Preparations

So, at this stage I figure I had better get my head screwed back on and actually get a bit practical about this banger and see how I can get it home. The main problem is that the car is in Oxfordshire, England and I am in Longford, Ireland. Ordinarily this isn’t too big a problem. It just involves driving about 200 miles to Holyhead, putting the car onto a ferry, and driving another 70 miles and you’re home.

Great. I’ll book my tickets now. Except, perhaps I had better get those few minor niggles like the binding brakes, lack of lights and the gearbox that won’t hold top sorted. So I get a few names off the seller and find that somebody who lives in the next village over from where I have the car stored is well placed to have a good look at the car for me.

So I make a phone call or two and ask him to take a peek and see how much work actually is required. A few days and a two hour inspection later, and the news is not good. The sills are good and it runs but that is about it. The brakes need a total rebuild with new pads, discs, callipers, master cylinder and servo required. The front suspension needs sorting, it needs new shocks, the fans need replacing, it needs a new battery and four new tyres. There is pretty much nothing electrical working and the only working instrument is the oil pressure gauge. The body is relatively OK, but the floor wants a bit of patching and finally the gearbox is a complete unknown.

Switching to Plan B

Hmmm, this is a bit more than I expected. It looks like it is back to the drawing board on this. So I decide to list it on ebay again to see what it is likely to fetch. This was part of the original plan anyway, so I am not too upset. I don’t really want to put the car up for sale with an asking price as this way I am definitely going to loose significant money this way so the auction is the only real option. So, I start to prepare a listing. Except now I discover that you need a UK bank account number to sell stuff on ebay.co.uk. This is a bit of a snag and it basically puts paid to that route. So it is back to Plan A then.

Oh no you don't

The next step is to get the car registered in Ireland. This is because the MOT is about to expire and it needs to be driven on the road to road test the repairs. Luckily you don’t actually need an MOT to run a "vintage" car in Ireland. A "vintage" car is anything over 30 years old. Also, more good news is that the normal 30% Vehicle Registration Tax is waived for a vintage, and you don’t actually need to present the car to register it. So it can be registered in the Ireland and legally driven home without an MOT as long as the car is actually roadworthy.

The list of what needs to be fixed is quite extensive. The brakes, suspension, tyres and battery obviously need to be sorted out. It also needs the cooling system working properly and enough electrics to get the lights and wipers going. It will also need the speedometer and coolant temperature gauge sorting. Fuel can be taken care of with a Jerrycan and voltage can be done with a multi-meter stuck onto something that actually works