Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[bertie]

The unseasonal weather( ) continues, so I went to fish out the Pop again. I had had a busy day and had taken another car to the MoT station I use. Mandy, the receptionist, asked how the little beastie was going and I replied that he was going well. I explained to her about an idea I`d had about the missing rear bumper ie have one made out of mild steel and spray it, as in `58 the Pops had virtually no chrome work and all was painted. She then said to have a word with her husband Andy, who`s metalwork had to be seen to believed, as he was kicking his heels a bit. I arranged to go over to their place-only a mile or two, which saw me fishing him out. All was going well, pulling nicely, initial tappety noise from cold disappeared when warm etc. then at a very busy set of lights- he died. Oh, strange...tried to restart - starter whizzing over, but no, wouldnt restart. It was at this point that the good old British spirit came to the fore. I really dont know why people would rather lean on their horns impotently than simply steer round, or offer to help push him onto the wide pavement instead of lean their chin on a hand drumming the wheel! I gave a big grin to one and all and did it myself. A quick phone call to my long suffering other half, and I went to get some tools from the boot - no tools! I had cleared out the boot earlier. Well, with horns still honking and no tools, I did a quick mental diagnosis..the engine died instantly with no hiccup, so I presumed the problem was electrical. Off with the dizzy cap with ignition on, flick the closed points open - no spark. Ok, pull a low tension wire off the coil - a spark! At this point my other half pulled up with her friend (trying unsuccessfully not to laugh) and sat in the Pop. In the meantime I had found the problem, the low tension wire had fatigued inside the outer covering and had parted company. I did a quick twist together, and was about to hold the coil lead against a decent earth when my other half (Yvonne) tried to help and pulled the starter switch. Its many years now since I`ve had a shock, it hurt then and it hurt now! Banging my head on the side lifting bonnet, I looked with a face like thunder at the windscreen - she`d gone. She was lying over the seats crying helplessly with laughter . Now he had his power back and would start, I saw the funny side - well, after a minute or so! Once she and her friend(who had witnessed all and was equally incapable) had recovered sufficiently to drive, I fired him up and they followed me to Andy`s place. Well, after taking some measurements and confirming front and rear bumpers were almost identical ( minus the starter handle hole ) he said give me a couple of weeks Al, I cant see a problem...and I thanked him and drove a now faultless Bertie back to his garage. A lesson was learnt that afternoon : never go anywhere in an old car without basic tools! Ok, my excuse for calling for help is that it`s difficult to check for a spark on your own, and I managed to remove the top of the carb with a penny, but... And on the dreaded Facebook (Yvonne had been busy in my absence) there were 14 very funny comments on how a mechanic of 35 years had to rescued by his partner(who had once said on seeing a flat tyre, its only the bottom bit tho). It`ll be a long while before I`m allowed to forget it, methinks...

[lowdrag]

Can you help me get the coffee out of my nose please! Ah, the wonders of classic motoring! I guess we all have a myriad of stories to recount like that, but I'll let others start while I clean up the keyboard.

[michael1703]

can you start a project thread for the car bertie?

it'll be easier for us to follow your progress