Especially for bobbiebubble (
) and everyone else, herein lies the account of Saturday 30th June 2007, the day the only road-legal Mini-Comtesse in the UK finally took to the roads of Witney in earnest.
It was way back in last November that it almost made it out on the open road for the first time, but problems with the gearchange precursed it from going further than two trips round the block. Drive-It Day in April saw both the second attempt and the second fail, the reasons being a blocked driveway for the most of the day and a terminally flat battery.
Today, 30th June, and on the first clear day I've had for three months, myself & Dad set to to finally sort this thing out! First job was the battery, and the replacement of the moped battery with something with a bit more omph. But that entailed new leads and a new location for the new (bigger) battery.... The question of the leads had been solved three weeks earlier with the acquisition of a positive lead from a Triumph TR7 and a negative lead from some sort of modern Skoda, and these were bolted into place. The new battery being placed on the floor. Flick the switch, pull out the petrol tap, tickle the carb, prod the starter and up it runs. Almost stalls, pull the throttle cable a bit, almost run over one's foot (fully automatic isn't it), adjust throttle stop, runs OK, switch off, let the blue haze dispurse. Now for the change-speed contol knob that pulled off last November.
A ferret in the shed produced a bit of dowling that had once served as the main perch in the budgie cage, hole drilled through, slip it on the cable, tighten pinch bolt, job done. Nothing else left to do, and it's wheeled out into the road. Run through the starting procedure again, insert ones self into said vehicle, foot on throttle and off we go....
Twice round the block and all is well, third time around and I keep going! This time turning right insted of left and for the next quarter of an hour I explore most of the back roads of the estate on which I live. At the end of the estate beckons the main A40 trunk road from Oxford to Burford. I concider the possibility's in my mind. The Comtesse is going well, the road is (fairly) quiet. The Comtesse will have to go along that road sooner or later as it is booked into the Burford rally on 10th & 11th July, so why not now!!!
I approach the roundabout, nothing coming, out I turn! Two miles to the next turning and at a steady 17mph in a 60 zone, the Comtesse bumbles valiantly on. Now & then a car wizzes by. Most are 4X4's, of which bumpers are generally directly in line with my nose. Unlike some people, such things don't unduly bother me, for after all, I did used to be a banger racer! After a while, we approach the traffic lights to turn left into the Downs road. The lights are red. As we wait, I count the cars behind me. Humm, only three. The lights change, off we go. The comtesse takes a while to build up its revs before it wants to change into top gear. Never mind, the cars behind can wait! The Downs road is three miles long, and about a third of the way along, I see a moped coming the other way, like me a youngster is riding it. He sees me, grins broadly and we wave to each other. Most other people I've driven past are too dumbstruck to do anything other than impersonate a goldfish.
At last reaching the end of the Downs road, it's another left turn, round a roundabout. a glance in the mirror tells me I have a lorry behind which is three times taller than I am. As I exit the roundabout, I notice the drivers mate hanging out of the cab window with a camera in his hands. On the home stretch now and back into the estate. A car passing on the other side of the road completely fails to notice the red light on the pedestrian crossing. The light is green by the time I get there so on we bumble. Left again & back into Mirfield rod, in & out of the usual slalom course of cars parked everywhere & up the drive of Number 6, an hour & half after leaving.
There were some who said, when they first saw the Mini-Comtesse, that I'd never do it. That I'd never drive it further than the end of the road. Today I think, KAU 724N (
) proved them all wrong.