Robin Batchelor reports: "Today I spent all day trying to clean the dirt from the petrol tank in my Ford Woodie - ready for our visit to Montlhéry! Since the car joined The Automobile magazine's "Oily Rag" collection, I have been trying to make the car as usable as possible.
The one "spanner in the works" is original dirt in the petrol tank. Despite flushing it several times, the odd bit of 1938 dirt blocks the pipe.
So as the engine falters, I pull in to the nearest layby and go through the familiar process of unscrewing the petrol pipe, blowing down the pipe into the tank, and re- connecting. As I lifted the bonnet on the drive way of a lonely property I heard the owner call out to see if I needed help. I resisted asking for a cup of tea - but I told him all about the car as I went through the ritual.
He then invited me in to see something. What are the chances of stopping out side the gate of the grandson of the original owner of a 1938 Hudson! A true barn find. It hasn't moved for 30 years. He proudly showed me a picture of his grandparents on their honeymoon in it .
We exchanged names and numbers and I went on my way - having made a new friend."
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