Whoa! A post! Yes, after a barren six months Ratdat.com sees activity once again. An I bet you all thought I’d abandoned it! I’ve been kind of busy with work over the summer which has eaten up a lot of my time hence the lack of posts. As the miserable winter weather draws in and my temprorary summer work comes to an end, suddenly I find I have time to sit down and bash out some words. And about time too!
So, what’s happened over the summer? Not a huge amount to be honest. I started of the summer rolling around in the Renault 5TL, but the truth is, we just don’t get along that well and once it’s headgasket went pop, it got abandoned and the Renault 16TS was pressed into service as a daily. The R5 is a quirky little thing but lacks the charm of the original design, having been updated for the 80’s with lots of ugly plastic inside. It’s comfortable and has a great ride quality for a small car but I just don’t find it terribly enjoyable to drive as a daily. So if anyone want’s a pretty solid and very cheap R5 it’s here waiting! I think both the R5’s will be going to be honest as I’ve got enough to do just fixing the rest of my fleet and besides which, I’ve aquired something Renault shaped that’s much, much better!
In Contrast, the Renault 16TS has been a joy, despite needing almost constant attention and repair. This seems to be the way with old French cars! It’s been recoved by the AA once, I’ve had the gearbox out, replaced a driveshaft, clutch and repaired numerous small problems but it’s such a pleasure to drive it’s forgiven all sins. As of today, it’s finally coming off the road for the winter, just in time to fix it’s latest bout of failures, namely and blown exhaust, clunky balljoint, a mystery engine compartment rattle and, as of yesterday, a failed starter motor.
What of the Japanese machinery though? Well, the Violet SSS has been sat in storage over the summer but in the next couple of weeks will be back in the workshop for paint prep. Taking time out from it has allowed me to take stock of the project and as a result some slight changes have happened to the original plan, involving an engine swap and some slightly more fancy paint than before. More on this soon! The Sunny truck is in waiting as I’ve decided to only have one car in the workshop at a time. Once the Violet is painted it’ll go back in to get finished. I’ve finally got the rest of the parts need to do the Mk1 Honda Civic so that’s going to be getting paint and hitting the road for next summer. I did make time over the summer to make some progress on the 312 Bluebird though! It’s finally ready for an MOT! Although it’s not now likely to see the road until next spring I plan to get it in for test shortly and get it registered so it’s ready to go. About time really, seeing as I’ve owned it for six years now.
There’s been a few changes to the fleet but there was at least one significant addition in the shape of a 1981 Dodge Ram van. yes, that’s right, I’ve got another impractical, gas guzzling American ride. Once the my AMC Javelin went there was a V8 sized hole left in my life but the 318ci V8 of the Dodge has filled it sufficiently and better still it’s a whole lot more usefull than the Javelin. More on this one shortly. Some cars have departed too. The red Datsun Cherry N12, both the Renault 15’s and, sadly my WD21 Nissan Terrano have all moved on to pastures new. So, there you have it and without further ado… on with the show.
Yay, updates!