One step further… finally able to start under her own power!

So as I start to feel myself getting closer to the point where the car will eventually head off to a garage, and now that I know it can start and run, I wanted to take the burden away from having to ask someone to help me with a jump pack, and actually be able to start the car itself. Now is the time to finally get a battery put back inside it.

I did some research on what battery to go for, hearing some opinions from members of the Essex Scooby Crew, along with some general reviews on various websites. Many people were recommending a Bosch, which you can easily get replacements from Halfords and the likes.

However, I started remembering back when I started this, my plan was to try and bring it back to stock as much as possible. Although that’s now changed because my main priority is to just get the car back on the road with as little work done as possible.

Before I get onto that though, there was one big surprise that I discovered when lifting the bonnet first time on this visit. Something I absolutely was never expecting to see or come across…

Yes, that is exactly what I said to myself when I saw this.. “Are those feathers!?”

After a bit of head scratching, I think I finally figured out what these were and how they got there, especially when I looked up at the underside of the bonnet. After this, it soon became clear how these had got here. Turns out I had a little unexpected visitor who had started to make a home in the sound deadening material!

Using the car cover to shield the engine bay, I start to poke and prod around, and all this loose bits of material, along with dirt, bones and poo fell out. I had a rat (hopefully just one).

I’m not surprised to be honest, I imagine after having the engine running for a while, and then putting the cover back on, made it a very attractive and warm home for an animal.

And the feathers have come from him (or her) trying to pull a dead bird into their little home under the bonnet, thus creating a lot of mess! So, I thought “How can I get rid of my new friend quickly?”. It was time for the material to completely come down.

At some point, I’ll need to replace this with new lining, but that will be an item for further down the road once it’s running and on the road. I just hope it hasn’t too much damage to the engine. We’ll find out when it’s being inspected and looked at by the garage.

So anyway, with the brand new battery installed, it was now time to test and start it…

Another major step done. Time to move on to the next step now!