Antique Shopping

Mk7 trips - Not sure this counted - but it was sitting in the Antique warehouse.

I used to have a house built by the Denis workers in Guildford too - so I was tempted.

Mk7 earns its keep

Off to LV - MCOT's new pad in Gloucestershire.

190 miles give or take a few.

Multi-run time

Firstly topped up the SAAB fuel with Oli's leftover stale fuel as James packed up the Mk2 for a run to London. I'm sure it will be ok - with the fuel I mean...

Then SAAB out for jobs with tools in the boot. Next I got the Aston out to pack away chairs in the garage and then decided it needed a run.

Finally had been warming the Alpine for several hours which started fine (although I'd forgotten the battery conditioner) so went for a short jaunt.

Silver Van

SAAB to the dump. Then Lunch.

At least the Golf got a short run out too though. Squeeeeeling.

Normal Service and a Center Spread

The Alpine got star billing in the Horn with a centre spread.

Earlier in the morning, I took the SAAB on a run for jobs - so normal service has been resumed.

Not even jobs today

Quiet day inside. Got colder anyway !

Early morning dash

Quick SAAB job first thing then settled down for Christmas.

Packed in 5

SAAB carrying everyone around for lunch.

Then popped off to look at Xmas lights.

Virtual travel

Spent most of the day on Mini-Me van tours as the rain came down.

Tools etc. to be carried

Aston out into the air just to get the chairs down from the garage loft.

SAAB to Harkstead for jobs in the early afternoon - then down to the marina for a bit of moon photography.

Came out quite well I thought.

Alpine gets Christmas Present

Suspension parts arrived from Andreas in Germany - look well made. Need to buy the suspension units next - so not sure when I'll get them fitted. March ?

Than washed the Mk2. It came up well but is starting to look like it needs more polish (and paint) in places.

SAAB in the evening though for a trip to town.

Earning it's keep again

While the weather is poor (and so am I) the classics are not getting much of a look in.

SAAB again to town - again what we wanted was not in - traffic was light though and I did see a nice Aston leaving the car park.

Then SAAB back into town to get hair cut.

100 Yard Dash

Just a dash to the shops for lunch.

Karts again

SAAB to the shops again - still not finished though.

Then to the annual Karting with the SAAB boys in the evening.

New karts but usual result - Jana top of the women and I did not make the play offs.

Normal Noise again ?

SAAB to shops for jobs.

Dull run - but noticed there seemed to be no (less) noise now from the exhaust.

Has a listen under the bonnet and it might be a cracked exhaust manifold - I'm sure that happened on the old SAAB too ?

Little Convoy

Went for a walk in London and spotted these two in Muswell Hill.

Then drove SAAB home as night fell. As we started her up t sounded like the exhaust was blowing ?

Don't bother driving in London

SAAB packed and down to London for the weekend.

Then took I Florence out for a driving to experience the motorway - had to face queues to even get there. M25 traffic was bad and the weather was worse but we persevered.

Pumped Up

Golf tyre had a nail in it. So quick visit to the depot and it was fixed. £20. Not bad. They liked the car too.

Then cleaned out the SAAB and popped to town shopping.

Still deflating

Checked Mk2 before taking it to mum's. Yes still going down and the other tyres were a bit off too - mind you I'd not checked those last time.

Steering squealed like a hamster in a vice too.

Then SAAB night outing to Alpine/Tiger meeting. That's still full of dead Christmas tree bits too which need cleaning out.

More shopping jaunts

SAAB again- also noticed it needs hoovering out again - dead Christmas tree debris.

SAAB again

Went and bought a large Christmas tree from the farm to replace the one we had bought last week that seemed to just die.

Then Jana got a replacement tree so we have two !

You can cram in a lot

SAAB swallowed the furniture again and I took it to the charity shop.

Also spotted a very old Bristol (40x or 50x) and a familiar Seven in the pub car park.

SAAB Xmas jobs

Off to pick up a tree for mum and then pottered around taking (not that good) pictures of the river.

Small jobs

Cleaned the liner for the SAAB boot. Letting the sun dry it off.

Then Ferrari set up for winter - pumped up the tyres and put it back into the bubble. No sign of the alarm keypad but the lights worked fine.

Then a quick Mk7 jaunt to the boat to look at the instruments - factory re-set seems to fix it ! Wish we'd done that in the summer.

