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Another year gone and Ole Blue is another year older and amazingly has changed sex, How do cars change sex? I don't know, but Ole Blue is now a "he" instead of a "she", why, well he has a girlfriend. You will find out about her in the January 2008 update. 2006 saw quite a few changes with Ole Blue, what with a larger engine and various sagas with locking petrol caps and the eventful MOT but 2007 was mechanically challenged as nothing really happened - which is a good thing.
For a large portion of 2007 I was working in Dubai and so Ole Blue sat home alone in the garage wondering where I was. For a while, I was on a rota working 4 weeks in Dubai, 2 weeks in the UK and then 4 weeks in Dubai again. As a result when ever I was in the UK I would dig out Ole Blue and he would amuse the folks of Tamworth by pootling along the streets and round the town center, usually for about a 15 - 20 mile run to blast away any cobwebs.
Ole Blue's first major outing came in May when my girlfriend (Caroline) and I packed him up and headed off for the 49th National Reliant Rally in Shrewsbury. At the event Ole Blue got to meet "New Blue", a 1990 Reliant Robin LX my brother is working on ready for the North Cape challenge in 2008. The weather at the rally was appalling and didn't stop for the whole weekend. When it was time to go back on the Sunday, the rain was torrential and I must admit, the thought of driving Ole Blue 62 miles home in torrential rain wasn't a pleasant one. At first I don't think Ole Blue wanted to do it either, she coughed and spluttered as the rain permeated through the engine bay but not wanting to let us down, Ole Blue carved through the layers of water on the roads and took us home safely. Ole Blue was probably just as relieved to see the garage door as we were.
In July, it was off to the Dosthill show in Tamworth, unlike May, it was a gorgeous day and Ole Blue joined up with a number of other Reliants to present a Reliant display for the Dosthill Boys Club. Leading a convoy of Reliants from my parents' house to the show ground was great fun and really made the people of Tamworth stop and take notice. The month after it was off to Wiltshire for a photo shoot with Practical Classics magazine and Ole Blue had his first celebrity driver when Chris Barrie (from Red Dwarf fame) took Ole Blue for a road test around an army airfield. Chris was surprised with the handling and performance until he took his first corner and Ole Blue leaned right over to one side, as 3-wheelers do, instantly alarming Chris and reminding him that he is in a 3-wheeler and they do not corner quite the same way as 4-wheelers do. The event was published in the October edition of Practical Classics published in September. July did see a small mishap when the tail pipe slid off the silencer which revealed a surprisingly throaty roar as Ole Blue raced around a go-cart track with other 3-wheelers. Quite literally, it seemed as though the tail pipe had expanded and literally slid off the silencer. With the tail pipe pushed back on and held together with a new exhaust clamp, the problem was instantly sorted.
September was the Tamworth Heritage Weekend and Ole Blue was back on show along with his more mature colleague "Old Red" and a whole host of other Reliants. The event was an outstanding success and miniature versions of Ole Blue was presented to all those who brought a Reliant along for the day.
From September to December Ole Blue was back to whizzing around the streets of Tamworth and come December it was time for his annual MOT. Checking the car over all seemed OK though for some reason the passenger side brake light was not working. Geoff had a look and it seemed that the contacts needed bending to make better contact with the bulb, a few minutes later and the brake light was working fine again. Ole Blue went for his MOT two days later at S.R Tomson & Son in Tamworth where it passed the MOT with flying colours and a very happy owner (that's me) drove him back to a warm garage. Along with car tax, Ole Blue is now ready and road legal to hit the roads in 2008.
Elvis Payne.
December 2007.
Go to May 2008
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