Better the Car You Know?

[Colin Morgan]

Hi 

Been thinking about this for a while... but can't decide.  Any opinions, I wonder?

Colin

[Reckless Rat]

Well mine's not perfect, but it works. It has taken the best part of 40+ years to get it like this. Changing it for another one I might just end up with a pig in a poke, or a money pit. A lot depends on the depth of your pockets, how much you want something and of course what you intend to do with it.

Sorry, are you talking about Austin Sevens? I thought you were talking about the wife!

[Renaud]

Tsst! Tsst! Méchant Bruce!

[jpsmit]

I might phrase it 'Better you know the car' Not yet applicable to my 7 but with my MG, whatever else I know every nut and bolt every quirk and foible, every bit of work done.

[Howard Wright]

Bruce!!!

 .

Back to cars......someone (whom I can’t remember) when asked what was the best car he had ever owned replied “the next one”.

It really depends on whether the one you’ve got is the one you REALLY want!

Cheers

Howard

[Colin Morgan]

Bit concerned now if I say I have the car I always wanted - but still trawl the ads ...

L'herbe est toujours plus verte, n'est pas?

[David.H]

But still needs cutting. .!

[Renaud]

And not by my wife!

[Bob Culver]

My father ran my car from 1940 to 1957 with that attitude. As he had replaced kpins several times, and mains, rear pinion, gearbox bearings, some spring leaves, umpteen valve grinds, and welded large tracts he certtinly knew a lot of the devil!
Despite their faults i feel more confident in older cars as if they stop I can figure why and how to fix and probably can.And with manula you can start or tow them.

[Colin Morgan]

About ten years ago I decided to replace the Ruby I had put back on the road in 1999 (after it spent 22 years under a tarpaulin in a garden) with a 'better' one.  I bought a car that looked promising - needed one or two things sorting out - like oily rear brakes - but had shiny black paint, a lovely matching interior, full history from new (6 owners) and the original engine.    

But a few weeks of living with the new car made me realise that the mechanicals were much more worn than my original, including the drive-train and bottom end of engine.  Also, the body structure was not as good as there was corrosion in the lower body - this had previously been sorted out on my original car with solid metal welded in everywhere.  A lot of work was going be needed to properly resolve these problems in the longer term.  In addition, the paintwork was not as good as it looked after its recent respray. The black had been put directly on top of a red primer, rather than a proper high-build primer.  It didn't look like it would last.  The car had been rewired about 1970 using PVC point to point - not well - so this needed doing again with a proper loom.  And the car had a persistent misfire that eventually turned out to be a fault with the new Bosch distributor - the last place I looked.

Once I had fixed up the new one and got it running properly, I had to decide which car to keep?  I chose the original car I knew over the new one, despite the old one's scuffiness inside and out and lack of history prior to 1970, and so was back to square one - which is where I remain.  The grass isn't always greener.