Insurance problem solved!

Yes, I've solved the problem and saved myself a fortune! It just so happened that Baby Blue was still insured on my Lancaster classic car policy. I'd thought about cancelling it as Baby Blue isn't gonna be road legal for quite some time but I'd put it off. I can be really bad for putting things off! I ran Lancaster up to change it over to Becky and to up the annual mileage from 5000 to 12000 and it was only going to cost me an extra 30 pounds. Problem solved and I've saved over 1000 pounds. Sometimes it pays to procrastinate! Kwik Fit rang me back and I told them that I won't be renewing with them. Besides, it's not really a good idea to have a classic car on ordinary car insurance. Anyway, I'm pleased with the outcome and I will be a bit better off financially. I'm hoping to get the Toledo moved with the help of my mate Bob but I can't get hold of him. I know he'd help me out with these sort of things. I won't have to worry about the battery as it should be fully charged by now!

I'm really hacked off (for want of a better word!) The insurance renewal for Becky has come through and the premium is going to be �1240! This is crazy! I know there was a claim made which was my fault (losing me 2 years off my no-claims) but upping my insurance that much is ridiculous! it's nearly doubled and I can't afford that. No wonder there's so many uninsured drivers on British roads these days! It's not all bad though. Baby Blue is still insured so I could swap that over to Becky and save over �1000 in the process. I'm still gonna get a few quotes though. I'm sure I can do better than Kwik Fit. 

I took the battery out of the Toledo to get it charged in readiness for the move. Before the battery came out I took this shot of the engine bay. It will come up nice with a bit of a clean. With a fully charged battery I'm not restricted to daylight plus if it rains the wipers can be operated. Also, it gives me the opportunity to get the alternator off Baby Blue as I'll be charging the battery where she is kept. I can do some measuring while I'm up there to see if there's enough room for the Toledo. These things need planning with military precision! Becky just keeps on going. All I've had to do is fill her up with petrol and jetwash her every week. 

Toledo on the move...

I'm under pressure to move the Toledo. I don't wanna get rid of it so I'm gonna keep it where Baby Blue is kept. I just need the help of another person who can drive and enough daylight to complete the job as the Toledo's battery is flat. This car is something of a nomad as I keep moving it from place to place. It might be better being kept next to Baby Blue as I can do some work on it. I've neglected this car lately and need to do something with it. Lack of money has brought things to a complete halt at the moment and the dark evenings and worsening weather (so much for summer!) don't help either!

Not much.

Don't really have much new to say. Becky just keeps on going. When I filled her up with petrol on Thursday at my local Morrisons I decided to check her tyre pressures. They were fine except for the rear right. Anyway, I inflated them to 29psi (I always go a bit over to allow for them being warm)

Due to lack of funds I can't do anything else at the moment.

Clean up

I cleared out some bedding that was in the Toledo. I kept the pillowcases and quilt cover and took the pillows and quilt to the local tip. Next up was to go up to Baby Blue and give her a wash. I also made a start on cleaning up the engine bay. Baby Blue's inner wings were covered in some sort of grime. I'll need to scrape the stuff off the way I've been going.

At last I'm going to do something with the Toledo! My plan is to use some of that rust killer/primer on the areas that have rusted and then use some fibreglass filler. Before I can do any of that I'll need to wash the car first. I'll also see about fitting the original propshaft and getting the alternator off Baby Blue. I also wanna give Baby Blue a clean so I'll be going back and forth between home and Baby Blue. The pic is a view out of the front bedroom window and you can also see my brother's Astra at the bottom left. 

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.