One in, one out
Being a typical bloke, I bought the Model T first and only afterwards thought about where I was going to put it. Realising that I already have too many cars, I took the unusually sensible decision to sell one to free up a garage space, and the vehicle that pulled the short straw was my 1997 press-launch Freelander.
Finding the right buyer could have been tricky, so I was incredibly pleased when Stuart Twite stepped up to the plate. Like me, Stuart has a passion for these often-unloved Land Rovers, and he wants to bring this one up to concours standard. He already has form: Google ‘C25BEX’ for an example of his previous work.
With a precious space now available, I arranged to collect the Model T from specialist The T Service’s premises just north of Oxford. The boss, Richard Rimmer, had picked it up for me from its eBay vendor and done some vital recommissioning ahead of its one outing in my hands to date, a trip to January’s Sunday Scramble at Bicester Heritage (see
Octane 201). But Richard’s own workshop is rammed full with cars, and I was very conscious that by leaving it there I was taking advantage of his good nature.
I was also determined to drive it home. Richard’s place is only 30 miles from mine, but that’s on main roads. A Model T with a cruising speed of 35mph is something of a liability there, so I plotted a convoluted but very picturesque route that was nearly all country lanes – quite a bit further in terms of mileage, but safer and much more satisfying.
It’s amazing how quiet these minor roads can be, better surfaced but otherwise not much different from when my ‘T’ was new, 93 years ago. I had a less amusing reminder of the past, however, when I encountered a horse and rider in one of these lanes; despite me slowing to a crawl and throttling back to idle, the Model T spooked the horse. No harm done, fortunately, but in future I’ll just stop completely and switch off. Richard told me later that ‘T’s have a peculiar effect on horses, and we both wondered if it’s because their
headlights look like giant eyes…
Journey almost completed, I stopped off at my local supermarket to buy something for lunch. The ‘T’ looked so incongruous among the Euroboxes that I’ll be using it as my shopping car this summer for exactly that reason.