These two cars were shot nearly two years ago, in the Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco. This MGA is a sorry sight in many senses – the exception being that it is alive, free, and being used. Putting on a different mindset, both of these cars excel in providing relatively care-free albeit quirky transport.
The MGA is lacking nearly all of its external trim, wearing only a bashed-in grille. I suppose parking in SF is too tight for normal care to be common, as many cars were wearing scuff-protector pads, and I imagine that touch-parking is inevitable rather than acceptable. The MG is in pretty solid shape though, and despite the grille there aren’t any dents and no rust was evident.
It is equally sparse inside, and just as resistant to any significant further damage at this point. The MGA actually has timber floors that are easily replaced, and parking it top-down will let any moisture air out after it rains! All in all, not a bad little runabout for SF, although not without its drawbacks, primarily lack of visibility due to its tiny size.
This Cadillac Eldorado I am guessing to be a 1969, as I am not familiar with the model. Do you think this is very faded original paint or a poor quality respray? I am leaning more towards the original, as the front fender paint has held up much better than the rest.
Note the, ahem, ‘aftermarket’ weatherproofing to the rear window, a clear sign of expedience being prioritised over concours originality, and fair enough at this point. This car is also not a bad thing for a runabout; although obviously harder to find a parking space for, it has lots of torque for the steep hills in the SF area, and I dare say it is not driven far enough for the poor fuel mileage to become a liability.
A fascinating pair indeed, and representing near-opposite ends of the 2-door market in the 60’s. There’s a part of me that wants to say “these cars should be restored!” but there’s another part that recognizes that there’s definitely such a thing as “too far gone” for economical restoration when better examples exist. I’d say the MGA may be in that category, though it’s harder to make the call about the Eldorado.
And, as you noted, the fact that they’re alive and in use is much better than a driveway paperweight, yard ornament, or parts car. If you’re going to have a beater, why not an interesting one??
The MGA looked pretty solid to me, definitely restorable. Be prepared for a hefty parts bill to replace the missing bits, but that is insignificant compared to fixing a rusty body.
Ouch!
Although I like MGA’s a lot, and agree that they look better without bumpers I think this is one instance where they should be used. Poor grille.
I spy a Colonnade wagon in the background of the second picture.
yep, a 76-77 Century wagon!
That MGA so reminds me of my brother’s, except his was all rusted out, and that was in 1968! His car’s grille was dented in like that too; a common MGA malady.
The Eldo looks to me to be wearing gray primer that has been getting some rain sprinkles on it. They may have shot a finish coat of some kind of gray on that front fender until the rattle can ran out, but they seem to have lost interest, given that you can see the rust peeking through again on the lower lip of the decklid.
Either one of these would be liberating to drive. To just enjoy and not worry too much about. Fix what breaks, and leave it at that.
I want to do this! I live in a quiet neighborhood that’s nestled smack in the middle of an otherwise busy city, but commute about 80 miles round trip to another town for work each day. For this, I need something modern and reliable and my ’09 Saturn Aura XR does the job beautifully.
However, next year I hope to transfer to a new work location just a few blocks from my house. If this were the case, I could drive just about anything (a lot of the neighbors have golf carts and scooters).
I’ve thought about eventually trading in the Saturn and my wife’s Nissan Quest and buying her a newer family vehicle while getting myself an interesting work beater for the occasion. I could finally justify buying that $2k S-Class or XJ6 off of Craigslist! And even if/when it breaks, I still have by old 244 on stand-by just in case. I keep telling myself this is a good idea. I guess I don’t have enough drama in my life already.
you could walk
It’s amazing that the MG has such a dent free body. It would be a good idea to come up with some kind of custom built bumpers though. The Eldo is a 70 look at the ribbon style tail lights. When the window channels are rusty and start leaking duct tape will help seal them and hopefully slow down the damage. I used that on my of my Rivs. To my shame I never fixed it properly. It’s true that sometimes a car is too far gone for a full restoration or maybe it’s not worth enough to make it worthwhile. I’m a big fan of trying to halt the decay and preserve a car like that and make needed repairs as you can. Lot’s of cars that were once considered “parts cars” have increased in value to warrant more restoration work.
Good golly! That Eldorado is a city-street-cruising, lane-changing-without-a-care, wanna-bet-I-can-park-it-here, don’t-stall-your-clutch-in-front-of-me, whaddaya-mean?-it’s-a-cadillac!, garbage-can-bruising, beast-of-a-hoop-tie-mobile!!! If it runs, stops, has a radio and air, I’m all in!
Dare I say, it’s a real Cadillac.
When I was stationed in Moutain View in the early 80s I owned a 77 Nova that was difficult to parallel park on San Francisco’s streets so I eventually traded it for a Ford Fiesta. I can’t imagine trying to park that Eldorado anywhere but at the end of a block.
True Curbside Classics!
I am surprised the Eldorado does not have a San Francisco Nose like the MGA and also surprised how dent free it is. Wonder if the neighborhood parking pass in the rear window is kosher? Could not help, but notice the two Suburbans in these photos, those must be fun to have between the parking, hills, and gas prices.
As a mystery reader, my first thought is of Marcia Muller’s books. Her detective Sharon McCone zips around SF in an old MG, although I think her’s is red.
I’d bomb around in either one! If I had the MG, I’d replace the grill, add a front bumper and the missing chrome trim, wash it, and clean up the interior a bit. That’s it. On the Eldo, I’d scuff it and respray it in some epoxy primer or something to keep the spots away, or I’d go the extra mile and make sure it’s straight and hit it with some cheap single-stage black enamel and really ride in style. 🙂
I live in SF and the cars I see on a daily basis are just ridiculous. I saw a Ford GT the other day on Market Street. Then I saw an early 80s Corolla in perfect Shape driven by an old lady at the grocery store. I’ve seen Maybachs, and perfectly preserved Dodge Omnis. Cavaliers that are falling apart, and Hondas that have been stolen 26 times. Come visit some time and I’ll tell you the neighborhoods to check out.
S.F. in the 1960’s & 1970’s was chock full of amazing old beaters dating back to the 1940’s .
The surrounding Junk Yards all began to close in the 1990’s , sadly many (IMO) good resurrerectable vehicles were lost .
Many were sold off for $250 each ~ I got fliers from nay yards and wished I had the storage space .
Good post ! .
-Nate
The MG needs a surfboard sticking up from behind the seats, or strapped to the trunk.
The Eldorado needs a girlfriend …. A ’57 Plymouth named Christine.