Post by Sigmund Fraud on Dec 19, 2013 10:13:08 GMT
It all started in early November, when Ena's previous custodian decided he really needed to rationalise his car collection and put her up for sale.
An ad appeared on the truly awful* Autoshite forum, which I am known to frequent. There was loads of vague interest but nobody seemed to have the time/space/money to take her on.
Ken began to run out of patience and threatened* to put her on the well-known evil auction website, where she would inevitably attract the attention of all kinds of horrible vandals, like breakers, banger racers and Top Gear.
I could not allow this to happen, so I checked my finances, took a deep breath and made Ken a 'very near offer'.
He accepted, and after a deposit was wired through I became the owner of a 40-year-old car that hadn't been on the road for 8 years and was 160 miles away. Great.
I felt that driving Ena to a 'pre-booked MoT' near home would probably result in imprisonment and/or death, so I explored alternative options.
I knew that fellow Autoshitter 'scruff' is running a classic car transport firm, so I asked him for a quote. He made me an offer I couldn't refuse (no racehorses were harmed in the process) and after a few more messages were exchanged we all agreed that D-day (D for DAF) would be the 15th of December.
So a few weeks later, on a rather foggy Sunday morning, I got into my lard-fuelled french daily and drove to rural Essex to meet three complete strangers and hand over the entire contents of my bank account in exchange for an obscure, tiny Dutch car.
Everyone was remarkably punctual, so introductions were made, tea was drank and old cars talked about. Ken and Matt warned myself and Kev of the addictive nature of DAFs that the Essex DAFs collection is testament to.
Following a comprehensive* inspection by yours truly, Ena was carefully loaded onto the back of Kev's Merc Sprinter and we set off.
Just before I left, I was shownAladdin's cave the spares barn and Matt produced some DAF essentials that he refused to accept money for. Thank you once again, Matt, you've been a marvellous host.
The return trip was uneventful for me, but Kev's Sprinter began misfiring and eventually failed to proceed just a couple of miles away from my house ! Thankfully, the fault was only a blocked fuel filter so a quick clean and a top-up with fresh diesel were enough for it to spring back to life and complete the mission.
Once home, Ena impressed me by starting at the first turn of the key, even with a half-charged battery that I had dragged out of the shed and stale petrol from the bottom of the lawnmower jerry can ! Amazing !
Not much has happened since then, but I found some time for a more detailed inspection and compiled a preliminary list of stuff that requires attention :
Pre-MoT :
-O/S inner CV boot
-Fuel line
-Position lamps
-Driver's seat belt
-Rear plate plinth
-Windscreen washer
-Coolant
-Oil&filter
-Valve clearances
-Plugs, leads, dizzy cap, rotor
-Exhaust mount
Post-MoT :
-Carpet
-Door seals
-Surface rust areas
-ARB drop links
-Wheel refurb
-Four new tyres
Not too long a list, plus there's no structural work to be done and Ken has most kindly included a large amount of spares that cover most of the above.
So it's just a matter of braving the cold (I have to work outdoors) and getting stuff done. Updates to follow...
An ad appeared on the truly awful* Autoshite forum, which I am known to frequent. There was loads of vague interest but nobody seemed to have the time/space/money to take her on.
Ken began to run out of patience and threatened* to put her on the well-known evil auction website, where she would inevitably attract the attention of all kinds of horrible vandals, like breakers, banger racers and Top Gear.
I could not allow this to happen, so I checked my finances, took a deep breath and made Ken a 'very near offer'.
He accepted, and after a deposit was wired through I became the owner of a 40-year-old car that hadn't been on the road for 8 years and was 160 miles away. Great.
I felt that driving Ena to a 'pre-booked MoT' near home would probably result in imprisonment and/or death, so I explored alternative options.
I knew that fellow Autoshitter 'scruff' is running a classic car transport firm, so I asked him for a quote. He made me an offer I couldn't refuse (no racehorses were harmed in the process) and after a few more messages were exchanged we all agreed that D-day (D for DAF) would be the 15th of December.
So a few weeks later, on a rather foggy Sunday morning, I got into my lard-fuelled french daily and drove to rural Essex to meet three complete strangers and hand over the entire contents of my bank account in exchange for an obscure, tiny Dutch car.
Everyone was remarkably punctual, so introductions were made, tea was drank and old cars talked about. Ken and Matt warned myself and Kev of the addictive nature of DAFs that the Essex DAFs collection is testament to.
Following a comprehensive* inspection by yours truly, Ena was carefully loaded onto the back of Kev's Merc Sprinter and we set off.
Just before I left, I was shown
The return trip was uneventful for me, but Kev's Sprinter began misfiring and eventually failed to proceed just a couple of miles away from my house ! Thankfully, the fault was only a blocked fuel filter so a quick clean and a top-up with fresh diesel were enough for it to spring back to life and complete the mission.
Once home, Ena impressed me by starting at the first turn of the key, even with a half-charged battery that I had dragged out of the shed and stale petrol from the bottom of the lawnmower jerry can ! Amazing !
Not much has happened since then, but I found some time for a more detailed inspection and compiled a preliminary list of stuff that requires attention :
Pre-MoT :
-O/S inner CV boot
-Fuel line
-Position lamps
-Driver's seat belt
-Rear plate plinth
-Windscreen washer
-Coolant
-Oil&filter
-Valve clearances
-Plugs, leads, dizzy cap, rotor
-Exhaust mount
Post-MoT :
-Carpet
-Door seals
-Surface rust areas
-ARB drop links
-Wheel refurb
-Four new tyres
Not too long a list, plus there's no structural work to be done and Ken has most kindly included a large amount of spares that cover most of the above.
So it's just a matter of braving the cold (I have to work outdoors) and getting stuff done. Updates to follow...