There I was relaxing with a new bottom----
There I was relaxing with a new bottom and sills after years of neglect, when I was suddenly grabbed again and had my front wings and front panel ripped off! I'm gonna get that bloke who's organising all this!
I thought he was up to something when he arrived the other day with a flat package marked; Middle Barton and handed it over to my mate Steve. They spoke for a while, looked me over and poked about a bit.
"It should only cost £xxx or so." Says Steve. Next thing I know the angle grinder's out and screaming metal's hitting the floor.
It's worth all the pain though-I can look the world in the face without my raggedy grin caused by having my front panel rotted away at the bottom. I had a couple of little holes in the inside of my bonnet done plus one by the rear window. My new front is a genuine Fiat original with all the little holes and slits to take my decorative aluminium bits and medallion. I'm still a bit sore but it's worth it to look like this at last!
All this welding and current surging round me is getting me quite frisky which is more than I can say about the white Morris Minor I shared the workshop with. He had his engine out and his front panel off. He did look very well painted though and he's cleaner than me. The black one on the ramp last week was nice and I found out he'd got a proper engine-a Fiat Mirafiori 2 litre job and smart new discs all round with disc alloy wheels. He looked a proper Q car, only the front grille said he was different until he started up.
I wonder if I'll get a battery soon and come to life properly? I don't like these blackouts. I never know what'll happen when I wake up.
What did I say? I was dozing last Tuesday when suddenly I was pushed out, put onto a trailer and whisked back up the road. They fiddled around getting into the drive then slid me off into the garage.
'Thinks.Where am I?' The garage was dry, had a much bigger door than last time and the floor was red.
'A New Garage!' I yelled and woke up the spares in the boxes at the back.
'Shut up!' Something yelled. It sounded like the old 600 gearbox.
'But the garage is new!' I yelled back. I couldn't get over it. For several hours I chatted with the bits in boxes and found that they'd been back several months enjoying the space while I was being ripped apart.
The garage has a red painted concrete floor, a metal frame and plywood inner cladding with outer cladding in white Hardie planks. The roof is topped off with an immitation slate steel sheet called Meta Slate and has an inner roof of insulated steel sheets. The door is a roller shutter in a fetching dark green which runs up and down without waking me. Oh, and it's got lights ( the garage, not the door!). Very nice!
All the tools are still here but now stacked on steel shelving and in plastic storage boxes. Even the dreaded electric cables are no longer writhing from the hook on the door. I also appear to have some railway track and engines(OO guage) to share with me and the Punto. I hope they don't intend to spread.