a momentous day in motoring history!
this morning my tax disc arrived in the post and herman was officially road legal. i was itching to get out in him all day but unfortunately had work. i might have inadvertently let my afternoon class out a wee bit early, but this was entirely due to the fact it was the last day of term before easter and not in any way connected with the fact i wanted to get home early so i could take herman for his ‘maiden voyage’.
t’was just a shortish run of about five or six miles either way. we just went to the asda opposite the trafford centre for the weekly shopping. when we got back, in a further burst of adrenaline-fuelled bravado i reversed him in through the gates leading to the carpark at the flats and did a tidy reverse park in my space [OK - i did have mazza scurrying around the back of the van like a blue-arsed fly, ready to thump on the side if i came within a foot of gatepost, wall or anyone else’s car, but i’m still feeling pretty pleased with myself].
this mad old bat turned up and smashed a bottle of champagne on the van as we tried to drive off - should be given a bloody ASBO!
bullet points from the journey:
- i think i’ll get into the habit of pulling off in 1st - even tho’ it’s ridiculously low-geared. pulling off in 2nd works most of the time, but i had a couple of hill starts in 2nd and it really struggled to get going.
- i’ve got a very slight pull to the left while driving, a bit worse on braking, so obviously one of the brakes is binding. it must be very slight tho’ - i had a feel round the wheels after the journey and none of them was noticeably hotter than the others. i hope it is the brakes and not my front wheels out of alignment [thinks back to all those smacking into the kerb incidents on my first tentative spin round the block].
- engine didnae overheat. OK it was a short journey, but quite a warm day, so i’d have expected to get a hint of any probs in that area, but the temp guage stayed right down on the ‘normal’ line.
- have to get used to lifting my foot right off the clutch. it’s got quite a high biting point and i’ve got a bad habit of resting my foot on the clutch pedal while driving. i did it a couple of times today on those hill starts in 2nd and smelt that lovely smell of hot clutch plates when i slowed down at the next traffic lights.
- i still don’t know what top speed he’s capable off. there was too much traffic about to get a good straight run, so i didnae have him above about 40. i reckon he’d be lucky to get much over 60 tho’. still, who cares about a slow journey when you’ve got [or will have] a motor with a comfy home from home in the back?
- it feels like you’re going a lot quicker than you are. i dunno if this is all down to the size of the van. i think it might have more to do with the fact that GULG was a jap import with a speedo in km/h only. i’ve kinda got used to thinking in km now, so when my head tells me i’m doing about sixty and i look down and see the speedo showing about twenty-five, it seems a bit strange.
- gearchange is a zillion times better since i sorted out the linkage. i still missed the gear i was aiming for once or twice, but that’s to be expected at this stage. i reckon a couple more trips and i’ll be stirring that porridge like a good ‘un!
- well, that’s about it. now celebrating the maiden voyage with a few bottles of ruddles county. tomorrow, if winds are favourable, i may take a spin down the motorway and see if i can hit the dizzy heights of 60mph!
