After a long old winter, the arrival of Baby Zak and the cold behind us, the covers finally came off the Java Green Machine in early March, then March ended up being a terrible month so suddenly it’s April and we’re due an MOT. After several calls to arrange a slot, a panic buy of a fire extinguisher and a suspiciously dead battery, we headed to Volkshaus. One of the best moves of the day was avoiding the main roads, so with the sun shining and the top down, we made our way through Hampton and Barston down the leafy country lanes. In to Balsall Common and finally to a very unassuming complex of converted farm buildings. We met Bob, who comes highly recommended and seems a top bloke.

After a quick chat about the car’s current eccentricities, including; the wipers being unreliable, the washer not working at all, the horn not working at all, the battery dying… a bit of a theme emerging here… we talked about what needed doing, and I got some tips for keeping the car alive. Really interesting and informative!

Bob has got loads of interesting cars dotted around, so whilst waiting for a taxi home I had a mooch around the various buildings. Like a kid in a candy store, I was finding early Bays, Split screen campers, crew cabs and pickups. Turn a corner to find a well-loved notchback and a Type 3 Squareback in ‘honest’ condition. Personally, I love a car looking its age – it is always good to see them well looked after, but I’ve never been a fan of the show cars. They’re made to be used!

Mooching onward, yet more buses of all descriptions as well as a couple of 70s Bugs and a really sweet US-import Porsche 912, which I’ve asked the wife for clearance on. She says ‘one in, one out’… and I’m not parting with any, so I guess I’ll have to keep dreaming for now!

So Bob is going to have the car for about a week – the clock is ticking as he’s going on holiday for 10 days and I miss my car already! Good luck to him, and in the meantime I’m going to annoy my new friend Nigel over his Splittie and his apparent skills with all things VW… as well as lusting over cars I don’t have room for on eBay.

So another 10 miles or so on the clock, and another motoring year is off to a good start. More next week!