Another epic Allegro adventure

OWNED SINCE

May 2014

MILEAGE SINCE LAST REPORT

42,834 An exhaust gasket and four

TOTAL MILEAGE LATEST COSTS

ear drums

T0

he Allegro and myself have done some epic expeditions together. Our first journey as a couple covered 440 miles from Kent to Edinburgh, followed by a jaunt into the Scottish Highlands to attend the inaugural ‘How Many Left?’ event at the Grampian Motor Museum. Then, biting the bullet, the old girl was driven back down to Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, to join the rest of the CCW fleet.

That trip south was a nightmare. Water refused to stay in the cooling system and the alternator overcharged the battery, showering the engine bay and wiring loom with battery acid.

Ever since, the Allegro has lived in a shed and been brought out only for special occasions. However, with a visit from a Scottish lady friend all the way from the motherland and a full week off from work to enjoy, the Allegro rolled out of the garage to become our stylish transportation.

Originally, the distance to be covered with the car Leah calls ‘Jacko’ – a nod to its registration number – was to be minimal. But as we were carried away, the miles racked up. The problem was we discovered Airbnb, an online service where you can book rooms in private houses as little as one night before – which resulted in a journey via Oxford, Cambridge and Cardiff over five days, planting 550 miles under the Allegro’s timing chain.

There was overwhelming paranoia that something – anything – could fall off or catch fire, but the only issue was an exhaust that became even louder on the return journey. Turns out that the exhaust gasket had perished and, in a turn to prove I’m mostly useless at everything, the spare I’d purchased for such a catastrophe didn’t fit.

However, the biggest problem was the MoT date. Expiring within 24 hours, we had to race back to Peterborough and get the Allegro into storage. As it turns out, a 1.3 Allegro can do 70mph with ease, even at the cost of our ears.

With the taste for adventure returning, the next expedition comes in the shape of a Land’s End to John o’Groats charity relay in aid of Help For Heroes in June. Feel free to donate to a worthy Allegro adventure.

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/AustinAllegro