The Road to Recovery

The first step is often the smallest. Yesterday I jacked the front end of my TR up on to axle stands and took the offside front wheel off and sent it off to have the puncture (or it may be a bad seal on the alloys) repaired. It's been a problem pretty much since I've had the car and it's time it was sorted for good. Once I have four functioning tyres I'm ready for the next step: MOT.

As I have no insurance, the garage have kindly said they'll come and pick the car up, MOT it and drop it back to me. It also needs at least an oil and filter change, and probably a new set of plugs and a water change. I'm going to do those myself this time.

My aim is to have the car back on the road at the beginning of May and use it in the six months through to October. That way I only have to tax and insure if for six months, which will be a lot cheaper than the usual twelve, during most of which I'm usually not driving the car.

I'm soon going to have to face the fact that the bodywork, although better than most of the TR7s of it's age, needs some work and the seats need replacing. What I really needs is the time, space and money for a complete strip down and rebuild. And of course if I do that, I'm going to want to fit at least a 4.6 V8, power steering and rear disk brakes. Maybe when the kids have left home....

The only light at the end of the tunnel, as far as the bodywork is concerned, is that a friend of my wife's can do it for me cheap, but without a strip down it's only going to be patching up at best and I still have to find the money.

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Paul Grenyer

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