At 9:09 PM 7/29/98, Austin wrote:

>Naawww - the SU's turned me into a simpering wimp;
>>
>>and at the time, it was a helluva lot "cooler" than those damned hot rods!
>>;)
>>
        SUs required a fine touch and UniSyn to sychronize and balance.
        The inept soon tired of playing with them and eventually beat on their
        steed with the so-fine Wentworth tools (if they had any...others
        just used adjustable wrenches and eventually rounded each bolt head
        and nut...;-0).

>Sooo coool - really impressed the ladies with the 8" crescent wrench I kept
>handy for whacking the fuel pump when it decided to take a nap (located
>between the seats - in the cab, next to the battery!!!).
>

        My father used to watch me diddle with my MG-TF's carbs and shake
        his head as he climbed into his '59 SportFury with the two outboard
        mounted 4barrel carbs at the ends of the crossed runners of the
        Sonoramic Commando ram induction manifold. I was able to get high
        12s at 94mph out of his car at the 'strip...;^) but I preferred
        working on the '55TF that I restored from Garage Queen status to a
        Concours winner.

        The TF had languished for a year and a half in a garage up the alley
        from us before I got up my courage to go and knock on their door
        and ask when the owner would be back from his Army tour. As it turned
        out, the owner had just been re-upped and been sent to Korea, his
        sister had driven the TF while he was gone and ruined the
        transmission...he had suggested that his sister pay a reasonable price
        for the car and then could do anything she wished with the remains!
        I spent some time soul searching and tallying my savings and money
        I could make while working after school and on weekends, drove my
        parents nuts begging for permission and made what seemed like an
        outrageously low-ball offer that, shockingly, was instantly accepted!

        I was now the proud owner (in the summer of 1959) of a 4 year old
        British sports car with a broken transmission, badly faded paint
        job, rotting tyres, rusted wire wheels, rusted chrome, and cracking
        leather seats along with crazed and weathered plastic sidecurtains
        and rear window in the top. I was later to find out about the Lucas
        electrics...the dry differential, and the silly suspension system.

        My project of restoration: rebuilding the transmission, new tires,
        rebuilding the wire wheels and tuning them, de-rusting the chrome,
        renewing the leather interior, repainting the entire vehicle and
        handrubbing the seemingly infinite coats of black lacquer until
        I could no longer move my arm was completed after two summers during
        high school. I learned the secrets of the SUs and discovered that
        Lucas, the Prince of Darkness, didn't like to go out of the garage on
        a cold, damp night...which was okay by me since I could always find
        something else to polish or clean or rub. Since I lived in
        SantaMonica, the cold low overcast and sometime peasoup fogs were more
        frequent than elsewhere in Southern California. I got to drive my
        BlackBeauty finally during my senior year and could often be found at
        SCCA races dreaming about winning...someday. I was approached at one
        of these events when about to leave by a guy who offered to buy my car
        on the spot! I turned him down...but took his number in a moment of
        weakness and promised that I'd give him first right of refusal.

        I yearned to travel and finally, as high school was about to end,
        evolved a plan to take advantage of the Hollywood director's
        seemingly insane offer. I sold him the TF and used the proceeds to
        spend the end of summer in Europe doing a quick GrandTour of the great
        cities of Europe in one of the first Tourist Delivery 1962 model year
        VWs. Eventually, after driving north through Sweden to Finland to
        visit with my relatives, I returned to Germany to ship the car back to
        California where it served as my commute vehicle while I went to
        school at UCLA.

        This experience led to a long string of VWs and also 4 separate
        European delivery experiences (all campers: '69, '71, '73, '85).

        The director entered his newly acquired pristine 1955 MG-TF in a
        Concours and won first prize in its class. I heard that he kept
        winning and had some guy in his employ whose primary job was to
        maintain his stable of collectors cars in competition condition.
        He *never* drove my BlackBeauty!

>&, fwiw, 'it' *can* be done in an MGA - albeit on the passenger side!! btdt
>
        Hmmm...I always thought that motorcycles were better all around
        for the preliminaries...but the BSA650 and Triumph are other stories.

      OLTECO                         Ari Ollikainen
      P.O. BOX 3688                  Networking Technology and Architecture
      Stanford, CA                   Ari@OLTECO.com
      94309-3688                     415.517.3519