Little things

Sometimes it's the little things that matter. Or, in this instance, the little things that add up to make a bloody big difference to a small car. Poppy, bless her "heart", had quite a few issues. For instance, she had up until not so very long ago only half a roof. The reason why is a story for another time (see here) but essentially she was damp (read: sodden), with only one working headlight, one working sidelight, a windscreen so dirty you couldn't really see out of it (which is a bit of a stumbling block) and her paint is flaking off.

Knowing the damp was a) my own fault and b) soon to become a major issue, I stripped out both seats (which, due to the wiring, meant cutting a wire for the headrest speakers for the passenger side - nice job on fitting a connector there so the seat could be fully removed, previous owner), removed all the crap, of which there was admittedly lots, and the foot well mats. Knowing how much damage fully removing the carpet does, I elected not to do so. The car was left open all day and then with a bowl of cat litter in to soak up the moisture for a couple of nights after. It seemed a lot better but more needed to be done. So I fenced off a day and used it to properly sort the car out: first off, hoovering out scrubbing the floors with carpet shampoo to really get the carpet clean and not mouldy. Then leaving it to dry, before re-scrubbing. The surfaces were all cockpit shine-d and the interior of the windscreen and windows were cleaned with Mr Muscle glass cleaner (by the way, this is not made for inhaling - I was coughing and struggling to breathe for a full three days after). The outside of the car was washed, meaning quite a lot of the crappy paintjob came off again. Seriously, who pays to get their car resprayed but doesn't bother stripping it first? As a result, it's flaking and about three different colours. NOT impressed. New respray when I can afford it, and a proper one this time too! Finally, the exterior windows were Rainex-d and the whole thing was left to dry.

Poppy looked, felt and smelled 100 times better after the day's work although not perfect. Mum lent me her dehumidifier and I left that running for a day or so, which made very little difference - clearly she's not so damp any more! Then I remembered I had to change a headlamp. The sidelight was driven into by someone, so it's cracked and I'm waiting on a replacement, but the headlight was just a bust bulb. Turns out, though, that Mk1 main beam bulbs are a  pain in the neck to change - SO much fiddling, so many screws. I'm sure it'll be quicker next time but it took me a good 15 minutes of prodding to get it sorted. The headlamps themselves got a good clean while I was doing it, too, which has been for the best.

To top it all off, the handbrake light came on while hoofing it round a roundabout at, ahem, a halfway legal speed. I panicked then, realising that the car was in fact still driving in a straight line and thus the handbrake *wasn't* on, calmed down. Turns out that's a sign the brake fluid is getting low. An easy fix :-)

Poppy is both happier and cleaner now, which is fantastic, and I also got to play with power tools yesterday (not on her, thankfully) so, all told, I'm a happy girl!

The roof saga...

So... I might have done something a little silly a few weeks back...

Poppy has dodgy, freezy locks that have been dodgy since I got her (almost a year now!). When it's cold, the driver's side one doesn't work at all, so I have to climb in via the passenger side, and the passenger one only works if you turn the key fully while operating the handle. So, now you know, this might make more sense...

It was a cold day in December and, surprise surprise, I was running late for work. Well, I had photocopying and planning to do before teaching so actually not that late but I was still in a rush with a fair bit on my mind. I opened the passenger side, climbed in and started the engine to warm the car, grabbing my scraper on the way out as the car was iced over. As I got out and watched the door close (gravity was on its side), my heart sank. I tried the door. Frozen of course. So I was stuck outside with the keys in the car (and, of course, my mobile too - what a fool) and the engine running, with the boyfriend out at work. For want of a better word, cock. Next door had keys to our house, where my spares were and, indeed, a phone to call the RAC if necessary but, of course, next door were away. I looked for the weak spot in my car to break in and it was bloody obvious - the roof. Now, my zip-out plastic windscreen had been steadily falling apart over the previous few months and no amount of re-stitching was helping. So I set about unpicking the rest of the stitches. Which was, actually, a worryingly easy task. Once I'd got a bit undone, I attempted to reach in and undo the lock with my hands and subsequently with a broom. No use. So, gritting my teeth, I unpicked all of the stitches and, sitting on the boot of the car, crawled in over the windbreak.

Of course, at this point, the other next door neighbour returned (no, not the one with the keys!) and saw me with my legs hanging out of the car in a most ungainly fashion. He laughed. Lots. Tom is now disappointed that he didn't also take photos. I'm not. Getting in to Poppy to sort this all out gave me lots of bruises and a ripped hood but at least we got there in the end I suppose, albeit 20 minutes late for work too.

Now, with a missing rear windscreen on a cold, wet and windy December day, I was less than happy. And cold. It was clear that I needed to book an appointment with Jack Smith Trimmer's in Swansea to get a new hood. In reality, all it did was speed up a necessity but nonetheless...!

So I now have a lovely new mohair and glass roof that I'm utterly in love with and shall write a somewhat more coherent post on the Swansea trip soon...