56779, The Red Lady

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They say ,

It’s better to have loved and lost than not loved at all. They say a lot of crap, it’s better to have loved and not lost at all than both of the above if you ask me . 56779 lived in my Florida home , our very own Joe Sackey found her for me a few years ago. What happened then was I ended up spending less and less time in the United States of America. Somewhere along the line I convinced myself that it would be better to sell the red lady (56779) and replace her with a car based in Europe , a car with lower mileage and one I could actually use , saving myself the import hassle , tax , duty etc etc at the same time .
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I sold the car to a buyer based in Europe very quickly , she was a perfect and very well known example .

Work kept me away from the uk for several months and when I did finally go there we looked at 2 cars neither of which was acceptable .

Other cars came but inside I deeply deeply regretted losing the red lady . I had promised her adventures , road trips , track days , she was happy with just regular use .

I used to imagine her polished and shiny in a collection , I can imagine her looking around and thinking " why am I here ? I am not a show car , I am omologato where are my race tracks ? Where is my glory ? This is not what the creator had in mind for me .". I bet she looked at the showcars with disgust , fearing that with each passing year she was becoming more and more like them .

So many years she must have thought like this . Then I came along and promised her a different life , I whispered in her ear the promise of the life she was born for , a chance to meet her fellow Valkyries on the field of battle , a chance to flex her muscles , to show her grace and power , flaunt her perfection , finally a chance to claim her glory .

Instead I betrayed her also , like so many before I passed her on to another . Promises unfulfilled , hopes and dreams dashed .
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A couple of years later I hurt myself pretty badly .

I was flown back to the uk for a pretty emergency operation which was mostly a success but needs a part 2. On strict dr’s orders for bed rest , against all council . I called a black cab and had him take me to a friends house in Kensington , he lived in a fine Little mews, just the place to cheer me up . I knew he would have a fine single malt we could enjoy . The taxi driver was an affable chap who helped me a great deal but I didn’t recognise where he was dropping me off , "just walk through the mews mate , it save us queuing in traffic , the other side of the road is very busy" he told me . Relieved that I was in the right place I did as he bid me . As I walked through the cobbled mews I came across a showroom (I won’t mention the name) , there shining in the window was a beautiful 288GTO . All the old feelings came back , multiplied by the painkillers and morphine flooding through my system . Just then as I stood transfixed to the window my friend Darragh came downstairs and remarked "you don’t like them do you?". I explained to him how fantastic they were and told him about the red lady (a story , frankly he was sick of hearing). It turned out he was not too keen on the gto , so we decided to go inside and settle the argument once and for all .

By now I was pretty dizzy , I remember telling the salesman that I used to own one (he thought I was mad , drunk or both and met me with a "sure you did mate , sure you did") way too dazzled to notice his mockery we went some way of convincing Darragh of the error of his ways and exchanged details . I was very keen to pursue this car further , she looked like a fine example but was in no real fit state to follow this through . As we talked it turned out we knew many of the same poeple in the uk car world . We agreed to see if we could do something . The strange this was the more I looked at the car , the more she looked like the red lady . I was really to dizzy to even think to look at the chassis number .

I sent emails the next day , no answer , I send text messages , I called the showroom , nothing . It was like he had no intention of selling .

It was at this time I headed abroad for more work but decided to contact my friend Joe Macari about that car .

You won’t believe what he told me . That was my car , it was 56779 , the red lady. I knew it was fate , there and then "we must have her joe , we must " was all I told him . By the end of the week she was mine . Again .
The following pics show her being wheeled out of Joe Macari’s after he saved her for me from that other dreadful dealer to be sent to Aldo for prep and the car at Aldo’s being prepped .

 

She was ready ! But I was far far away .

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Several weeks later I flew into the uk on a rainy night . I got off the plane at Farnborough , thanked the captain and told him I’d let him know when we were leaving the uk and jumped immediately Into the v12 Vantage my friend bought to pick me up .

We drove directly to see the legendary Aldo at Riverside Performance Engineering , it would be around 2200 by the time we got there but he knew how keen I was to drive her and was kindly waiting for me . When I looked her over I swear I could detect some tension . Too proud to show she was hurt by my past betrayal she merely gave off a feeling of great aloofness . I would have to work for this .

After thanking everyone I jumped into 56779 and started the short journey home , in the rain . Now remember she had got some use in Florida traffic , not the ideal place for an omologato so I had no idea what to expect .

The windscreen wipers were fine , the ac was perfect , the so often hinted recalcitrant gearbox was nothing of the sort . I was surprised . She built power so well , the small turbos doing their job excellently . Pedals are perfect for heel and toe down shifts and I was able to sit in a very comfortable position , so far so good .

I turned off the a road onto some bumpy and very narrow B roads , the headlights are as good as the brakes but the real revelation was how well she rode . The took the bumps brilliantly , adverse cambers , broken roads she took them all in her stride . She danced down that road better than 99 percent of modern cars could ever hope to do .

I jumped into the house , picked up some suits and shirts , a pair of shoes and a bad of clothes etc for a week and went straight back to the car . I had a 40 minute drive to the Dorchester hotel , it took me nearly 2 hours . I drove the long way , the car was magnificent . She was showing me what she could do , showing me the error of my ways and I was ashamed . I arrived very late , parked her up outside and gave her a long look as I walked in to check myself in for the week .

Pics show her being picked up and arriving in front of the Dorchester

 

More to come soon .