The Editor has a breakdown
▶ Not me personally, though putting this issue, with the extra 32-pages together was stressful. I’m talking about one of my fleet of cars – resulting in waiting for the recovery services to help.
But before that, I had notice to give up a lock-up I rent in South London. I‘d rented this space for 15 years – it was cheaper to rent here than anywhere else as I knew the owner of the said garage. However, they now wanted it back. That meant my 1975 Ford Capri MKII seeing daylight after 11 years locked away.
Good friend, John Brennan offered to help. I hired a car recovery truck locally and drove the 55 miles to meet John.
Unfortunately, the rusty brakes on the Capri had made it impossible to push out. The truck winch (and the lack of space) wasn’t helpful in pulling the Ford – it was lifting the car instead of pulling. We found the handbrake lever in the offside brake drum had seized. We forced the drum off to get access to the brake shoes adjuster mechanism, before refitting the drum. We then both attempted to push the Capri out of the garage – once the nearside front brake had started to shift, it began to roll freely.
Strapped down on the car transporter, we headed south. On arrival we kept the Capri on the truck and disconnected the fuel line and stuffed that into a 10-litre can of E5. With a booster battery pack hooked-up and a few squirts of Easy Start, the V6 fired into life. It sounded lovely. However, once off the recovery truck, it became obvious the clutch friction plate was stuck to the flywheel. No amount of starting the Capri in gear with the clutch pedal depressed would free the two components. The Capri rests in a garage, while we wait for next spring to get it back on the road.
More driving
I then had to drive John back to South London. We were going to take my Audi A8, but as it was parked in another road, we opted for a 20-year-old MINI instead.
I managed to drop John to his car – only to find about eight miles on, when stopped at a set of temporary traffic lights, that smoke was seeping out of the MINI bonnet. Pulling over, with mobile phone light, I could see the auxiliary drive belt in pieces. Moving on, lots of unpleasant noises could be heard from the engine bay as I travelled the next two-mile downhill section in neutral, before pulling into a BP fuel station. It then overheated and the electric PAS died.
With no cash, no bank cards, etc., my trusty mobile came to the rescue again. I managed to get onto the AA website and told them I was a member through my bank. They recognised me, gave a
My MKII Capri seeing daylight. Come on John, put your back into it – while I take photos.
time of arrival – all without talking to a human. First AA guy used his bright torch to say the belt tensioner had let go and he needed to call the ‘big’ recovery guys. Two hours later another AA Transit arrived, with the towing facility it carries in the back, deployed. The AA guy was a perfect chatty companion on the 50-mile tow home. Arriving at 3.30am, we unloaded next to my ‘hired’ car transporter, which had to be returned by 8.30am!