Sorry about the thread title, just being consistent!!!
So, now for something completely different ....
I bought my Gussie, YS 1935 in 1971 and thought a couple of years would see things sufficiently advanced to get her on the road. I am guessing you are already thinking, 'not a chance' and of course you are absolutely right.
The problem this time, at least initially, was not arrival of children with its associated departure of funds, but resulted from my joining the LMC. It goes like this, buy an old Lancia, join The Lancia Motor Club ........... and then realise that life is meaningless without at least another couple of different Lancias!! So it was that I bought the B20. Before I could make my life meaningful with a driveway full of Lancias, the house began to fill up with noisy, occasionally smelly and always expensive little people and so the two cars were consigned to ignominy in the garage. Fast forward 20 years and the little people were not so small, were even noisier and a damn sight more expensive!! That is when the first Beta arrived, written off in an early hours of the morning. I have three sons all of whom were in the car and all of whom were asleep, this included the driver, travelling at 70mph. Truly a miracle that all three survived unscathed. Another Beta, an HPE, a Trevi and four Y10s later all four offspring had flown the nest.
So, retirement and Jim arrived at about the same time, The Gussie was unearthed and hauled off to the workshop. There, the somewhat extensive rot in the rear half of the car was repaired, all four wings repaired and two running boards made. Then came the fabrication, from scratch, of a completely new boot, a real work of art. Then, with Jim on a roll I decided the Gussie could be put into storage in the garage whilst the little repair work on the B20 was carried out. I think we are at about 4 years and counting for that little repair work!!
Anyway, it is now the turn of the B20 to go into storage until the spring when it will be sent off for its new paint. Swap the cars time is here again, so it was out of the garage with the Appia, slide the Gussie across on dollies and push it out into the sun on the drive. Into the garage with the Appia, slide it, on dollies out of the way and winch the Gussie back into the garage. The winch is required as the drive is on a slope and Jim is too old to push ...... as am I !!!!! All I have to do now is arrange the transporter and it should be a simple(
?) swap. Garage to workshop is less than a mile so it should be easy .... time will tell. Please note the use of 'should' rather than 'will'!!!
The Gussie's wings, running boards and the radiator have been removed and I have started cleaning things up in eager anticipation ...
This is how it looks at the moment ...
Andy
