This could cover a multitude of things ranging from a trip to Halfords to an Auto-jumble or Loft’s garage.

But this was different – I needed a bracket to mount the recently acquired Klaxon on the bulkhead of the Amilcar.

So I advertised in the VSCC bulletin in the “Wanted” column, or so I thought. Instead, it went into the “For Sale” column and that’s how I found out that at least 4 or 5 others also wanted a bracket, so I became the elected procurer.

Fortunately one of our number managed to find a bracket which he lent me and I duly sent it off to Harling Foundries in Hastings… http://www.harling.f9.co.uk/

Rather than have them send the brackets to me I decided to go to collect them myself, little realising what a treat was in store.

When I asked for directions Lloyd said “…you’ll see the silo first”; now I acquaint silos with farming so I was in for a bit of a shock when I found the entrance on an industrial estate which seemed like an early 20th century version of a Dickensian workhouse.

The silo was of course where they stored all the sand with which they made the moulds for the castings. Outside there was a skip full of what looked like old bricks but were the cast offs (sorry).

Inside there were about 5 people plus Lloyd, who gave me a conducted tour.

As we went in there was a batch of Healey 3000 cylinder heads waiting for machining. Whilst Lloyd was cleaning the Klaxon brackets up after heat-treatment which apparently leaves them a blackish tinge which rubs off easily enough, I had a look around.

There on the floor were a batch of 10 of what looked like motorcycle heads – I wasn’t far wrong, but they were for Messerschmitts