ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,191
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Jun 24, 2019 17:27:56 GMT
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Well, there will be a couple of threads coming out from me and this is the first one! Anyway, let's get back to business. Life can be a funny old thing. You spend quite a bit of time wondering 'what if'. Or at least I do. You ponder and ponder and inevitably doubt grips you, as does sensibility. At that point your dreams seem almost done, and when you think about the kind of cars that would be at the Laon Historique. The Laon Historique for me was in that camp. A French car show on a large scale doesn't sound great, but in reality, once you do it, you wonder why you didn't do it before: Despite putting it off for years, when I finally did go, I wondered why I left it so long to go! When the question came up this year as to who would come along with me, I certainly had a few people offering to come along! Clearly, my experiences left a good impression! All I needed now was a car. Believe it or not, the original plan all the way from this time last year was to take the 2CV. With a 652cc conversion, and a solid chassis, some would have said this was a wise choice: When I was driving it about it in the summer it seemed like a great idea! You could almost imagine being a idylic wannabe Frenchman, just floating and rolling about France. However, two things would dent that over time: -It was not the best on long journeys. Not terrible but not great, especially when you consider that eventually 3 of us would go with a car full of luggage -This Mercedes would enter the radar a few months later img.retro-rides.org/i/v/chasr/3c4c83ab1d35.jpgWith this arriving on the scene, I knew that my plans of taking the 2CV would be under threat! After all, I knew I'd have to sell a few cars to fund the W108 280SE. I initially considered selling the M3, but I do have some great memories with that car. Furthermore, whenever I consider selling it, which tends to happen when I don't use it, a drive in it soon convinces me not to it! It may not have the same appeal as the other cars in my fleet, but it certainly has made some great memories, even through the bad times. So that car was here to stay. A shame, as it's one of the most valuable cars in the fleet! That left the 2CV. With that gone, I then had an offer on the S124 E320 in the pic. I actually came to really enjoy that car. But I knew deep down that 22MPG as adaily driver was never going to be sensible or cheap on the wallet! With that on its way to a friend, that left me with just the M3, the W108, and the use of two other cars owned by my old man, where I was playing Russian Roulette with whichever one sold, I'd buy the other off him. Thankfully, the Mondeo 2.5T won out of the Audi A3 TDS DSG and that. But I'm getting distracted now! So, I had some cash in my pocket, albeit not quite enough to cover the cost of buying the W108! Every little helps! The old me at this point would have considered buying another car! But with RR and time spent fixing cars, sense does occasionally enter the equation! In this case, I knew the timings were going to be tight. In a nutshell -Purchased the car: March -Time to go on the Laon Historique: June. That sounds like forever, but the more you get to know a car, the more faults you find. As per my thread on importing, I also decided to MOT the car, thus potentially avoiding an inspection ; handy when I don't have much holiday time left this year. And so I set to work. Just how much would I end up doing? Those of you who have read my thread will know. But for now, I have an impatient Beagle to take walking. Stay tuned for the TLDR version of what it took to get it ready. Or shall I get to the actual road trip itself?
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,191
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Jun 24, 2019 22:22:05 GMT
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Where was I? Ah yes, the Merc! I forgot to say that it seems that the car despite running was most likely stood up for quite some time in the US. Naturally, it would need a few things to pass the MOT, and thus get registered. From changing the lights to Cibies to rebuilding the front brakes I eventually got a ticket! Hoorah! This isn't what you think. No really, it isn't! Eventually, despite all of the above, I had the car MOT'd and was driving it about. Things should have been peachy right? Well, that's exactly what I wanted you to think. This is Retro Rides, and well, I had problems. The ignition system decided it would no longer be reliable at firing. Being an older CDI points based system, that went in favour of a Pertronix Ignition system. However, the appalling steering system wasn't helping matters! However, this would have to do. I had a road test in mind for the 1000 mile Laon trip. But what would it be? It would be none other than the Retro Rides Weekender .: It was surprisingly good to get down to the RRW! However, not all was well in paradise. And if you're going to talk about that, you may as well mention fuel consumption. At 17MPG, it was one expensive trip down to Goodwood! Around £90 to be exact as a round trip from Warwick to Goodwood and back. Ouch! But, with the steering coupler finished that week, the car was as ready as it ever was going to be. I had ran out of time! But at least it looked great at the ferry eh? The car even found a few friends at the docks, now that it was going to struggle there! It was at this point the trip would begin!