Then to the shops in the dull afternoon as the light faded.

Lazy but dry

SAAB all of 500 yards to the Dr. It was really hammering down with rain.

Then off to town to get the prescription - but no one had it. So back to the Dr. to get an alternative.

Energised I took the Aston out in the evening and eventually found a stockist.

300 yds

Got a lift all of 300 yards in the Mk7 on the way to the shops. Not even sure why, but that was it again.

It's just like a car

More bloody PC problems - seem to be sorted ...

Admin Frenzy

Well - PC fixing all day and missed the sunshine to the the Ferrari lights.

Mk2 reflated

Tire seemed ok this morning so took the Mk2 down to the shops.

Still squeaks badly on the steering rack - I'll get it fixed in the New Year

'A-Game' again

Aston out for a morning run- despite the rain and muddy roads.

Then tried the Mk2, only to find it had a flat rear tyre.

So SAAB instead again. Pumped it up tonight so we'll see if it goes down overnight.

SAAB back in action

Well a short jaunt to the next village late at night.

To the coast

SAAB out for a change (sensible choice as expecting traffic jambs) and off to Felixstowe for more pics - not of the car though.

Took miles from the fleet and noticed the Aston had done Zero miles in November.

Avoiding the jams

Orwell bridge closed again (due to high winds) so diverted the Mk7 down to Mannintree for air.

Late night run

Staying in again for a day of admin and a massive dose of Vitamin D ! Then ride in Mk7 for my sins.

Then Swede to the shops after dark and fill up with petrol.

Basically just acclimating myself for life outdoors.

See Monday

Still no travel

Stay in - head down and avoid the rain

Dull Dull Dull

Mix of cars - but not mine

Alpine lunch - with three Alpines, one Merc and one Aston V12s - ah we have come up in the world.

Oh and the trusty SAAB 95 from Scuderia Brazill.

Ditto

As below.

No Play

Dreary day and little reason to go out.

Barrow Load

The wheel barrow fits easily in the SAAB boot, along with 15 large bricks.

Backwards and forwards in the cold and gloom for most of the day.

Light box on tour

Morning jaunt to shops in the Swede then put the light box into the boot and went off to take photos.

Seemed to work well.

Post Script: Photos were not great - I think I need more light and a quicker exposure to get sharper images.

Venturing out by foot

Just rain and hail to contend with - so stayed put and walked to co-op instead.

Probably it for now

Pumped up the E-type tires and shut the bubble over it.

Dreary day so a quick Golf Mk7 jaunt to the bigger Swede was all.

Suspension time

Jacked the Alpine up to measure the suspension plate on one side. Seemed a bit random but then I was using mm and micrometer.

Then Mk7 passenger ride.

Alpine at night

I decided to shuffle the cars around so I could measure the Alpine rear suspension. So after a quick jaunt in the SAAB it was time to heat up the Alpine and get it ready to move.

I then heated up the Caterham and took it for a blustery (but warm ish) run to check the tide at Shotley - not right I discovered. So when I got back then Caterham went into the outdoor bubble.

Then SAAB again - this time to Felixstowe beach for more shots. Not that useful as the tide was wrong (as suspected) but the cranes looked like Star Wars 'Imperial Walkers' in the sunset.

Then I bit the bullet and took the Alpine into town for a photo call. I got some good shots (and some nice comments from passers by) but not sure who this prat is who snuck into this shot.

Alpine went well though I'd have to admit - it must like the cold air.

Golf in the Day - SAAB in the night

Dreary day - Pottered about in the Mk7 PM then night run (and emergency stop by the curb) in the SAAB.

Heading to the coast

SAAB jaunt out to take pics by the beach.

Nice ones too.

SAAB time again

Just popped into town and took the SAAB. That's all folks.

Who's the dick-head in the Ferrari ?

Turns out it's me, but I'll come to that later.

Started the day by putting the final bubble up in the garage and putting the 308 away. Harder work than normal too.

Then as the sun was out I went for a drive before I put it away, The ignition 'failed first time' twice - then was ok. Also the car felt more jittery on the bumpy roads, perhaps not having driven it for a month. Seemed to settle down on better roads though.

Then SAAB to allotment with tools - getting dirty again. Later I took it out to fill up with petrol - 10ppl discount is not to be sniffed at.

Then as the night was dry (ish) I took the Ferrari out to the marina for pictures. Like this one.

