What have done towards your prep?

[Straight Shooter]

Band on the run (wings ) was no 1 ....its about 9 pm ....wild child and yours truly driving in the rain .....we are headed for St Austell Cornwall the beast was a Triumph Spitfire conaught green ...10" wide wheels rear 8" on the front .....the rescent welding of the floor cracked open ...every bump in the road was followed by some sparks as my arse returned to the seat ....but i managed to sort the problem out ....using some 2"x 1" batten i had in the boot placing it under the floor and wedging it both sides of the good bits ....sorted ....we drove on ....until the pillar distributor moved (the clamp nut came loose ) we just about make a garage just about to close ....this old gent says he has one on a scrapper ....he said two quid would do ....he came back within five mins and said he had to leave because he had to pick his wife up....but left a light on ...Found TDC and set up the points.....sweet ! camping stove out ..coffee fag ...fag coffee and away.......morning transport cafe /garage .....we pull in get some breakfast ...fuel up ...and there it was ...on the counter .....self adhesive pin stripes ....colours and different widths ....i am hooked ....i grab some white and yellow ....i know what your thinking SS you flash bastard ....damn right ! me with a Rod Stewart hair cut ....wild child with long hair down to her arse.....we pull in a rest area whip out the stripes and a razor blade and apply the tape 30 mins later the transformation is complete .......its true these really are go faster stripes .....at least 40 mph faster......at one stage we thought we might have to install a parachute to stop the bastard......we reach Mevagissey ....narrow streets beautiful fishing harbour (a must go to place ) as we cruise on through to park up.....there are loads of sports cars parked up....we pop in for a pint and have a walk about.....bag of chips between us and return back to the car.....We love the stripes man ...they look really cool man .....i start up .....WTF.... before i can say or do anything this guy said fucking hell its a 3 ltr with a straight through exhaust .....i sort of acknowledge the guy with a nod and take off ...trying for blue smoke..as i look in the mirror i can make out the back box of the exhaust coming to an abrupt stop against the curb .....Its true ....i have this ability to really empress people at a moments notice ....and i do this with no effort at all, in fact i am a natural.

[Pete Grey]

We had a morris marina at one time, i always carried some bin liners, when it rained i stood in a couple and tied them round each leg to drive. The scuttle and wheel arch were so rotten you could see the front wheel going round, throwing water everywhere but only the off side, the wife was fine. The beast died when it slid into the kerb and the near side suspension was pushed back 6 inches, the joys of owning a rust bucket.

[Mortblanc]

Dreams of fast cars and long haired girls. We all deserved our share of each to remember.

Usually both were insanely fast back in the '60s.

A special song just for us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b4cW9sx47A

[Lightspeed]

late 80s travelling in France in my super state of the art Turbo D Range Rover, the Turbo badge had challenged the testosterone of yet another Gilles Villneuve wannabe behind the wheel of a Renault 5 GT.....

Right up my exhaust and trying to get past at every available opportunity, try the Renault might, Solihull's finest refused to be overtaken. Then, after some masterful driving on my part up a particularly windy hill the R5 dropped off the pace, billowing steam :-) If he was Villeneuve, then he's just discovered that I was Hunt on a particularly good day..... bet he spelled my namesake's name with a C though???

Plainly the Rangie had been in need of stretching her legs though as she was certainly running faster, turbo-lag reduced, and the exhaust purr far more satisfactory.

On arrival at the port, on a walk around inspection of this veritable predecessor of the RR Sport, I discovered the reason for the beast's sudden sportiness.....a missing section of exhaust: In all 4 ft long and including a heavy rear silencer! British engineering....you can always rely on it to do the job when its needed most:-)

[Straight Shooter]

MB ............you have the uncanny knack and /or the ability to produce solid pure gold in one sentence and one link in the same well balanced manner ....perfect !

[Mortblanc]

My cars were different but the experience is a shared one. I could have fit most of your cars in the boot of one of my hot rods.

Back in the day you fellows had a motorcycle sport called cafe racing. My friends did the same only with autos and the distances were probably different.

