With genuine sadness in my heart I waved goodbye to my Spyder this morning as it was taken away to meet its new owner.
It's been a truly wonderful experience building, owning and enjoying this car. I picked up the donor more than six years ago now, way back in the spring of 2011, and collected my body shell, frame and a few extras from Gary J a couple of months later.
Two years of spare time working on the car resulted in something far better than what I thought I could achieve, and from day one driving it, other people began to express absolute joy at seeing it on the road. Indeed, the first time I drove it after it passed its MOT, I got less than a mile away from home before a young trendy chap made me an offer of a direct swap for a brand-new and quite sporty looking Vauxhall Astra. I laughed and said something like 'You're kidding, right?' to which he replied 'No, I'm serious.' So, I could have parted with it there and then, but instead chose to use and enjoy the car myself.
So, four years on the road, about seven thousand miles, four Goodwood Revivals, two brass monkey runs, many visits to other historic racing events, one breakdown, two real soakings when caught out in torrential rain and having made some really good friends along the way, the time came to part with my pride and joy to make space to build another dream car of mine, a 356 Speedster.
That car will have its own build thread soon and the time has come for me to end this 'on the road' thread as I am, for the time being, confined to the pavement unless using my modern tin-top, which just isn't the same. I'll keep my eyes on the Sammio pages though as I'm keen to see some of the long-term projects finally get finished and I'm always happy to give advice if anyone thinks I can help.
So, it's until next time rather than goodbye, and here's the promised picture of my beloved Spyder leaving me to begin a new life with its new owner -
