First Trips, Second Impressions

So within 15 or 20 seconds after the car was delivered we took it out for its first spin, the rain clouds having miraculously parted and the sun shining through.  The only driving I had done in it before this was a very brief test drive in which I was mostly on grass at the previous owner's farm, and never got above 2nd gear.  The title was not yet in my name.  We have no registration, no license plates, no inspection sticker, no county tax sticker, and no seat belts.  We somehow managed to put a in few miles and got into all four gears (plus reverse) circling the 2 block radius around our house, honking and waving at the neighbors while grinning from ear to ear.  My long suffering and patient wife (who had to drive across town in a rain storm to pick up the cash and cashier's check to pay for it) got the first ride, then each of the kids, then back to long suffering and patient wife, who got a turn behind the wheel herself.  Satisfied we had tempted fate too long with the police, our safety, and the car demons we fear are lurking we pulled it into the garage, having banished the Civic to the curb where it sits, sulking. 



It took hours to wipe the smile off my face.  The car started on command, there was no breakdown, no backfires, the brakes worked (I suppose we should have checked that more fully before getting up to speed) and it was just pretty awesome. 

Giving it a closer inspection, I started noticing things I should have noticed during the petting zoo at the farm two weeks prior.  A few more minor paint chips.  A missing section of windshield brace. A possible broken off bolt where the top will attach.  The top is old and dirty with a rear window yellowed beyond much use.  A small hole or rusted out section on the rim of the wheel well. The carpet and seats that I liked because they looked original I now notice look and smell like you'd expect after 53 years of occasional accidental dousing.  I don't care.  It's great.  I'm sure these will all cost me more than I expected over time, but they're all fine for now.

The good news is that the oil leaks and other sundry engine problems I thought I detected before purchase don't seem to be as bad as I thought.  Maybe I don't need much engine work before really putting it into service.  The gearbox I thought was shot seems fine now (more on that later). The oil leak from the valve cover gasket (more on that later) doesn't seem extreme, too bad to fix, or terribly unusual.  The oil collecting at the bottom of the differential in the back (more on that later) doesn't seem to be growing.  In fact, there is one drip of oil on the garage floor attributable to the MG, and 10-15 attributable to the Civic. We're off to a great start.