I had decided some time ago that my time with Triumph's was done and I was going to concentrate on my Mk1 Cortina's instead. I've had some great times with Triumph's over the years, but had got to the stage where I felt that I had done all I can do. I've met some brilliant people too and I'm hoping that they will stay good friends.
So, word of mouth about my Triumph being for sale was passed around and pretty soon I had some interest. A viewing was arranged, which wasn't an easy task as the car was in Frating North Essex and the buyer was in Walsall, near Birmingham in the West Midlands.
A deal was done and included in the purchase price was delivery to Walsall to be arranged by Colin Wake (The car was stored at his place) and myself.
After discussing various options, we decided just to drive the Triumph up there with me following and then come home. It wasn't quite as straight forward as it sounded though as we were both working on the required delivery day. So, Friday 27th June, Colin took the Triumph to Bury St Edmunds where he was working for the day and left from there when he was finished. I finished my work in Hockley, Essex around 3.30pm and then, like Colin, set out for Walsall in my everyday car, my Peugeot 308 estate.
I caught some traffic around Cambridge (which is normal!) but other than that, I had a fairly clear run. Colin did good as well and unbelievably, we pulled up outside the buyers house within a few minutes of each other. We then enjoyed a cup of coffee and a quick chat before making tracks. We still had a lot of mileage to cover.
The traffic on the roads was starting to thin out a bit and we made a good time. Neither of us had eaten since the morning, so a much deserved KFC bargain bucket was taken on at Cambridge services. We didn't hang around too long though and at around 10.45pm we arrived back at Colin's. I then still had to get back to my home in Leigh On Sea and arrived there at 11.45pm. (and I had to get up at 5am Saturday morning to go to work!)
We worked out that it had cost around £80 to deliver the car including Petrol for the Triumph, Diesel for the Peugeot, and KFC for us, so quite cheap option.
I had already covered 241 miles in my work day, so with the trip up to Birmingham, across to North Essex and then back to my house, I reckon I'd driven around 600 miles!
As usual though, the Triumph never missed a beat and hopefully the new owner will be very pleased with it. This is the first time that I haven't owned a Triumph since 2008, but I do feel that I'm doing the right thing. So, goodbye Gertie2 and all the best. 😊
