A Day for the Arks

Most of the day was dull grey and very wet. As predicted. I did pop out and look at the Alpine tyre though.

I think it might have gone down a tad.

Got Away with It

I started the day sweeping the drive while the E-type got the fan heater treatment. 

Then backed it out to put the bubble bottom sheet down. 

It looks bigger each year. 

Then I risked a run. 

That went very well I was glad to report. 

Just one Job - and Not Again !

I decided to get the Imp into the external bubble before the cold and wet comes at the end of the week. 

While it was warming up I checked the Alpine tyre. Yep - a slow puncture on the rear offside tyre. I left it a few pounds over inflated. 

I also unpacked the Alpine boot which I’d forgotten to do. 

I tried to move the Imp to clean under it and found it would not move - but why ? Some fool had left the handbrake on.  So car out and floor swept and car back in. Putting the top cover on I spotted I’d got it upside down. Oh well do it again. 

In the end it was all packed away and ready for the Winter by 11:30. 

So pm I thought I’d cheer myself up and take the Ferrari around the block so I put the fan heater on it for an hour or so. Oh no. 

It was not happy idling when I got it out of the garage, popping and banging on the run to start with and then just went back to feeling like it was not running cleanly on all 8 cylinders - just like last time. 

Oh Shit.

Finally SAAB to Harkstead. Dull but reliable.

A Little Golfing

A dull day mostly waiting for the rain to come back. So a little trip out in the morning to break the monotony which did the trick.

That's the MK2 in Abbott's yard . It seemed to be going well too.

There's a catch

Late morning I unpacked the rest of the stuff from the Alpine and decided to look at the catch. I adjusted it all the way out.

The door closed correctly but was too tight !

So I've bought a secondhand one and will grind off some of the lug and see if I can make it fit better.

PM MK7 lift to Stutton for a quick hour to BBSit.

Back to Work - Back Home Safely

The day dawned bright and warm … Er well somewhere it did but not in Solihull where I awoke to a misty cold day. Rain was predicted too for the evening.

Back at the show I checked over the car. The tyre was still up and hard … ish and the paintwork still looked clean and bright. A few finger prints but nothing to worry about.

I started looking around the show and I found a few things to interest me - but actually not a lot. Have I reached 'peak car' ? However I did like this Maserati Bora.

I would prefer it in blue though. I have enough red cars !

I did a few stints on the stand and the Alpine got a lot of attention - the team also pointed out a few things not right with it which was actually very helpful. Here I am at work.

One strange event was the man who came to find 'Martin' with the red S1 who had given him a lift once. He told me I'd given him and a couple of other people a lift back from the theatre with my wife Jan - 'Jana' I corrected. It was only when I asked where and it turned out to be Sutton Coldfield that the penny dropped it was not me. Odd. 

Finally as the hours passed slowly I started to fall for the 1950's Sunbeam Alpine opposite me.

But then the claxon went, horns were blown and the show was over. I stayed to help pack up - while there was an embargo on cars moving - but soon we were allowed to go. As predicted the rain started just as I was leaving, but I was out just before 5:30.

However the exit was chaotic - extremely busy as all the cars fled home - and confusing as it was not well signposted. Slow going too with the traffic, darkness and did I mention the rain ?

Luckily the car was running well in the cool air - and I was snug and warm with most of the rain going over me. The drizzle kept up for about half an hour until I was on the A14, but from then on it stayed pretty dry for the rest of the run. The car was going well (if a bit wobbly at times) and I able to keep a constant 50-60 mph depending on road surface and how much I could see. I passed Kettering services and everything felt good so I thought I'd go all the way - depending on the petrol gauge.

About an hour later, as I neared the Newmarket services, the gauge was hinting I'd not make it home without topping up and more importantly I needed the loo.

I put a quick 20 litres in the car and about the same came out of me !

Back on the road I picked up a truck running at about 55 so I followed it all the way to Ipswich. I was home just before 8:45 tired but happy.

I suspect those LED tail lights did their work too - you could probably see them lighting up the drive from Space ! 

So yesterday I'd thought to myself, I’m going to drive a 65 year old car 150 miles home - in the dark and in the rain. Rear tyre going flat - front wheel wobble and no roof - but it will be fine. The car will cope better than the driver as usual. We’ll see. You can't create content staying at home reading the Daily Telegraph.

As hoped then the car did very well and in the driver ? Well he just went along for the ride.

There It Is

So I started the day with a lift in the Mk7 Golf to the station and then Train/Tube/Train up to Birmingham. The easy bit. Just over three and a half hours. 

And the car ? 

So here it is - showing off those fins nicely - next to a Le Mans car. 

The tyre has not deflated which is good news and still feels quite hard - I’ll check again tomorrow. 

But oh my God - the first impression of the show is bewildering and a bit overpowering. 

After a look around our hall I booked into a ride with a Lotus Europa. 

The run was good and showed the car off well - flat cornering and race car like seating. Then I went in search of my quests. First the Volvo couple who were happy to chat and joke with me. 

Then I found the NSU RO80 and they remembered passing me too. 

I kept wandering around until I found the VSCC stand but it was quite empty with no Blue Diamond staff there at all. In fact the Bugatti and Aston Martin stands were also quite deserted. 

I took a shortcut back to the Alpine stand and people helped me identify things that needed sorting. Like the door where I’ve been moving the plate in the wrong direction. Oh and the rubber seals are wrong too - and the clock and the ammeter !