Three Speed

Del Boy drove a Reliant Supervan III

Growing up there was one of these down my street. a 1.3 GL 4 door. Aged 10 you could keep your ferraris etc, what i really wanted was one of these. I absolutely loved them.
Back then they were cheap first cars (around 1990) couple of hundred quid and scrap it when the mot was up. That is assuming it hadnt dissolved already, or been crashed.
Then a strange thing happened. They vanished overnight and then slowly they started getting expensive. By the time i started driving they were not mega expensive, but just hard to find.
My route to a mk2 escort was avoid 2 door (££££££) avoid uk RHD (££££££ plus most heavily welded or rotten)
So here we have a solid LHD import 1.3GL which is being delivered next week…

 



 

 

 

 

Last weekend was the VSCC Light Car Section Welsh weekend. this year marked 100 years since the RAC Small Car Trials, which inspired the event, and in which a Palladium did exceedingly well over 1000 miles of hard test driving at the hands of its designer H F Smallwood. Since the aim has always been to take my Palladium on this event it was absolutely essential that it was back up and running in time. Sadly it hasn't been driven for about 4 years, since it suffered some mechanical problems (on the way home from Wales, funnily enough) which resulted in a load of water in Number 4 cylinder and a couple of bent valves. Anyway, we rallied some troops and had a mad week of putting it all back together (absolutely minimal input from myself, obviously) and a few days before the trip it was running for the first time and sounding nice and healthy. I did a quick trip round the block and all seemed well, so all that was left was to keep a positive attitude and pack lots of tools. Here's how things looked after about 100 miles.

And approaching the border

Noo hood or weather equipment wasn't great considering we were in the grip of Storm Kathleen, but the weather was pretty kind on the way up and I did 200 miles behind the wheel with no problems whatsoever. Made it to Wales and spent two days fannying about, actually much more challenging than the drive up, driving on small roads with lots of hills etc. Here it is in the middle of a section through normally-closed Forestry Commission roads

It shed a sidelamp lens going over a nasty bump annoyingly. Here it is resting at the summit of Bwlch-Y-Groes, 'the Welsh Terror', a absolutely nasty very long climb which saw off a few competitors back in 1924, but which the Pall sailed up without any problems (in first gear)

And here it is going down the other side

After all that, we set off quite early on Sunday. The first leg was quite tough going with awful rain and wind, but the last 100 miles were pretty great going.

Got back by 6pm which was alright. The best part of 700 miles covered in four days, which might not sound like much but it takes a huge amount of concentration and energy to drive this thing at speed. Apart from a blocked slow runnning jet there were zero mechanical issues for the whole weekend. The number plate bolts came loose, one of the wing valances sheered the rivets holding it in and was rattling around, I think the gearbox is possibly even nosier than it was before but otherwise it was smooth sailing! So glad to actually get this heap to Wales and re-enact the 1924 event, which was the marque's most notable achievement, particularly on this anniversary year. Next stop: get a hood made.
 

same pub, different yanks. Must take mine there one day.

This would be John Gillard. He is still operating but now located in Paddock Wood as Classic Restorations. John is an extraordinarily nice man who knows Tractions inside out, has probably worked on most of them that are in the UK and has trained a number of the other Traction Avant specialists.

same pub, different yanks. Must take mine there one day.

same pub, different yanks. Must take mine there one day.

This would be John Gillard. He is still operating but now located in Paddock Wood as Classic Restorations. John is an extraordinarily nice man who knows Tractions inside out, has probably worked on most of them that are in the UK and has trained a number of the other Traction Avant specialists.

Ahhh - thank you. It used to be quite cool walking around the little back streets there on a wet night seeing all the wee black Citroens parked around the place like a 1950's French film noir - just needed a load of Les Flics to leap out yelling 'You're nicked, sunshine' (obvs. in French).
There were still a lot of small trades around Central London back then - hoover shops, proper ironmongers, gearbox places. I once came back on the bus from Clapham with a two piece exhaust for the Vitesse from a specialist place down there. Never got a second look.
All pretty much all gone by 1990-95 as property prices really took off (and I guess mail order did too).

Spotted this cool Sunbeam Talbot 90 today, on SORN though

And some more.
Cardiff:












 
Bloody Hyundai Pony!


 
Works event out in mid-Wales:


 
 
 

Cardiff, summer 2022:









 
Chepstow:



 
 
W Sussex:







 

 
New build estate in deepest Essex:



 
Mousehole, Cornwall:

This would be John Gillard. He is still operating but now located in Paddock Wood as Classic Restorations. John is an extraordinarily nice man who knows Tractions inside out, has probably worked on most of them that are in the UK and has trained a number of the other Traction Avant specialists.

I knew I had a picture of this near Waterloo. It's just taken me over half an hour scrolling through my shite pictures because it turns out it was October 2014!

I can't believe that was ten years ago. Doesn't look like it's changed much. 

Epic London spot(s).
My work here is done.

Well, now that this appears to have finally sold again (to some other poor unsuspecting sap), I can begin to tell the tale of my brief but traumatic experience with the world's only unreliable Land Cruiser Amazon! 
I bloody loved my Hilux, and it had been utterly faultless for 2 years and 35k miles - but unfortunately my hand was forced into changing it due to increasing difficulty in getting insurance for it. As a commercial vehicle privately owned for hobby purposes, but used for commuting to my day job, InsCos were naturally assuming I was a self-employed tradie taking the piss by using it for undeclared business use. It had got to the point where any online quote/comparison sites had removed the "social and commuting" option from their forms, with "social only" or "business inc commuting" suddenly now (in Jul 23 when my cover lapsed) being the only options. This was, well, inconvenient, unless I wanted to pay £3k for business cover.... 
And thus, I needed to get back into an SUV, and fast. But the choice of modern-ish SUVs that aren't just a tall car and are able to tow 3+ tons (essential for me), that weren't going to immediately shit themselves (ruling out anything with a green oval), was rather thin. @horriblemercedes had hit on the solution though, he had a Land Cruiser Amazon. Perfect! 
However, unlike his bargain priced, rot free manual, all I could find for sale was autos, either kwispy with moon mileage for a reasonable price, or a reasonable condition for "HFM?!"

Eventually, I stumbled across this one. Only 85k miles, and under £20k! Why? A previous Cat D, according to the dealer. I was shown photos, it had had a new wing, bonnet, headlight and bumper after a front corner knock.
And, for bonus points - it was for sale with the very reputable "prestige, SUV and supercar" dealer that my Hilux had come from, so I'd be in good hands. 
Nope, twas a 4.2D, a facelift with the 5 speed auto.
And so, the week before my collection post, I went down for a look. Not visible in the photos was a huge "key" scratch down one side. Hmm.... Well luckily I had a tame bodyshop guy who could sort that. More of a problem on the test drive were flat batteries requiring a jump start, a wheel wobble right around motorway cruising speeds, and an incessant squeak coming from somewhere. Oh, and it was due a service. 
No problem, shirley, for a reputable large dealer to sort out? Importantly, that fabulous big old engine pulled strongly, and the gearbox changed up and down nicely. Plus, the chassis was absolutely spotless!
Thus, a deal was struck which involved a very good price for my Hilux, and I collected the following week.



 

Eight years ago today this turd landed at mine. Tomorrow I will apply for historic tax and, judging by the complete lack of progress on the Mini, proceed to use it over the next few months. 

Both the other cars in this photo since sold and scrapped, the house SSTC and and my lovely friend Emma has moved onto a better place. Then again she lived in Hemel, so a move to Strangeways would have been a positive move. 
Happy bASe day, fellow motorist.