A tale of two lucky VDP's - Pt 11

by Andy Perman

So it was now October 2015. It was five years since I’d spotted and rescued the VDP from the scrap yard and it had been performing flawlessly since replacing the shimmy hub. It had picked up quite a few awards at various shows, been to the NEC and sparked many interesting conversations. So from my perspective this was great, but from a blog point of view it’s a bit vanilla.

That however was all about to change. I’d joined this new Facebook group called Enthusiasts of British Motor Vehicles and they were having a meet in Coventry. This was going to introduce me to a phenomenon now known as ‘Gar’ weather, something that is not seasonal or even desired. I’d also been told a chap called BL Dan wanted to see my car in the flesh, so there was no question, I was going.

The night before I watched in horror the ‘Gar’ weather forecast. It was awful, a band of very heavy rain the whole length of the country pretty much all morning, all blown in on a stiff wind. Well I’d driven back from the NEC the year before in pretty bad weather so it couldn’t be any worse than that, could it? 

I’d set an alarm but it wasn’t required. The rain lashing on the roof woke me up about 6am. Unable to get back to sleep I got up and made an extra flask of strong coffee so I wouldn’t need to stop at the services half way and get soaked. I opened the workshop door to load the stuff and if a car could wear an expression it would have been ‘really’?

I set off early, about 7.30, but with about 180 miles in front of me it meant I could take it easy in the vile weather and not have to push the car too hard. The first leg along the M27 was uneventful, the wipers and lights all working hard but otherwise fine. The heater was producing plenty of heat and the car didn’t seem to be leaking which was a bonus.

My exit onto the M3 to take me in a more northerly direction was approaching so I moved over into the slip lane in readiness and felt a hiccup. Or did I imagine it? Ah, the cats’ eyes along the slip, must have gone over one of them. Five minutes later, another hiccup, unmistakable this time, something was not happy but I did what we all do when in denial, sped up a bit to ‘flush it out a bit’ and turned the radio up.

​My denial lasted about five minutes more when the hiccups returned with all his mates and proceeded to rock the car whilst stealing all the power. I moved into the emergency lane and backfired to a halt, the wipers mocking me as they swept the now biblical rain from the screen. One final cough and the engine cut out, leaving an ignition and oil light glaring at me ‘really, told you so’.

Great, it was absolutely sheeting with rain and I’d failed to proceed on the hard shoulder of the M3. I’d tried to restart the engine but it was having none of it so resigned myself to having to take a look. Good job I’d packed some waterproofs - I was going to need them. They were however in the boot. I leapt out quickly and winced as the cold ‘Gar’ rain instantly soaked into my shirt. I ran to the boot only to find it locked, ran back to the car to get the keys, back to the boot where I could finally get the waterproofs out but by this stage it was far too late as I was already soaked right through.

With my ‘Gar’ waterproofs now on I popped the bonnet and had a cursory look. Everything was covered in a fine spray so I was sure the rain had played a part so grabbed a can of WD40 (other alternatives are available) and began the process of chasing the water out of the electrickery. This got the engine started, but rough and certainly not capable of the trip in front of it, so I slapped the dwell meter on the coil and Bingo! The reading was all over the place. I removed the points and grabbed some emery paper then jumped in the car to re-face the surfaces. And dry them out!

Re-faced and fitted I started the engine, still rough but the reading on the dwell meter was stable now, albeit out of spec. Quick adjustment and got it spot on, engine now happy idling smoothly. Then I spotted the cooling fan was running continuously. I’d left the override switch on! No wonder there was spray everywhere, it had sucked it in! Satisfied I shut the bonnet and jumped in then tried to wriggle out the waterproofs as only an overweight middle aged man can. Un-elegantly!

I switched off the cooling fan and pulled back onto the motorway, picked up speed and headed north. The rest of the journey was good, but the rain wasn’t. It didn’t let up for a second, lashing me all the way. Once I got through the horrendous road blocks and one-way systems in Coventry I found my way into the museum, more by luck than judgement and parked up. As if on command, the rain eased then stopped.

I was the new rookie on the block and didn’t know anyone but one thing I learned quickly is this is a friendly group and I was welcomed by smiles and cake. Lots of cake. Then I met BL Dan, a real enthusiast for anything British, but particularly Allegros. He had been man and boy at several large dealers back in the day when Allegros were commonplace and had a real soft spot for them. Shouts went up and the Admin chaps assembled in front of my humble VDP and the picture was taken that has become synonymous with BL Dan, this group and is still his profile picture to this day. Proud moment.

L-R Keith, Gar, BL Dan and Zebidee

My VDP beside the MK1 1500 Special

As ever the day flew past and as the light was fading it was time to head home, but not before getting my VDP alongside another rare MK1 1500 Special Allegro that had also joined us for a camera roll. Interestingly that Special now lives just along the coast from me in Bognor with a real Allegro nut, but that’s another story. The journey back was fabulous, no wipers required. The car safely stowed meant the end of another eventful season, but things were going to take a change; this group were about to embark on tours in the next year. In ‘Gar’ weather. Camping. In North Wales. In October.

If a car could have an expression…… Really?

To be continued.