I first met Frank at Sprite Rush 98 (in 1998) and he was one of the guys I
kept in touch with afterwards. While it wasnbt Frank who told me I had
to get on the internet, it was Frank who told me about the Spridgets list
and managed to put me straight when my e-competence let me down! We kept in
touch and at Sprite Spree 2003 Frank lent me his Austin A40 to save me the
cost of a hire car and to enable me to enjoy driving a classic. Hebd have
lent me his Sprite only there wasnbt room for my wife and 2 children in it!
It was my pleasure to track down a couple of parts for the A40 and post
them to him and at one point I even posted him a half shaft for it as well
if not a pair of them. Frank in return sent me parts that were hard to find
over here. In 2007 Frank managed the trip across bthe pondb and I think
this was largely due to Busterbs strong encouragement. He had a great
time and even before he arrived at my town hebd experienced some unexpected
excitement which he took in his stride. I was pleased that he got to see a
whole bunch of stuff over here including Stonehenge, and not just cars. In
2008 I went to the Sprite Jubilee and I was pleased that Frankbs car was
awarded the best modified car at the show. I got to drive that Sprite in 2008
(I left the family at home so I could spend more time with the guys) which
was a real treat for me even though I hoped I wouldnbt break or damage it.
At the Sprite Jubilee I think Frank also ought to have won the driving
Gymkhana despite having me as a pretty average passenger which was a big
handicap for him. However, for some reason we didnbt get a time recorded
but
Frank was really relaxed about it and didnbt seem to mind. You see Frank
wasn
bt just an incredibly talented mechanic/car body repair/paint
sprayer/restorer he was also a very capable and quick driver as well but win
or lose or
no time recorded , he was always in good humour. Nothing was too much
trouble for Frank and he once collected an engine for me, stripped it down
and then made a crate to ship the crank and rods to California for machining
which in turn was used to ship the crank and rods back to me. So what more
can I say, what a sad loss it is to lose Frank, who was by no means the
oldest of us and certainly one of the nicest, guys, anyone could ever hope to
meet.
Weslake-Monza 1330
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