We went up to Saint Pierre des Corps to pick up Claudette, who has been languishing in our garage there for the whole of the pandemic. She's had a flat battery, so driven nowhere because of that and because a lot of the time we were not allowed to go there due to lockdowns. So we picked up a new battery from Classic Auto-Elec in Nazelles-Négrons, Simon changed the battery over -- a bit fiddly and stressful in a Traction Avant and involves taking the bonnet (hood) completely off (and more to the point, getting the unco-operative thing back on again!). Then we noticed she was leaking petrol from the fuel pump, so I quickly phoned our expert mechanic Jean-Louis to see if he thought we were going to catch fire. He reassured me that the fuel pump seal was dry from lack of running the car and would most likely plump back up once we drove a bit. We checked it when we stopped for lunch and it seemed fine, and we got her to the mechanics for her pre-roadworthy service with no problems. We will keep her at home now until travellers start returning to the Loire Valley and we are working.
To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website. If you would like an idea of how your tour might look and sound, please check out our YouTube channel.