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Written by Ollie Marriage
I should have known to bring a toolkit. If I had a screwdriver, I could have removed the Elise"s gearlever gaiter and realigned the plastic cover plate, enabling me to find reverse. If I had a set of spanners, I could have released the tension in the TVR"s manual door-release cable, allowing the mechanism to re-engage. But I didn"t, so the Lotus needed a push back, and I had to drive the TVR with a ratchet strap across my lap.Welcome to British sports-car ownership, where occasionally there are issues. But look: everyone talks about old Porsche 911s as a paragon of reliability, while earnestly enquiring if the engine"s IMS bearing has been done. In both instances, I knew I could have done something about it, if I"d been a proper boy scout. Neither incident took the shine off a lovely day out in fact, there"s something curiously reassuring about having an issue that (tools permitting) you"re able to do something about. Nowadays it"s electrics that go cock-eyed, and you ain"t fixing those with a spanner.Photography: Jonny Fleetwood
Date written: 24 Aug 2019
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 16688
I should have known to bring a toolkit. If I had a screwdriver, I could have removed the Elise"s gearlever gaiter and realigned the plastic cover plate, enabling me to find reverse. If I had a set of spanners, I could have released the tension in the TVR"s manual door-release cable, allowing the mechanism to re-engage. But I didn"t, so the Lotus needed a push back, and I had to drive the TVR with a ratchet strap across my lap.Welcome to British sports-car ownership, where occasionally there are issues. But look: everyone talks about old Porsche 911s as a paragon of reliability, while earnestly enquiring if the engine"s IMS bearing has been done. In both instances, I knew I could have done something about it, if I"d been a proper boy scout. Neither incident took the shine off a lovely day out in fact, there"s something curiously reassuring about having an issue that (tools permitting) you"re able to do something about. Nowadays it"s electrics that go cock-eyed, and you ain"t fixing those with a spanner.Photography: Jonny Fleetwood
Date written: 24 Aug 2019
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 16688
