Typical.
So I get up this morning and it's bright and sunny.
Get into the TR7v8, cause I just have to drive it to work.
Get on the highway and accelerate up. Glance in the rear view mirror only to see bright flashing lights. I hadn't even gone 1/2 mile. So I pull over.
Cop says don't you stop when you see a police car chasing you?
I say I just got on the highway and was accelerating up to traffic speed. I didn't see anyone at all behind me.
Cop says do you know how fast you were going?
No. I was just accelerating.
135kph (That's 84mph to you Yanks).
Honestly sir, it's an old British sports car with a notoriously bad speedo.
I don't want any excuses, now slow down. Do you understand me? (I shake my head affirmative) I'll be watching out for you! And off he went.
Fast forward 8hrs. I get out of work. Get back onto the highway, but am stuck crawling along in rush hour traffic. No need to worry about speeding, just cramps in my poor clutch leg.
Approaching the busiest busiest intersection in the city, the engine starts coughing. I'm in the left lane (closest to oncoming traffic to you Brits), but it's a divided highway, so I pull over to the concrete divider. Traffic wizzing past, inches from the side of my car. The engine quits. Fuel gauge say 1/4 tank. OK, I have gas. Crank it over. She starts and then quits. This happens several times before I realize I haven't heard the electric fuel pump clicking over. I pop the hood and look at my transparent fuel filter - empty. OK. I'm stuck.
I call CAA (Canadian AA), wait 45 min for a tow. Get him to tow me home (about 20km). (And yes, it was on a dolly and all wheels were off the ground.)
I check the fuses. Nope. Check the oil pressure connections. Nope. Jack up the back and check the pump connections. Nope.
Then I remember that I once had a Range Rover that died on the highway (the same one actually) and it was because I the fuel gauge was stuck and I ran out of fuel - although it took me a week to figure that one out!
So I grab my jerry can with old gas left over from the winter snow blower (this is Canada afterall), pop the cap and pour it into the tank. I start cranking the ignition and sure enough, soon she coughs and then starts right up. Stupid bloody British electrics and gauges!
I was sure that I had filled the tank just before putting the car away for the winter, and had reset the odometer when I pulled her out of winter storage. I'd only done 200 km and the gauge had always been "relatively" accurate in the past.
Moral of the story. Always get out on the "right" side of the bed and carry a small jerry can of fuel in the boot of your TR.
M.
[:(][:I]
