The waiting

I think it is the right thing to do, whilst I wait for my new MG Midget restoration adventure to start, to explain exactly what is running through my mind. Certainly a massive sense of excitement and eagerness to get underway stands at the forefront, but there are many other worries that confront me. 

I cannot help feeling that I am not the first to experience this. Having not properly looked over the vehicle due to wearing a nice suit at the time and the sheer lack of space in the garage, I am more trusting in my wanting to achieve something from all of this. I cannot but help feel the pressure from within myself to succeed, especially when my father took so many years to complete his restoration of an MG TC and when you commit to a decision like this, there is an enormous sense of scepticism that I might have bitten off more than I can chew. 

Over the past few weeks I keep recalling the countless pictures of MG Midgets with completely rusted sills, bonnets, wings, wheel arches, doors, suspension mounts and floors etc... It is important to note that the closest I have ever come to welding was during my school years. During craft, design and technology classes I managed to braze a few lengths of steel together to make a strange exterior metal spotlight. At the age of sixteen I was very impressed with this. I somehow even managed to get my highest GCSE grade, a 'B'! As an adult, my metal work as progressed to extending the heating system in my home. Not exactly 'MIG' welding standards.

Yet here I am on the verge of taking on one of the most complex engineering projects of my life. How many reading this can provide the number of parts that make up a Midget, let alone in what order to assemble them. The measurements, calculations, experience and skill that is required to restore a classic car is in itself hugely daunting. 

However there is something there. Something that tells me this is a journey worth taking. Because if I take my time, if I tackle each task carefully with the care and dedication that I have so far bestowed on my own devotion to my family, then I am happy in the thought that once I put my mind to something, even as complex as this, with the support of my friends, family and reliance on complete strangers from the world of online forums, I will be successful.

The Midget arrives week commencing 5th November 2012. Let the sparks of reconstruction begin!!