... an interesting test of the market. For the last three weeks, our almost daily visits to The Great Collector's Emporium, are finally coming to an end.

It's not been easy getting as many of the cars going as we could, and ready for the auction. Counsel and I have had every imaginable problem to tackle - nothing beyond our amateur abilities, but as many of you know, dealing with old cars is as frustrating as it is back-breaking. Fuel pumps full of detritus, partially seized engines, even trying to remember how to start 43 cars all with different switches - some hidden, some just nothing to do with anything - has been a challenge.

Only two cars have defeated us. The Donnet, whose engine is pictured above and hasn't been run for I don't know how long, but longer than The Great Collector has owned it, and the Vulcan. Its Dorman engine, though once a perfectly good starter and runner, was seized when we came to it. We've still another chance to free it off - copious quantities of diesel have been poured down the bores - but I suspect dismantling (not by us) will be the answer.

The Donnet was once a fine motor car as evidenced by its now sadly moth-eaten interior that sports the remains of expensive trims to the door cards and internal panels. I don't doubt that we could have seen it run if we'd been able to pay even modest attention to it, but keeping half a dozen of the fleet reliably usable, was enough to take up our Saturdays.

Some of the radiator mascots are fun - I believe this one is an original 'Old Bill' on the 1914 Darracq.

The Humber mascot is unusual...

... and I've never liked the Viking's Head on the 1929 Rover Coupé. There's a clumsiness about it which in my view, seems at odds with the car's raffish body.

In an idle moment, I knocked up a mount for the rebuilding of Learned Counsel's 2CV engine.

It's at an angle so that the crank and camshaft can't fall out when you're not looking. It wasn't my idea - I pinched it from a website that covers the process.

We've had some spectacular skies of late, and the odd rainbow showing us where the pot of golden sovereigns is likely to be. It seems roughly over the auction venue.