Month: April 2025

Having passed her test yesterday, Agnetha had her temporary red plates exchanged for Historic Vehicle plates. Her new identity is DW 526. Recommissioning is officially complete – after 37 years or more, she is back on the road!

Now we enter the Rolling Restoration phase of the project. Still lots to do, but it will be a lot more fun to get her out and about! Who’s for a trip to Lidl?

The Big Push video ended on a bum note when a small error in the paperwork was discovered, putting everything on hold. While that was being sorted out I kept busy, replacing the sticking reverse light switch and doing a bit of cosmetic work (you know, try to make an effort kind of thing…). The corrected paperwork duly arrived and I was able to take out a 30 day temporary registration on Agnetha, effectively putting her back on the road for the first time since 1989.

Without being tested I could only legally drive her for the purposes of driving to a test centre. Since the test centre is a little bit out of town and involves a couple of 90kph stretches I might allegedly have bent the rules slightly to give her more of a low speed shake-down first. This involved driving to a nearby petrol station very early on Saturday morning to fill up – her first proper drink in 37 years or more. We then drove down the infamous Ulica Pawia (Peacock Street), a 19th century cobbled street that is more potholes than cobblestone. The idea was, if something was going to break, it would break there and then, and not too far from home. Impressively it all held together – just about. A few things which I won’t mention in public did manage to shake themselves loose but this was easily addressed at home with a spanner!

And so the time came. First thing this morning, against the rush-hour traffic Agnetha roared out of town towards the district test centre, the steering feeling tighter and the brakes nice and responsive. Along the two short 90kph sections I tickled her up to 70kph – she could have reached the speed limit easily but I decided not to push my luck. The test itself couldn’t have gone smoother – she behaved herself, didn’t dribble, crap herself or cause any kind of a scene.

And then we made our way home, this time with a test certificate in hand! But still cautiously keeping it to 70kph. The noise from the exhaust became incredible and I’m not sure if she managed to work the exhaust clamp loose – something to check before the next outing. But the final job to do before Agnetha formally enters the Rolling Restoration phase is to exchange the temporary plates for permanent yellow plates, then finally she can start to earn her keep on the supermarket run.