Spotted: MIGHT’VE Ran When Parked
I almost forgot to share this slightly depressing automotive experience from the Great American Road Trip with you all! Shame on me. These photos were taken in charming Grand Island, Nebraska - which is neither Grand, nor a freaking Island. Oh well. All four of these weird cars were sitting at the local “u park it, u sell it” location… which I love.
This shot shows all four masterpieces, sitting and rotting away. From left to right: an MGB-GT, two Triumph TR-7’s, and an ancient Porsche 924.
This is an MGB-GT, which was the hardtop version of the iconic British MGB sports car. This one was formerly a promotional car for 97.1 “The Bee.” The Bee, MGB, get it? Cute! That explains the black-and-yellow strips, I suppose. This car actually didn’t have TOO much rust, but was missing some parts. It’s workable… with an SR20DET, anyway!
This was the better of the two TR-7’s. I’ve never really been a fan of the TR-7, to be honest - it was a bit too seventie’s “Disco and Wedge-shaped cars” for me. It’s neat looking, but was honestly a horrid car with atrocious BMC build and no power. The Rover V8-powered TR8 fixed that last problem, a little.
This one is, at best, a bad parts car. Riddled with rust, missing the motor… and it’s BROWN. Aggh!
This 924 had a bit of body damage and a surprising amount of Rust. While the 924 isnt’ the most-loved Porsche (in fact, it’s probably at the bottom of the list along with the 914/4… Porsche snobs really don’t like Porsches with VW or Audi motors, for some reason!), it’s still a Porker and deserves more love than it’s gotten. Good lord that is a lot of rust!
Anyway, that’s it for this post. By the way, if you’re wondering about the title, it’s a tribute to one of MY favorite websites, which is obviously called Ran When Parked. It’s a blog that’s basically about old, crappy interesting cars that are rusting away in a field. Check it out!
-James