From a wreck to a runner - Chapter 1

(In which Bullfrog Drumhead thumbs his nose at the shiny car brigade)

A strange tale of dirt, decrepitude, mixed tenses, and bad grammar.

This all started with a phone call from a man who wanted to get rid of a Scimitar he had owned for several years but not got round to restoring. He was moving, and wanted the car to go to someone who could use it for spares, not just to a breakers. The car was a 1969 SE5. I put an advert for him in the for sale private section of the web site, but nobody took. He called again a few weeks later, desperate to get the car out of the way, so I persuaded my long-suffering neighbour to haul a trailer up to Stroud and back one wet Sunday.

So, it is January 20th 2002, and I have been given this very tatty and forlorn Red (used to be) SE5, last MoT'd in 1991. Most people wouldn't look twice at it.
I should mention that this is my 3rd SE5, and 5th Scimitar, none of which have arrived running and roadworthy. However, I get a lot of satisfaction out of waking up any type of dormant equipment, whether it be a PDP11 that hasn't shuffled bits around for a decade or a Scimitar that has got a bit blunt. In the case of this car, it is complete and together. I find this psychologically better than a box of pieces; at least I know nothing is missing.