I've almost certainly done this before, but as I haven't logged on for YEARS it's probably about time I re-introduce myself to those who either don't know me or forgot about me
Quite a lot has changed since last time I was an active member, it's hard to join in when you are retro-less, and the mk3 astra was only 1994 so not yet retro really, besides I sadly sold her to a friend the other year for reasons I'll explain.
Short form first then explanation:
Name : Kirsty
Location : West London area/Langley/Heathrow/Slough
Retro/Interesting Cars Owned : current: 1984 Saab 900 turbo, previous: 1969 Series IIA Land Rover SWB petrol
Shows Regularly Attended : Billing, Le Mans, Britcar, J stuff, random meets but hope to add more.
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook pages :
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/manicuresbykirsty (I share car stuff there too!)
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/scrapchallenge1 (I don't share much on there, mostly reposts from instagram)
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/petrolheadgirls (my page for people to join) or
www.facebook.com/scrapheapchallenge (personal page)
YouTube:
www.youtube.com/miceandminecraft (mostly my pet rescue mice, I don't share car stuff there)
What are you hoping to do here: reconnect with old friends, share retro saab-ness, join meets & shows, get help and advice
Anything else we should know?: I run the PetrolHead Girls facebook page, although guys are welcome as well so long as they behave and don't share sexist stuff or harass the girls, so far everyone has been a complete gentleman which is nice
So, I was from the North East but recently relocated to the South East between West London and Slough (near Heathrow airport).
Since I could talk my first love was always Saabs, followed closely by Land Rovers, then vauxhall astras, with a bit of love reserved for Nissan 200SX S13s. My house has been described as being the world's smallest Land Rover museum.
My first car was a Land Rover 1969 Series IIA SWB 2 1/4 litre petrol with weber carb, salisbury axle and works registration. For my birthday last year my other half Matt bought us tickets to go on the Land Rover Defender factory tour at Solihull so I got to visit the very same factory where my own landy was built. I no longer own my landy but I'd love her back some day.
The full story of my Saab 900 turbo classic is a long one best saved for a different post, save to say she was a custom one off build by saab and the only one of her kind in the world, my dad bought her new when we lived in Oman in 1984, she was brought back to the UK in 1988, then in 2008, which would be what most people on here remember me for, I had some minor restoration work done on her and took her out to France where my parents moved to, to deliver her back to them.
Well it's been difficult to maintain her over there as parts etc are almost impossible to come by, and my parents didn't feel they could look after her properly any more, so knowing that I've loved her since the day we first saw her in the showroom 32 years ago (yes, I'm old), they signed her over to me recently, so I had her shipped back from France and she's now mine to love forever.
My master plan is to indoctrinate my new niece into the ways of the PetrolHead Girl, get her hooked and one day leave The Old Girl to her so she can carry on being part of our family.
Going back to 2008, after I had taken The Old Girl out to France, that summer I was involved in a car accident which left me permanently disabled. The injury triggered an auto-immune response which never stopped and got out of hand so my own body is attacking and destroying my own nervous system causing chronic pain and fatigue.
This means that over the past 8 years my condition has been deteriorating, and my ability to drive has diminished. I still can drive, but it takes planning and is painful. I have to rest the day before, take no pain meds for 8 hours beforehand, drive to wherever I'm going then collapse, take ALL the pain meds and typically can't move the next day, which is a bit of a problem when you want to be able to drive BACK again...
So driving became so infrequent and impractical that I finally gave up and sold my beloved mk3 astra to a friend who had lusted after it since the first day he laid eyes on her. I cried my eyes out, but I was keeping her for nothing, but I am bedbound a lot of the time, use a mobility scooter to get around outside the house and a stick for shuffling around elsewhere, as I'm in pain 24/7/365 to varying degrees.
Shortly afterwards my dad gave me the saab 9-5 estate but as I didn't need that either I sold it, barely breaking even on the sale due to what I had to sink into it to get it through an MOT etc.
With The Old Girl however it's a different story, I may not NEED a car, but The Old Girl is different, she's special, she's like my little sister, she's always been in my life and I'm determined that she always will. She deserves a decent retirement as a fun and show car. I may not be able to drive her much, but we don't need to, we've got other cars as well, but now and then maybe I can drive her *to* somewhere then Matt can drive us back, or just take over when the pain gets too much. Fortunately he loves her too.
I'm hoping to take her to saab club and retro rides meets and events in the summer months.
So current vehicle list is:
1984 Saab 900 Turbo Classic LHD 2 litre turbo 8 valve "The Old Girl"
1987 GMC vandura LHD V8 support vehicle aka "The A Team Van"/"the AOC team van"/"Team FTF support vehicle" - shared with friends.
1994 Nissan 200 SX S13 300BHP CA18DET "Silvia" - another show queen
2005 Vauxhall Vectra estate elite "Black Betty"/"The Black Pearl" - daily driver but we do a lot of meet/show stuff with her too.
Anyhow, good to see everyone again!
Kirsty