From the picture you can see that the car which we referred to as the practice car was none other than - an MG Midget. It was built in 1979 and marketed in Canada in 1980. We bought this car because of a love of British sports cars, but also because we wanted to improve our restoration knowledge and our capabilities by practicing on this project.
We first discovered our Midget in 1993. The car was a mess and was in serious need of body work! It had been in an accident, and had since been left for dead;slowly rusting away in an old heavy equipment parking lot,where it was constantly at risk of further damage. The hood and the trunk lid were twisted, the motor needed work, the transmission had to be rebuilt, the brakes were seized, the tires were flat and the top was rotted from the sun. The list of problems could go on and on. However, I'm sure you get the picture.There was going to be a lot of practicing to turn this car back into a driveable vehicle, as we literally had to drag it home.
At first you might think this would have discouraged us. However, the challenge just seemed to spur us on. We dreamed of a better day when this poor ugly duckling would become our very own British roadster. We imagined it, bombing along the highway at incredible speeds of 55 mph, carrying the two of us and our rather large smiles through fun-filled afternoons.Then reality struck - first of all, this was just a practice car and secondly it was a long way from bombing anywhere, including down the driveway.
Consequently the planning began and the jobs were divided up: Ken would do all the physical restoration of the car including mechanical and body work; Gloria would do all the parts searching, and the record keeping. At this time, it was decided that the project would span approximately two years if done on weekends and some summer evenings.
The first year,our spare time was devoted to the engine, the transmission, and the running gear. If you said it quickly, it didn't sound too bad. However, a lot of hours went into those jobs. Unfortunately, at times we probably spent more time working on the car than we should have, as other jobs around the house and the yard seemed to be forgotten. Oh well - that was not always a bad thing, so long as we were both doing it; that way there could be no complaints.
The second year Ken started on the body work which involved both repair and replacement of parts . As we didn't actually have a garage of our own in which to work, a lot of time was spent happily sanding and welding outdoors. However, there were many days when the elements dictated what could be done or even if anything could be done. Then some of the body parts were in such poor condition that we just had to replace them; they weren't worth the time to work on them. Even that took time because we usually searched for good quality second-hand parts. After all, we were talking about an MG Midget, not a Ferrari! Therefore, considering the potential value of the car, we didn't really want to spend unlimited amounts of money on it. Our motto was that it had to look good and run well but remain reasonably priced. Nevertheless the project did progress.
The winter of 1994 was spent, in a friend's garage, working on the interior of the car. We tore everything out and started restoring it from the floor boards up. After a month or so, it began to look like a real sports car and our efforts became more feverish. Every evening our supper would be wolfed down and, with a bounce in our step, we would head for the garage to put the finishing touches to the interior.
We did not feel that painting was within our realm of capabilities. At this point we had spent too many painstaking hours doing it ourselves to even consider turning it over to some garage to finish the job that we had started; it just wouldn't have had that personal touch that we were beginning to appreciate. So we asked our friend, Calvin, to help with the paint job. As a result, in a short time, things were moved, plastic was raised, paint was mixed, and doors were locked. Suddenly, before our very eyes there sprang up our own paint booth. Calvin then set about the task of magically changing the practice car into what soon came to be known as Junebug.
Two days later, after the paint had dried and been polished, the finishing parts returned to the body, the top installed, and some buffing accomplished, we found ourselves amazed. There before us sat Junebug the most beautiful little roadster we had ever seen - and we had done it mostly by ourselves. A little piece of each of us seemed to have gone into that car.
Finally came that big day, our very first ride down the highway to see how the newly finished project would run. Ofcourse, Junebug was performing at a formidable speed of 60mph, our hair was streaming behind us in the wind and our grins were displaying our thoughts - it had definitely been worth it! Every minute of the time and every penny of the money was worth it as Junebug had surpassed our expectations as a first attempt at a car restoration. It had even been accomplished in less than the original two year plan.
The project was finally done and we had indeed learned many things while working on it. That meant that it was time to put the car up for sale and move on to the original task of restoring the Triumph - up for sale? Junebug? Well, maybe not right away. After all, we convinced ourselves, it was important to make sure that we worked all the kinks out. We might consider it perhaps in ... say...three years? Time would tell.
