Last weekend's adventures postponed!

On Friday the engine on my work van spectacularly went bang. The cambelt had snapped and subsequent damage to my engine was fairly catastrophic!

With some wrangling Saturdays work was done out the back of my trusty (!) Alfa 156 and the a plan of resurrecting my poor van was hatched.

I decided, after seeking advice, to change the whole engine for an identical one from another van. Ideally one I could see running.
An evening of scouring ebay and Gumtree with no stone unturned became my Saturday night escapade. An identical van in any state with a good engine was my quest.

After emailing, texting and phoning about 12 potential engine organ donors 3 eventually replied and the hunt was on.

Sunday morning I was on the road at 8.30 to Hillingdon to see a tatty berlingo with a good heart. On arrival the heart turned out to be black and oily, but I was a desperate man so I gave it every chance.

After a 5 minute test drive I noticed that the coolant reservoir also had a good thick layer of oil in the top of it. Bad news. The mechanic who was selling it said I wouldn't believe him but that must have only just happened.
He was right. Buyer beware!

Next up I heard from one I'd emailed in Brighton. A long drive but I was running out of options.
Thought I could drive down, hopefully buy the van and drive it home then cycle back down to pick up my car, around 60 miles cycling.
Luckily my friend Gary wanted to get out of his home and offered to help as a driver.

The Brighton van was rusty, living at the seaside had taken it's toll but the engine ran beautifully. Apparently it was his sons van and he had no real explanation for the nude female portrait on one wall in the back of the van!

After a short financial negotiation and a lot of reassurance from me that I wouldn't land them with a stream of motoring offenses I was on the road home, all be it the back roads where the number plate recognition cameras wouldn't pick up it's lack of road tax :)

And now the hard work begins. Apparently Citroen allow 9 hours labour to remove and refit an engine in workshop conditions, I've got to do it twice and I'm going to also do the cambelt and clutch, if not more, while it's out of the vehicle...

Watch this space.

Here's the donor van.

This is the portrait. Gary calls it 'The fallen Madonna with the big boobies'