Classic car mechanic’s weekly motoring – Belts tightened

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

Just when we thought summer was over, along comes the heatwave. As an Englishman, it is my want, well, my absolute God-given right, to talk about the weather before considering any other subject.

Whilst the mornings are getting darker and the evenings drawing in, this burst of nuclear summer has been just great. Yes, its meant that we’ve all had to sleep with at least 1 leg outside of the 15-tog duvet. Yes, fans may have been deployed, windows opened, and all bodily contact with spouses avoided, but, next week is officially winter, so collectively we should offer praise (and potentially a sacrifice of some sort) for this current sunny spell.

The workshop has been hot all week and by Friday at least 4 of the team had upped sticks and gone off to the Goodwood revival. This year was the first time I’ve ever been. I got an invite from a chum to join him and his gang on a minibus of schoolboys – not actual schoolboys, just the dress code you understand.

Any reservations quickly evaporated as 17 grown men deployed water-pistols on complete strangers. This may be hard to believe, but honestly, the water pistol is funny. In fact, it is always funny. Always. You’d think 12 hours of reasonably constant use may get annoying… but it doesn’t. The favourite tactic was not the ‘deploy on strangers’ move, but the ‘spray on chum’s crotch shortly after his visit to the toilet. This gag, no matter how hard the collective tried, never failed to amuse.

Both Eric and Duncan the wizard were somewhere in the grounds, but despite us all sharing a post code, we still didn’t bump into each other.

There’s just too much to see on the classic front, and whilst my natural go-to is the Festival of Speed, I did enjoy the atmosphere and ‘feel’ of the whole Revival affair.

I watched the Bonhams auction on-line the day after. The market is most definitely softening. Along with housing and the general squeeze as money has become more expensive, classics seem not to be fetching their reserves. The star of the show was a Supermarine Spitfire from 1943. What a machine. What a history. Reserved between £3.5m & £4.5m it reached only £3.1m at final bid.

I am sure in times of more positive market sentiment this sort of machine would break records (It wasn’t the only thing not to reach estimate on the day).

Next March my fixed-term mortgage expires and along with a good proportion of the country, I have a nosebleed in the post. Surely this level of additional monthly spend on the collective horizon for many is starting to ripple through to discretionary spend? Perhaps those with wallets strong enough to bag a Spitfire are immune from this sort of thing, but still, the signs seem to be there.

So, with all this doom and gloom and impending tightening, Eric and I have bought (invested in?) a 1970 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow I. ‘Shrewd’, that’s what you’re thinking, right?

Of course, this sort of thing has absolutely zero potential for being a money pit. None. And to top it all, the least qualified member of the extended CCM family is the one who gave it the full inspection. I spoke to Eric beforehand and he gave me my marching orders in terms of what to look for and what to check.

In short, here’s a small sample of the things I forgot to look at;

· The electric windows – an easy miss that one. There are only 4 of them and they are well-hidden

· The passenger electric seat – the buttons aren’t that obvious.

· All the documents – I’m sure everything stacks

· The notorious hydraulic brake set up – there are 2 red lights on the dash – I think I followed the procedure Eric gave me

In fairness to me (a massively biased statement if ever there was one), you buy the person, not the car. We got this lead from a friend of a friend and whilst I was up in the Northwest I decided to go have a look see.

Ed (and his mum Mary) were selling his Dad’s old Roller. Dr John passed away recently, but obviously he loved this one which he’s owned since the late nineties. A really nice family with a story to tell (like many of us) and just looking for a good home for what is clearly a sentimental family item.

The car was being transported on ‘Goodwood Friday’, so I was keeping an eye on the phone for details.

When I was a young boy, 5 maybe 6, I remember obsessively studying my granddad’s ‘Ladybird book of cars' and the Silver Shadow in particular. It left a lasting memory. Whilst every other car quoted a horsepower figure, the Shadow had ‘adequate’. A mere number would have been completely below the Rolls to state. So vulgar. Anyway, Saturday morning I met Eric at the workshop to have a look at the old gal.

A full update to follow, but what I will say is this… floating round the carpark in what was once one of the most expensive cars available in its day was an absolute joy. We’ve got a fair bit to do in recommissioning, but this is still a very nice example that has been cherished and loved.

I’m now pestering Eric to fast-track our new baby onto one of the ramps…. But we have a tonne of stuff on at the moment so we’ll just have to wait and see what Siobhan says. In the meantime, I’m getting ready to tap Keithy-baby up on the old polishing front for the alloys, and obviously Duncan the wizard’s experience with Rolls and Bentley’s is not lost on me…pics to follow (and yes, I know we still have the Jag to finish).

So, another week of sunshine (and showers) is nearly upon us. Catch the last of the rays in your classic of choice and enjoy our beautiful country before the snow arrives in a couple of weeks. We’ll miss this weather when it’s gone.

Go steady out there people.

Olli.

And so to this week’s photos.

I could be wrong, but I think Simon is preparing to plant a geranium

Now I do love an XJ....... here we see a brace... well, one XJ and one Daimler to be precise

Roy's Superman landing in the boot of this Jag was executed to absolute perfection. 5 minutes of circling the workshop first mind....

Sainsbury's have run out of Pomegranates again.... Jim orders pineapple chunks instead. He knows it's a compromise but he's still smiling

There is something very right about a British sports-car with a race number on the door

Ingrid's beloved Golf Cab.... it's going to get prepped for sale.... but I think second thoughts may be in the offing

Sam did a cracking job on the 996's brake carriers... thanks Sam.... !

Shrimp Eye Justin insists we have at least 1 mini shot per week....

Sam busy with a Daimler

This is the sort of work that often goes un-seen. The internal build work needed to 'properly sort' a sill out.

Chief sill-sorter Duncan standing on Eric's shoulders as he left his sarnies in the boot

Keithy-baby is smiling because he knows I've got a big favour coming his way...!

None of these gentlemen are related. God's honest truth that....

Ladies and gents.... the latest project!

My favourite machine from the revival. Simply stunning

This was the last Silver Seraph produced AND the very last Roller made in Crewe. It has 250 miles on the clock and it didn't hit its reserve at Bonhams.... I want this car in my life....