Frosty -4°!!! - Just a start and warm up

I don't often start Amy up and not drive her anywhere, over all the time I have had her I've only done it very rarely.

I don't really see the point, some people do it to keep their classics ticking over, but if she's started - why not drive her somewhere is my motto!

But today, hmmm it's MINUS 4°. A lovely day but too cold to bother, just for the sake of it.

Having said that, the last time she drove in such conditions was a couple of years ago when I took her to Reading in Dec 2014.

So today I just wanted to see if all would still be OK at such cold temperatures.

Easy!! No problem, she started an absolute dream and warmed up, revved and ticked over nicely. I just left her long enough to see the water temp come up and all the frost to melt on the bonnet and left it at that.

Austin - you CAN depend on it!!





She sure looks pretty, with Christmassy frost on the windows! :

Keep her driving - Work today and few more drives

In this really bad spell of weather, it's hard to make sure I keep Amy running. A classic car's worst enemy is inaction, especially when kept outside on the driveway as Amy is.

I don't want to put her away for her Winter sleep in my parents garage just yet, but with wind and rain having been prevalent since the last journey, it means I haven't had her out for a spin since then, over two weeks.

Today is slated to be nice, so out she comes for a work trip. I never just drive straight to work anymore, it's only 2 and a half miles, no where near enough of a journey, always drive a big loop to get there!! (Although that's still only 5 miles!!)

She always takes a while to start after sitting for that length of time, but it is only pulling fuel through, once it comes through, she fires easily and purrs .. The long time Somerset owner I know has exactly the same issue with his, and he's had it since 1960!!! So it's just nature of the beast. I had wondered if the new fuel line setup would solve this and stop the fuel dropping back, but it's just the way it is designed means this is just normal. I guess replacing the mechanical fuel pump with an electric one would work around the issue, cos it'd start whirring away as soon as the ignition was switched on and more quickly pull the fuel up, but it's a non issue really, So I wont be doing anything about that. Not a new issue, she's always done it after a long rest and it just seems worse in cold weather, cos the engine turns over more slowly when trying to start!

Then the next couple of days, although miserable, are supposed to be dry and clear, so she'll stay out and probably get a Saturday jaunt for the sake of it.

New place - The Lookout

Nice weather for an early November day, took the dog for a walk and decided to go to the Lookout havent taken a picture there before, even though it's on the doorstep and a very popular venue for walks!

Restored Austin badge fitted to A40 Somerset

Nice that a really small job turned out to be exactly that - a really small job! Too many of those turn into something more, but the two set screws undid easily. Nothing fell off, got lost or broke and the restored badge (albeit now non-original) was in place within 10 mins!

Comparison pic before refitting:

Amy's face lift, looking 50 years younger:

Finished repainting badge

It was a bit of a rainy day today so cracked on with repainting. Happy enough with the results. Will fit to Amy when weather clears.

Shhhhhh.. Nail varnish!!

Painted letters and "coat of arms"

First step, paint the "shiny parts" . I know I can't replicate the chrome effect of the original, so going for gold... Won't really know good it will look until finished, but it's looking OK so far I think.

Small off season project - Austin Badge

The badge at the top of my grille is in rather poor condition. Over 60 years old so what do you expect? The  plastic has loads of hairline cracks running all over it, so it is not even a case of trying to patch up the colours, the damage is irreparable.

You can get brand new repro ones, but that would probably look too perfect.

At the Sepctember ACCC meet I was kindly given an old one from the Somerset Coupe owner I know. He has a better one on his Coupe and this old one was also in poor shape, but unlike mine the only issue is the painting. The plastic hasnt got the same cracking that mine has.

So I have stripped it right back to start with:

 Need a keen eye, a steady hand and some silver, red and black paint...!! We'll see how it turns out. Hopefully a worthy replacememt for mine when I have finished.