Lady In Red

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ROY LOCOCK gets Bridget the Midget ready for her next adventure!

In 2011 I drove my 1977 Midget from Abingdon to Cape Town; however she sustained considerable damage en route through Kenya. After a ten day delay in Nairobi to make her roadworthy, we were able to complete the journey to South Africa, but Bridget the Midget was in a sorry state.

On her return to the UK I got Tim Fenna at Frontline Developments to check that the body wasn’t twisted which was my worst fear, but he confirmed that was not the case. However she was still going to require extensive repair. Before the trip the condition of the bodywork was really very good; now it was looking decidedly tatty. A new floor pan was required and a considerable amount of TLC.

I decided that Bridget would be stripped down to a rolling shell and Dave Cooke, at Kennington Motors, agreed to re-spray her after replacing the floor pan. When I first bought Bridget she was a classic black 1500. Before our world run I sprayed her British Racing green and now I decided she would look splendid in Ferrari red.

I started to strip her down in preparation and whilst removing the engine discovered that one of the two engine mountings was completely sheared. This would explain the vibration I had experienced when pulling away!

The strip down took only a day and a half, and as I expected to be re-building her again within two weeks everything was just cast into one corner of the garage. I hadn’t, of course, taken into account the English weather and after Bridget was returned to me with a beautiful new paint job little else would progress for a period of four months. The things I did manage to do were replace the single cam timing chain with a duplex upgrade, repaint both the engine and gearbox, and replace the scroll seal at the front of the gearbox. I also decided to run the brake pipes and fuel line through the tunnel for protection; something to do with doors closing and horses bolting.

It was April before the rebuild started in earnest and by then it was just a three dimensional jigsaw puzzle as far as I was concerned. I am still slightly concerned at the volume of leftover nuts and bolts not to mention the plethora of washers, but if they are necessary I am sure it will become apparent on our next run!

I was planning another round the world run taking in Russia, Mongolia, North and South Korea if we were allowed by the authorities, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and then the Americas. However, my bank manager has vetoed the plan unless a serious sponsor is prepared to assist. This appears unlikely and so the plan has to be rethought. I now intend to go to the Arctic Circle, by way of Sweden and Norway, then to drop down through Finland into St Petersburg.

I will then make my decision whether to continue on and do what my heart wishes, or obey my brain and return through southern Europe before catching a ferry to the Canary Islands for the winter. If you are the vaguest bit interested you can follow our progress on the website www.bridgetthemidget.co.uk.

* Signed copies of Roy’s book ‘Not in that Car’ detailing his first adventure in Bridget where they travelled across Europe and down to Southern India before circumnavigating Australia and following the Pan-American Highway from Argentina to Canada, is available from kimberstores or by phoning 01235 555552. In the book Roy dismisses a Taliban attack as ‘not being personal’, explains the intricacies of fording through Australia’s worst floods for 30 years and is badly shaken by an earthquake in Panama City. In between driving, he takes the time to enjoy walking in the Himalayan foothills, crossing the Andes and trekking in the Rockies.