Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[pigtin]

It was the Herne Bay Car Show on Saturday so I scraped the muck off the old Austin 10/4 and fired it up. Loads of new mechanical noises caused concern, but after turning off my hearing aids it sounded like a Rolls Royce.
Settled in my allotted space in the pedestrian precinct I reacquainted myself with the fleshpots of the town. There was a carnival atmosphere with a group of children screaming joyously as they interacted with a Punch and Judy show. A lady dressed in a US forces uniform singing hits from the forties and an excellent jazz band. There must have was been a hundred cars: ranging from some new looking PT Cruisers to my friend Bills’ 1927 Chummy. Amazingly, my 10/4 was the second oldest.
After spending the refreshment voucher (provided by the organizers) and stuffing our faces at a noodle bar, threatening rain caused us to return to the car for shelter just as Bill was preparing to leave (not much shelter in an open Chummy.)
There was about half an hour of winding, grinding, cussing and swearing. Cables were run from the battery of an adjoining Ruby, but when removed the engine stopped. Terminal decline in the voltage department was diagnosed and the treatment required a tow home.
I remembered the fun I’d had towing old cars long ago when the world was younger. So we hitched the Chummy behind the 10/4 and burbled gently through the shopping precinct towards the main drag.
It is not a sight often seen in Herne Bay. An ancient car pulling an even more ancient one through the crowded precinct. People dived for cover behind parked cars, small children peeped nervously from behind their mother’s designer jeans but worst of all--some were in denial. After glancing back they ambled casually along the middle of the road in front of us, convinced we were some form of bizarre, insubstantial mirage and if they blinked we would disappear.
We regained the main drag, trying to close our minds to the amount of mangled corpses we may have left in our wake, and headed off down Canterbury road to Chez Bill. Our slow progress won us many followers, I estimated half a mile of them at one point, but the journey was completed with no further drama.
I believe the Chummy is now safely tucked away in the garage being fed volts intravenously, and the prognosis for a full recovery is good.

Will post photo when available.
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Due to the onset of my mid eighties I'm no longer sprightly and rarely seen in my Austin special. I have written a book though. https://amzn.eu/d/7rwRRqL