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Putting the cart before the horse

16/5/2017

0 Comments

 
by Gar Cole
My last blog ended with my Princess about to have yet  more money spent on it. After a disastrous xmas period where the repaired suspension collapsed a further 3 times I decided to cut my losses after sinking over £2500 into the car and sold it to a fellow Princess enthusiast with more patience and deeper pockets than I have.
In the previous summer I had been given a 1959 classic caravan by my brothers 'father in law'.   It is a charming and ridiculous 8ft long by 5ft wide,  made by L & R Fisher this Holivan Junior was designed to be pulled by sub 1.3 cars of the era such as a Minor or A35 , weighing in at a featherweight 260kgs,   it had been stored in a barn since 1985,  it was in need of restoration even then but being stored for the last 30 years in the dry saved what was left of it,  being a typical car hoarder now downsizing his collection the caravan and several cars went to new homes after never being 'gotten around to '.
I am in the process of fully renovating the caravan and plan to debut it at the Gloucester steam rally in August,  question was what car would I get to pull it to shows?

Around October last year a friend mentioned he knew of a Moggy 4 door for sale by someone in the owners club,  it wasn't perfect but a good car,  arrangements were made and I went to see it,  first glance he looked great,  but on closer inspection every panel told the story of the last 50 years,  a collection of rust bubbles,  peeled lacquer,  stone chips,  moisture spots in parts that had been touched up over the years,  perfectly described by Mike Peake as 'Gloriously Shabby' at a later group show.
​
Picture
​However things vastly improved on the inside which is in very nice condition ,  it had been updated over the years with a heater from a classic mini installed,  mini 2 speed wipers and heated rear window conversion plus seat belts front and back, a big wad of receipts for mechanical work carried out including the infamous 'trunnions' ,  he also had a full mot and drove spot on during the test drive,  instantly charmed by this little car as have many others been before by its brethren I asked what he wanted for it,  he showed me a valuation by his insurance for £2500 and indicated he was looking for close to that figure.

I felt this was a little high given the paint finish and asked him why he was selling it after spending so much on the oily bits, it seems he was in the army and was about to be deployed for another 6 months and has nowhere to store it and he didn't want to leave it out in the elements on what was a fairly rough housing estate,  I put on my best sad face and said I couldn't afford 2.5K but if it was mine I'd properly care for it and take it to shows all year round while slowly restoring it one part at a time,  I had £1100 in my savings account which is meant to be used for repairs on my 2 taxis as and when faults occur, so I offered that amount,  he took my hand and shook it,  with myself fully expecting him to wish me a good day and safe trip home,  instead he said ' ok it's yours for £1100 if you promise to care for it'.
 
( Cue jaw on the floor moment )
Picture
​Driving home the 60 miles from Aylesbury to Sutton Coldfield I couldn't believe my luck,  yes it wasn't perfect but it was a decent car for little cash and after the money pit that was the Princess I looked forward to some low cost classic motoring, however..............
 
I didn't drive it myself on the test drive and was happy to be a passenger,  however a few days after getting it home and sorting out insurance I looked forward to my first drive,  opened the door and managed to get 1 leg and buttock in the car before I became stuck between the door frame and the original 18" steering wheel,  imagine a Sardine trying to get back inside it's tin and you have the right mental image.   Mortified I quietly ordered a nice 15" aftermarket steering wheel as an xmas present to myself and abandoned the test drive.
 
A few days after new year I fitted my shiny new (and smaller) 15in wheel and it's adaptor boss kit,  it looked fab,  I climbed in and arghhhhhh,   despite it being 3 inches smaller it was a thicker rim and the boss adaptor brought it higher and closer that I'd imagined,  the wheel now  jabbed into my chest just under the rib cage,  neatly making breathing difficult and controlling the car almost impossible,  being a larger chap who had always fitted in modern small cars I never even gave a thought to not fitting in a classic small car,  I swallowed my pride and carefully trawled the Internet until I found the smallest wheel I could find,  an 11" Mountney wheel made for a ............. Go Kart.
Picture
Stop that sniggering at the back,  at least I could fit in now and enjoy my first test drive which also happened to be my 40th birthday weekend shared with friends from our group,  despite 'Nelsons'  rough appearance every one had positive comments to give and made him star of the day at the Vulcan trust we visited,   the car drove great but I could tell it needed some work doing which I'll cover next time if you're all interested 😀

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  • Home
  • News & Events
    • Group News
    • Group Events
  • Blogs & Vlogs
  • YouTube
  • Photo Galleries
    • 2022 >
      • 2022 Classic Motor Show Gallery
      • 2022 Fat Lamb Tour Gallery
      • 2022 NC500 - the Grand Tour of the Scottish Coast Photo Gallery
      • 2022 Glos Vintage & Country Extravaganza Gallery
      • 2022 Best of Yorkshire Tour Gallery
      • 2022 Peak District Revisited Tour Gallery
      • 2022 Gaydon Weekend Gallery
      • 2022 NEC Resto Show Gallery
      • 2022 Forest of Dean Winter Tour Gallery
    • 2021 >
      • 2021 Classic Motor Show Gallery
      • 2021 Fat Lamb Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Welsh Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Jurassic Coast Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Crich Museum & Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Staffs Oatcake Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Boston CCC Show Photo Gallery
    • 2019 >
      • Yorkshire Moors Driving Tour 2019
      • Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show NEC Nov 2019
      • New Forest Driving Tour 2019
      • Gloucester Vintage & Steam Extravaganza Photo Gallery 2019
      • Tour of the Dark Peak Photo Gallery 2019
      • Codgers do the Cotswolds 2019
      • Bubble Car Museum Gallery 2019
      • Brecon Beacons driving tour 2019
      • Morgan Factory tour 2019
      • Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show 2019
    • 2018 >
      • Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show NEC November 2018
      • Isle of Wight Tour 2018
      • Brunel's Somerset Tour Gallery 2018
      • Gloucester Vintage Extravaganza 2018
      • Maesteg Charity Classic Car Show & Driving Tour 2018
      • Bubble Car Museum & Driving Tour 2018
      • Peak District Driving Tour 2018
      • Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show 2018
      • Coventry Transport Museum 2018 >
        • Joel Lodder's 2018 Coventry meet gallery
    • 2017 >
      • Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show NEC November 2017
      • Snowdonia Driving Tour 2017
      • Gloucester Vintage Extravaganza 2017
      • Lupin Farm Charity Car Show 2017
      • The Shackleton Trust 2017
      • Crich Tramway Museum 2017
      • Bubble Car Museum 2017
      • Pride of Longbridge 2017
      • April 2017 Practical Classics Restoration Show (NEC)
    • 2016 >
      • Crich Tramway Museum 2016
    • 2015 >
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      • Coventry Transport Museum 2015
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