Written by First week of my dream job
Hello and welcome to my website.
I am Paula, a Romanian living in the UK, and I have been a petrolhead since 2005… well, maybe earlier, when I helped my father fix his car, but I didn’t realise at the time that it was such a strong passion.
I love cars, and by that I mean cars with real internal combustion engines. I am particularly interested in cars that are no longer built, so only love, determination, and knowledge keep them running.
I dream of one day being able to undertake my own restoration project from start to finish, but until then it’s a long road ahead, which is why I started this project, Blacktag Octane.
I have been involved in the automotive industry my entire life, either through work or as a hobby in my free time, but cars have always been a constant. Since I regret losing my past experiences, which only live in my mind, I decided to document everything through vlogs.
This week's Video
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Here in the UK, I face a new challenge: learning the English terms for tools and parts, which I have been doing in my first week here, alongside discovering the lathe and learning what welding is, all under the close supervision of my partner, who is also my mentor. (video available above)
Part of the restoration process also involves networking, and fortunately, there are numerous events and classic car enthusiasts in the UK. I love Prescott; I usually race there (video available above)
This place has everything — friendly people, classic cars, BLACKTAGS, and racing… OCTANE. I was fortunate enough to drive DULCE on the hill, a 1965 Ferrari 275GTB, with a V12 engine, and it was fantastic — clearly a car built to go fast. I also drove a 1962 Maserati Sebring 3500GT, which feels better on long tours. Compared to DULCE, the Sebring was quite heavy, and its soft but comfortable suspension didn’t give me the same confidence in corners, but we’re talking about two completely different cars, each designed for a different purpose. (video available above)
I wonder how the Ferrari would perform as a touring car. As for touring, a real challenge was the Bugatti type 51, a Grand Prix car we took on a local cultural rally, and you won’t believe it, but it did fantastic. (video available above)
We also took an automotive unicorn, with -pre-selector gearbox to a Triumph Meeting. The unicorn is a 1934 Triumph Dolomite 8C, or the…english Afla Romeo 8C. (video available above)
This was just one week of my adventure, and I’m sure there will be more to come — we are just getting started
Thank you for taking your time to read this and stay safe!
