Been away

I've been to France for my brother's wedding so nothing really to add. I didn't see any Triumphs in France but the wedding car was 1933 Citroen. There were a few 80s cars (mostly Citroen BXs) and a few Renault 4s & 5s. On the way home yesterday I saw a yellow Spitfire 1500 on the M62. I didn't recognize the driver and he didn't let on to me. Becky made it to Stansted Airport without a single problem and she didn't miss a beat. When we got back she fired up on the button. Find me a 22 year old car that's as reliable as Becky. She did me proud although my mum complained about being hot and cramped in the back seat.

Nice and clean

I filled up Becky's petrol tank and washed her at the local jetwash. When I got home I polished her. I was going to use the vac but "rain stopped play". Typical British weather! She didn't need vaccing anyway so I turned my attention to the Toledo with the polish. Despite the rust some of the paintwork came up nice (the bits that I did!) It really needs a good wash as well. The car's been resparayed in places and underneath the faded paintwork is a half-decent Toledo. If only I had a welder I'd be busy getting all the welding done on the Toledo and Baby Blue.

See you when I get back from France next week...

Homeward bound

After 22 months the Toledo has finally come home. I managed to find somebody who can drive to steer the Toledo (a woman by the name of Dawn). I removed the propshaft (should have done it AGES ago) and found a battery with enough power to operate the headlights. It's been a while since I've towed but I took it slowly (Dawn's never been towed before! It was nerve-wracking for her!) and I got home without a single problem.

One Triumph less...

I've just sold one of my Acclaims. YNW561X was sold to a young lad for £50 (what I paid for it) He seems happy enough with it and I'm glad it's going to a good home.
I'm thinking about bringing the Toledo home. The driveway will be empty when I go to France later on this week and having a car there when I'm gone might discourage any would-be intruders and keep the neighbours' kids at bay.

I've got Becky back!

She now has a full 12 months' MoT. The welding wasn't as bad as first thought (only £30 worth) and it was the drivers' side floorpan where it meets the bulkhead and front inner wing close to a jacking point. Greg who is the garage's MoT tester showed me where it was and it looks good. The total cost including the test fee and VAT was £65.25 The cheapest MoT for as long as I care to remember.

And have you seen what the garage have given me to run around in while they've got Becky? A Rover 214SEi Because of the welding that's needed they've had to keep her overnight until they can get the work done. I used to have one of these cars so I'm familiar with them. 

I don't believe it!

This is really bad news! Becky failed the MoT! Only kidding, it wasn't all that bad. She only failed on a section of the floor where it meets the bulkhead. The garage reckon that it will take £50 worth of welding to make her pass so I've given then the go-ahead.

I did it!

Got the radiator swap done losing a jubilee clip for one of the hoses so I robbed one off the other Acclaim so as not to immobilize Becky. I'm sure I've got a spare in the shed somewhere. It has worked because Becky is still running fine.

Radiator swap

I've decided to do the rad swap tonight as the rain has stopped and the forecast for tomorrow is more rain. As the saying goes, make hay while the sun shines. Only thing is: I'll have to go over to Anita's house to get my tools out of Baby Blue's boot so that cuts into what time I've got left before sunset.

Better get my skates on...

This isn't good...

Don't worry. Becky's fine! It was me. I committed my first motoring offence in her. I was driving through Halifax town centre when I got stopped by the police. It was one of the police vans obviously watching out for Thursday night drunken revellers. It turned out that I'd driven down a street that is prohibited to cars so I was given a fixed penalty of £30. I've got 28 days to pay it so I'll leave it until the last week. They can wait for their money the bar-stewards! This is legalised theft! The 2 police officers were quite impressed with Becky. I'm glad I polished her now. One of them scanned the tax disc with a barcode reader. When I got back into Becky, Smiley Culture's "Police Offcier" was playing on my MP3 player. Ironic or what? I immediately cracked out laughing.

"police officer no give me producer..." (if you know the song!)

Did a bit

I washed Becky after filling up at my local Morrisons. When I got home I swapped the ignition leads (recently fitted) off the other Acclaim. I also bought some wax polish and used it on Becky and she has come up nice. I tried to start up the other Acclaim and it fired up without any problems. It had been standing for a week so that shows how reliable they are. I sprayed some penetrating fluid on Becky's raditaor hose clips in readiness for the radiator swap at the weekend. Makes things a bit easier.

Found work to do

I didn't think I'd need to do any work on Becky but my mate Brian had a look under her bonnet and said straight away that the cooling system needs flushing so I might as well swap the radiator off the other Acclaim. Also, I'll swap the new leads and rotor arm as well. I wonder if the new dizzy cap might fit Becky. Worth a try. I'll be doing the rad swap at the weekend and I'll be able to swap the leads this evening. Brian also said that the brake fluid needs changing. I think that I might need new front discs and pads because I sometimes feel the brakes judder.

Keeping Becky on the road

I've booked Becky in for an MoT next Wednesday as her current MoT runs out the following week and I'll be going down to Stansted Airport in her to fly out to France for my brother's wedding. I've used this garage before. They're honest, trustworthy and they're Rover specialists so the Becky won't be a problem for them. I hope she passes first time.

I had a look round and there were quite a few Triumphs about but this one caught my eye. The identical model to Baby Blue (1500FWD) and this one was a real beauty! The same age as the spares car. 

I went to the Woodvale Rally yesterday. 22 months into Triumph ownership and this is my first show. My only regret is that I hadn't done this sooner because I really enjoyed myself. Becky was looking great as you can see in the pic. She attracted a bit of attention as well. She did Club Triumph proud! 

I went to Barrow-In- Furness to collect Becky. The train joruney wasn't too bad considering that I was stuck in Manchester for 45 minutes but I got there! She's a real beauty! A sight to behold and the eBay pics don't do her justice! Looks and drives just like new. Becky drives a bit differently to my other Acclaim. She has been well looked after. Even the rear bumper is perfect! Becky came with a lot of spares including a set of front wings and front passenger door glass. I'd have got more spares but there's so much you can get into an Acclaim!! During the drive back to Bradford Becky didn't miss a beat or put a foot wrong. The first thing I did when I reached Bradford was to pay Barry McGrath a visit and he was impressed with Becky. Apparently, she's the same colour as Rupert should be. I donated the front wings and door glass to his good cause. After all he's helped me in the past. It's the least I can do in return. Isn't this what being in a club is all about? I don't think I need to do anything to Becky at the moment! She's near enough perfect and will be ideal for the forthcoming Woodvale Show (my first show, whaey!) 

Here's one of the pics of Becky from the eBay item description and she looks a beauty! 

I've got it!

I won the auction for this really nice Acclaim. I've arranged to collect her on Thursday 4th August. The car is in Barrow-In-Furness and I'm going by train then I can drive back down to Bradford. The insurance is timed to change over and by then I will have received my new insurance certifiate. I'll need it as the tax has just run out. When I found out the registration number (A846BEC) the name "Becky" sprang straight to mind and from now on the car will be known as Becky. I don't think I will have much trouble selling my current Acclaim once word gets round that I've got Becky.