The Curse of the "Last Job": Wonky Window Winders and Dodgy Door Locks
I don't love my Fiat X1/9 at the minute. To be honest, I'm not sure that I even like it. It has a malevolent spirit, you see, beguiling me with its Italian good looks, symphonious induction noise, sweet exhaust note, and crisp handling. My Exxie lets me believe that it reciprocates my affections and appreciates the time, effort and abundance of cash that's been lavished upon it. My X1/9 has all the depth of character of a cat! So, what's brought us to this nadir? A silly thing, really: a tiny, cheaply cast alloy part broke, rendering the driver's window winder inoperative, the handle no longer able to mesh with the mechanism. It was 43 years old. No cause for complaints there. This ordinarily inconsequential part broke within minutes - seconds, actually - of me having backed the X1/9 up onto ramps, ready for me to replace the speedometer cable. The final thing on the list, that mythical "last job" that was within my own lim...