In which he recaptures some lost Lucas Magic Smoke

Many moons ago (over a year, actually), I scared myself half to death by accidentally shorting out one of the Lucas Fogranger lamps that adorn Dame Zara's snoot and releasing a big cloud of acrid Magic Lucas Smoke in the process.

Today I finally got around to fixing it, taking out the melted, crispy wire and replacing it with fresh new wire, well-soldered connections, a new globe and ... wait for it ... an in-line fuse! Oh, the technology. After a little bit of fiddling with some pretty rotten (hence highly original) wiring connector blocks under the bonnet, both fog lights worked again!

While I was in an elecktrickeral frame of mind, I also half-succeeded in fixing the windscreen washer, whose motor had refused to work the last time I hit the switch ... it now buzzes away again and sprays the driver's side convincingly enough, but barely widdles on the left. The left-hand nozzle must be blocked somewhere - I poked a fine pin down the end of it, and it seemed clear at the nozzle, but who knows where it could be crudded up.

I also plugged the radio back in - the experiment with the portable CD player was pretty much a failure, and until I get around to doing something elaborate and rather expensive with an iPod, a power amp under the seat and hidden speakers - not to mention refitting a period Radiomobile in the centre of the dash - AM radio is better than nothing.

But one little gremlin continues to elude me: the inside light on the driver's side went bung the other week and I can't for the life of me work out what's wrong with it. The bulb's OK; it gets power; the other two lights work fine, so the door switches are working fine ... it's a mystery.

Speaking of gremlins, I gave in to temptation and poked a screwdriver into the little patch of bubbly paint next to the front bumper on the right-hand side. Unsurprisingly, bits of paint flaked off, but I was somewhat reassured to find that there is solid metal underneath and not air! It looks as if the previous owner who repainted the car more than 10 years ago had used quite a lot of filler around a part of the car that I understand was originally pretty heavily leaded in order to get a smooth line.

To repair it properly, I'll have to take off the bumper and sand/grind off any loose paint before rustproofing, priming and repainting ... this could take some time, so at the very least I'll give the bit I exposed a coat of POR15 rustproof paint to protect it.