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Originally posted by tonewheeldude

Just wanted to say hi as I plan to make use of you guys in the next few weeks ;)

My name is Darren. On and off I have been involved with the SROC since the mid 1990s when I brought a beautifull series V. More about that car another time.

You may know my current Rapier though. it used to belong to John Lockyer - its a blue series IIIa known as Alice (674 EBF). I brought her around 9 or 10 years ago not knowing the history of the car, just wanting a decent (but not showroom condition) vehicle to enjoy every day. Alice was very dirty having been stood under a tree for 12 month, but I negotiated a price and the owner agreed to MOT her (a mistake as I ended up with black sills!). She seemed pretty straight and had the sweetest Rootes engine i had EVER DRIVEN..and I had owned quite a number of Rootes cars. I remeber not being so happy with the look of the vehicle, but taking her for a little drive around the village, both myself and my wife (also a classic enthusiast) looked at each other and could tell instantly there was something special about this one, but we did not know how special. It wasn't until after the purchase I found a massive folder under the seat with every detail of the cars history.

Well it didn't take long to T-cut all the grime off and I had a pleasant 18 months motoring. I spoke to John a few times and he was very helpful in clearing up a few questions. But...a change in workload, and an additional 25k motorway miles a year meant she had to go into dry storage and I brought a Rover 800, Alice has stayed there ever since.

But in the next weeks I will be recommissioning her for the summer and I am going to have to find some parts which I may need some assistance doing.

My everyday car is a 1999 Rover 800 coupé and my wife owns two Mini's; a 1986 Mayfair and 1989 Sky.

Darren

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