National Drive it Day 21 April 2024 Austin A30 SSVVVC Annandale Distillery

National Drive-It Day was created by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs in 2005. Held each year on a Sunday in April, it is the day when historic vehicle enthusiasts and the public at large have the opportunity to celebrate the 'One Thousand Mile Trial'. This was an 11-day round-Britain public test, that started on 23 April 1900 to "prove the viability" of the then new-fangled invention - the motor car. Our local club the South of Scotland Veteran and Vintage Vehicle Club today held this run from Dumfries to Annandale Distillery. The Distillery is a magnificent place to visit. You will come away deeply impressed by the sheer quality of every aspect right down to the doggie menu so our canine friends do not feel left out. Even the loos say it all about the standards this place has established. Many thanks to Sheila and Simon for organising this outing. Bertie the A30 ran without incident until a few miles from home when again the carb float valve stuck in the closed position. So halted for 10mins to free that off (6th time). The culprit seems to be sticky brown residue coming from the tank - probably a legacy of decades of non use. There is a new inline gauze filter but its plainly not fine enough to intercept this so shall try a paper one instead. This issue should clear after a few tankfulls but if not then it will have to be dropped and properly flushed/steamed out as "failing to proceed" is not a good experience especially on the A75 if there is no place to safely pull off and this old vehicle does not have hazards. Ethanol in the modern fuel may not be helping either as it could be dissolving gummy fuel residue in the tank and fuel line.