hello,
I'll write this while it's too warm to work or drive. It's about 105 F
today and although I drove yesterday the needle of the temp gauge was
attempting to dissappear into the casing.
I'm a 27 yo post-grad civil engineering student, studying earthquakes in the
Australian structural context. I live in Melbourne, Australia. I got into
the Alpine because I got a Minx for my 18th birthday and fell in love with
the Rootes group, I still don't think there's a need that their cars don't
facilitate. My Alpine's a former US car, a series II with a Gazelle 1725cc
engine and all synchro gearbox. Although Alpines and Tigers are more
expensive here than in the US and UK they are still pretty affordable and I
don't think you'll ever get something as stylish for the money. I love
working on the Alpine, it's been pretty reliable but still provides enough
regular hiccups to make it my main passtime. It's been painted Squadron
Blue (a Jaguar colour) which is not original but it looks sensational by all
accounts (very close to the same as James Bond's car in Dr. No). It's got
wire-wheels and white walls, and a new dash which I crafted from Jarrah and
stained mahogany to match the modern timber steering wheel. I apologise to
the purists but these changes improve my driving pleasure.
Last year I convinced my dad to buy a Tiger, a british car which found it's
way to California but remained RHD, it is very original, the mods are a set
of mags, velour re-upholstery of the seats and electronic ignition. We
shipped that over about 6 months ago and we've been tidying it up. All new
suspension bushes, ball joints and etc. We left the engine in but took off
all the accessories (including intake manifold and sump) and resprayed them,
engine looks good and it's only got 60,000 miles on it so it's still a baby
(still has the original fan-belt). This one is white with red interior. We
haven't driven it for a while, hopefully it will be back on the road for
Autumn, which is the best time for driving here in Melbourne.
Anthony Robinson.
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