Thanks to Barry, Donald, Bill, jonmac, Fred, Philip, Ralph, Dean, Joe and
anyone else I've missed out who have helped to confirm that tho' I may not
be the greatest mechanic in the world, I didn't do too bad a job in making
the decision I have. Consensus of opinion does seem to be that with my
mileage (<5000 pa) and style of driving (ever been overtaken by a Robin
Reliant ?) I should be ok for a while at least just by switching to unleaded
and checking the timing.
Apart from being in hock up to my ears from the rebuild last year I now have
a new problem to deal with. Some nasty, slimy little !"£$%^&*() has
assaulted my poor
Baby Blue. Not having a garage I've been keeping her behind the house or on
the street. it's a pretty quite residential neighbourhood and mostly things
are fine but there are occasional groups of lads and laddesses who roam the
streets and alleys to kill time. On Saturday while I was giving the Spit its
customary bucket of water and a swipe with an old rag prior to Sunday's
Shoreham Airshow I found the damage. It appears that some <expletive
deleted> decided to walk/run over the top of my poor beastie. There are
dents on the front and top of the bonnet, on the scuttle next to the petrol
cap and on the boot lid. Also the hood frame (which I only fitted a month
ago to replace the incorrect MkIV one that was on it) which had been folded
down had one of the joints broken.
To the uninitiated the damage doesn't look too bad but after spending 4
grand last year for a complete body rebuild it's bad enough. I took it round
the repair shops tonight and it looks like the bill will be in the high
hundreds. At least I have fully comprehensive Classic insurance but still,
the £100 excess is an unexpected, and unneeded bill
If I had any doubts about how much I could afford to spend on the mechanics
they're all gone now. It's gonna be the 'Kipping method' and gently does it
till my Premium Bonds come up.
Once again, thanks to everyone who helped with their advice.
Sue
PS. What did I ever find to do with my evenings before I found this list!
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