It's been a while since I posted a 'Tales from...'
Things have been great over the last months. In fact, we can have more customers' cars than we can handle at the same time. And, the classic car scene is very season-related. Quick Summer jobs like maintenance and repairs. E.g. on my own TR: the OD didn't want to engage. In the end it was a 25ct O-ring that leaked. Still making it a 700 euro job when you take all costs into account.
Currently we're busy with the last of the Summer jobs... The Lancia is in for a checkup before it's in hibernating in the owner's garage. The Riley's owner noticed that there was oil leaking on the inside of the back wheels. Leaking brake cylinders. That lead to an all-four wheel check and replacement of the wheel cylinders. Sadly not an off-the-shelf item, so we had to look for those - and found them after a week of thorough searching.
With Winter coming, we have a few long-term jobs ahead: restoration of a Triumph Spitfire MkIV. Mechanically, the car is safe and sound. Now it's the body and chassis that needs attention. Next to the Spit, there's still the little Fiat 500 we're working on from time to time. Every time the owner has some spare cash, he's spending it on the restoration. We don't mind that it's a multi-year job.
Finally, we're going to tackle a Saab 96!!! Yes!!! With 4 Saab 96s under my belt myself, I can safely say that it's my favourite car to work on.
The owner is a long-time customer from the other side of the country. He owns a handful of nice Jags that we maintain and repair for him. This year we tackled a V12 engine for him. That's when he found out that I'm a big 96 fan. He told us that his parents had (have) a 1974 Saab 96 in their fire-wood barn. Last week we pulled it out. I hadn't moved since... 1998! Untouched for 22 yrs. Pulling it from the barn was like an episode from Wayne Carini's Chasing Classic Cars!
The brakes were fully jammed, no air in the tyres. What helped was the rural location of the car: ultimately, we asked the old people's next-door-neighbour for help: he came with his big-*ss Fendt tractor and a large chain! He simply pulled the car from the barn onto the drive! Brilliant. Then we tried to free the brakes (the car had been standing close to the wall). Without success off course. So, the next-door farmer called his grandson for help. That young man went to his boss (on Saturday) and asked for the keys of the boss's industrial-sized forklift. Within 15 mins the boy came with the forklift and lifted the
Saab on our trailer! Three cheers for rural living where people help their neighbours.
Now the car is in the shop. The owner is baffled by the possibilities: restoring it to it's former glory or... upgrading it for winter rally driving. I gave him a few books from the late 76s with pics of Saabs 96 hammering the RAC Rally. There are also under-bonnet pics... So we give him a few weeks to set his mind to it. He's aware that the total costs will be higher than the Saabs ultimate value. But knowing him, that's not an issue.
To be continued.
Menno
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