September 2002  Life just never seems to go the way you think it will does it. We 're still attempting to move house so Percy has taken even more time off than I had hoped. Anyway I have spent about 15 hours working on him this month so far.

  • Mounted prop shaft bracket for centre bearing
  • A considerable number of hours have been wasted sorting out electrical problems which stemmed from both a bad connection and a dead relay on the ignition circuit.
  • Several hours tinkering with the carbs to bring tickover and richness down to acceptable levels. I need to get an emissions test done on it ideally.

I now have the following items left to do for the M.O.T. test, the cosmetic stuff can wait as I want to drive Percy to his new home in less than 3 weeks time.


  • Clip down fuel and brake lines
  • Plumb in the Oil cooler
  • Fasten up the front grill
  • Finish painting the chassis.
  • Fit new ignition system relay, burnt out the old one :-(

Not much I hear you cry, but it's been not much since April 2000. Still I can see the light at the end of the garage door now. In fact to be honest the though of Percy being out on the road turned my stomach earlier on when I realised exactly how little work there was left. I guess it's a feeling similar to stage fright.

Still there's plenty more to do on the cosmetic side but it serious thinking time now for my next project. I've always wanted a 101 but with the house move and the high prices they are currently commanding it's most unlikely I'm going to get one, maybe it's just a pipe dream.

I am however very interested in building a Austin Healey kit replica and while the cost would be considerably more having watched "A car is born", I find the though of working with new bits very attractive….anyway were going off topic… and don't worry Percy won't be being sold he's a lifer now.

The other influencing factor is our recently found love of off road driving, not comp safari or RTV events but the likes of Cannock Chase days (see the photo album - adventures).
Karen's Rangie has just been resprayed and looks better than ever so it's unlikely were going to risk any pannel or paint work damage in the near future.

I'm giving serious thought to buying a Tax exempt rangie purely for this purpose...why a rangie, well with two toddlers you have to provide some creature comforts. If I take this route it would probably become a Hybrid once both kids are at school in a few years time. I.e. when I have time to do it.