Racing 90 miles between small towns to get a receipt for coffee, with big 6.5L heavily carborated engines cranking 500-600HP and geared for top speeds that forced you to drive with the windows rolled up or the back glass would be pushed out. I had some scary fast vehicles back then, built in the shed or out in the driveway on warm summer nights.

No, we don't just drive in straight lines or circles over here! That is racing for the media where safety is stressed, advertising pays the fees and the cameras can keep the entire race in focus. We raced on the roads, whatever the conditions, at 3am when the cops were safely at home asleep.

At least they were asleep most of the time. There was that one incident my senior year just as I turned 18 when I came home with a citation for doing 150mph in a 55mph zone. The ticket cost me $600 in 1968 money and my insurance rates went through the roof!

I am still addicted. I have a vehicle sitting in the driveway right now that I can not afford insurance to drive. 6 months coverage is more than the value of the car!

[Straight Shooter]

You just reminded me of the Texan visiting the UK MB ..........gee your roads are so narrow over here ...and you only have one lane in each direction, hell in America we have four even six lanes in each direction.....English guy says oh yeah.....Yep that's why you brits make such small automobiles with 998 cc engines .....hell in America i could fit one of your mini's in the trunk of my car along with twenty six packs of Budd , a tent and a barbecue 50 burgers 100 hot dogs ketchup mustard .....English guy says oh yeah.....Hell what ship is that ! English guy looks at the QE2 that's sailing by....lifts up his megaphone and facing the ship...... hails..... boat number 2 please come in....your time is up!

[Pete Grey]

This week i have been sorting out and repacking plastic crates, this is for ease of storage and if we ever need to evacuate our home quickly load the camper, this completes this phase of our prepping.

Canned food in the strongest crate, lighter crates can be used for dried foods, first aid and meds and extra clothing.

The last crate is for long stay, spade, bow saw, hand axe, work gloves, claw hammer, nails, bailing wire, a couple of tarps and some rope. Two litres of thin bleach, laundry detergent then i filled the last remaining space with cleaning materials.

I took the opportunity to make a list of any discrepancies so i can replace any items or buy new as soon as i can.

Now i will think about the needs for long term stay at home.

[Straight Shooter]

Logging up all day , it will take another four days to get it all done , then all will have to be split and stacked , the mini excavator should arrive tomorrow so i will be able to get some land drainage sorted out , and some rerouting of some other land drains requires my attention....now is a good time for two new root cellars to be dug ....easy... so there is plenty for me to get my teeth into .....as a rule i always get stuff done one project at a time..... but lately i seem to flip flop between....that way i seem to stay more focused and do not get pissed off ....variety is the spice of life ...seems to work for me these days as long as i work methodically and finish off at set stages .....onward and upwards !

[Mortblanc]

(17 February 2018, 20:41)Straight Shooter Wrote: You just reminded me of the Texan visiting the UK MB ..........gee your roads are so narrow over here ...and you only have one lane in each direction, hell in America we have four even six lanes in each direction.....English guy says oh yeah.....Yep that's why you brits make such small automobiles with 998 cc engines .....hell in America i could fit one of your mini's in the trunk of my car along with twenty six packs of Budd , a tent and a barbecue 50 burgers 100 hot dogs ketchup mustard .....English guy says oh yeah.....Hell what ship is that ! English guy looks at the QE2 that's sailing by....lifts up his megaphone and facing the ship...... hails..... boat number 2 please come in....your time is up!

You might think that is a real joke but in 1955 my father bought a Buick Roadmaster, 4 door sedan, that was 18 feet long and 6 1/2 feet wide. The Austin Mini was 10 feet long and 4 feet wide and it would actually fit in the bed of a full sized American 3/4 ton pickup truck with the tailgate left down and would not exceed the load limit.

And strangely enough, we sell more of those full sized pickup trucks than all other vehicle types combined. Just the Ford company sells a PU truck every 30 seconds, and there is also the GM, Chevy, Dodge and Toyota brands to add to that number.

But we do still have our share of narrow windy roads over here. On my own lane two vehicles can not pass, and most of our rural roads are just wide enough to allow vehicles not to brush their sides as they pass.