I won the Elizabeth Drake Award with a car that used to be my daily driver. That still feels strange to say. This wasn’t a purpose-built race car. It wasn’t trailered to events. It drove there, raced, and drove home again. Daylight runs, night rally, cold air, pressure building with every start line. It was … Continue reading “🏆 The Trophy, The Rally, and The Realisation”
Written by Paula BlacktagOctane
After weeks of repairs, preparation, and problem-solving in the workshop, the Spain rally was always going to be the real test — not just of the car, but of every decision we made before turning the key. Trusting a sixty-year-old Jaguar to drive all the way to Spain is never just a road trip. It’s … Continue reading “Lady Eleanor: 1965 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 4.2 Straight-Six | Gunmetal Grey — Spain Rally Journey”
Written by Paula BlacktagOctane
When Eleanor arrived, the plan was simple.Get her ready to move again. That turned out to be optimistic. The first problem was physical and unavoidable: the rear tyres were wrong.Too large, too wide, and pressed hard into the wheel arches. The car looked fine, but it couldn’t roll properly. Until that was fixed, nothing else … Continue reading “Miss Eleanor — Before the Trip”
Written by Paula BlacktagOctane
These three episodes weren’t planned as a trilogy — but they became one. What started as a careful first service on an extremely rare car quickly turned into a lesson in restraint, improvisation, and living with the consequences of working on something that simply doesn’t have spare parts. This is the short story of Episodes … Continue reading “Black Betty — Service, Survival, and a Bodged Headlight”
Written by Paula BlacktagOctane
Episode 4 — One Mistake = Game Over Some days in the workshop are calm. Methodical. Predictable. This wasn’t one of those days. Episode 4 was supposed to be simple: get a new ramp into the workshop, give Black Betty her first proper service since we bought her, and call it a win. Instead, it … Continue reading “Black Betty – 1934 Triumph Dolomite 8C”
Written by Paula BlacktagOctane
Retromobile sounded simple in my head. I came in with a plan: small parts, badges, little things that people overlook.Turn scrap into money. Keep the challenge alive. Then I started asking prices. A Fiat thermometer?€300. A set of plates I thought were just engine-bay bits?€600. Everywhere I turned, the same story — parts that looked … Continue reading “Retromobile: When “Junk” Stopped Meaning Cheap”
Written by Paula BlacktagOctane
Meet Miss Eleanor — A Classic Ready For a New Journey There are cars.And then there are Eleanors. Miss Eleanor is our 1965 Jaguar E-Type 4.2 litre, a car that needs no introduction to those who love beautiful machines. From its elegant profile to its smooth aluminium-lined engine bay, this is a sports car that … Continue reading “Eleanor – 1965 Jaguar E-type Series 1 4.2L”
Written by Paula BlacktagOctane
Some ideas sound easy… right up until you actually try them. This was meant to be a simple garage challenge: identify car fluids by smell, blindfolded.No touching. No tasting. Just your nose, a glass, and confidence. That confidence didn’t last long. The Challenge We lined up a set of identical glasses, each containing a different … Continue reading “We Tried Identifying Car Fluids by Smell (Blindfolded)”
Written by Paula BlacktagOctane
Some projects start with a car. This one starts with scrap. My goal is simple:turn scrap into £1,000 so I can buy my first classic car restoration project. No sponsors.No shortcuts.No pretending. Just forgotten machines, real work, and seeing if any of it is actually worth something. The idea This series isn’t about flipping fast … Continue reading “Scrap → Classic Car”
Written by Paula BlacktagOctane
Black Betty arrived the hard way. We didn’t ease her into life.We didn’t start with short test drives.We didn’t warm her up around the block. We pointed a 1934 Triumph Dolomite straight at Bavaria. A thousand-mile journey.Across borders.Across languages.Across common sense. And that’s where Black Betty stopped being a car —and became a responsibility.. The … Continue reading “Black Betty — The Trip That Made Her Ours”