> On 1/3/07, P. J. Alling <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Plan to have [the Bugeye] garaged a lot, I take it. > > Indeed. I have a friend who used to own a "Big Healey" back in the > early '90's. There was a British Sports specialist not far from his > house. My friend called that garage "Healey Camp". Invariably, after > taking it for "a spin", it limped (or was towed) back to Healey Camp, > where it languished for weeks or months until some arcane bit of Lucas > Electrics (or whatever) could be obtained to allow it's next foray > into the real world. > > The car spent more time at Healey Camp than it did at Ernie's house... >
I had a similarly afflicted MG B Roadster for a few years. You really need a lot of money, and a garage, if you want one of these cars. I haven't enough of either, and mine ended up rotting outside my front door. There is a lot of camaraderie about owning them though. I once went for a little tour round the West Country, but broke down in Blandford Forum (which is a very beautiful Georgian town). While sitting glumly on a step in the market place, I was approached by a very English country gentleman who admired my lovely car and started to chat. It turned out that he had 11 MGs. When he heard I'd broken down, he said "I'll ask my man to come and look at it for you". Shortly afterwards a mechanic arrived, did something mysterious to the engine, and waved goodbye without charging me. Very civilised. Now, whenever I have occasion to pass through Blandford Forum I like to stop and spend some money there. But I don't think it's just the old cars, or just the British ones. A former colleague did a long project in Egypt and saved enough on expenses to buy a Ferrari of some sort. That also spent more time in the garage than it did on the road. One of my brothers has just bought a Mercedes SLK 350: http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedkingdom/mpc/mpc_unitedki ngdom_website/en/home_mpc/passenger_cars/home/products/new_cars/slk_cl ass_roadster_facelift/models.html ...which is a real monster! Bob -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
