and so it begins....
I had to go up to York on Friday for a business meeting. It's a bloody long way to York, especially as the meeting was for 10am - I left in plenty of time and despite the fog I got there for 9:30. Business done I headed for home, stopping in at Canley Classics to see Dave and start the ball rolling on the Lucas PI conversion for the Vitesse.
Over the years I've acquired several sets of Lucas PI kit, from all sorts of places. Some of it's good, some of it's covered in crap and hard to distinguish what it is! I really need to start with an early TR5 metering unit but I don't think there's anything close in what I have, it's mainly saloon stuff. So I asked Dave if he'd look over it all and give me some advice on what's worth keeping, what's worth selling and what's worth melting down for scrap!
I'd like to make it look good as well as go good - the car is used every week so it's not going to be bling bling but I do like things to look good :-)
I had a great evening with Dave, it's ages since I've seen him, work getting in the way again. In fact it was probably the 10 Countries Run back in September when I last saw him. I used to be up there every few weeks but working in Norwich all the time has kinda screwed that up.
Whilst at Canley's I saw the resurection of yet another "works" car underway, this time for a customer. I won't say too much apart from the attention to detail is amazing and the result is great. The car will be used and will come out on the RBRR next year too. The dedication to getting things right by the owner is to be applauded.
Back to business, in my quest for garage space I had decided to move a large collection of Vitesse bumper trims. The original idea was to sell them on as is but some of them were a bit cruddy so I tried to find somewhere to get them polished and re-annodised. Dave was in a similar position and so we threw his lot in with mine. You have to come up with volume or the cost per item gets silly - far more than anyone will pay. Anyway, they were all back from the polishers and I have my selection in garage now.
The trouble with doing it this way is that the quality of the polishing is patchy - mainly due to what you're starting with! The polisher is working to a price, he can't stand there and spend ages on teh job or he won't make any money. The polisher can't put metal back so a dent remains a dent and deep scratches just get turned into shallow ones. The pieces are all packed up in bubble wrap at the moment but once I get the chance to unwrap and assess them I'll pick the best for myself and get the rest out on eBay - as they will all need an individual photo it could take a while!
Right, must go, I'm being pestered to put up Christmas decorations now, I've still got the Area News article for the TSSC to write and I've just realised it's a couple of days late!
Over the years I've acquired several sets of Lucas PI kit, from all sorts of places. Some of it's good, some of it's covered in crap and hard to distinguish what it is! I really need to start with an early TR5 metering unit but I don't think there's anything close in what I have, it's mainly saloon stuff. So I asked Dave if he'd look over it all and give me some advice on what's worth keeping, what's worth selling and what's worth melting down for scrap!
I'd like to make it look good as well as go good - the car is used every week so it's not going to be bling bling but I do like things to look good :-)
I had a great evening with Dave, it's ages since I've seen him, work getting in the way again. In fact it was probably the 10 Countries Run back in September when I last saw him. I used to be up there every few weeks but working in Norwich all the time has kinda screwed that up.
Whilst at Canley's I saw the resurection of yet another "works" car underway, this time for a customer. I won't say too much apart from the attention to detail is amazing and the result is great. The car will be used and will come out on the RBRR next year too. The dedication to getting things right by the owner is to be applauded.
Back to business, in my quest for garage space I had decided to move a large collection of Vitesse bumper trims. The original idea was to sell them on as is but some of them were a bit cruddy so I tried to find somewhere to get them polished and re-annodised. Dave was in a similar position and so we threw his lot in with mine. You have to come up with volume or the cost per item gets silly - far more than anyone will pay. Anyway, they were all back from the polishers and I have my selection in garage now.
The trouble with doing it this way is that the quality of the polishing is patchy - mainly due to what you're starting with! The polisher is working to a price, he can't stand there and spend ages on teh job or he won't make any money. The polisher can't put metal back so a dent remains a dent and deep scratches just get turned into shallow ones. The pieces are all packed up in bubble wrap at the moment but once I get the chance to unwrap and assess them I'll pick the best for myself and get the rest out on eBay - as they will all need an individual photo it could take a while!
Right, must go, I'm being pestered to put up Christmas decorations now, I've still got the Area News article for the TSSC to write and I've just realised it's a couple of days late!
Comments