Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Think its the classic lines but with out the hassle of greasing kingpin, suspension joints every couple of 100 miles. Oil changes every couple of thousand miles. Classic cars are more labour intensive. Also they don't like sitting about.

With modern mechanics longer service intervals and fit and forget parts.

i agee with you, but just whacking a zetec into a midge doesn't instantly turn it into a swiss watch, either. unless you spend the £4k+ on the irs/coilover conversion, the £1.5k on brakes, the £5k on a full body resto and the countless other upgrades, you are still going to have a new (young?) engine in an old car.

so we now have a £20k midget

That said, maintenance is part of the charm. If you really don't enjoy doing it, you shouldn't be buying a classic car - but you knew that anyway.

^

(btw, 2 hours for a head gasket is good going!)