BLOG: A tale of two lucky VDP's - part 9

by Andy Perman

I’d been invited to show my VDP at the NEC show in November 2014 which pretty much marks the end of the show season. Remember this predates the EBMVBB85 group by a few years where we have winter gatherings, or summer gatherings with winter weather.

at Brooklands

After the debacle of the wheel bearing setting me back I had a bunch of detailing jobs to tackle in preparation for the show. I’d spoken to a few club members who’d previously shown their cars at the NEC and been warned about the rivet counters and those ‘knowledgeable’ comments we all love (not). However there were a few things I needed to tackle beforehand to try and limit these undesirables, which were; replacing the headlining as mine was shot and hanging down in places, repairing the boot lid which was badly chipped and scuffed - probably from it’s time in the scrap yard, order a set of decent number plates, mine were a basic modern type and I wanted something period and finally give the car a service.

I hit the internet and ordered a set of correct period plates, again £20; it’s the law and at the same time sourced the material and glue for the headlining (£20). Trimming was not something I’d ever done before but given the timescales and cost I was ‘giving it a go’. Well I got there in the end, but I have to say I really hate trimming! A dusty, fiddly job that took ages but the results were pretty good. By this time the plates had turned up so these were fitted and also looked really good, so now it was time to tackle the boot lid. After a good look I quickly worked out it was WAY beyond my skills so removed the whole thing and dropped it off at a local paint shop. That left me a bit of time to detail a few paint chips at the front and carry out the service. A week later the boot lid was ready so I collected it and bolted it back on. It looked stunning. I was ready for the show.

I set off for the NEC on the Thursday morning, stopping for some lunch about half way there making for a pleasant drive. Once there I found the correct hall and our area, then spent the rest of the afternoon building up the stand, raising the rear of my VDP and drinking coffee. I have to say I really enjoyed the show taking turns manning the stand and going for a wander round. Highlight of the show was getting offered a fairly significant sum of cash for my VDP from a collector who recognised its rarity. ‘Where are you from?’ he asked ‘Portsmouth’. He then said ‘go home on the train 1st class’. I declined his offer anyway but wonder what would have become of my VDP had I accepted. Low point(s) were the damn awful lighting, come on guys there are plenty of LED solutions available, and the fair number of rivet counting shuffle bottoms declaring ‘the wheels fall off’, ‘oh look, an all-aggro’ and ‘where’s the square steering wheel?’ I worked out the most effective reply was ‘I’ll let you know when you’re being funny’. Worked every time!

at the NEC

Sunday evening soon came round and it was time to go home, after saying plenty of fond farewells to people that were now becoming friends I headed out the NEC into the full force of the November weather. The car worked hard all the way home the wipers, blower and lights all on all the way, but it performed beautifully all the way. More than can be said for myself, I was completely knackered! I stowed the car the next morning after a wipe down ready for the New Year’s Day gathering at Brooklands.

Before that however at Christmas I got the nod through the club of a VDP that had been pulled out of a deceased estate and was now in the hands of the recovery company that was local to me. Was there anything I could do? The chap was no enthusiast and was likely to weigh the car in fairly soon. As it was Christmas week I had plenty of time so went to take a look. It was pretty rough and a non-runner but was a solid base for a restoration. Chap wanted to know ‘how much?’ pretty much from the outset so I said after taking a look £300. His reply was unprintable here and he said ‘I’ll get truckloads more on eBay’, so I wished him good luck with that, made a report back to the club and assumed that would be the last of it.

New Year’s Day was a cloudy but still day, bitterly cold but no snow or ice! I rocked up early as I was warned it gets mobbed to be greeted by the marshal saying ‘You beauty!’ I hope he was referring to the car but anyhow said ‘Park as high along the banking as you can then we can form a cavalcade behind you’. After doing so and getting out somewhat awkwardly due to the extreme angle I took what is still my favourite picture of my VDP. 

Poised high on the banking there is just something about it that does it for me. The show was awesome, really busy but managed to get round the bits I’d missed previously including a second visit to the Barnes Wallace laboratory. All too soon though it was time to go home so I said my farewells and headed off. Again, I had that feeling all was not well pretty much from the off. Within a mile of Brooklands the shimmy gave a shake and almost instantly locked up the front wheels; I had failed to proceed again! The AA were really prompt, arriving in less than ten minutes, whereby I was unceremoniously hitched up and towed home! ​

Again by the next morning it had loosened off and it didn’t look like the wheel bearing either. I removed the LHS wheel and found the caliper looked lop sided, upon removing the caliper found one side of the pads completely scuffed out, although the caliper itself was absolutely fine. I stripped it anyhow, new seals and re-greased everything and fitted a new set of pads. On the test drive it all seemed fine, that light shimmy still there that I had gotten used to now, and I’m sure the more knowledgeable among you will be screaming the obvious but to me It seemed fine and just assumed it was the caliper that caused the problem. How wrong I was!

In March I received an invitation from Practical Classics. They were preparing an article on cars that didn’t use springs for their suspension called ‘no springs attached’ and wanted my VDP to participate. The shoot was local to me at the Gosport Hovercraft Museum, again a place I’d wanted to visit previously but now I was getting in for free! The shoot was booked for mid April weather permitting as the site is right on the coast and gets very lively if its stormy - something I witnessed first hand quite recently, also for Practical Classics but more of that later!

​The date arrived and the weather wasn’t great but deemed OK to proceed, so I turned up at 9 o’clock as instructed. I was greeted by Andy Taylor from PC who is a giant of a man both in stature and personality. He directed me where to park and thrust a coffee in my hand. Top bloke. Whilst they shuffled the cars, played with lights and lots of stuff I didn’t understand I got the chance to look around. I was shocked at the condition of the two cross-channel hovercraft. Their structure was so rotten no access was permitted onboard and all the engines had been removed. Such a shame these two leviathans have ended up this way.

The shoot lasted most of the day and we were all interviewed about our cars, then by about 3pm the weather was deteriorating quite rapidly so they wrapped it up and we went on our way. Again I got no more than a mile from setting off when the shimmy went up on steroids and locked up the front of the car again. I was seriously questioning why I’d not left the VDP in the scrap yard to rot and again phoned the AA. The patrolman turned up within 15 minutes and instantly took a liking to the car having ‘worked on them back in the day’ and wanted to fix the problem.

​He questioned me in detail regarding the previous breakdowns and work done. He went Hmmm, lifted the front of the car and felt each wheel. Something not right here mate he said rotating the passenger wheel, "Jump in and start it up". I did and engaged drive whilst he stood back and watched. Hmmm he said again and dived into his van and emerged with a spanner. I jumped out and watched, my curiosity piqued. He undid the master cylinder from the servo, ‘That’s better’ he said, ‘got the brakes out the way, now both wheels are going round’ He again stood back and watched. After about a minute he said ‘You got a problem with your driveshaft end, look at the left hand side wheel, there is a slight shimmy on it’ That’s what is killing your wheel bearing, knocking the brake pads out and causing it to lock up. Won’t have done your steering rack any good either all that shaking. You need a new drive shaft mate. I’ll get you home now", which he did.

Back in the workshop I was dumbfounded, but elated! It was as simple as that. Sometime in the past it must have hit a kerb or something causing a slight distortion in the shaft where it entered the hub. The shimmy shouldn’t be there! I’d seen a few complete hubs with driveshafts on eBay for £20 a few weeks back so went inside and ordered one straight away.

​I’d also noticed a missed call on my phone and a voicemail. When I listened back it was the recovery company chap from Christmas asking if I still wanted the car.

To be continued…….