‘Cars’ Category

  1. Still in petrol dream mode

    February 16, 2012 by admin

    So Dad and I chatted for an hour or more about the car.

    You know that ten years ago he’d have done his fatherly duty and done his best to put me off being an idiot, but not now. He’s well up for it and talking about clearing out his garage. Mother likes it too, its very much her era, she would have been in her 20s when it was new and I bet she would have been after any fella driving one of these! Mind, dad wasn’t slow in the car stakes, he always had a soft topped something and even had an e-type for a few months.

    Where I want to get the conversation now is for them to go halfs with me, put it in their garage, I’ll use it now and then, and they can use it when they like. And I’m pretty confident that they’ll go for it.  just need to pick my moment.

    I didn’t know that I could put something like this on a classic insurance policy, but it turns out it would be cheap as chips. Well, a two hundred quid bag of chips, but that’s not bad at all. Insured at the folks place and garaged. Only the tax is a bit cruel, I could do with finding something pre – 1972 to shed the tax burden altogether.

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  2. For the love of an old car – again

    February 15, 2012 by admin

    Oh dear.

    A few drinks and then I started searching the web for cars. Again.

    And came across this beauty: Link. Sorry, I wanted to drop a picture into the blog post, but word press wouldn’t let me.

    It’s a w114 Mercedes Coupe, the fore runner of the modern day E class. This one was ordered in Malta and kept there for many years, then looked after by a collector in Bristol.

    If it’s anything like as good as it says it is then I could be thinking of how on earth I can own it!

    A two door (huge doors at that) in old white, with beautiful looking red leather, only 54,000 miles (blimey, when we were kids dad used to do that in a year). It’s a shame it’s not quite old enough to qualify for the tax free status as it’ll actually cost quite a lot to tax, to insure, to put petrol in, oh, and I’d need to keep it somewhere.

    Dad would love it too, maybe he’d let me keep it at his place?

    It’s for sale in Warminster which is pretty near where my sister lives. I could get a bunch of points by going to see her at the weekend, catch the train down, then go see the jalopy, and if it’s love at first sight then drive her home to London, keep it here for a bit, then take it to the folks’ place.

    Scarily it all seems to be resembling something of a plan!

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  3. Done in, big time.

    February 13, 2012 by admin

    Wow, I finished the driving job this morning and I’m utterly done in. Mind you I did have a first pick up at 4.10 to go to Heathrow. Traffic wasn’t a problem, that was a definite bonus.

    One of the guys I was driving for was having the piss taken because apparently he not has more hair than last time the team met up with him. I was intrigued by this as the old man is losing his and I know he’s worried about it. The chap didn’t seem embarrassed so I asked him what the score was. He said he’s using a treatment called Propecia and he reckons that although it’s not cheap, it is very effective.

    I reckon I’ll get all the details for dad and see if he’s up for giving it a try. I guess really I’m thinking ahead too ’cause if father’s is dropping in his early 50′s mine is likely to do the same and I’m not sure how I’d cope. Given the effectiveness of Rooney’s transplant I wouldn’t mind even having that done I reckon.

    Nothing to worry about yet though. The thatch is good and thick still, but I usually have so much shit in it I don’t actually know what it’s real state is.

    I’m forcing myself to stay up at the moment so that I have a good chance of getting a proper sleep later. I could easily just go lie on the sofa now, but that really wouldn’t do. The most important thing is that I now have a good extra wedge in my pocket. Bingo! Good night.

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  4. Whoa! Not as easy as I thought.

    February 12, 2012 by admin

    Blimey, four days in to this driving lark and the Evans is so bloody tired I don’t know what to do to stay awake.

    I’ve been getting up at stupid o’clock to go pick up people from hotels around town from 6.30, trying to find early morning coffee shops, indigestion remedies, more coffees, and any other interesting requests that may come my way. I’m a runner with a car, and while I’m truly knackered, the main thing I have to do is be places at the right time, think ahead of the people panicking around me, oh, and know routes. I so so wish I’d bought a Tom Tom sat nav type toy before I started.

    There doesn’t seem to be any real plan and no real intention to finish on time, but it’s all good fun.

    Category Cars, Driving, Endurance | Tags: | No Comments

  5. Motorcade III

    February 1, 2012 by admin

    Ah The Carlton. It wasn’t sexy, but I loved it. Washed it every week. The occasional polish even (can’t pretend I’ve done that in a long time). It only didn’t start once, on a super cold day, but was fine next day. I probably would have kept it longer but the opportunity for a company car came along and the first, and so far only, time I’ve had a brand spanking new car.

    It was 1996 and I ordered a Golf 1.9 TDi. And I was so excited. I didn’t really care what price I got for the Carlton, but actually did OK losing just a grand over two years and quite a lot of miles.

    The Golf was a mad acid green and had COM as its reg letters which was cool as I worked in coms back then. I’d spec’d CD player and air con, both of which were extras back then, and a black interior. The colour upset many folk, but I loved it, and I bombed around doing a massive amount of miles in the two years I had it.

    If I ever took it easy, which was very rare it would deliver a brilliant 60+ mpg, which given the Carlton struggled to top 30 mpg was just astounding, and in fact I’ve never managed anything like that again since.

    I handed it back after 112 thousand miles in just over two years. A bit like the Carlton, it only skipped a beat once. Can’t really remember what happened, but I know it just stopped once while driving. Fortunately I was going slowly and starting again I had no further problems.

    It wasn’t a sexy car either, but probably the best servant to date. If it’s still going it could have done a million miles by now.

