Hah...I used to have an MG, first car I ever bought. It was a learning experience. I learned all I ever needed or wanted to know. I was a Navy jet mechanic at the time, and I was a decent mechanic, but...that MG made no sense at all to me.
I was so proud of my new car, so I was going to learn all I needed to know about my car...change ALL the fluids, tune everything up, etc. etc. etc.
Heh, I knew how to replace a jet engine, but the basic concept of checking gearbox oil level on a level surface was not in my scope of knowledge, so I drove the little MG up on a ramp, and it was...low. So I filled it to the level of the plug.
So, it came as a surprise to me when I took my car down off the ramps to drive away and began to smell nasty things, and when I put my car in gear, the engine would race and I wouldn’t really move much.
And, yeah. To replace the clutch...you had to pull the engine! And I also learned how valuable a simple thing like a clutch alignment tool is, too.
But that is another story...:)
And clutch alignment tool FOFL .. only took me what seemed like about 13 days to get things lined up w/o one !
That B was my first car as well, and even with all the 'learning' involved, I think the pride in it (at the time) still offset the frustrations.
And who can ever forget the tedious delight of cleaning wire wheels ?!
Better yet, how awesome it was to a 17yo kid to be toolin' down a country road on an autumn afternoon with the top down
and an indescribably cute redhead's long hair blowing around on the seat beside him . . .
American Grafitti, British Leyland style d:^)