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,191
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Jun 25, 2019 16:28:50 GMT
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So, the car made it down, and what a car! The changes I had made were apparent, including to my passengers! The Falken tyres were gripping well, the car cruised down effortlessly, and even my friends commented on how well the Merc lit the road up at night, thanks to the Cibies and the Osram Nightbreaker bulbs; surprising given I was doing 70-80mph all of the way in addition to them being used to HID equipped cars! The car didn't however just prove itself in being a worthy companion in being a mile destroying cruiser, it also proved itself at being incredibly thirsty! Going from Warwick to Ashford took £55. And that was before I even hit the docks! Clearly, that was going to be a theme on the trip! In light of that, I went to doing 70MPH on the autoroutes in France, seeing if that would make a difference. With the car enjoying a drink as much as we were enjoying our time in it, we stopped off at the first stop of many on the trip. Bethume, just outside of Arras. No, really, Arras is the name of a place! Don't snigger you childish lot! Sure, the car was looking a little dirty as I ran out of time, but it still had presence! For the Harry Metcalfe fans here, a Jaguar Project 8 made it over! It looked great! Sure, it's not everyone's cup of teat, but it's not a bad bit of engineering : It wasn't long before we saw some usual suspects out on the prowl: Seeing a Mk2 jag was interesting! They are probably the closest thing to my Merc, and I still like them! This one looked great with its hint towards its sportiness. Maybe one day I'll have one; well, I can hope to can't I? A lottery maybe Both of these cars represented a milestone in Jag's history, but for very different reasons. One for its innovation, the other for its styling Before we knew it, the time came for us to check into our hotel, and make our way down. I would eventually get down to Saint Quentin. This marked one difference to how I did things last year, where effectively it was a 'semi-package weekend trip'. The only thing I paid for separately last time was my fuel and food. This time I did it the way I used to do things ; separately. This would be a pain as -the organisers of the event, not Scenic Classic Car Tours (SCCT), are lacklustre in communicating at best! That includes calling France, emailing them, you name it! But, I did eventually get a confirmation thankfully -Places around Laon and Saint-Quentin sold out fast ; after all, SCCT buy all of the slots near neough! -The ferry crossing would come out of my own pocket in addition to balancing time and price, and I wouldn't get the free coffee and biscuits on the boat! So, I'd encountered more hassle doing it this way. But compared to last year, the savings were surprising and given the car's thirst, this wasn't a bad thing! It also proved to be the right way to do it, as I got a lovely appartment to stay in, far nicer than the hotels offered last year! If there was one thing missing, you were a little further away from the socialising; after all; with SCCT booking all of the slots, the pockets of where people are is concentrated! But that's hardly a dealbreaker. However, the fun would begin on the next day .
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,191
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Jul 11, 2019 21:42:20 GMT
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I've been a little busy. Apologies for the few of you that are reading this! But it's about time I carried on the tale! So, the day of the rally finally crept up like a warm kitten! What would I do? That's simple. Go up to the pack collection tend to get my rally pack, and carry on. This was no different to last year. I expected it to be more of a pain but surprisingly, it was a straightforward affair . There were also plenty of cars to see! One of the benefits of the Laon Historique is that you get to see all sorts of cars coming to and fro! And there are quite a few! Of course, we arrive to my W108, and doesn't it look right at home in this shot? Naturally, the tradionalist classic car owners were also present: For those thinking all of the cars are lovely, there were a number of rolling restorations present, which is always great to see. Take this Rover P5B. This owner was pretty much fixing it along the trip! Want more Mercs? We have a 220SE and a 200D Fintail! Naturally, some modern stuff had crept in. One of the more interesting moderns was an Alfa 4C. A car which has divisive opinions, but one where none can disagree on the looks : Which one sir? Left or right? And so eventually we had to stop surveying and get on with driving! Following the rally route was interesting! It was a joy to drive the Merc around, as it cruised effortlessly everywhere! Eventually we made it Soissons! Here's a strange one. The 914 an the MGF in my opinion have alot in common. Both were good sales success stories, and both after a while became a bit of a joke to own. Both however, helped stuggling companies get through some hard times. Obviously the 914 now has a strong following. Will the MGF follow suit? Who knows? See what I mean about unusual stuff? If you are thinking the classic car owners were brave in driving down, think again? Yup, this is a UK-Mercedes, and most likely a pre-war car : There were a few Simcas at this event, which is nice to see: 403 sir? Please do! It's interesting how its successors have followed: This car came along last year, and boy does it look great! The bodywork tells a story, and it carries its stories with such pride! It's a lovely thing: Eventually though, it was time to head back down the rally, back to Laon: Before we knew it, the day was over. What a day, and what cars and people!
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Looks like a great event.
One of the good things about shows reports from abroad is we get to see cars that you wouldn't find at a British show. That white Simca Coupe is just one.
(P.S. some of your photos aren't showing but that could be just my problem)
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ZXRob
Europe
Posts: 1,193
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This looks a great event and one I have never heard of! It looks a fantastic variety of cars.aybe one to consider next year. Although I only have an Escort!
