A beautiful example, owned by a local woman for 16 years, runs and drives like new
Excellent body and bright red paint, excellent floors and chassis, no signs of damage, repairs, rust and no undercoating other than factory applied. Must have been a `high budget` car when new because it has air conditioning, cruise control, new Minilite alloy wheels, luggage rack, nicely done interior in black with red piping.
Trunk is rust free and spotless, original jack, good top and boot cover, all gauges work, runs 70-80 psi oil pressure when warm, 140-145 psi compression in every cylinder, all `like new` in our tests.
These later cars certainly had deficiencies BUT they also had a lot of virtues, front and rear sway bars, power assist disc brakes, electronic ignition, thermostatic controlled electric cooling fans, much larger radiator, smooth effortless all synchromesh transmission, better build quality, better fit and finish, and the engine is smooth and offers ample performance.
This car just came in and, for now, we will probably paint the rubber bumpers in body color and possibly fit a burled wood dash. Also a modern digital stereo with blue tooth. Just to bring it into the 21st century.
What I think is interesting is the market this car was designed for. While in the mid sixties, one might buy a 98hp MGB, stick in a roll bar, racing harnesses, and put numbers on the doors and go racing. However, by the last seventies,.with sales going up despite the DOT required limitations, I suspect the market was for an older driver who just wanted something more fun than his Lincoln or Cadillac. EXACTLY what this car offered then and now. Not fussy with early car`s multi carbs, points, non powered brakes.....just the opposite. This car offers a lot less maintenance, easier ownership and driving. The perfect `classic` for someone who knows little about cars and is perfectly happy to leave it that way.
