New car!

I am happy to report that I've just had a childhood dream realized. My dad had an MGB convertible in the 1970s, and since then, I have ALWAYS wanted one of my own. My husband surprised me by announcing that I could get one as a Valentine's Day present (I don't know what I must have done to deserve a present like this!). After recovering from the shock of him wanting to add another vehicle to our fleet (which now numbers 6 vehicles), the search for a proper MG commenced.

We scanned the auctions on e-bay, bought a few copies of Paper Shop and the various auto classified mags, and looked elsewhere on the web. I finally found an MG in the Pittsburgh area which sounded like a pretty good deal. The price was right, and from all accounts, the vehicle was in pretty good shape. It was a 1976 MG Midget, which is actually a slightly smaller model than the MGB. I didn't know how tiny this car was until we pulled up and saw it in person. It makes the clown car at the circus seem small in comparison. Let's put it this way, I'm pretty short, and I tower over this thing. My waist is actually higher than the hood, and I can lean over the roof very easily. This is the only car that I've ever had that feels like it is just my size!

On Wednesday, Brad and I left the house at 4am and drove out to Pittsburgh. I had pre-arranged a U-Haul auto transport trailer in the area. The Discovery had a tow hitch, and the U-Haul rep said there wasn't anything else we needed. We found out that was not the case when we pulled up. Apparently we needed to buy a trailer hookup kit for the lighting, brakes, etc. for the Land Rover. We were told that this was a Land Rover-specific item that could only be obtained at the dealership. After a few phone calls, we found out that the nearest dealership was reportedly in eastern Pennsylvania, that is, at least a 5 or 6 hour drive! Brad refused to believe this could be possible, and looked through a Land Rover manual in the vehicle. Lo and behold, he located a Land Rover dealership that was located in Sewickley, PA, which coincidentally was located about 1 1/2 miles from the U-Haul franchise. We shelled out $260 or so for the trailer hookup, which U-Haul installed for us, and finally were on our way to pick up the MG.

We were pleased with the car... that is, until we began to load it onto the U-Haul auto transport trailer. This MG is so tiny that its width was barely enough to fit onto the steel wheel supports of the trailer. I watched in complete horror as not once, but twice, the car actually fell off the trailer as we were trying to load it (there is one scratch to show for the experience). Somehow the car made it on the trailer, and Brad strapped down the wheels. We then drove back across the state, trying to avoid potholes and rough road, and hoping that the car was stable enough on the trailer. I would never transport this car on this kind of trailer again - anyone who is thinking about purchasing a Midget should take note!

Luckily we made it home without incident. We got the car off the trailer without any problems, and already went for a spin. Brad thinks that the MG handles like a "typical British sportscar". I don't know if that's a good or bad thing...lol. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting to know my new car, inside and out. I hope spring comes here soon, as this should be a lot of fun.