Tony has gone on a mission to find what he needs to mend the car; something called Steel Seal, and some oil to replace what we have lost in draining the engine. Ground Control, it seems, has his work cut out.
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Before the head gasket went
Here’s the idyllic scene on the way home, before the head gasket went. Thankfully, I got home first.
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Uh-oh!
After a brilliant drive out through the local villages on Saturday – scent of the hedgerows, sound of birdsong overhead, sound of me changing gear with relative ease – the water had again drained almost out by the time I got back. Now this morning there’s water in the oil. It’s a head gasket. So I won’t be driving it out for a little while, that’s for certain.
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I’m too short!
The car is small, almost petite; so you would think I would fit it beautifully. I have no problem getting in, unlike some of the men who’ve tried recently, for whom it’s a bit of a squeeze. But Tony had to move the seat forward until I’m almost right up to the steering wheel, and I still have problem reaching the pedals comfortably enough to sustain a longer journey. My right knee is twinging a bit, because it’s nearly straight while I’m driving. I’m not that tiny – about 5′ 6″, and I never thought of myself as being short. I can only assume that everyone who’s driven it before doesn’t mind having their legs almost straight to reach the pedals. So Jon at our garage is working on extending the pedals. He’s managed to add another 1.5 inches to the clutch and brake but the accelerator pedal is more difficult. Having driven the car over there yesterday, it’s in for the weekend now while he has a look at it. I wonder if there’s anyone else out there with a vintage car that has the same problem?
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A CHU
Someone has just pointed out that the number plate ‘CHU’ could equally be an illustration of the sound I will make, sneezing, after I’ve driven the car in the pouring rain for any distance. They could be right!
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Renovating a Singer Le Mans?
No, is the answer to this question, posed by a couple of people, my cousin Janet for one. The car, now nicknamed Chattie Chu Chu, has been extensively and lovingly worked upon over recent years and came to us in very good working order when we bought it in March. Very good working order, that is, for an 80-year-old vehicle. At the moment the rear brake lights don’t work – being fixed, hopefully, this Friday. We’ve just had to replace the battery. Other than that, she runs very sweetly. It’s my driving that has to have a little bit more of an overhaul. That double-dee-clutching! Oh dear! All I can say is, it’s getting better.
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I have just put a fundraising page online for the RAF Benevolent Fund, with a link in the sidebar here.
Fundraising for the RAFBF is a way of paying back the wonderful help and support they gave my family in my father’s last years. He had become increasingly immobile through Parkinson’s disease, and cognitively was not able any more to manage the household finances – my mother had to take over everything as well as look after him. The RAF Benevolent Fund put in a stairlift for Dad so he could stay at home, helped my mother sort out paperwork, bills and benefits and put her in touch with other ways of getting help and valuable advice. It really was a lifeline in difficult times. My brother was in America and I lived 3 hours away, and it was difficult to support our parents as much as we wanted, but the RAF Benevolent Fund proved to be Dad’s extended RAF ‘family’ when he really needed it.
The ‘Where They Served’ tour has many roots and one is the extended RAF family that meant so much to Dad during the war, and continued in the background throughout his life. Having written up his memoirs for publication in August this year (‘Flying Blind: the story of a night-fighter pilot’, Fonthill Media), I now feel in myself that sense of connection with the RAF. It has come home to nest – very unexpectedly and to my surprised delight – in me. Strange how connections are made in life without us seeking them, and bear such unlooked-for fruits!
06/05/2014 · 9:17 pm
RAF Benevolent Fund
My commemorative tour of RAF airfields will (hopefully) raise money for the RAF Benevolent fund – see my RAF Benevolent Fund page or go direct to the RAF Benevolent Fund website to find out more.
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Prewar Prescott appearance
Chattie’s first outing in public is now announced. We have been kindly invited to Prewar Prescott, a hill-climb event for pre-war cars in the glorious setting of the Bugatti Club’s Prescott hill climb. Saturday 19th July is the day for a garden party and hill climb, and the chance to see spectacular vintage cars in action.
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Chattie carrier
Our thanks to Faz (Faisal Chaudhary) and Manny (Manuel) from 4x4xfaz, who supplied and delivered our new recovery van from Oxford, and stayed in the rain to give me a demo on how to load and unload the car – not easy at the moment because the wheelbase is really too narrow for the ramps. We have to find someone with an angle-grinder so that we can cut slots in them and move them inwards a bit. However, we got her up safely, as you can see. Next thing is that I have to get used to driving the van, as well as getting used to driving Chattie.
Faz was telling us that both his maternal and paternal grandfathers served in the second world war. His grandfather served in the Punjab regiment and was posted in Africa where he was captured by the Germans, held captive for 7 days before he managed to break out of jail and return to safety. He retired as a Captain.
Manny was very taken with the car. He was – literally – born in a garage, he said; and virtually grew up in one as his father was a mechanic.
Manny and Faz and our new recovery van.
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Where They Served 