BB March 2

Managed some time in the garage again. First thing was to give the car a short run and see how well the brakes
worked. The problem wa starting the car, which has been getting progressively more difficult. It turned out that the
cable clamps on the choke linkages had come loose and needed tightening. This meant half an hour upside down in the
footwell, but eventually got it sorted after which it started first pull.

The drive showed that the brakes worked, but there was a lot of pedal travel. So back in the garage it was time to
bleed it again, and once again we got some small bubbles out - I guess that this will be an ongoing thing until I have
really driven it some distance. After this, however, the pedal travel was noticeably less, so I think one more drive and
we should be ready to return to Norwich.

Sometimes life just isn't fair. I'd got a booking for my test on 15th March, and I'd done all of the required work
on the car. It had been driven around the block a couple of times and the brakes seemed fine. Over the weekend
though, I'd had excruciating toothache to the point where I called out the dentist on Sunday evening. He
prescribed anti-biotics for Sunday night and the extraction on Monday 15th. So with little other choice I cancelled
the test - even that was difficult as I couldn't really talk.

So, today I have to book a new date. And yes, I am really p****d off!

It passed!! I booked a date for the Friday knowing that I wasn't going to be able to go back until mid April if not.
The weather was awful, sheeting rain, gales and lots of road spray. I trailered the car across, but the sheeting over
the cockpit disppeared in the wind and so I just gritted my teeth and pressed on.

When I got there the sun came out and it ws a lovely afternoon - I took this as an omen. The brake test went quickly
and the tester confirmed before he got out of the car that I ghad fixed the problem and the figures looked good. I
told him I'd take it out of the testing shed as they had other cars waiting to come onto the brake rollers, but he said
he wanted to :-))

So, by the time the car was back on the trailer, the MAC was ready, and home we came. All of the trouble was for
the little piece of paper you can see below. So now it is onto registration, polishing (again), and making sure that the
SVA trim is all firmly on, especially the fireguard which I have grown quite fond of.

Having got the car through the SVA, it has languished in the garage untouched. The weekedn immediately after the
test I had Round Table and family events, and then I was in Finland for the week. Today, however, I had some time
at last. First job was to give it a damn good polish - which went well until I ran out with one panel left to do. I then
had to check that the SVA trim was all secure, problem was that the quality of my work was appalling and a lot of it
fell off. Shame really.

I have had some problems getting the engine to run smoothly, so I spent some time setting it up, after which I was only
reasonable to give it a run! My son Timothy was in the right place at the right time and so he came with me. Despite
having a good bath when he got home, the grin is still fixed in place!

Next step is registration. The paperwork was been submitted to the Peterborough DVLA last Monday, and full marks
as they rang the next day to arrange inspection. They inspect on Tuesdays and Thursdays; I couldn't do it last week
as I was in Finland, and I'm in Milan this Tuesday so it's booked for next Thursday.

The other thing is to plan the next set of changes. This will be fairly substantial, but will result in two extra seats in
the back for the children so that we can all enjoy it. I won't say any more now, but watch this space.