Sunday, 11 December 2011

It's going to be a cold, cold Christmas


5 Bristol cars - a 407, a 409 and 3 410s were parked in front of Ravenwood Hall near Bury St. Edmunds while 17 club members sat down for a sumptuous lunch in the hotel’s restaurant. There was also a 401 and a 603 in the car park making a record 7 cars turning up for the East Anglian section’s Christmas lunch.

The record attendance was in no small part due to the excellent weather, which allowed the cars’ paintwork to stay shiny, and gave their ancient heaters a fighting chance at keeping their occupants warm.

The efficiency of our respective heating systems was a popular topic of conversation with the conclusion that drivers of 50 years ago were a much hardier bunch. Neil had blanked off part of my radiator to the extent that some warmth was discernable in the cabin with the temperature gauge reading a steady 75°C when cruising on the A14. I like to run hotter than that so some more experimentation is going to be required to ensure that I’m running at my best and Neil continues to take me out through the winter to stop me getting bored.

Winter running temperatures never used to be such a problem until Neil fitted me with a new radiator core 2 years ago in preparation for a trip to the south of France. However English winters, even mild ones, are another matter entirely.

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