Excel620
20-11-2005, 03:44 PM
I submitted this story to a magazine about a year ago. No joy. Thought you might appreciate it on here.
Me and My Classic; Stuart's Spitfire.
Stuart’s association with the car that was his companion for a decade started in 1994. Then he was a fresh-faced student struggling to make ends meet, having to make tough decisions about his spending priorities. So when armed with student loan what did Stuart buy? He did what any real budding enthusiast would have done with a wad of cash: He blew the lot on a 1968 Triumph Spitfire!
At first the Triumph languished on his Grandparent’s drive, but after a year Stuart secured a job and now had the money to actually use his indulgence. Never one for the easy option he had landed a position 200 miles from home, so the Spitfire had a rude awaking. Over the next two years the miles piled on the car at an astonishing rate, at one point 16,000 miles span around the odometer in only 8 months. A 28 year old sports car, especially one that had never been restored, can’t take this kind of pounding without some considerable maintenance, so the engine was rebuilt, as were the carbs, and this along with a multitude of minor jobs made sure that Stuart got home to see his girlfriend regularly. This was the time when he really built up his rapport with the Spitfire as he travelled the same roads each weekend, learning a little more each time as to how best extract the maximum from the Triumph.
1997 saw a change of job and location, but it wasn’t this that threatened to break up Stuart and his Spitfire, it was a company car. Why run your classic into the ground when a modern and reliable car can take the strain? The Triumph fell into disuse and returned to his Grandparent’s drive, waiting to make a comeback. Two years ticked by, a mortgage was taken out and bricks and mortar became the new focus of Stuart’s life. But the little Spit was not forgotten. A new garage had been built especially for it and the old servant was returned to its’ master.
Life was now more sedate; a diet of club rallies and the occasional squirt around the lanes of Worcestershire was the norm. It seemed that the friendship would last forever. However, the girlfriend had become the wife and suddenly two little mouths appeared in need of attention. Only this time it was not the mouths of twin SU carburettors craving fresh four-star, but twin boys craving food! Sadly the Spitfire, by now in desperate need of restoration, had to go. So it was with a lump in the throat that Stuart let the keys from his grasp for the last time. The envelope stuffed with cash felt uncomfortably like blood money. How can something made from steel, glass and plastic get under our skins so completely? Stuart now has another Spitfire, but he still misses his first love and his mind often wonders back to those cold, dark evenings when he and his Spit danced together… :flag1: :uj2:
Me and My Classic; Stuart's Spitfire.
Stuart’s association with the car that was his companion for a decade started in 1994. Then he was a fresh-faced student struggling to make ends meet, having to make tough decisions about his spending priorities. So when armed with student loan what did Stuart buy? He did what any real budding enthusiast would have done with a wad of cash: He blew the lot on a 1968 Triumph Spitfire!
At first the Triumph languished on his Grandparent’s drive, but after a year Stuart secured a job and now had the money to actually use his indulgence. Never one for the easy option he had landed a position 200 miles from home, so the Spitfire had a rude awaking. Over the next two years the miles piled on the car at an astonishing rate, at one point 16,000 miles span around the odometer in only 8 months. A 28 year old sports car, especially one that had never been restored, can’t take this kind of pounding without some considerable maintenance, so the engine was rebuilt, as were the carbs, and this along with a multitude of minor jobs made sure that Stuart got home to see his girlfriend regularly. This was the time when he really built up his rapport with the Spitfire as he travelled the same roads each weekend, learning a little more each time as to how best extract the maximum from the Triumph.
1997 saw a change of job and location, but it wasn’t this that threatened to break up Stuart and his Spitfire, it was a company car. Why run your classic into the ground when a modern and reliable car can take the strain? The Triumph fell into disuse and returned to his Grandparent’s drive, waiting to make a comeback. Two years ticked by, a mortgage was taken out and bricks and mortar became the new focus of Stuart’s life. But the little Spit was not forgotten. A new garage had been built especially for it and the old servant was returned to its’ master.
Life was now more sedate; a diet of club rallies and the occasional squirt around the lanes of Worcestershire was the norm. It seemed that the friendship would last forever. However, the girlfriend had become the wife and suddenly two little mouths appeared in need of attention. Only this time it was not the mouths of twin SU carburettors craving fresh four-star, but twin boys craving food! Sadly the Spitfire, by now in desperate need of restoration, had to go. So it was with a lump in the throat that Stuart let the keys from his grasp for the last time. The envelope stuffed with cash felt uncomfortably like blood money. How can something made from steel, glass and plastic get under our skins so completely? Stuart now has another Spitfire, but he still misses his first love and his mind often wonders back to those cold, dark evenings when he and his Spit danced together… :flag1: :uj2: