Classic car mechanic – In the news again

‘In the corner of the workshop, Olli Ragbin sits watching events unfold before him’

Let’s start the day with a pic of a happy customer.

This is what one looks like! And the reason? A quick wheel re-furb. It would certainly make me smile having lovely new rims to roll on. It’s just one of the many specialist services we can provide. Technical mechanical wrangling for cared-for classics is our daily bread and butter. We trust a small number of local independent experts for specialist jobs such as wheels and paint. Once your pride and joy is with us, we pull all this together for you for a seamless one-stop-shop service. I don’t really need to do the old sales shpeel, because what we produce most often is pictured above. Folk who are happy with our approach to their classics and happy with our technical delivery.

‘What else do you offer?’ I hear you cry. Well, if you’ve ever fancied learning the old ‘moon walk’ then Shrimp eye Justin is a master. This week in the ‘teaching old dogs new tricks’ category of knowledge sharing, Shrimp eye takes a moment out of his day to teach the gaffer all there is to know about the silky and beguiling forward/backward walking thing…

(the sound of boots sliding backward against mud in perfect harmony)

(Alfie getting busy with brake shoes. Mini cheddars within easy reach in case of emergency)

I’d just dropped off the 996 for further love and fettling from Dr Ray and spotted these two around the back of the workshop.

We’ve seen Shrimp eye’s mini before, but when you get up close to it you see just how compact these cars are. It’s genuinely a Scalextric car from my youth. Love the look. Love the ‘slap you in the face with a 9 iron’ colour scheme. I think there may be plans afoot to enhance motive power. I once got taken for a passenger ride in a tuned one of these… something like 700kg and 300 horsepower. The most frightening 5 minutes of my life (I’m obviously not counting that one time when I accidentally trod on a badger).

Next up and again, one we’ve covered before, is this simply beautiful XJ-C. There is literally no line on this car that isn’t perfect. I’m a huge fan of the old luxo barge. A bigger fan of big coupes. And the biggest fan of William Lyons' finest. On my big list of boxes, this beaut ticks every one.

It’s in for some final paint work to finish the job and the lucky owner is desperate to get her out on the open road and enjoy that big V12 mated to a manual box.

We’re in the news….. again…! This time it’s ‘Classic car week’ and with a friend fresh from the workshop, a pristine Anglia.

As mentioned earlier, my own classic (I am sure your average Porsche enthusiast will wrinkle a nose at that comment) is back in for more work. I’ve done less than a thousand miles this year and somewhere in the depths of this very laptop is a spreadsheet that has (on a hidden row, in a hidden cell, written in white text on a white background in a font only readable with magnification) a number.

This number represents the calculation of expenditure divided by mileage. The cell is titled ‘pence per mile’.

It has many, many pence contained within.

Many pence.

I know one thing. That number is going north, not south.

Anyway, it may be going north a little less than I’d expected. Strange noises from the rear may be down to a knackered alternator and not a gearbox pinion bearing as I'd initially diagnosed with the help of the internet (and probably accompanied with a raised eyebrow or two from the techs). That's why I look after the rags and they look after the clever stuff.

Anyway, I am by no way out of the woods with this yet, but Patrick (named by Ingrid when he was in the care of Eric back in the day) is being cared for (again) by the tech team….hopefully this week.

Forgive me a moment of self-indulgence with this pic. This angle is why I still have this car and will likely remain in this state of ownership for quite some time to come.

(low mileage and loud noise.Slate-grey perfection in my eyes)

We’ve got over 20 classics vying for tech attention, so eyes down for another busy week in the workshop.

If you’ve got a classic that needs some love and attention, swing by. We’re always happy to talk through what’s on your mind and come up with a plan. No charge for chat!

So from Siobhan, Dr Ray, Shrimp-eye Justin, Young Chris, Izzi, Ingrid, Alfie and Eric, see you all next week

Olli