25th January 2004

Really haven't used the car very much over the last few months - the weather hasn't been much cop, and I've just not really felt like going in the cold and getting the car covered in muck and salt. I've taken it out a couple of times when it's been clear and dry, and I've felt like blowing the comwebs out. But today it's been put to service to collect a set of wheels for the tintop. I've actually sold the Punto, but managed to ding a wheel in a crater of a pothole, so I need to get it sorted asap. A brand new wheel from Fiat is a bit on the expensive side, so I bought a complete set off ebay. In order to carry the wheels I borrowed some luggage straps from Guy, and bodged up a bit of extra support across the rollbar to keep the weight of the wheels and tyres off the rear bodywork. This was made up from a bit of tube I had lying around (which was U shaped, hence not very straight), with its ends crushed and a couple of exhaust clamps round the rollbar to hold it tight.

It worked pretty well and I was extra cautious to strap the wheels up tight, binding them both to the rollbar and to each other to prevent them moving around. You could certainly feel the extra weight high up over the back, but it didn't seem to hinder the performance too much!

©2002-2009 David Hackett