Got a call about 2:30pm from the bloke delivering the Jag I bought at a Pickles salvage auction in the ACT. The original plan was for him to drop it off at the depot in Adelaide and I'd go down it the truck to pick it up. They had a big forklift there that they could load it on the truck ....... That plan suddenly went out the window.
"Can you meet me on the highway some where to collect this car" Shitte, the truck hasn't actually left the workshop yard in about 7 yrs ..... yeah, where ....
"Murray Bridge" OK, give me about 1/2hr, where are you now?
"on the highway" 
when will you reach Murray Bridge
"I'm on the highway just passed Murray Bridge 
possibly the f word slipped out a few times at about this stage ..... throw all the stuff off the tray that had accumulated while using it as a work bench .... down the road to put fuel in it .....
I agreed to pay him cash ... can't remember how much, can't get him on the phone, I seemed to remember $300 for one of the deliveries .... but which one .... Margaret headed off the IGA to buy some money and I headed off to meet up with the driver who is 'somewhere just passed Murray Bridge'
The poor old Ford Cargo didn't know what hit it, but it wasn't going to be rushed after a 7 yr sleep. 80km/h on the down hill bits with the pedal to the metal ... maybe 40km/h as soon as it saw a hill .... phone rings
"How far away are you, I have to drop these caravans off in Winfield and the close at 4pm" Where abouts passed Murray Bridge are you? "At the truck parking bay" Shitte, that is almost at the Monarto turn-off ..... I'm half way to Murray Bridge but you are quite a distance after Murray Bridge, maybe another 20 mins or so
"I'll leave the car here at the parking bay and put the key on the back wheel" How much do I owe you?
"A grand like we agreed" Back on the phone to Margaret, need to buy more money ... no panic now, he will drop in on the way back out of Adelaide, so do the Aldi shopping and head down after that .....
I finally arrive to pick up the Jag .... the only key is one for the boot, the battery is flat and everything is 12v dependent ..... Phone call to the truck driver about the fob key to activate the ignition so I can at least get it out of park and release the park brake .... that was the only key they gave him .... the f word and few of its mates slipped out this time .....
From around 3:30 till 10pm I stuffed around trying to get the Jag on the truck .... it is so low to the ground I need to make ramps to get the front high enough to avoid ripping the front bumper off on the reo bar welded on the ramps for traction, Margaret headed back to Murray Bridge Bunnings to get a garden sleeper cut up for me to use to the get the thing up high enough to drag on a bit, reverse the truck under the front wheels a bit ... repeat a few hundred times .... till the back wheels reach the ramp ... and there progress stopped ....
Ring the truck driver with the tilt tray
"No, the tray is loaded with a broken down 4 x 4, I'll swing past to see if we can work something out"
It's been dark for about an hr and half by this stage, working by the light on the phone .... the truck pulls up,
"yeah we'll just drag it on with my winch"
An hr later, after battling the locked rear wheels having multiple attempts to go sideways off the ramps and the car bellying out on the hump of the Ford's sloped tail section, frantic jacking using the Jag supplied scissor jack .... clearly never been used before .... timbers under the bellied-out parts and skull drag it onto the Ford's tray .....
All loaded up and only took 7 hrs to load up
Then another hr to strap it down, put the ramps up and bolt the container supports back on because they hold the ramps up .... all by phone light .... and off to Mannum ....
At least that one is home in the yard now ... next is find where the MG4 is ....
T1 Terry
Nah, has to be on the road for Taggerty 2025, 4 yrs in row we turn up in a different motorhome 
hopefully the next phone call she gets will be for the knee replacement...
