Agreed, Dave.
I've found that nice old classics either don't exist over in my neck of the woods, or are quietly tucked away in sheds/garages, and have probably not emerged for years. Most locals drive modern cars and obviously value practicality (must be a Highlander trait, or a result of too much porridge in the diet?) over having toys sitting around waiting for an occasional sunny Sunday drive (actually, I'm trying to remember when we last had a sunny Sunday! I drive my Moggie in all weathers, now that I've dammed the river coming through the windscreen).
But it's not because they don't really like old cars. When I started looking at Moggies some months back there were zero on the market in Scotland, or even nearby. And while there were seemingly hundreds selling down south, and thriving Moggie restorer businesses, garages, parts suppliers and owner clubs all over down there, there is almost zilch in Scutland (only one local branch of the huge UK MM owners club, and that's on the other side of Scutland).
So my choice was bought sight unseen after tremulous investigation of the "dealer' I got it from in Nottingham, and I had it trucked up to me (the driver took 11 hours). I thought this was wiser than my trying to collect and drive it back myself.
It turned out not as bad as feared, but not as good as advertised, with inevitable rust. But it looks OK, is now rust free, runs well, stops well, and has a pile of spares accumulating to give the suspension a big birthday. And to my amazement I then discovered an ex local Morris dealer who is a mine of info and skills after years of servicing them in his youth, and a local garage run by a young guy who adores old cars, who employs a genius Euro immigrant mechanic who is a master welder and problem solver. Must be good karma.
The day the Mog arrived and I parked it in the driveway, I had approximately 40 sets of visitors drop by for a chat, a reminisce, stickybeak, advice provision, or general gasbag. We live in a very small village, but in summer have quite a few tourists wandering through "town" after visiting the local Eilean Donan Castle. I had gaggles of giggling Chinese taking selfies and long shots, Frenchies looking quietly admiringly (down their noses) at it, Yanks asking what kind of car it is (and whether it's a V6 or V8!), local tradies dropping by to comment that they used to have one (and one still does - rotting in his garage), local residents we'd never met in the previous 2 years coming up for a chat, and two local vintage wedding car hirers stopping to offer advice.
Everybody loves old cars, and reminiscing about them. Only very few actually own them up here, though.
This sudden burst of fame took weeks to fade away, and I still get stopped by passers-by every time I take it for a drive anywhere, or spend a rare fine-ish day under the bonnet.
So.... I will persevere, and if necessary be prepared to drop everything and fly or drive down over the border to that country down south of here if something really good looks worth a trip.
Mainly looking at a 164 now. Pity that Europeans drive on the wrong side of the road, as apparently nice ones seem common on the other side of the channel. I know of a couple of good ones back in Oz (where they still drive on the correct side), but that's being a tad extreme.
Leroy
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