Darren Hyde's
Pennant has a new lease of life
Thought
you might be interested to know that my Pennant, that when I
purchased it 10 months ago was in poor condition, is now up and
running, and has been used every day since. Please find attached a
few photographs of it, from the find in a barn, through its mot, and
then at various shows around the south east. I thought maybe you
would like to show it in your 8's, 10's and Pennants section of
featured cars.
I bought the car from a local farmer,
who had it parked in one of his barns, along with a 1939 Hillman
Minx, a marina pickup, and a few other rare cars. I paid him £500
for it, and took it away.
On closer inspection, found all the
brakes to be seized, and all the rubber hoses around the car to be
rotten or missing. The cooling system was clogged up with rust, but
the engine turned over by hand. After fitting a new set of points,
and priming the fuel pump, and with the help of a set of jump leads,
she fired back into life. With not so much as a missed beat. Not
bad, considering I haven't put any fresh petrol in it!
After 6 months of hard work, and
sourcing numerous bits and pieces from ebay, and other local classic
car parts retailers, and fitting a new set of radial tyres, I
managed to get the car to a usable state. After a few initial
overheating and electrical problems were sorted by replacing the
blocked radiator, and replacing wires eaten by mice, she was on the
road, drivable, and only missing one vital element, an MOT.
After a phone call to the mot station,
my car was booked in. And on arrival, the mot tester looked at it,
and said he hadn't seen one of these for many years, and certainly
not one in as nicer condition. He took great pleasure in checking
every nut and bolt for missing split pins, and every piece of metal
for rust, but was hard pushed to find anything wrong with it. And
his comment, as he typed out an MOT certificate, was "Credit
where credit is due, you done a good job there chap!" I left
there with a real buzz, knowing i had achieved what i thought would
never come. A nice car to use, and show, and all in 6 months.
After paying £60 a year for fully
comp insurance, and a visit to the post office to claim my free tax
disc, my car is on the road.
The car has since been to the Rudgwick
steam rally, Hellingly, Cranleigh car show, Newpound Macmillan
Cancer Charity Show, and a few others, and has clocked up some 3,000
miles.
Thanks for reading.
Darren Hyde - Cowfold, West Sussex
Member 5639
Click on any thumbnail to see an
enlargement:
|
Inside
the dusty barn |
Full
service for the Pennant |
Looking resplendent
at the Hellingly Show |
