"Moggie" (and other) Memories:

One of my earliest automotive memories of growing up in Ithaca, NY was of
being in the west side of town, left in the car while my mother went in to
get my brother from nursery school (I seem to recall it was a convent of
some sort, located in a very drab, maybe stucco building just west of the
train station, where the flood control channel runs now) so it would've been
about '56 or '57.  A car came by that I recall as being a three-wheeler (two
wheels in front), a convertible, and the driver was dressed for the cold
weather in leathers, goggles, and a white scarf.  This probably would've
been like the Aero project car that Don speaks of, which I understand
features a tranverse (crankshaft axis longitudinal) V-twin engine (similar
the classic V-twin in Harley Davidson motorcycles), and has a more or less
tubular body that tapers in the back and conceals the single rear wheel.  I
actually saw one (maybe two) again this past Labor Day at the Lime Rock (CT)
Vintage Race Car Festival.

My first car was a 1929 Model A sedan which I bought for $1000 with a loan
from my father when I was a senior in high school (I graduated in 1972).
The car had electrical problems and I didn't have the skills/tools/smarts at
the time to figure out what was going on.  I was, however, fortunate to live
on one of the steeper hills (Buffalo Street) in Ithaca so I could push the
car out onto the hill, hop in, and bump start it using the clutch.  If it
didn't start by the time I went the 1/4 mile or so to the bottom (which
happened a few times) there was a gas station there I could roll into and
get a jump start or battery charge.  My friends and I pushed that car all
over town for about six months until, in the spring, I was playing around
with a couple of rusty VW bugs and severed the tendon on the back of my
right thumb.  That was repaired in an operation after my last test of the
school year but the recuperation required that I be in a cast that prevented
me from being gainfully employed that summer which mean I couldn't pay back
the loan.  My father, while he had a soft spot for the Model A (he learned
what little he knew about working on cars by fixing one on a farm one
summer), called the loan which meant I had to sell the car.  I sold it to
Mike Turback who used it in front of the No. 9 Firehouse bar in Collegetown
(adjacent to Cornell University) and at his Victorian restaurant out in the
country.  In spite of all the abuse I gave it (at one point while trying to
roll start it out in the country the car ran off the road into a tree,
bending the front axle, denting a fender, and breaking the headlight
bracket) I still got what I paid for it.

My next car was a 1960 Ford Falcon which I think I paid about $75 for.  The
rear end of my new pride and joy announced with a CLUNK! that it had a
broken tooth as I was leaving the driveway of the home where I bought it
("as is," of course).  A new used rear end was followed not long after by a
new used transmission due to an overly-aggressive downshift.  It was a very
good simple car to learn car repair from but I would still count it as one
of my favorite cars.  It met its rusty end when I stored it in the moist
basement of a barn (in what was formerly the pig stalls) while I went away
to my freshman year of college.

Don't get me started on all the trials and tribulations of being a bottom
feeder in the world of used cars.  I think I've had about forty "learning
experiences" and I'm still discovering new ways to get taken (my goal is to
not repeat them)...

So what does a Bertone MG look like?  Inquiring minds need to know...

P.S.  More useless car facts (or fiction): The V-8 used in the Morgans is, I
believe, the same one used in the Rover and the TVR (another British sports
car) and was developed from the aluminum V-8 that Buick had in the 60's.
This leads Ken's brother Jim ("The Mayor" as in Besemer, NY) to taunt our
friend who has a V-8 TVR with "How's the Buick?"

-----Original Message-----
From: Donald B. White [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, January 07, 2000 10:27 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Morgans


Leland,

Is the West River Road the one that goes north from Brattleboro? That was
one of the best parts of my 1998 trip. It was in Brattleboro that the
Morgan was correctly identified for the first time since leaving DC, except
for one guy in Buffalo who was driving an MGB. Two young women crossed the
street where I was first at the light, waiting to turn left (North) and as
they passed the car, one looked at it and said to the other, "See, I told
you that was a Morgan." Civilization at last! I could live in a place where
even the pretty girls know what a Morgan is. And here is a picture taken
shortly before that event, when I stopped for lunch at this place west of
Brattleboro. The day was rainy, so I had all the weather equipment in
place, which produces an effect like driving a Quonset hut. Also makes it
impossible to hail pretty girls who recognize my car.

That Bertone MG, if it's what I think it was, is a rare car.

New Morgans are round $60,000 for the Plus Eight. The 4/4 and Plus Four
would be less, but I don't know how much--most of those sold in the US are
+8s. Is your question idle curiosity, or serious interest in buying one?
Older Morgans may be found in good condition for much less than a new one.
The availability of new ones keeps the lid on the prices of old ones.

Don