Ooooh Arrrrrrr...West Country tat collection.

[Cheggers]

Another day, another road trip...

 

Following the sale of the Triumph to a fellow shiter, the time had come to collect her replacement...a piece of white 1980's-ness

 

I found the car in the For Sale section of Retro Rides, an all too rare example of a well-written ad with useful pictures. The seller (Howard) seemed like a great guy and provided all the information I needed, even going so far as to give me the name & number of the mechanic who's been looking after the car. The car was right, the price was right, the seller was right, so all I needed to do was get myself from home (Wokingham) to Exeter.

 

I packed the essentials: Basic tools, food & drink, iPod and some CD's for the new car:

 

 

And so I found myself standing outside the Sainsburys at Calcot, Reading, waiting for the National Express 501 service from London to Totnes, via Heathrow, Reading and (praise be!) Exeter. Not much to report at this stage but if you're wondering what the arse end of nowhere looks like, here's my view from the bus stop:

 

 

Thank goodness the bus rocked up dead on time, and I was on my way to the wild (South-) West

 

The bus journey was uneventful, due mainly to the fact that nearly all my fellow passengers were returning home from Heathrow after long-haul flights. That lot could snore for England.

 

We finally arrived at Exeter, and I was met by Howard and "the car". First impressions were as good as expected, and the car was OK too

 

Howard had warned me about a couple of less-than-perfect patches of paint, but what really blew me away was the interior - You'd think it was a 2008 car rather than a 1988:

 

 

After a thorough test drive & guided tour of the car (and Howards awesome camper), the time came to hand over the readies & head for home. As you can see, it broke Howards heart to say goodbye :

 

 

As I reached the M5 the heavens opened, but the 944 coped admirably. The only niggles I need to sort out are a few audio issues (crap radio reception & knackered rear speakers) and the fact it runs a bit cold ('stat, I suspect). There was talk of an oil leak, but no sign of it on the 120 miles home. The obligatory "parked-at-the-services" shot:

 

 

2 hours later I arrived home thoroughly smitten with my new purchase - The car has a stack of receipts & old MoT's along with the original handbook, tools & compressor...

 

 

Errr...that's it. I'm happy, I understand the Triumph's new custodian is happy, and Howard is a little wealthier than he was this morning. He's replacing the 944 with a mk1 Golf fitted with a modern 1.9tdi - I've invited him here as he should fit right in

[Pete-M]

Looks like a nice example, that.

[boobydoo]

That looks a really nice one. I enjoy reading about these road trips, so thanks. Was this a whim purchase or had you been looking a while?

[Louise2cv]

That interior IS amazing.

[dollywobbler]

That interior IS amazing.

 

See? YOU could have bought a nice Porka, but you went and bought a brown Astra with a wonky exhaust.

 

Looks nice Cheggers, though the out-of-alignment rear wiper is a trait shared with Louise's Astra...

[Cheggers]

That looks a really nice one. I enjoy reading about these road trips, so thanks. Was this a whim purchase or had you been looking a while?

 

I'd been looking for a month or so, and it was one of those perfect pieces of timing that I found this one just as the Triumph sold

[ashmicro]

Brilliant purchase, proper steering wheel too. Mine had a nasty hard plastic Y shaped 911 rip-off.

[Albert Ross]

Looks like a Dick Lovett car...

[trigger]

Hey, That looks great and right up my street, I'm really liking these 80's Porsches of late, Haven't these got a bad reputation for expensive cambelt changes or something though?

 

GR12 write up as well Keith.

[Cavcraft]

Excelsior!

[Cheggers]

Looks like a Dick Lovett car...

 

It is...still has the DL rear numberplate

[bigstraight6]

That looks rather nice Graham, bit of a departure from the old Trumpet I'm now custodian of!