Yesterday, being a Saturday reasonably close to Christmas, about 22 Oz Jowetteers came and celebrated our Jupiter’s 60th birthday. I think the date was fairly accurate, because E0 SA 42R was shipped to Holland as a demonstrator, ‘just before Christmas, 1950’. Suited us, anyway as an excuse to get together and have a good time.
Melbourne’s wevver threw everything it could muster at us during the morning, so, Plan ‘B’ was adopted as the wisteria we would have sat under was still dripping copiously at 2:00 pm (just like the Jupiter’s water pump did, until it was finally fixed!). Plan ‘B’ meant that the Rover P6B (Pea Soup) had to stay outside for the proceedings. We set up tables and chairs in the garage, tied ten balloons to the Jupiter, set up a multi-programmed $8.00 flashing star above the windscreen, set beer and wine in ice, cooked a nice meal on the dripped upon barbecue and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! It was wonderful having the car in the dining room!
I related one of the epic drives of my youth, in the Jupiter, where I set off for a job interview 140 miles north of home before dawn in a cold February Saturday in 1964. As I motored north of Gloucester, with the hood down, I noticed that my right arm was very wet and it was not raining. Then I saw the oil pressure needle drop to zero. I switched off and thought, there goes my job prospect at Bamfords Ltd. The RHS rocker cover had come adrift, the two retaining nuts, not Simmons nuts as they should have been, had vibrated off their studs and the rocker cover was hanging off. Out came the spanner and off came the two front overriders and their self-locking nuts were put to use keeping what oil was left, in its proper place. I then set off at a slow pace to the next petrol station, watching the oil pressure warning light. It stayed unlit till I reached salvation and poured in a good measure of fresh engine oil. I had even considered draining half of the gearbox oil to get me on my way! I arrived a quarter of an hour late for my interview, and the Personnel Manager wondered why there was a strong smell of oil in the room after I arrived. I got the job, loved the work, married Sue and the Jupiter soon became accustomed to the roads of Derbyshire and Staffordshire – till we all departed for Australia. Overall, that was a wonderful drive and, after setting out from home, enjoyed the quiet roads with those Lucas headlamps showing me the way.
Attached is a photo of the car and its decorations.
Enjoy Christmas and, for those of you oop north and fortunate enough to have a Jupiter, take it out between Christmas and New Year on a cold morning before dawn, take your Jupiter out, and live the experience – I can assure you that your Jupiter will love it! It will make you feel much better too!
Warmest regards to all of you,
Mike A.