It was going ok until I tried to get back in and pack up. I set the alarm off THREE TIMES getting the camera gear in. Then the lights headlights would not come on. Everyone waved and pointed.

Eventually I parked up and opened the drivers door. Then the lights worked !!!

The drive home was great though.

Once home I looked at the pictures and noticed that they have put a bloody sign and there is some graffiti on the first column - right behind the car. Dho.

The fleet re-united at last.

In the Mk7 to pick up the 308. So the Ferrari is back from the garage at last.

Clean and tidy with new (loud) alarm and new ignition barrel.

Looking good in the workshop. With a F40 and F50 (in the process of being re-built) it was in good company for all that time too.

Of course it got soaked and dirty again on the way home as the weather decided to be come all Autumnal. But still looked surprisingly good when I parked it up.

Back to SAAB

Just a few miles in the SAAB - utility miles again.

Checking on the other Swede

Passenger in the Mk7 to go and check on the boat.

Yep still there.

Need to think about clearing off the gear ahead of Winter - and that's a job for the other Swede in the fleet.

Odd shot

Parked the Mk2 next to a red mushroom. Well near it anyway.

Then SAAB off to park at Asda to take more light trails. Then an ambulance went by.

Locked in the Bubble ?

Caterham out in the late afternoon sunshine again. Quite warn once the car had got going.

Then topped up the steering fluid on the Golf Mk2 and took it to the shops. Still squeeeeled.

Then off to the Alpine meeting in the dark. I guess I could have exhumed the Alpine from the bubble but it's getting cold at night now... and so am I.

SAAB to the beach

Good job too as a storm swept in when I was there - still not cleaned the car though.

Earlier I had to clean the leaves off the car - definitely Autumn now.

SAAB instead of Mk2

SAAB back and off for jobs and pressed into service as soon as it could be - pallets to the allotment.

Checked the Mk2 steering fluid which seems to be down - so I ordered some top up. Lets see if it helps the squeak.

Mk2 instead of SAAB

Took the Golf off to the seashore for pictures - Felixstowe port to be exact.

Misty day - but car went well.

Then discovered that the SAAB has been ready for a week !

Mr E out to delight

Run in the Mk2 to get the Mk7 first thing. Went well even though the power steering squeaks ...

A LOT !

Here it is parked next to the Vaixhal Mokka.

Then E-type to the pub 30 mins away. Also going very well.

Modern Golf time - buzzing around

Mk7 to the auction and back hoe with a load of crap of course.

Then off to Felixstowe for a walk and then into Brantham for the bonfire and Manningtree for a curry. No taxi to bring us home though so poor old Oli to the rescue at 10:30 at night - so we squeezed in the A3.

Admin and moderns

Strange gold car appeared on the drive.

Then Mk7 to the next village.

Adopted

Decided to make the Mk2 part of the fleet.

So it now has its own volume.

Then took it for a drive (in the rain) to celebrate.

Bubbling along

Moved the Alpine into the outdoor bubble and then the Caterham into its slot.

I was going to go for a run but then again...

Did the mileage and we've only done 200 or so miles this month in the fleet. Not a lot really.

Out in the rain

SAAB to Abbotts for the MOT etc. first thing - wipers on.

The ride back in the Mk7.

The Mk2 out and about to the bank - again in the rain. Ran well despite the weather.

When putting the battery charge back on I noticed an oil leak on the cam cover, but then I also noticed there was no clip holding it on ?

Another ride

Mk7 passenger again to the shops.

Then noticed the front nearside tire was a bit flat on the SAAB - just a few lbs - but needed pumping up. Quite dull day really as the weather turns bad now.

Just sitting down

A storm in the morning stopped any thoughts of car events - they are now later in the season too

So just a passenger ride in the Mk7. Very dirty inside of the windscreen.

Barrels of fun

SAAB pressed into use to take rubbish down the dump - including a rusty 200l barrel.

Not a lot

Dull-ish day so pottering and home jobs. No car action.

What signs ?

Roadworks were set up outside the house (again) with the barrier being just at out entrance.

Seems no one believed the signs though so lots of cars just arrived - looked surprised they could not go through and turned around in the drive. As this ice Mini did.

Then took the E-type out for a test run for the fan. Yes it cut in as normal as the car warmed up after a long 'spirited' run and then sitting in traffic and cooled it down easily. Odd. I also tested it when I got home and it worked fine.