I've not been very active on the internet lately but it is time for an update.
Daffodil and Hildegarde have permanently moved to the Isle of Man.
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They have new registration marks, DMN476L and MAN8 respectively.
Daffodil's new numberplate is of course a nod to the previous UK registration and Hildegarde's plate is, well, a nod to the fact that it is a one-off special - no prizes for guessing who this gear knob belongs to.
8ball
In order to be registered on the Island each car had to pass a one-off test - the test is generally reckoned to be much stricter than the UK MOT but it is a one-off, rather than an annual test. As long as they remain taxed, they won't need another test ever again.
Daffodil was the first to undergo the Manx test and I was landed with an expensive bill because they didn't like the rust on one of the doors - much to my annoyance, the garage tasked with getting the car through the test resprayed the repair with Rover 25 Racing Green - in the words of the Wizard of the Lake, who is sorely missed by the Manx exiles:
They might as well have sprayed it blue
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Even though Daffodil passed the test, she wasn't running right.
She made it to Scotland for the Christmas break - conking out every 50 miles or so and generally being a miserable old moo.
I left her at Lake View when I returned to the Island after the Christmas break and Tom made good on the badly botched carburettor rebuild, done locally on the Island by an auto electrician (!) and he found the mystery that had been troubling Daffodil all the while - some well-meaning numpty, presumably one of the previous owners or their mechanic, had seen fit to put a bung in the petrol tank breather pipe, causing the car to come to a halt as the pressure in the petrol tank dropped to create a vacuum effect.
On the Isle of Man at least, Daffodil is top dog and my preferred daily drive - she is such a sweet car and I am so glad I persevered.
After a holiday to Scotland during TT, Hildegarde had a much easier ride through the test - she still had to come back but the list of defects was much shorter:
A bald rear tyre (grrrr - I had just had the front two replaced), front pads worn, some goo on the engine that was mistaken for an oil leak - a steam clean all round the engine block fixed the 'leak'.
I left them an easy one - a wiper blade with no contact on the windscreeen but they missed that sitter.
The Blue McFoo has recently left the gang to pursue a solo career. After Daffodil's experience with the door panel, that left the Blue McFoo with nowhere to go. The McFoo is a solid, reliable car but her panels are awful - she would need a full respray or an awful botched job to get through the test.
The McFoo has been swapped for LBJ "Ladybird" 580K, an unmolested, highly original car with 29000 genuine miles, all but a thousand of which were in the 20th century - it did 1000 miles last week on a tour of South West Scotland - this car had been laid up for 35 years or so until it was recommissioned with the help of Lake View Garage last year.
So let's get this right. You're saying you have three cars just like me on that funny shaped rock in the distance?
Isle of Whithorn
I felt like I'd sold one of my children when the McFoo left and I'd have her back any time but Ladybird is the smoothest, most original car I have ever driven - she's far to nice for the likes of me. It's got all the dealer service stamps in the Passport and even the rear windscreen heater works.
Ladybird is at Lake View with an list of defects:
Wiper squirt not working
Possible perforated exhaust manifold driver's side. Rapidly getting worse.
Kickdown not functioning
Smell of petrol (intermittent)
Nearside main beam out.
Car will not pass the test in isle of man with that hole in the wing
Please change oil and remove sump cover. The correct grade of oil has been ordered and is being shipped to Lake View.
Ethel is on the Island and is going to Lake View very soon for the repeatedly delayed respray. We marked our 10th anniversary on the 7th March.
I saw her in the garage but I ignored her, preferring to check Daffodil's fluid levels instead.
By way of apology, I took Ethel for a trip to Peel - a favoured spot because of the gentle bends on the St Johns - Peel road - a wide road by Manx standards where a P6B which is on song can reach the magic ton-up or get some good overtaking moves in - maybe both