We've had a couple of day trips in connection with, but not driving the Hot Rod. We delivered the Phaeton to Buckland Automotive for a complete strip down and restoration at the beginning of October (which will be paid for using the money we saved this year from not being able to attend car weekends and all our usual holidays). They took the engine and the gearbox out, which are going to be refreshed by Zane Llewelleyn in Shepton Mallett. We had a decent drive in a rented van down to Somerset, dropped them off, had a picnic lunch at Stonehenge and returned home, a 7 hour round trip.
A couple of weeks later we took the Astra to Southend on a wet and windy Tuesday morning to collect some steel fenders, which were imported from the USA by Home Grown Hot Rods. We parked the car at the sea front and braved the wind and rain for a walk along the sea front before stopping for fish and chips at a cafe, which overlooks the beach by the pier. Then we dropped the wings off at Buckland for fitting.
The work on the car has been pleasingly fast so far and the timetable for getting it back on the road in time for the spring is looking good. Next stop is the paint shop at Jay Bradbury's.