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,191
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Jul 16, 2019 18:31:22 GMT
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To be fair, even with an Escort, you'll be fine. As you can see, there was a good variety of stuff about! If this show looks like an traditionalists convention, thing again! Sure, this NSX may not be appreciated at such an event to some onlookers but it was great to see it! I doubt we'll see cars like this again: However, it was then time to drive back through the reverse route of the rally, and weren't there some great views! No, not of my mate pretending to be a bellhop, but of the roads! Eventually, we made it back to Laon. It's a shame the weather was being sporadic but it didn't stop people talking and breaking bread over their classics, their stories and the good times. This is one for dollywobbler ; I never thought I'd see a Metro turn up! Whoever thought these would be called retro and people would look at one at a show? Not me! I guess that's rust and questionable build quality for you: This was all sorts of cool But the time would come for me to call it a day, have a few beers and chill out in the appartment, awaiting what the next day would have in store. At least this time the car really looked the part:
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,191
Club RR Member Number: 170
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This thread shall be updated soon, but this month (and the next) will be a couple of very busy weeks for me. So here is a crappy video that will hopefully not send all of you to sleep. Or maybe that's the idea :
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Colonelk
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,740
Club RR Member Number: 83
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Jul 23, 2019 15:45:23 GMT
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Missed this the first few times around, great thread chap!
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,191
Club RR Member Number: 170
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I wrote a massive story detailing this, but my PC decided it would die! Arrrrgh! So I'll try and create it again! Sundays at the LH are certainly more of a chilled vibe! After all, it's a parade around the town as the above video shows. However, that's not to say it's quiet prior to that. Oh no! If people are not sinking down a coffee, a beer or a spot of lunch, they'll be admiring the cars. After all, it's not like you are lacking variety at this venue! Here's a top tip! Want to please Remainers and Leavers? Easy, get some flags! Here I was the dictator of public relations Got to love a Renault: For those thinking it's concours only, think again! This Rover P5B wore its scars with pride, and I'm sure that car has some stories to tell: Where you love or hate the F-Type, this Quaker State Tribute was a nice nod to the past: Got to love a bit of Alpine! Haven't got enough Technoviolet in your life? Check this out! The bikes may have been annoying but they were certainly cool! What do you think to next year RetroWarwicK? Two sports cars, but which one would you take home? It's fair to say my mate loved it behind the wheel! Up in the town, things were looking great: That man Costello would end up making the MGB a bit of a gamechanger: And won't you know it, I've slipped into the final day with the last few shots! That can wait for later .
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,191
Club RR Member Number: 170
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May 18, 2020 21:23:15 GMT
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For some reason I forgot to update this! Times were busy when I told the story of this thread however! There wasn't even much to say! With the final day upon us, we drove on, enjoying the trip as the video shows! We have an enthuiastic Alfa Romeo driver, and some great scenery, both with the classics and also the countryside nature itself! As we went through the villages, the people loved seeing all of the cars going through. From a '40s Traction Avant to a 00s MX-5! There really is a mix. If you don't like the mix, there's some else you will love that you can see . Even thought I wasn't driving, I managed to get some great shots! OK, the colour balance of the shots could be better, but I am attempting to turn a corner there now . I kept thinking that I could have mopped that car better, with the techniques I know now, which seem to work very well. However, looking back at these shots, it did actually have a decent shine . The AMs despite being new always seem to please the crowds. But I guess that's the AM effect: We then made a well deserved interim spot near a river/canal. I cannot remember the museum we went to however! There was just so much to take it. Different owners, different cars, and even similar cars had different takes, all with one thing in mind ; enjoyment of actually driving the things. Isn't that what this scene is all about? We soon began to lose our minds with all of this stuff around us! I've never had a shot next to my own car. I do have a shot against my mate's DS! So it seemed fair that he stood next to mine this time! A bit of a missed opportunity in hindsight! Once this venue was done with, we went to our final destination, where prior to the ferry we went to one of the few eateries open, which was a kebab house of all things! Yes I know! I have however, to this day, never seen burgers that big! With the rather large meal finished and a food coma kicking in, we decided it would be best to see a few more cars around, before we finally left, with a good trip in mind! Originally, I planned to next month, and I was going to book places, until the Coronavirus outbreak put that to bed in early March. The car I would have taken would not have quite the charm of this one but still be very suitable for a number on things on that trip. I am of course talking about the M3, of which there is always one of them at the event. In the first year, I saw 2 and then 1 last year, which unlike the previous 2 in 2018, was modified similar to how I plan to do mine as a long term goal . Obviously I was planning on taking my Velosolex as well, assuming it would fit in the boot. But alas, it was not to be this year. Maybe it's madness, but I've decided to spend the cash I saved on my US trip being cancelled and the Laon Historique on the M3 instead. At least the local businesses will be thankful and the car will be smarter for it,and not one of the rustier cars there!
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