Part 3/4 Final Part

 

And so the job was done we were up and running.

Insurance. Before driving to an MOT station, you have to get your vehicle insured. To my surprise. Snowball Insurance Brokers were able to offer Third Party Fire and Theft cover for £75. This provides for an annual limit of 3,000 miles and recognises that this particular driver's age is bordering on senility. But not his spirit.

MoT.Finding an MoT station dealing with tricycles may prove difficult; but I've got a Reliant Robin dealership a couple of miles away. And so the Kindred Spirit received thorough scrutiny from a sensible mechanic who was sympathetic to the project but mindful of personal safety. It passed without problems. Local Licencing Office Inspection She was a lovely lady. In a week of persistent sunshine, she popped in unannounced with tight shorts and a big clipboard. My LVO inspector was officially unwell with cracked ribs; but with work building up in the office, she dropped by for some fresh air And what happened next is absolutely true "Of course you can retain the number plate," sne said softly. She talked about kit cars and seemed to understand their magic. I wondered afterwards if she kept a Countach. But even though a leg-up was gracefully proffered, she wouldn't be tempted even into the cockpit. "Cracked ribs, she said. With a toss of her long tresses, she slipped gracefully away having won my VS and ample admiration. What a civil servant. And that was the fitting end to a Kindred Spirit fairytale The formalities passed without difficulty and summer 1991 was playtime personified

Performance. Since this is a build-up report, I'm not going to repeat the Editor's accolades after his day in a demonstrator,if you missed the report. But of course the performance is scarcely surprising. Place 1300cc somewhere between your legs, build a spaceframe chassis around it and you don't exactly sit still. It's true you need goggles, a barometer to forecast the weather and a touch of extroversion. Face facts... You get funny looks when you draw out of the slipstream of someone's mudflap, wave a finger of thanks, and whistle down the High Street Ayrton, Alain and Niigel do it. You can do it, too. Anyway.. thank you Roy Webb for coming up with something easy to build, thrilling to drive and impressively inexpensive. At around £2,500.00, and lots of new parts, my Kindred Spirit's a winner. But I'm afraid my Renault racer isn't for sale; whatever the size of your cheque.