6 April
I got a call from my bank manager in response to my begging letter asking him to cover the cost of the car until the end of the year when I would be able to pay it all back.
The man from HSBC - he say YES!
I phone Jim Dudley at Tiger Racing and arrange to go down on Saturday for a spin in a Cat. On the phone Jim sounds a nice chap despite seeming to have swallowed something the wrong way. He can't get more than a couple of words out without breaking off for a cough. I do hope he's OK.
8 April
The new cheque book arrived - impressive eh?
Set off from Sheffield about 10:30 and get to Tiger Racing a couple of hours later. Find Jim sitting on the floor, cough mended, sorting out some windscreen supports. He shows me round, gives me the sales chat and we hop in a Cat for a blast round the fens.
Despite a misfire, the thing flew! Scared me to death. I couldn't see, couldn't breathe, couldn't hear, couldn't move - it was brilliant. Jim assured me the wind and noise was a lot less when the wind deflectors or side panels were fitted.
Pat (my wife) said she could hear us coming back ten minutes before we appeared. I can believe it.
Jim drives using the white line down the middle of the road like the rails on a Scalextric track. That was fun. Especially round blind corners.
After I wiped the dead flies off my teeth I went into the workshop with Jim and we talked through what I would need to build the Super Cat (that's an ordinary Cat, but with wider wheels and a wider rear body and cycle wings to fit). I don't want to have to search for a donor car, so Jim's providing those bits, together with a reconditioned 2 ltr Pinto engine with a short sump fitted to give us some ground clearance, and a pair of twin carbs which breathe out of the side of the bonnet rather than through an ugly great filter sticking out of the top (apologies to anyone building a cat with an ugly great filter).
You see, I'm already starting to sound as though I understand all this technical stuff. But we all know the truth, don't we?
And the car's going to be burgundy, with a black interior and burgundy piping on the seats.
I part with £50 and I make a date with Sue, Jim's wife. I told you he sounded a nice chap didn't I? The date is 1 July and that's when all the bits will be ready for collection.
All I need to do now is buy some tools and sort out the garage - oh yes and see if my mate Phil fancies a run down to Wisbech in his lorry on 1 July.
I've come up with a name for the car - Kit-Kat. Probably not very original and could be likely to change, but a working title for now.
Pat's just told me that she is totally behind me in this venture providing a) It takes me at least six months to complete and b) I help her redesign the front garden first. I hate gardening, but I've paid my deposit now, so tomorrow looks like a turf lifting day.
29 April
One front garden Ground Forced! All the turf up, new paving down, loads of new plants and a new lawn. Even Eric across the road likes it. And the 1 July is still months away (photo).
30 April
Stoneleigh! What a day out. I'd been lurking in the Tiger racing news group, reading all the emails from people wanting help and receiving it. I must say I had become a bit worried as everyone seemed to gaugebealking a langauge I couldn't understand. And the replies made me even more scared.
However, having met and talked to several Cat builders at Stoneleigh, I felt a bit more confident.
Bought lots of shiny new tools and a pair of overalls. Checked the calendar and 1 July is still months away.
I took a few pictures at the show, including one of Mark Evans' Cobra (he's responsible for pushing me over the edge into building a car). Click here to go to a photos page. Photos
Phil has decided to build a Phantom GTR. Smart sod!
