MOT Day

After what seemed a very long wait this morning I am pleased to be able to say A BIG 'WELL DONE' to Alf for passing his MOT with flying colours. Also a big thank you to Hartley Wintney Garages for donating the MOT costs to Naomi House. Tax on Tuesday and Alf will be out and about on the roads for the first time in 4 years. Now time to test the engine.

Ahh problems!

Calamity! Whilst trying to replace the new shock absorber we managed to inadvertently break the top housing on the sub frame that holds the shock in place, and as its made from cast aluminium it was not a easy weld. As the housing is part of the whole sub frame at the rear of the car we were in panic mode to say the least, but luckily we managed to find an man who could weld aluminium and it is now all mended again, although we did miss our Mot appointment. It is booked in again for the morning so fingers crossed all should be well.

Mot day...

Today is a very important day in the life of our Alfa as today is MOT day, we have to fit a shock absorber and then it should be all good to go. We have also had today a fabulous pledge of £500 from Rawlings Transport and Rawlings Fuels so a very heart felt thank you to all at Rawlings Transport for their generosity. We will hopefully be able to get the car wrapping underway very soon, we will keep you all posted.

Progress on Alf

New Discs and brakes now fitted with thanks to Adrian at AH Motorsport www.ahmotorsports.co.uk  for very kindly donating the parts to us and our friend Neil for fitting them. With new brake fluid too Alf should  be raring to go (or stop hopefully). Next step...MOT !! Fingers crossed he will pass with flying colours.

Why are we doing this?

Towards the end of last year we decided that we wanted to do something different in 2012 and raise money for a charity in the process.  We are now in the process of getting the Alfa ready for the Motoscape rally in September which involves travelling through 10 countries across Europe in 7 days.
http://www.motoscape-rally.co.uk/
We will be selling advertising on the car with all proceeds going to http://www.naomihouse.org.uk/

Naomi House and jacksplace are hospices for children and young adults that provide support to children and young people with conditions that mean they are unlikely to live to become adults.

The charity provides care to families and young adults living in communities across the seven counties of Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Surrey, West Sussex and Wiltshire.

Alf...The Alfa

We have owned the car for about 10 years, but due to the Skyline taking preference in the day to day drive to work the Alfa has been parked up for the last 4 years, under a car cover very neglected.
This rally was the perfect time to bring him back to life. So last month March 2012 we uncovered him (Just to set the record straight, Michael would like to think that Alf should be a she, but as he has had a lady owner all these years he is obviously a he!) Anyway, in March we took off the very old faded cover and hooked up a battery.  Would you believe it, he fired up straight away.  This answered our question as to should we take Alf across Europe or buy an old banger!

We are now in April, Alf has been washed all moss and mold removed and, taken up the yard to have some much needed maintenance.