24.06.2002
feeling kinda
here it is - a picture of the latest object of my lust and affection. isn't he gorgeous? this is the car that i saw at the show a few weeks ago. body rebuilt from the trim down, some minor customization but all with MG parts, and a stunning paint job. it's Ming Blue, an Audi color, by the way. you could count every blade of grass reflected on that baby.
and i have a few pictures of me sitting in him (the owner was a complete sweetheart about indulging my fantasies, and i sat in the car long enough to know it's a he, and what its secret name is), but i won't post those as i was ridiculously hung over that morning. and it shows. after i Photoshop the hell out of them, maybe.
i've wanted my own MG since i was about 12. seriously. and i've always wanted to rebuild it. even if it didn't need it, i'd want to tear it down and rebuild every inch of it. i think it started when i saw some mint ones at a car show. i loved those cars. the 1930s and 40s MGs were true touring cars, with the whole Gatsby front end. i loved the look, loved the feel of the wooden steering wheels, loved the smell of the leather seats. even more, tho, i adored the 1960s GTs. i have a serious weakness for pretty much any two seater sports car (matched only by my growing adoration of Harleys, Indians and Jesse James custom bikes). so it wasn't much of a stretch to love the GTs. and for some reason, that became The Car I Wanted.
not just wanted, but wanted to rebuild. oddly, some of my guy friends don't get it. 'why would you want to be a grease monkey? you know you'll have to spend all your time working on it, the parts are hard to get, they're unreliable vehicles...'. What. Ever. clearly, you do not understand the depth of my affection, nay, obsession with MGs. and what made that particular car attractive to me was this: it's a 1967. he and i were born the same year. the owner had a Richard Thompson CD in the boot, to boot (har, har), the album with My MGB GT on it. right from the get go, i knew i was going to like talking to this guy. i'm hoping he'll be at the show this weekend; if not, i may head up to the rally this fall.
so what's the appeal of being a grease monkey, you might ask? simple. i like fixing things. i like tinkering. and i'd really like to learn to tinker with my own car. older cars, obviously, are simpler, at least insofar as no complicated computer wiring doohickeys. and the appeal of tooling down the road in my own MG, lovingly restored by me, with the top down, shades on, wind ruffling my hair - aw, yeah, baby. (huh. for some reason, a golden retriever - wait, a chocolate lab - just appeared on the passenger seat, also enjoying the wind. i don't like dogs. how did *he* get in there?)
someday. someday, i will get my MG. and i will suit up, in my grease monkey suit. and i will take the engine apart, rebuild it, restore the interior, track down an original rearview, and redo the paint job, most likely in British racing green. and then i will drive across the country, stopping in out of the way corners, sending postcards, and having the time of my life.
