Mirror Mirror

I'll get this out of the way first - if you're squeamish, look away now. The various bits of sticky stuff holding my finger together have come off, revealing this:-

Doesn't look too bad does it? But look at the one on the right, the cut's from top to bottom, the cut is the shape & proportion of a trouser pocket - the red line you can see being the open end. Now look at the one on the left, see the little red mark on the finger nail? that's on the inside of the nail & marks the point where the blade stopped. I was EXTREMELY lucky the blade went right down the middle, & didn't affect the bone or the tendons.

 

Onto more palatable things I think. The car has a new gadget. Last year on the Rallye Des Jonquilles I struggled on the dual carriageways because with a passenger, the luggage has to go on the rack at the back of the car - which means the centre mirror is pretty useless - all I can see is the luggage. The passenger door mirror is always pretty useless, so my problem was seeing behind to pull out when on the "wrong" side of the road. This year I have a plan ....... and a gadget.

 

A member of the SKCC (thanks Rob) donated an old style bullet mirror & I've removed it's base & fitted a quick release, so it can be fitted to one of the soft top mountings on the screen arch, allowing me to see what's behind & to the left over the top of the luggage, it looks like this:-

A little odd maybe, but not stupidly so & it'll come off in seconds to fit the sort top - I won't need it so much in rain heavy enough to require the soft top, as I WILL NOT be pulling out to overtake anything. When the car's back on the road I'll decide if I want it on the driver's or passenger's side.

 On the subject of "back on the road", I have today collected the alternator mount from "Ashby Welding", one of those helpful small companies in tiny industrial units that I like so much. The bracket's been all welded up & just needs some cutting & filing to finish it off - photo's later with a little luck. Yesterday eve I fitted a stiffening tube to the driver's seat where it had cracked & pulled the amp as the wiring's gone a little smelly (OK, it always was a little smelly), so the only things left to do are putting all that back in & changing the engine mounts & it's ready. Hurrah!