Yup, had a beat up '68 B when I was in university. Wire wheels, electric overdrive for 3rd and 4th gears! Always started first time. Would occasionally just stop though. Then it would go again. Eventually, the syncros were gone in the transmission, no worries, I just learned to double clutch. Carried tools and lots of spares in the trunk. When the floors rotted out, replaced them with marine plywood. Had no money, so bought the cheapest tires I could find, 'Whippets' from Canadian Tire. They would puncture if you looked at them sideways. Sears would fix any puncture for $5, so I took the offending wheel to them. Because of the wire wheels and having tubes, the poor mechanic would have to take the tire off by hand, repair the tube and replace the tire, again by hand. They began to hate me showing up.
The writer is right about the wonderful feeling of driving such a car. My '02 Honda S2000 comes very close.