Hello from SoCal

[miniminor]

How boring! No rust or rot to contend with!

[scott6058]

hell, i dont think ive ever seen a series landrover with a original chassis as mint as that!

over here there are all rotten as a pear!

That's what low humidity, little rain fall, and blistering heat gives you. All the "soft" items turn to dust, but the body/chassis are preserved.

There is one school of thought that the cars from the inland northwest US are the best to buy, because it's dry there, but nowhere near as hot. Unfortunately, 60's Cars from England didn't sell there in large numbers.

Your right Benny rarely did the interiors survive.
Lord above does not give both.
Scott

[JC T ONE]

That's what low humidity, little rain fall, and blistering heat gives you.
All the "soft" items turn to dust, but the body/chassis are preserved.

Your right Benny rarely did the interiors survive.
Lord above does not give both.
Scott

Ill take a full reupholstry & rubber seals, over months of rust removal & welding, ANY day

[Benny]

Ill take a full reupholstry & rubber seals, over months of rust removal & welding, ANY day

That's why you could go down to the San Diego or Long Beach docks in the early 90's, and see dozens upon dozens of MG, Triumphs, Healeys, and Jags lined up to be shipped back to Europe each week. These days, that rate has slowed, but it's still pretty steady.

Rust free cars still pop up in this part of the country, but this area has been pretty well picked over in the last 25 years.

[scott6058]

That's what low humidity, little rain fall, and blistering heat gives you.
All the "soft" items turn to dust, but the body/chassis are preserved.

Your right Benny rarely did the interiors survive.
Lord above does not give both.
Scott

Ill take a full reupholstry & rubber seals, over months of rust removal & welding, ANY day

I completely agree JC

[JC T ONE]

That's why you could go down to the San Diego or Long Beach docks in the early 90's, and see dozens upon dozens of MG, Triumphs, Healeys, and Jags lined up to be shipped back to Europe each week. These days, that rate has slowed, but it's still pretty steady.

Rust free cars still pop up in this part of the country, but this area has been pretty well picked over in the last 25 years.

I had my eyes on a MK I in USA, totally rustfree, a few years back, but lost my job, so I didnt dare spend my savings.

It was a very nice & original car, so it sold right away, but to some one who would take it apart & restore it

[Bart Smith]

Hey Benny,

Nice collection. Do not touch that mini, it looks great. I get down to San Diego about every other day for business. I would love to see those in person, I'll buy the beer?

Bart Smith

[Benny]

Bart,

Come by any time. I spend Tuesday and Thursday nights over at my parents' working on the Land Rover, but I tend to be free most other nights. Hit me up!

[Frogeye61]

Ill take a full reupholstry & rubber seals, over months of rust removal & welding, ANY day

I'm sure there are lots of people who enjoy rust repair, metal shaping and welding. Myself included. And I'm sure there are lots of people who enjoy repairing these lovely cars even more than driving cars in general. Myself included. Still it would be nice if I didn't have to completely rebuild everything on every car I own (also the upholstery).

That sure is a nice collection. I'm very partial to Land Rovers, and I won't say mine (63 88" SW) is anywhere as nice, but it's mostly rust free and does have patina from being originally in Brazzaville.

[Benny]

I'm sure there are lots of people who enjoy rust repair, metal shaping and welding. Myself included. And I'm sure there are lots of people who enjoy repairing these lovely cars even more than driving cars in general. Myself included.

On one of my MGB message boards, there is a Canadian guys who will tackle any rust repair with great enthusiasm. He does great work, and seems to get a real sense of satisfaction out of it. But, after seeing pics of some of my cars, and other cars in my region, he has sworn that his next project will start with an imported, rust-free shell, just to see what that experience is like. The problem is, I'm not sure he'll ever go back to utilizing his welding skills to repair some salvageable cars in his area! I've done my share of cosmetic rust repairs, and I actually enjoy it, but when it comes to structural repairs, it simply doesn't make any sense (logically, financially, or otherwise) for me to do it.

By the way, I added another car to my fleet last week (why not, eh?) with this rust-free, '66 MGB. The car has only had one owner from new, has the most unbelieveable body, original paint, runs well, and still has the original (functioning) OD transmission. It has lived its whole life in southern California, and I'm going to make every effort to retain as much of it's well-loved appearance as I can. The work you guys do on this website has inspired me to retain as much of its original character as possible....the typical tendency over here is to try to make everything look "new", and that gets a bit boring. The last picture shows the original owner just a few weeks after buying the car in July '66.

[Frogeye61]

That IS a bloody nice looking MG. That's certainly why so many antique/special cars make their way to the LA/SF docks, on their way to the rest of the rusty world. Probably more than a few people here envy the min-rust conditions in socal along with the car culture that brought many of the world's automotive treasures there in the heyday - but maybe we just can't imagine living in that heat-.

BTW, my 63 (sorry, it really is a mini forum and to that end I include also a pic of my nasty MK1 out of Sweden)

[JC T ONE]

I added another car to my fleet last week (why not, eh?) with this rust-free, '66 MGB. The car has only had one owner from new, has the most unbelieveable body, original paint, runs well, and still has the original (functioning) OD transmission. It has lived its whole life in southern California, and I'm going to make every effort to retain as much of it's well-loved appearance as I can.


The work you guys do on this website has inspired me to retain as much of its original character as possible....


the typical tendency over here is to try to make everything look "new", and that gets a bit boring. The last picture shows the original owner just a few weeks after buying the car in July '66.

Thats a nice MGB cool with the old photo with the original owner

good to hear that you found some inspiration inhere.

Over here in Denmark people also over restore the cars some people remove beautifull interiors, with nice patina, and fit Newton instead such a shame.
the same people also fit new chrome bits, instead of the original parts, they found the car with.

The thing is, that in the future (in some places, already now) its going to be original / unrestored cars, with patina, that gets the highest bidding / price.

keep the pictures coming.

[dr dave]

Hi Benny, great collection you've got. I met you at cars and coffee around the time of the LA minimeet in 2008. How's the progress on the black car coming? It looks great from the photos. Give is an update!

dr dave