Page 147 - IT'S A RUM LIFE BOOK TWO "BOSTON 1960 TO 1970"

by towing “Bamboozle” our Merlin Rocket sailing dinghy down
to Salcombe in Devon for a Firestone paid for holiday.

RECOVERY
Peter and I had a tow rope and the evenings were still
sufficiently light not to need lights. After duly collecting the
car, we left Bourne in the general direction of Boston, deciding
to use the quieter back roads. It was very tempting to actually
drive the car as everything worked even if the brakes pulled
unevenly to one side and Peter managed comfortably until just
outside Boston when we returned to actually towing.

It was not the first time an unusual motoring activity had
created a deal of interest in our small corner of the newish
housing estate. Only a couple of years or so before, just as I was
starting with Firestone my car had been an elderly Rover 75.
Peter had helped me to give the old girl a quick “heart
transplant” on the drive in front of our house. It had been those
three 20 foot long sheer legs for lifting the engine that the
neighbours were not too happy about, located at the front of
the house on a modern estate. Borrowed from the scouts, they
were admittedly a blot on the landscape for a few days. When
the MG arrived minus a hood on the end of a long rope with
Peter beaming from ear to ear, the neighbours were obviously
wondering “what now”!

Peter had been “bitten” by the bug and was keen to help
put the car on the road. Our garage was duly cleared and MG
installed inside.

MORE REPAIRS
The actual bodywork was all timber covered in steel sheet
and intact, but the driver’s door had a nasty habit of springing
open without warning. As it was hinged at the rear this was

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