1969 MGB

Midlife Crisis??

As my daughter neared high school graduation, I decided it was time to get something that had better gas mileage than my 2001 Ford Ranger. And while I was at it, I might as well get something that was a little more fun to drive than the Ranger.

A friend of mine talked me into looking at a MGB. Long story short... I ended up buying this 1969 MGB in "basically" good shape. Body was in great shape. Brakes, motor, all seemed to function. And at $6500, it looked like a good deal....

Unfortunately, the reality of MGB's is that they do, in fact, need constant maintenance. This one needed an additional $1000 in electrical work, and then there were things that would need to be addressed down the road.

I also learned that an MGB easily hit 4th by the time you were going no more than 40. By the time you were at 60ish, the engine seemed to be screaming (though nowhere near redlined yet). If I was really going to drive it on the highway much, a different transmission (either with overdrive, or a 6-speed) would be much nicer.

In addition to maint. issues, there was also the fact that I lived in Texas, and MG's don't have AC.

After having owned the car about a month, I finally decided that while it was a really neat car, and had fantastic classic lines - it just wasn't something I could drive on a daily basis to work.

The MGB was then traded for a 2012 Miata.

The Miata will hopefully be worry free for at LEAST the first 30,000 miles. AND it has AC. While not as classic as the MGB, it's still just about as much fun to drive (ok, it's automatic - but driving a standard in bumper to bumper rush-hour traffic does get to be old after a while).