Our Cars: 1976 Rover 3500 SD1
1 January 2012: Happy New Year
Well, despite the gruesome damp, dank, disgusting Northamptonshire weather today, I decided I needed to give the Polski-Rover some much needed love and attention. It’s been a while since I used the old thing and, since its tax expired at the end of August, it’s been tucked up safe and sound in my garage.
I’m not someone who likes to see cars parked up, unused, and, as a result, I stayed away from the garage and pretended the SD1 wasn’t actually there. That’s never a good thing to do for a driver like me and so, when I went out to the car to pump up the slow puncture this morning, I actually found that it’s a bigger problem than first thought – it had detached from the rim. Anyway, out came the spare – an unused 1976 Michelin XAS – and on it went.
I popped on my excellent Ring battery conditioner, as starting was a bit on the lazy side (but brilliant considering it had been laid up for so long). This piece of kit is brilliant in revitalising a couple of (what I thought) were dead batteries, one on a family member’s Golf TDI Mk4, the other on the (still for sale) Citroen AX GT which seems to have taken root here.
Looking at the old girl, getting back in, smelling its unremitting brownness inside, it seems a bit tragic that I’m not still using the car on a daily basis and I know I need to get in and start driving it again soon. I suppose I need to get the manifold sorted, the exhaust re-attached and the floppy gear linkage repaired, then it’ll be good to go.
« Earlier: In and out of love Later: Pipes of peace (at last) »
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