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Strange but true, DVLA drifts towards a personal evaluation by me of 'helpful and efficient'. I'm not really sure that's true at all. But it is certainly how I felt after a new V5 dropped through my letterbox confirming the return of the car's original registration - 70 DNR.

A couple of days later I was back at the Edinburgh DVLA office to sort out a tax disc. Of course, in issuing the V5 they had not changed its previous taxation class, which was private/ light goods. This had to be altered to 'Historic' to allow me to secure the tax disc at 'no charge'. And the helpful and efficient (you see it's creeping in again) lady at the DVLA office corrected this online and handed over the tax disc. I was happy.

In a wave of optimism I had previously ordered a couple of white-on-black number plates on 'sticky-back plastic'. These were lightly trimmed to a better width, but before fitting them I decided to 'glass up the holes in the bootlid. This I did with my elder son, taping a release film on the outside of the lid and filling with coloured gel-coat, plugs of mat and finishing with tissue - just as it tells you in the book. The match of the gel-coat to the paint was good enough to spare me attempting to paint anything. However, I did offset the rear number plate 5 or 6mm to the right to cover a small patch of white gel coat that was exposed.

We also plugged two holes in the front apron where spotlights had once been fitted. And the picture below shows my younger son wiping any remains of tape from around the area masked with release film.

The finishing touch was a Bo'ness Hillclimb Revival holder for my new tax disc, sourced from Margaret at the club - an essential accessory for all period racers.