertible's a great car to have, even if it has inherent problems. It's not meant to be practical, it's meant to be fun. That's why Ferdinand Porsche made a handful of Type 1 cabrios--so he could ensure Herr Hitler approved of them. Kind of like how Dad convinced Mom they should buy one, by taking her for a drive in one.

 

Now you're talking. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Besides, once those inherent problems get ironed out, it should be easier to re-sell than a practical car which everyone needs. There seems to be plenty of them, in neighboring Holland. One suspiciously goes for only a thousand. It probably has a warped head. Who knows. Problem is, there aren't any Diesel Audis there for sale which means no chance for a swap: http://www.handelsprijzen.nl/occasions/auto/mg/f/

 

IVY!!! Way to keep the thread alive!!! Good thing too, I was getting closer to that edge again. Get that car!!! A hole in the roof is nothing a tarp can’t fix. Suspension bits should be easy to work on especially on a little guy like that. I DIDNT KNOW THEY STILL MADE MG. What year is that? I like the color. Looks like a lighter version of what they had in the 60’s? My grandpa had one in that dark forest green color. My first time in a convertible. A test drive is surely in order. Let us know. My garage slab has been poured, now we just waiting for a pad/ramp to be poured. The guy is super busy doing driveways for my wife and we were sort of a side job so who knows when he’ll get around to it. Oh well, you get what you pay for and we paid about half what everybody else was quoting. I’m trying to carve some time in between yard work, house work, and routine flogging of the children to finish the brake lines on the Pontiac. Pics coming soon. Page 16?