IF I CONNECTED all the threads from all the T bags I have ever used, the string would reach to Le Mans and back.
If I could find all the tiny spring washers I have dropped into the unreachable depths of all the cars I have ever owned, they would fill a skip.
If the horde of many years’ worth of lost spanners, pliers, screwdrivers and sockets all magically rematerialised I could open a tool shop and would never need to work again.
Like odd socks in the washing machine, what happens to them all?
As I press energetically through what is optimistically tagged as ‘middle’ age, my dexterity deteriorates in tandem with my libido. While the ambition is still there, I am much better - as a mechanic I need to clarify - in my mind than in the real world.
Mysterious as that existential crisis is, there are other puzzles in my garage. It seems that despite lost spring washers and sockets, all my recent work is paying off.
For the first time in about a decade, a majority of the cars in my shed are actually going.
Reliably starting, driving and returning home. Not leaking. Not needing any urgent fettling. A pleasure to drive. When I tuck them back into their cosy nest, I can simply turn off the ignition, shut the roller door and walk away.
I am not sure what to do with myself. This is alien territory, confusing and psychologically challenging. I am habituated to feeling needed and am unsettled at having a garage with cars that do not need urgent repairs.
Esta historia es de la edición Issue 482 de Unique Cars.
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Esta historia es de la edición Issue 482 de Unique Cars.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
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Richard Barker 1988 MAZDA 626 TURBO
I acquired my 1988 GD Mazda 626 Turbo hatchback via an advert I saw on Gumtree. negotiated a sale price with the owner over the phone and transferred a deposit, sight unseen!
2005 VAUXHALL MONARO VXR500
BRASH, BLOWN AND BACK ON HOME SOIL, LINDA AND CHRIS DEUTER'S VAUXHALL MONARO VXR500 IS LUTON IN LABEL ONLY
THE NUMBERS GAME!
IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH IT'S A BIT LIKE A TATTSLOTTO DRAW IN ROB'S MIND, WITH ALL THOSE NUMBERS WHIZZING AROUND
GALLIC STAR
FROM BEING A ROPEY RUNNER, TO A WRITE OFF, TO A SHOW WINNER THIS CITROEN HAS HAD A DRAMATIC LIFE -
GADGET GRIPE
TECHNOLOGY CAN HAVE ITS ADVANTAGES IN THIS MODERN WORLD, AS LONG A ITS IN THE RIGHT HANDS
Fantastic FIXED HEAD
THE XK 120 WAS CREATED TO SHOWCASE ITS DOHC INLINE SIX-CYLINDER ENGINE THAT REMAINED IN SERVICE OVER FOUR DECADES
TRIPLE TREAT
Can anyone ever forget the 'man on a mission, Kowalski, in the original classic-car chase movie Vanishing Point as he fled the law in his pearl-white '70 R/T Dodge Challenger, leaving a trail of carnage, wounded cop egos and sadly, in the movie's final scene, an explosive fireball of Mopar car parts (or were they?).
MODERN CLASSICS - M 1000 R
BMW'S M-BRANDED NAKED BIKE SETS A NEW BENCHMARK FOR THE CLASS
MAZDA RX 1970-78
LOOKING MORE like something out of a washing machine, Mazda’s twinchamber rotary power unit, was an engine with performance to dwarf its compact size.
MAINTENANCE & PATIENCE
MAINTAINING OLD CLASSICS IS BOTH PAINSTAKING AND REWARDING. WILL ANYONE BOTHER WITH MORE MODERN MACHINERY?