Classic & Sports Car UK – September 2019

September 2019 Classic & Sports Car 195

supported by

improved by the discovery and
rectification of a bad earth, the
malfunctioning spotlight traced to,
er, the switch not being pulled out
properly! Good to see that even the
pros can miss things sometimes...
Finally, Johnson carried out the
final inspection and the apprentices
put some serious elbow grease into
tackling the badly bloomed paint.
Various nicks were touched in, then
several laps with the paint restorer
had the car gleaming well enough
to be part of the HSA display at the
inaugural Super Scramble in June.
Sadly I wasn’t on hand to see its
moment of glory, as the MG had
the honour of lining up behind the
Napier-Railton, brought up for the
day by Brooklands Museum for a
run on the demonstration track.
I arrived at Bicester shortly
before my birthday without a trailer
or a support vehicle, and I couldn’t
have wished for a better present.
Not only did the car look fantastic,
but it also fired on the first thumb
of the starter. A few laps of the
Technical Site had me grinning
from ear to ear, and I was delighted
to discover that the brake overhaul
had made a real difference to the
way the car tracked and steered,

not to mention the improved pick-

up from the tuned motor.

After handshakes and thank-

yous, I set off. Beaumont had taken

the car for a few shakedown runs,

but it had yet to get fully up to

speed or temperature – not to

mention bed in the brakes – so I still

had some trepidation about the

near-100-mile run home.

I really needn’t have worried,

because the car was remarkable. As

Beaumont said in his parting words:

“She rolls along beautifully, with

a really nice, relaxed drive.” Once

I’d reminded myself how busy it is

at speed, I could settle back into

enjoying its comfort and the pleas-

ure of being behind the wheel after

such a long time. Not even horror

traffic on the M25 could spoil the

fun, with the temperature staying

the right side of hot, and the only

fault being a tendency to stall when

warm and sitting in traffic – a nip

up on the idle should sort that.

I pulled into my driveway and

was gratified to find that my family

was as delighted as I was to have the

car back, and we’re looking forward

to enjoying the rest of the summer

behind the warm timber of its dash-

board. Welcome home, old friend.

THANKS TO

∆ All the tutors and apprentices at

the Heritage Skills Academy:

http://www.heritageskillsacademy.co.uk

∆ Peter Martin: 01580 763056;

http://www.mgspecs.co.uk

‘A few laps of the Bicester

site had me grinning from

ear to ear, but I still had

some trepidation about

the 100-mile run home’

Sinceitsdifferentialrebuild,the

Jeephasbeenverybusyincluding

a superbtripuptotheVintage

Fly-inat ComptonAbbasAirfield,

southofShaftesbury.Onarrival,

weweredirectedintothemilitary

vehicleparkingandfoundourselves

betweena DaimlerFerretanda

VWKübelwagenontheedgeof

thegrassairstrip.MywifeSarahhas

putupwithmyclassic-carfoibles

buthasdrawnthelineat dressing

upasa GI,sowefelta bitoutof

placeamongtheUSArmyre-enac-

tors,butit wasgreatfun.Thereare

severalvintageaircraftbasedat

ComptonAbbas– youcangofor

ridesin a PiperCub,TigerMothor

Harvard– andexcitingFly-invisi-

torsincludeda BoeingStearman,

Beechcraft 18 andTravelAir4000.

RUNBYJamesMann

OWNEDSINCESeptember 2018

PREVIOUSREPORTJuly

HOTCHKISSM201

I ranoutoffuelononeofthese

localjourneys,thefirsttimeI’ve

donesoin theHotchkissandsome-

thingthatyouhaveto doin a classic

carbeforeyouknowwhatis truly

‘empty’onthegauge.I alsohadan

inexplicabletotallossofelectrics

andhadtobetowedhomebya

mate,onlytodiscoverthatoneof

thetwo12Vbatterieshadmoved

andlooseneda terminal.I’venow

strappedit downwitha bitof metal

baranda pairofroofingbolts

hookingintotheundertray.

WhenI boughttheJeeplast

year,thepreviousownerrecom-

mendedthatI runit withoutthe

reardampersforroadjourneys

becausetheridewouldbetoohard.

SincethenI’verefittedthem,which

wasa goodideabecausethefull

loadcapacitywastestedsoonafter

whenourlocalwildlifeandhabitats

groupaskedmetotransportmen

andmaterialsalonga particularly

roughbridlewayto replacea pairof

stiles.LongLanewasthemain

London-to-ExeterroaduntilNew

RoadwasbuiltinVictoriantimes

andit is generallyonlypassableon

footorhorseback,buttheJeep

managedthesteepgradientand

ruttedtrackwithoutmissinga beat.

Wildlife and habitats team

clambered into the Jeep

for stile repair mission

Sarah is all smiles aboard

the Jeep in the military

display at Compton Abbas

Airfield’s Vintage Fly-in

Steering feels as sweet

as ever and the B-series

pulls well. Below: plenty

of elbow grease has

revived the paintwork