Nice Wheels (Make Do And Mend Part 2)

OK, so the blogging has slowed down a little over the last few days, but I promise I've not been idle - far from it in fact. I've become a bit of an Ebay lover of late. I think it stems from the many years I spent as a child wandering round car boot sales on the hunt for a bargain. Car boot sales seem to be more and more full of junk of late, but I believe that's because Ebay is where it's at!

I love hunting out a bargain, but I think for me it's less about saving lots of money and more about the thrill of the chase and the feeling of giving a bit of life back to something that's been unloved. That was certainly the case with my latest acquisition.

We've been on the lookout for an all terrain push chair for a while, with the VW show season just around the corner. Unfortunately the budget didn't really stretch to a new one, especially as this will be Lily's second, so I turned to my old friend Ebay. I missed out on a few as it seems everyone was getting the same idea, with some second hand push chairs going for almost as much as a brand new one. I decided to change tactic a little and look at some that had been slightly less well cared for, and also moved away from the Phil and Ted's which although they are well designed and made do seem to command a high price tag.

Eventually I snagged the hard hunted bargain and after a road trip last weekend brought home this little beauty:

OK, so not much of a looker to start with, but like I said I like the challenge! First job, canvas off! Here's the sun shade in all its dirty faded glory:



Of course, it pays to take pics of how it goes back together before removing the screws:



There were some wires sewn completely inside the canvas, so plan A of sticking it in the washing machine reverted to plan B of washing it in the bath. A mixture of washing powder, Vanish and nappy sanitising powder brought it up a treat and left the bath water looking similar to Steve's after he's been out on his bike. Meanwhile the chassis took a little holiday at Rotec Cycles where Simon gave it an MOT, replaced a tyre and overhauled the front brake. As I was feeling generous (and too lazy to make one) I treated Lily to a new cozy toes to pop inside as she's still a bit small for it really. Steve and I screwed it all back together (it's difficult to hold the canvas tight and get the screws back in on your own!) and I think Lily was happy with the result:



It had a good trial run at Wheels Day on Friday and met with approval all round, so I think for less than half the cost of a new one and a few hours labour we've bagged ourselves some nice wheels for the show season :)