Allegro Adventures

Owning an Austin Allegro is a de-facto experiment of sorts to see if a completely hands off owner can run a 1970s car, and a notoriously problematic one at that, or if the whole exercise is economically unfeasible. Money pits have broken many more mechnically minded men than me but, what with it being end times for the almost extinct and yet still keenly priced Allegro, it was a pretty much now-or-never situation in terms of owning one. And no doubt for reasons unfathomable to many, this is the car for me. Having at least got the Allegro home it now urgently needed shelter and a health inspection. I'd bought the 1300 SDL MK 1 during a rare spell of cash flow and my initial TLC budget extended to no more than £500. I hoped that would be enough to make her roadworthy and initiate one or two improvements. It wasn’t long before Covid-19 cast a spell over the land and normal business was suspended. Nonetheless, my local garage was still in action and for all intents and purposes the loc...

According to Take me to the truth  by Nouk Sanchez and Tomas Viera ‘ At the seat of all our emotional needs, beyond the search for love or joy lies a deep sense of abandonment, a sense of persistent threat, and a feeling of inadequacy. Unfortunately, this is the legacy of the ego-self, and it is always trying to eradicate these ancient feelings through distraction. ’ Though I've not finished the book I have to admit thus far it explains why   I bought an Austin Allegro,  once voted worst car in the world .   I c ouldn’t imagine   a better way of distracting myself from   existential angst . It's not as if I didn't have the perfect car already. This is my daily driver. I dropped 600 two and a half years ago on a MK 1 Fiat Punto with less than 23,000 on the clock. Fiat Punto SX55                                             ...