So apart from getting drenched and not getting to see all we wanted during the day, a great day was had by all. And the journey home started off well, surrounded by 'classics' as on the drive there, but our spirits were soon to be dampened as much as our shoes'n'socks...
Pulling into a petrol station about 1/2 hr into our journey up towards Guildford, the engine cut out, shuddered to a halt and gave a puff of smoke from under the hood as we coasted into the small road next to the forecourt entrance.
Dunno about you lot but I always fear the worst in these situations and was preparing myself to find a big hole in the side of the engine with bits hanging out...
A quick look in the engine bay and underneath confirmed there was no such damage, at least none visible externally, so thoughts turned to other possible causes. To check if it was the timing chain that had let go, Stu took the distributor cap off and check the rotor arm was turning while I cranked it over. All ok there, so hopefully nothing major mechanical?
Fuel level on the gauge cant really be relied on but just in case we'd actually ran out, we pushed the car onto the forecourt and put approx 1/2 tank in, then tried again.
Starter cranked over but still no sign of firing. Fuel was getting thru to the carbs so maybe electrical?
With the night drawing in (well, it was about 7.30

) and no spares (some tools, but no spares) we chickened out at this point and got onto the RAC to arrange a low-loader. Patrol man arrived within the hour to try and fix er up, before arranging the transporter, and to his credit he had a good go at diagnosing and trying to fix the problem but after narrowing it down to a faulty rotor arm (that's what he thought after finding a small crack in it), we still couldnt get 'er started, so settled for a ride home on the back of a transporter
Eventaully got back to Stu's place in North Herts at just after midnite and thought it worth trying a new rotor arm to see if that was the problem. If it did start, that would also mean we wouldnt have to push the car up the slope into the garage! Unfortunately that didnt work tho - plenty of engine turning over but no hint of wanting to fire, so the transporter driver, Stu, me and my lad did our best to get the car back into the garage for the night.
I suppose, being the first breakdown in 7 years isnt bad going for one of these cars. On the bright side, we could have conked out on the main road, and not in the petrol station, as it was pitch black for miles once the petrol station had shut and the patrol man had left us, with a 1hr wait for the transporter. And although it turned out not to be just the rotor arm, it's nothing terminal.
Anyhoo, that's another story, which I'll continue in The Workshop....