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  6. Micro light flying

    January 24, 2012 by admin

    Last night I watched the maddest programme. It had the potential of being boring, but then so did the whole TV schedule last night. I ended up watch The Real Magnificent Men and their Flying Machines. A silly little programme patched together about a few guys flying micro lights and the madness of the round Britain rally they hold every year.

    I didn’t care for the so called adventure of it all, but I was transfixed by the nature of the things they were flying in, or on as the case maybe. Someone referred to them as deck chairs with a lawnmower engine strapped on, and that’s about it. Some looked a bit like proper planes, but most were hang gliders with some sort of engine. Utterly mad, and actually looked like it could be good fun.

    Shame they actually travel so slowly – like slower than a car in general. It would be a great option for getting to mates if you lived near an airstrip, ah but then they’d need to as well. OK, crap idea.

    Off to Leeds at the weekend to meet some friends to go to a music bar they’re always on about and then on to Agra’s for a good curry I hope. I’ve just been onto City Visitor to book a haircut on Saturday morning, just looked for hairdressers in Leeds and ’twas all there. Easy! There’s two reasons. One is that it gets us to town, rather than just going to the lovely pub in Headingley where they want to go every day if they could. And it’s booked for half ten so I’ll have to get up rather than just lying in bed moaning like a student.

    Ah yes – and the fact that I need a haircut.

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  7. The Evans Motorcade III

    January 12, 2012 by admin

    Hey I just remembered I was going to catalogue all the awful cars I’ve owned.

    Last up I talked about my Marina, hand painted, nice! The second Morris 1000. The Van, Vincent.

    Vincent Van died in France under strange circumstances. My then long term girlfriend had dropped me for some very valid reason, and I’d started seeing someone else pretty quickly. A mate was getting married in Le Mans, France in the summer, and the old gf suddenly made it clear that she still intended to come. Birds! She was too good to loose altogether, so after rivers of tears and shouting old gf and I set off in Vincent. But it died just after 100,000 miles showed on the clock. We had to be towed home, including the ferry!

    Vincent was replaced by my first half decent car, a Vauxhall Carlton. I loved it! No CD player, so back to tapes. But comfortable, my first automatic, not awful on fuel, what a cruise!

    Four of us went to France in the Carlton for Mark Acky’s stag do. Luxury. Well, to us anyway.

    There were no real evens with the Carlton, I kept it two years and only sold it when I was given a company car, and that’s when some crazy miles kicked in. I quite look forward to writing about the Golf at some stage soon.

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  8. Rolls Royce sell more to China

    January 3, 2012 by admin

    Listen.

    I’m not really interested in cars anymore, at least I’m trying to convince myself of that.

    OK, I’m obsessed with the Bristol. But it’s a pipe dream isn’t it?

    So this next comment comes not from any real petrol head thing I have going on.

    I’m listening to Monocle 24, the internet radio station put out by Monocle magazine. They just had some sort of global round up of news, which included a piece on China buying more Rolls Royce and Lamborghini cars than any other nation.

    It stands to reason really given their utterly vast population, but nonetheless it seems slightly incongruous that the last great communist state should be taking the best of what the outside world has to offer.

    I’m more than a little fascinated by the place. And more than a little scared too.

    Gotta go now, but I must come back later and write about The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

    Happy New Year to you all. I’m still feeling a bit rough. Multi day hangovers must be stopped. Moderation could be called for.

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  9. Bristol obsession reignited

    December 30, 2011 by admin

    I must have too much time and not enough money – obvious conclusion to that – I should work more.

    Since writing about the couple doing their tour in a 50′s Bristol my occasional obsession (if that’s not a contradiction of terms, perhaps I’ll explain later) has been fired up again. I’ve poured over the website, looked at the used cars they have for sale, and then got hugely excited by the idea of a re-engineered older car.

    By what I’ve read they strip down a donor car, replace and upgrade everything, modern V8 engine, bang up to date hi-fi, and deliver you a super fast, classic looking monster in sheep’s clothing.

    Oh how I love that idea!

    I’d need a garage, couldn’t leave that out on the road. I’d need an inheritance as well, but let’s not let reality cloud my dreams for a while. I might even stroll across town to Kensington later to have a mooch in the showroom. By memory they only have three cars in at any one time, no room for more. And you’re served by gentlemen who know absolutely everything about their product and talk to you as if they have no doubt in their mind that you will be buying  a Bristol, if not that day, then certainly soon. Unlike the oik in the BMW garage recently when I went to enquire about a humble 1 series, even if I really wanted one I wouldn’t buy from them.

    Just look at this beauty:

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  10. Around the world in a Bristol! Rock on.

    December 29, 2011 by admin

    Yesterday morning I heard a little piece on Radio 4 about a couple who have toured much of the world in a 1950s Bristol, with pretty much no problems other than a few punctures.

    Wow!

    I don’t care much about cars, but if I had money there is no doubt what I’d be driving. It’d be a Bristol.

    My love of the crazy machines started years ago when I went to Birmingham’s Classic Car Show with some mates. Huge halls of all sorts of beautiful cars. But what caught my eye was the stand of slightly odd looking British beasts called Bristols. They all looked slightly different to the usual car.

    Then I sat in one and it was love.

    Then I found out that they’re fast as fook and built by the most amazing eccentric car company and can be pretty much bespoked to your maddest desires. Oh my, the nights I’ve planned how I might one day afford a Bristol.

    To hear of these two old biddies driving 33,000 miles in one gave me such respect for them and their car.

    Money doesn’t really motivate me, but suddenly I need a big pile of it. I’d say a hundred k to buy a really good one, then another fifty k to keep it immaculate for the rest of my years of driving. Sound reasonable?

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