Oh! Sorry Lloyd. I thought you were pushing for more "authentic" MGBs and fewer ordinary driver and modified MGBs. I do see your points about the mentality of restoration and preservation, and I suppose that even with my driver GT there is some of that mentality in what I have done over the years. Most of my mods have been for reliability, a better, more efficient electrical system (relays), and the addition of some relatively modern accessories to make daily use not only more comfortable, but closer to a current standard (like a wiper delay). Not big changes, and nothing, to my mind that detracts significantly from the car's original character.
One thing tho, I would say, about the difference between owners of some makes and ours is the availability of money to finance a restoration. Certainly, not everyone who chooses to do these cars is cash strapped, but a good many who I have met are not as flush or as willing to invest as much into a restoration as, say, Porsche owners often are. And I have a few friends in that fraternity as well.
For many, to do an MG was the more comfortable reach than something like a Porsche 356 or even a Mercedes 280SL, much less an XKE or beyond. That a water pump could be had for the price of one on a Toyota Corolla rather than one on an Audi pretty much made the decision for many folks. And so has the simple availability of parts. To say that an MGB restoration was more readily accomplished and easily gratifying does not detract from its satisfaction, but I agree that it does not require the same commitment of time and resources that doing something like a 1932 Singer does.
That, and the world of restoration and old cars has changed significantly on several fronts since the days when Hemmings was about the size of a comic book. There is a lot more of everything available today than when I first got involved in the 1960s. And, much of it is new, not NOS, as the NOS inventories have dried up or gone golden. And that has become both a blessing and a curse.
For my purposes, as I said above, I want quality that assures correct and reliable function and construction first and if I get authentic looks and construction, that is a bonus. But sometimes, as you well know, we get neither. In my case I can live with a part that is perhaps even superior in functionality to OE stuff but is turned out in production facilities that are going to make it in the same way as what they are making for current production, because it saves them money and time. I can live with that, but it does nothing for those who are working towards the goal of authenticity and originality which is often as much concerned with appearance as with function. The parts work right (like a new Lockheed brake M/C) but often look nothing like what came with the cars. And other parts are, IMO, simply make-do because there is insufficient commitment and willingness to pay for exact reproductions.
Not even Mr. MacGregor sells door seals that are anything quite like what came with my '68 GT originally, even if those he has are still the best available. And his dilemma is shared by a great many of our suppliers. Conscientious as they might be, it is a rare supplier who can afford to go to the Nth degree. We are probably lucky that suppliers like Moss have the resources to do as well as they do or we might have a helluva lot less to use, and perhaps MGBs might well have had a similar fate as other much more ubiquitous cars like the Pinto or Chevy Vega. I see a lot more MGBs than either of those these days, and perhaps that is where the passion lies, in simply keeping them from the crusher.
