“Meet me in the car park of the Five Bells at 10.15. I’ll be the one in a silver Mazda. Five minutes then I need to be off”. It sounded like a dodgy rendez-vous – a pub I’d only been to once, 17 years ago (for the record it was the setting for my first date with my future wife), a gentleman that I’d never met before and a swift exchange of items from one car boot into another. In reality it wasn’t that sinister at all – simply an indication of just how friendly and encompassing our obsession with classic machinery can be.
It all started with an email shortly before midnight: “I have two AC engines that are surplus to requirements”. My heart raced as the lifeline dangled in the ether before me – could this finally see my Buckland fire up of it’s own accord? Naturally I would have to finish replacing the rotten wood, put some floors in, re-wire the whole thing and then get some paint on the bare aluminium first, but the light was starting to flicker at the end of the virtual tunnel.
At 10.15 on the dot, a silver Mazda pulled in behind the Landie and as both parties stepped from our cars, the line of onlookers at the bus-stop opposite shifted nervously – perhaps they were expecting a gunfight, but they were to be disappointed. A polite handshake later and I was chatting about all things mechanical with the mysterious driver – also known as Ian Bingham.
