Like A Spare Part

Since the last posting, it's all gone a bit daft. For a start, the Pontiac Bonneville has totally failed to sell. Or even attract any serious enquiries. I've not even had any enquiries about spares, although there aren't exactly a load of other Bonnevilles out there for for me to sell parts for. The only bit that's sold is the blower, the bit that I'd have quite liked to keep; still, the money will doubtless come in handy.

I'm also looking to put the 2.3 Mustang ragtop up for sale. I'm really not feeling it, and would rather get shut in favour of something that seats five and might be good to tow with.

Then, in January, I spotted the online auction for all the stock from the closed-down Bauer Millett showrooms. Long story short, James is now the proud owner of one metric shitload of new old stock AC Delco GM stuff, not to mention another metric shitload of genuine Mopar/Fiat/Alfa gear. It's always difficult to work out on an online auction exactly how much you've bought, so when I went to hire a van I thought I'd pick the high-roof LWB Transit just to be on the safe side. Bugger me bandy, we'd have looked a right pair of bell-ends if we'd brought anything smaller... we filled it, front to back, side to side, and to within a foot of the top. The lengthy cataloguing process has begun, so if you're in the market for some genuine OE spares at bargain prices, check out the dedicated website at http://www.jamesmurrayengineering.co.uk/parts/ or look for acdelcomoparoem on eBay.

As if we didn't have enough shite between us, I then went and bought a couple more bits of NOS, one of which was an offside door for a 1993-2002 Camaro. So I went to pick it up from west London, gleefully certain of the fact that it would fit into a Fox Mustang convertible. Unusually, for early February, it was a glorious day - almost T-shirt weather. That's just as well, because there's as much chance of fitting a Camaro door in a Fox Mustang as there is of there then driving it up a badger's bottom. Fortunately, it was pleasant enough to put the roof down and drive with the Camaro door sat up in the back seat like the shitest President Kennedy decoy ever. Yeah, it was nice to have the roof down but this was at 4pm in west London, and I could say with some degree of certainty that the moment the big, strange warm thing in the sky dipped below the horizon, it would turn rather Pearl Harbour - there'd definitely be a nasty nip in the air. As I joined the M25 just before 5pm, this prediction came true. I spent the next two and a half hours trundling through traffic up the M40 freezing my conkers off, wondering who the hell I would be selling that door to - they're made of plastic, they don't rust!

This time next week, we'll be thinking about heading to Blackpool for the NSCC AGM. In fact, I expect many will already be there and by this time of night they'll be multiple sheets to the wind. Just to clarify, the AGM - the nuts-and-bolts rule book and calendar discussion - will be held in the afternoon. We'll say it's going to start at 1pm, which means it has a chance of getting under way by about 2. Then we'll wrap it up no later than 4pm so everyone can go back to their room and do whatever before meeting back in the room for dinner at 6pm. If you haven't already booked for this, you might still be able to get in or you might have to eat downstairs with the plebs. After dinner, there should be an NSCC quiz, followed by the Tat Auction for a bit of a laugh and to stick some money in the NSCC kitty, so don't forget to bring some tat. Then there'll be the prizegiving for the winners and qualifiers, then the annual NSCC quest to see how much beer is left in the barrels and alter that figure to zero.

It should be a laugh riot, so please come along, buy tat, drink beer, and let's see if anybody can remember exactly why this pub kicked us out and asked us not to come back all those years ago. The Red Lion, Bispham FY2 0AR is the place. February 21st is the date. I can't wait.

Eugene