	Now Why Did I do That? The Jago Geep Page

Why would I sell my sprightly, great-handling, comfortable Scimitar sports car and replace it with a kit car Jeep, or Geep to give it its correct, slightly less copyright-infringing name? Why would I go over to the classic car “dark side” and dabble in the world of kits, and not even one I built myself?

I'll have to think about that one. I think the only real answer is that every now and again I fancy a change. My son is becoming very keen on working on cars and I wanted something cheap, robust and mechanically simple.

It was certainly cheap. It seems to be robust too, though I'm not used to having a car that has a large amount of plywood as part of its construction. The chassis is substantial and certainly looks to be in good nick. All the box sections have plastic end caps and I haven't discovered any horrors yet. But then I thought my SS1 was solid.... One thing I can't argue with is mechanical simplicity. It has an Escort Mk11 engine, drive train and suspension. Only pedals and a chain would be more basic. It's all delightfully accessible too. The Scimitar wasn't bad, apart form amusing bits like a distributor buried under the front bulkhead, but next to the Herald, this is the best I've come across.

On the road, it's surprising. It thumps and crashes over bumps a bit, but so have all the other classics I've had. Handling is surprisingly good, though I've yet to explore the roadhoalding in the wet. It's sitting on 13” Weller wheels just now. I'd like to fit 14” ones but perhaps that would compromise it on the road. They would certainly look better. The gear lever is a bit too far forward, but you get used to it, and the steering wheel is too close to my legs. A smaller replacement is being sourced on eBay as we speak.

The best bit about it is sitting in the relatively high driving position ambling along a country road with the hood off. I bought the Jago from a very nice family in the Carlisle area and took it up the M6 / M74 to Scotland. Even caravans and old-style Nissan Micras were overtaking me as I kept to a steady 60, restricted partly by aerodynamics that were on a par with the Mitchell Library's and partly by caution induced by the constant buffeting. Coming off at Abington, things suddenly became huge fun and I contemplated singing country and western songs, settling instead for an childishly-rude parody of the theme from the Fall Guy I made up on the spur of the moment.

Work done so far? When I got home all forward gears went- the fork at the end of the lever had jumped off. Also, my son and I retimed it and fitted new ignition components. Now it's a first-time starter.

So why did I do that? Why the hell not?

Look, it's my quirky, chirpy, cheap Geep!

As basic as.... an extremely basic thing.

A nice place to be on a sunny day.