The taste of petrol ...
I'd forgotten how much I don't miss it!
It's a 1970s thing, or perhaps just 70s cars. In any case, I associate the taste of petrol with Triumph Dolomites of various engine sizes which seemed to suffer more than their fair share of fuel feed problems while in my family's care. Today I've been working on my Herald which has, yes, a fuel feed problem. Clearly there's no blockage in the fuel pipes or leak as the petrol comes through quite easily with a little suction (*spits*) and the level stays constant in the filter if I seal the pipe with my thumb. So I've taken off the fuel pump to dismantle and clean during the Belgian GP tomorrow.
In the meantime I've sold my father's Peugeot 307, scrapped my Peugeot 405 (which was my parents originally and which had multiple failures including rear axle mountings and head gasket) and acquired a new steed, the plan being to share the daily driving duties between my bike, the Herald and ... 'TC'.
It's not quite the same as my first car (Shadowfax) who was a 1500 FWD. TC is a rear wheel drive 1500TC (Twin Carb). I have in a manner of speaking however, come full circle. I scrapped Shadowfax because I didn't understand that any car can be kept going if the desire is there. I decided that my next car, (Radagast - a brown 13/60 Herald) would never be scrapped. Sadly, some anonymous git phoned a scrappie and got him to come and pick it up one day and shred it. Since then I've had a stream of cars that were short term solutions, none of which I was really bothered about keeping. A couple I've regretted letting go because I didn't have the space or energy to deal with them at the time - my brother's TR7 convertible and his 1850 automatic which he recently sold. (Yes, I'm a Triumph junkie.)
3 years ago, I treated myself to a birthday present from the money left to me by my godmother who died in 2009. A Herald estate which, being a historic vehicle, I intend to keep. With the acquisition of TC, I have again my first 2 cars that, given the choice I would never have let go in the first place.
Why, yes, I am feeling very much like I'm 19 again. :) See that classic '70s dashboard?
Check out the wood trim, head rests, inertia reel seat belts and adjustable steering column. :) Not bad for 1974.
And yes, that means that next year it should also become a historic vehicle, (40 yrs old) so I can add tax free to the £115 classic car insurance. (It would have been £70 if I hadn't decided to add commuting to the policy.) Oh, and it came with a few spares ...
That's an entire engine and gearbox - something to keep me busy over the winter. :) Happy? Ecstatic!
It's a 1970s thing, or perhaps just 70s cars. In any case, I associate the taste of petrol with Triumph Dolomites of various engine sizes which seemed to suffer more than their fair share of fuel feed problems while in my family's care. Today I've been working on my Herald which has, yes, a fuel feed problem. Clearly there's no blockage in the fuel pipes or leak as the petrol comes through quite easily with a little suction (*spits*) and the level stays constant in the filter if I seal the pipe with my thumb. So I've taken off the fuel pump to dismantle and clean during the Belgian GP tomorrow.
In the meantime I've sold my father's Peugeot 307, scrapped my Peugeot 405 (which was my parents originally and which had multiple failures including rear axle mountings and head gasket) and acquired a new steed, the plan being to share the daily driving duties between my bike, the Herald and ... 'TC'.
It's not quite the same as my first car (Shadowfax) who was a 1500 FWD. TC is a rear wheel drive 1500TC (Twin Carb). I have in a manner of speaking however, come full circle. I scrapped Shadowfax because I didn't understand that any car can be kept going if the desire is there. I decided that my next car, (Radagast - a brown 13/60 Herald) would never be scrapped. Sadly, some anonymous git phoned a scrappie and got him to come and pick it up one day and shred it. Since then I've had a stream of cars that were short term solutions, none of which I was really bothered about keeping. A couple I've regretted letting go because I didn't have the space or energy to deal with them at the time - my brother's TR7 convertible and his 1850 automatic which he recently sold. (Yes, I'm a Triumph junkie.)
3 years ago, I treated myself to a birthday present from the money left to me by my godmother who died in 2009. A Herald estate which, being a historic vehicle, I intend to keep. With the acquisition of TC, I have again my first 2 cars that, given the choice I would never have let go in the first place.
Why, yes, I am feeling very much like I'm 19 again. :) See that classic '70s dashboard?
Check out the wood trim, head rests, inertia reel seat belts and adjustable steering column. :) Not bad for 1974.
And yes, that means that next year it should also become a historic vehicle, (40 yrs old) so I can add tax free to the £115 classic car insurance. (It would have been £70 if I hadn't decided to add commuting to the policy.) Oh, and it came with a few spares ...
That's an entire engine and gearbox - something to keep me busy over the winter. :) Happy? Ecstatic!