Moving forward

Since my last post I decided "sod it!" I'm not going to let my personal problems get in the way. It'll take more than unemployment to stop me.

One of the first things I did was to tidy up the garage and it is now a much better place to be. It is certainly a good way of giving my "mojo" a boost. During my tidy up I came across an Acclaim cambelt which I'd originally bought for Blue. Becky II has done nearly 71,000 miles and will need a cambelt change during the next oil change at 72,000 miles so that'll save me some money. I also tidied up the interior of Brown. If I'm to get this car back on the road I'll need to get in the mindset of the car being in use which means a tidy interior. One of my pet hates is a car interior which looks like a bin on wheels. I was fixing a Fiesta last week and the interior was a mess so when I'd done my spannering I cleaned the car inside and out. Anyway, getting back to Brown. I charged the battery but I think it is past it as there's a label dated 2003 which puts the battery as at least 7 years old which in my book is past the useful lifespan of a car battery. With a duff battery I'm just using the nearest car (a Citroen AX) to jump start Brown. When I had this car on the road I've been having no end of trouble with the points. I bought an ignition booster kit from Maplin a couple of years ago which I'd assembled so I wired it up so that it was operational and jump started the car and it ran so the ignition booster works. I just need a permanent home for this booster and I think somewhere under the dashboard will be the best place. The reason I'm going to get Brown back on the road first is that the only money I have to spend will be getting the MoT certificate. The road tax is free. The other jobs I know will need doing will be:

New front tyres (the last pair I fitted have worn on the edges due to the tired front suspension prior to rebuilding and rebushing it)
Replace the scratched windscreen and the rubber.
Replace the battery
Finish fitting the handbrake cables (I only did one side. I unearthed the other new handbrake cable during my tidy up) and adjust the handbrake.
Replace the brake fluid.
Change the engine oil and filter.
Change the transmission fluid.

I've also got a list of jobs to do on Blue as and when money permits.

Change the transmission fluid.
Check the brake shoes and the handbrake mechanism.
Sort out the rust on the sills and front valence.
Clean/replace the fuel line
Fit a battery
Repair the aerial socket on the radio/cassette
Clean and repaint the front wheels