So, we spent the weekend down in Brizzy with Nikki and Kate (and Pepper and Eddie); well, we stopped off en-route at my mum’s for a cup of tea and providing some much needed cheer, before ‘speeding’ off down the motorway in Vixy to Nikki’s & Kate’s patch of Bristol.
It’s been a long time since we’ve made a journey under our own steam, in any vehicle, to see our friends. Possibly not since the Viva was consistently giving me trouble and causing trials and tribulations have we attempted to make a journey. Thankfully, while I’m fairly convinced the mixture is still wrong on the DAF (I think she’s running hot == lean??, or possibly the timing’s not right) – I’m making this judgement based on the fact that the top speed varied from 55ish to 72ish when the car was cooler, and the vario belts need adjusting (squeals on big hills, slightly uneven take up when very warm) – she made the journey with no big dramas; in fact, no dramas at all, really.
Anyhow, we had a very pleasant weekend, had a very nice chat over Pizza with one of Nikki and Kate’s friends (Adam). It was just really pleasant, and a bit of a reminder of what we miss out on here in Slough; so we have made plans to start actually trying to make some friends…because going 6 months between seeing people is a bit depressing.
Anyhow, the next day we abandoned our eco-credentials and went to Costco. We were pretty good – 85 quid later and we’d bulk bought many handy things that we would have bought anyway; and a couple of things we’d’ve probably not bought…and two cookbooks. It’s an interesting experience; while I’ve done Cash-And-Carrys before, I’ve not done one so big… And what was also interesting was how, on many of the items we wanted, the savings were pretty minimal. This was handy, because Vixy didn’t have to lug litres and litres of juice back with us, and since they don’t stock eco-cleaners we didn’t have gallon containers of laundry detergent and such to bring back. It was also interesting that because they carry largely brand or ‘Kirkland signature’ stuff, whereas we’ve cut corners much deeper than that (so our toilet paper is the stuff of cheapness; two ply plain toilet paper, none of this quilted m’larkey) in quite a few cases what we pick up non-bulk is actually cheaper than what you can get at Costco.
However, it did prompt us to consider that we maybe ought to start doing our dual shop again. Perhaps triple shop, if we occasionally branch out to supporting our local farm-store (which is very nice, but pricey).
Another interesting thing was that we have found that our vast fridge is, ironically, not actually appropriate for Costco shopping – the artichoke hearts container was so big we had to shuffle shelves, and now have a useless shelf less than a block of butter high for the next however-many-days. :)
Anyhow, we had some nice Mexican food prepared by the Kate creature, sat and chatted muchly, and had a very pleasant time before piling back in the DAF and racking up more miles heading back (she seemed happier, perhaps because I opened the heater vents and kept the engine cooler).
One of the things that came about from the weekend is a new desire. I’ve wanted to build an EV for a while. The EV Viva being the first of those failed desires, I quite fancy and EV-Daf just because I think that with the Vario you could probably build an incredibly efficient (for a classic conversion) and surprisingly quick EV.
But the one that is the biggest sin in the eyes of many a classic owner that I want to build…?
Well, now there’s two. There’s the one that started the idea in my mind, an EV-Austin Ruby:
They’re so cute, and small, and would just be such an awesome EV? I guess you could do it with a Ford Pop too, but the dinky simplicity of the Ruby, I rather like it.
Anyhow, that then led on to wondering about what else in my vague desires list would be excellent to convert. The Tatra T603 would be a cool conversion, just because it looks so futuristic…
The problem with a Tatra is that it weighs about the same as London Bridge. You might as well attempt to EV a routemaster using only lead-acid batteries and a lego motor*.
But what I really rather fancy doing is a Moskvich 400 conversion. I’m sure these are ridiculously inappropriate cars to EV. But 400’s are dinkily cool, they’re Russian, which is always a good start, and quirky and coming from Europe the just have a subtly different take on styling. So that’s my plan. If anyone fancies subbing me the cash, I’d be most greatful…
*Okay, so with good batteries and a whopping great motor you could probably build an interesting EV with a Tatra as your base car; it’d look damn cool anyway, even if it didn’t go anywhere quickly.
