HOW DID OUR GUESTS FARE?

James Bacchus and Matt Anderson came along for the ride

James Bacchus 1959 SPRITE

The three-cyclinder cacophony that heralded my arrival at the British Motor Museum was all that was needed to swing Matt Tomkins into the action he loves best, some A-series first-aid. Just minutes later, with the loan of some spark plug indicators, we identified number two cylinder was observing a day of rest on the Sabbath, terminating the HT lead in the side-entry cap. I was worried this might herald a tough week for my newlypurchased 1959 Austin-healey Sprite.

But other than a repeated and total failure of the car’s charging system (isolated and then ignored) the Frogeye kept pace at all times. I’d bought it on a bit of a whim, but after we bonded during my 1725-mile drive, this may become a long-term relationship

Matt Anderson 1971 CITROËN AMI 8

As a long-term PC reader from the USA, I had the pleasure of visiting the workshop while working in England recently. Not only did I get roped into coming on the trip (in the end, the best tour of Britain I could wish for!) but I needed a car for it, so ended up buying James’ old Ami. Within weeks, tools and toothbrush were packed for testing the limits of one of Andre’s finest. Meanwhile, the Ami is now on a container ship heading back to my home in Charleston, South Carolina. I’m not sure what the locals are going to make of it.