A Triumph Swordfish 1500 - On The Road

[Mister Towed]

Ah, another pet hate of mine: people who drive pickup trucks as part of an 'active' lifestyle.

I can sort of understand it if you're a builder or landscape gardener and want just one vehicle for work and as a daily driver, but if all you do is take a couple of mountain bikes to the woods at the weekend, you don't need a monster truck, just buy a bloody roof-rack!

Rant over...

[Mick O'Malley]

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

Ah, another pet hate of mine: people who drive pickup trucks as part of an 'active' lifestyle.

I can sort of understand it if you're a builder or landscape gardener and want just one vehicle for work and as a daily driver, but if all you do is take a couple of mountain bikes to the woods at the weekend, you don't need a monster truck, just buy a bloody roof-rack!

Rant over...

Couldn't agree more. When I see one of those Warrior tanks I think 'Shouldn't your reg. no. be TO55POT?'.

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by Mick O'Malley

Couldn't agree more. When I see one of those Warrior tanks I think 'Shouldn't your reg. no. be TO55POT?'.

Ha ha! I bet someone already has that number on their truck, and WNK 3R on their BMW X6 (surely the ugliest car design since Walter White's Aztec).

[Paul L]

Mr T & Mick O'Malley - I know I've used this joke before, but it goes with this photo I took yesterday.

Here is a mini next to one of those cars that BMW make.



Cheers, Paul.

[Paul L]

Sunny Sunday
Racked up another 20 miles today, still just easing the car back into it.
(With a few 50mph sections to help blow the cobwebs out of the engine.)







Cheers, Paul.

[Paul L]

Anything is better than nothing

Just had the chance for another short/20 mile trip out last Saturday (14th May).

Glorious sunshine, proper shorts and a t-shirt weather.

But I must remember to put on sun-cream before I go out, as my arms got sun burnt!

Didn’t really stop for photos, so just this one outside our local shops.



I also had one slight mishap, when I hit a pothole just after I’d adjusted my wing mirror.

No chance of catching the glass, spring or seal as they flew across the road.



The mirror has popped out while the car was under the covers a while back.

So, I guess I didn’t re-fit it properly, but at least the replacement has already arrived.



I also managed to squeeze in a trip to Sainsburys during my lunch hour on Wednesday (18th).





Earlier today was the first chance I had to fit the new mirror and the good news is that it was a match.



This meant I just had to remove the access panel and I could re-use the base from the old mirror base.



Turned out to be one of the easier jobs on this build.



I also noticed that my speedo had a run of 4s going on.



Which means I’ve racked up a little over 4,500 miles in the car so far.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

[Mister Towed]

Only another twenty thousand miles to go before it's "All the fours, 44444"

[Paul L]

Mr T – I dread to think how long it would take me to rack up 20,000 miles at this rate.

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A tale of two car parks
It is now dawning on me why it took me so long to get my car back on the road, I have little free time.

So, I have to take the small chances when I can and heading off to the first round of shopping.



My plan was to stop for photos on the top of Harrow Hill on the way to my next stop.

But there was some event at the school (the boys in their tails and lots of well-dressed parents).

So, I ended up just rollin’ through slowly and turning a LOT of heads while I did.

Next stop was Sainsburys.





By now, I was beginning to second guess both my choice of car and clothing (shorts & a T-shirt).



Thankfully, the rain held off, but on the way home, the car was spluttering like there was a fuel problem.

A quick stop at the industrial estate to check the fuel filter and plug leads.

They all seemed OK and I might as well take a few photos while I was there.







Until next time, take care, Paul.

[Paul L]

Catch Up – Part 1
Lovin’ the run of good weather that we’ve been having lately.

In fact, when I took the car to Sainsburys after work one day I had to find some shade to park in.



The night before my safety check at Enginuity, I parked the car on the road.



This reduced the noise for my neighbours when I set off early on a Saturday morning.

It also allowed me to do a final oil check/top up before I set off.



I parked around the corner to unlock the bonnet, so it was just held by the leather straps.



I trust the guys at Enginuity and they had the car for a hour for a full check, including on the ramp.



They tightened up a few things and gave me a short list of (very) minor advisories, but a full ‘pass’.

Just time for yet another Sainsburys car park photo before I had to take my wife to the airport.
(And there was no way see was going to let me take her there in the Swordfish. )



End of Part 1…

[Paul L]

Catch Up – Part 2
Yesterday was Classic Car night at the Ace Cafe and I was able to spend a couple of hours there.



Had a great chat with the Volvo owner, whose car was in mint condition.

Before I left, I gained a couple of new ‘neighbours’.



Didn’t get to talk to the Lotus owner, but the bonnet ‘patina’ suggests a major fire at some point.



Not a great photo, but I had a good chat with the owner of this yellow Robin Hood.
(He liked my mirror raising plinth on the passenger side, as he also can’t see anything out of his!)



A few other photos from the evening.










Really liked this little Frogeye.



But the ‘Most dramatic entrance award’ went to this DeLorean, that pulled up and popped open both doors.



It also had a few ‘Back to the Future’ accessories.



That’s all for now.

So, until next time, take care, Paul.

[Mick O'Malley]

...and a 'DOC' reg. no. Excellent!

Regards, Mick

[Mister Towed]

Some lovely cars there, Paul, thanks for sharing them.

[deni]

Hi Paul,
Great to see you enjoying driving Swordfish and that there were no big issues with the safety check.
Nice photos from the classic car day too, there were some very nice cars there.

Cheers, D.

[Paul L]

Mick, Mr T & Deni – Thanks gents, it is certainly nice to be out and about again.

I took some build photos to the Ace Cafe & people couldn’t believe how much stuff I’d cut up & re-joined.

Although, when I look back at all the work that was involved, I can hardly believe I actually finished it either!

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Weather Dodging
I’d taken the scenic route to Sainsburys on Saturday, but kept getting stuck in long traffic queues.

Then I could feel the first drops of rain and thought this could end up being a massive downpour.

Thankfully it stopped & I parked under a tree, to give the open cockpit a bit of shelter, just in case.



Again, there was just a few drops of rain on the way home.

Thankfully, the car was under the covers before the heavens opened.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

[Paul L]

Nothing Much

Just extending my ‘garage’ to give myself a few more inches of parking space.





Cheers, Paul.

[Paul L]

Feeling Hot! Hot! Hot!

Finally had the chance to get out for a 50+ mile drive yesterday.

Complemented my shorts and T-shirt with some Factor 30 as it was baking out there.

Just a couple of stops and photos.

The first was old tech next to new, at this public electric charging point.



Then finished the day at the top of Harrow Hill.





Note - Looking at the last photo, I'd forgotten to sit on the passenger side to settle the suspension after climbing out the driver's side.

Don’t know if it was the heat, but the car getting even more of a positive reaction than usual.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

[peterux]

Paul,
I think you car has shrink in the rain!

[Paul L]

peterux – OK, one last time…



This car is small…



And this car is far away…

[Paul L]

Just in case anyone is unfamiliar with the original Father Ted sketch...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh5kZ4uIUC0

[Paul L]

Occasionally out and about…

Don’t ask me how it is August already, as time just seems to pass me by.

Haven’t managed to get any decent photos of the car in interesting places.

So, just parked up will have to do.

Mid-July, just before the heat wave hit, but still hot enough to make parking in the shade a good idea.



A week, or so, later, I had to tag an errand onto the end of my journey.



Finally, on Saturday I aimed for the shade again.



The car is still generating a HUGE amount of positive interest every time I take it out.

Until next time, take care, Paul.