Getting Fiddy Home (1/2)

So all I had to do was get her home. She was in west London and google maps told me it was a shade over 40miles. How hard could that be?

(Perhaps this is the point at which I should mention she’s a non runner, that her engine doesn’t turn over and that, by consequence, she’s bereft of power assistance to the brakes and steering. On the plus side, the radio works a treat! )

Anyhow, numerous calls to numerous friends and, oddly, nobody was up for the idea of towing all 2 tonnes of my big beautiful beastie behind their pride and joy. Things were looking grim. Then Ed called again.

Many people had called about the car and one had shared some wisdom and he had news both good and bad.
The Good: The mechanical problem could be a simple as a dropped valve and quite an easy fix
The Bad: Given the she’s an auto, I’d best not be towing her without disconnecting the propshafts. (If I had the slightest idea why this is the case I’d share but, to be honest, I don’t, so can’t.)

So that was a tease. I was more determined than ever to make her mine but further than ever from being able to get her back. More calls were required, this time to Greg the AA recovery bloke. He pretty much confirmed all I’d been told but added that towing would trash the diffs as well (for reasons, see under disconnecting propshafts). The only answer was to get a flatbed recovery truck to fetch her.

The day was getting on by this point so I called Ed back, explained the lie of the land and committed to buying the car, regardless of the recovery cost, and said that I’d make recovery arrangements the following day...