And So It Begins - December, 15 1998

OK, so I have finally found an 1100.  It is a 4-door 1964 with sunroof.  Too cool!!  Of course it has rust and needs work, but it is reasonably priced and is not too far away.  Here are three pictures of it: One, Two, Three.  I am in Charleston, South Carolina and it is just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. So, the first step will be...

The Retrieval - January 1, 1999

The trip will be this weekend, the first weekend of 1999. Since the 1100 can't be driven back, and since my MGB can't pull it, I have enlisted the help of a good friend for this folly.  We will be driving his Suburban on the 10 hour drive, each way. The only real hitch to all of this is that the weather in Maryland is supposed to be below freezing with ice, sleet, and snow.  What fun!  Of course I will be taking a camera. I will post pictures of the trip when we return.

We are Back - January 4, 1999

My friend Mark and I left Charleston at 7:45 Saturday morning. We took it easy on the driving as he had just had the transmission serviced on his Suburban. Plus, it was New Years weekend, the police were out, and we had no desire to get in a wreck or get a ticket. We stopped numerous times along the way to check out Wal-Mart, Target, Toys-R-Us, and Roses stores. He is and I are both avid die-cast car collectors, and we are interested in other toys as well. We didn't run into any bad weather until we got to the northern side of Richmond. There the temperature really dropped, and the freezing rain started. We had to stop twice between Richmond and our hotel on the north side of Washington to scrape ice off of the windshield. By the time we got to the hotel it was nearly 11pm. Over 15 hours for a 10 hour trip! But we were having great fun.

I woke up during the night, probably about 3am, to the sound of high winds and sleet outside our hotel. We were on the top floor of a 9 story Holiday Inn, and the wind was really whipping around. But, when we woke up the next morning it was about 40 degrees and only raining. All the ice had either melted or was melting. We got to the south side of Baltimore, where the car was, by 9:15, and the rain was starting to slack off. By the time we had the car loaded the rain was stopping. As it turned out, the father of the guy I was buying the car from also collects die-cast cars, so we went in to look at the collection - an entirely separate story. By the time we were leaving at 11am, the rain had completely stopped. Getting back on the road, by the time we cleared Washington and were heading back into Virginia, we had beautiful blue skies and the temperature was in the mid-40s. A very nice day.

We continued looking for toy cars as we towed the 1100 home, and again we made a long trip of it. We finally pulled into Charleston at 10:45pm.

So, we went through 4 states and the District of Columbia, drove over 1200 miles, scavenged through at least 8 to 10 department stores, spent $47 on diesel fuel, $16.50 on a hotel room (nice having a relative who works for the chain), $15 on food, $100 on toys, and did it all in approximately 40 hours. We had a blast.

OK, here is the first batch of pictures . . .

Outside of Baltimore, getting ready to go.  Just take a look at the family she is leaving!

Back home.  The new sibling is my '77 MGB.

A view from another angle.

 

Update - July 2, 1999

Well I still haven't done much, actually I have done nothing at all on the car except for clean it up some and give it a nice dry place to live.  I have been working some on my MGB, but mostly have been expending my efforts on accumulating brochures, books, models, and other such stuff.

I did make a real find though.  I now have a dealer promotional hood.  This is fiberglass with a Plexiglas insert to show off the transverse engine.  It was produced for dealers when the cars first came out because the engine arrangement was so unusual.  Well, the one I got is in nearly new condition. It has never been painted and still has the paper covering over the Plexiglas insert.  For more information on this, click here.

Now I just need to get to work on the car...

Update - February 22, 2000 (edited March 20, 2001)

Well, here are some detailed pictures of my car. The engine that is in it works, but the pressure fit clutch slips where it attaches to the crank - probably the crank taper is worn. I have another crank for it, just haven't put it in. Supposedly the fellow I bought it from was driving it not long before I bought it, but he had a mini 1300 engine in it. The interior is somewhere between rough and shot. I have no idea about the brakes since I have not driven it. All the electrics do work and the tires are near new. How do I know the electrics are good?  Well, we dropped a battery in it on the pull back from Baltimore, and ran the lights all the way back.  And yes, we played with the horn and stuff too.

Update - May 25, 2003

Currently for sale.

The End... for now

The car has sold and moved on to a new owner outside of Atlanta, Georgia. So, for now I am without an 1100 ... or any MG for that matter.  How long will this situation last???