Tackling a seasonal urge
With summer fading all too quickly into autumn, I found myself with a free Saturday afternoon. I knew the Spider needed a run, as there wouldn’t be all that many more opportunities before the salt starts flying. But I also wanted to go fishing, because that’s also less fun once the weather gets wintry.
Then it dawned on me that I could do both if I went lure fishing, which tends to kick off at this time of year – and can be done with a minimum of tackle. So I grabbed my lure bag, a telescopic rod, reel and landing net, stuffed them on and in front of the Alfa’s passenger seat and headed north up the A10 to try a couple of stretches of the Great Ouse around Ely.
The Spider was a willing partner, firing up relatively easily despite having been ignored for a couple of weeks – which usually sends it into a sulk. The period-correct Eagles album
Desperado was slotted into the stereo. Wild West/wild East… well, it felt right to me.
There was surprisingly little traffic, so I was able to stretch the Alfa’s legs properly in a few places, enjoying the way it feels absolutely right at the moment; sorted and with nothing mechanical on the to-do list for once. It just fizzes along and goads me into misbehaving, which has to be ignored but I’m starting to feel I might need a track day in it soon, to get it out of my system.
What it does need, and has done for some time, is a new set of carpets. Removing the seats and splashing out on those has been planned for a winter project several times in the past, but has always been bumped off the top spot by something mechanical, or last winter’s long-winded rebuild of the heater. But I’ve really had enough of looking at those tired, cheap carpets, with all the worn patches and frayed piping. I’d love an original-style logo’d rubber mat set, which they used instead of carpet – but although available from Classic Alfa, that’s around £700. So carpet it is, at a rather more comfortable £162, plus some decent soundproofing. So that may be my next Our Cars instalment.
So did I catch anything? Well, no; like fixing classics, fishing rarely goes to plan. What I came home with was a broken rod (revealing a frailty that explains why most of them aren’t telescopic), another ‘one-that-got-away’ tale, but also the warm glow of a Saturday afternoon well spent.