speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member
"Nice Cortina mate"
Posts: 2,277
Club RR Member Number: 118
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Sept 27, 2016 20:28:10 GMT
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Something like that. Back to selling my soul to the man. Are any of us really living if we're owned? So back in July, we were there - rolling over the start line at Goodwood. 300 cars simultaneously lapping the circuit, some driving backwards, some already losing control and spinning on the grass, cars overtaking motorbikes overtaking cars. Complete carnage, I'm amazed they're welcome back here year after year! We'd been up the previous night doing final tweeking and loading the car. We only did the finishing touches the day before and ended up missing the party. (At midnight we decided we probably weren't going to get drunk). So you can understand why when all this carnage and near-misses came hooning past us in the Singer (It's not a fast car) we just smiled in vague amusement. Then we were cast straight out the front gate. We were on the A27. Then the A259. Teams screaming past us, laughing, waving, taking pictures. And leaving us for dust. You remember that engine James built? It had less than 100 miles on it and we were restricted to 40mph, regardless of how dangerous an obstruction we were. This sort of thing actually proved not to be much of a problem until Croatia. But we'll get to that story in good time. Then, suddenly we were in the queue for the ferry. Well, I say suddenly. We'd stopped for 3 ice creams, fish n chips and 4 oil checks on the way. Beam benders? Pah! Then we were in France. The sun began to set on day one. We went... wait? A whole day already?! But we're barely into France, already behind schedule and we're completely knackered. Hmm. This sounds like a it's going to be a running theme...
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bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,885
Club RR Member Number: 71
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Sept 27, 2016 20:45:20 GMT
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Keep going - I didn't follow this on FB so looking forward to the post event backwards review
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speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member
"Nice Cortina mate"
Posts: 2,277
Club RR Member Number: 118
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Sept 27, 2016 20:58:30 GMT
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The nice thing about this for you is, I didn't have time to tell the story on the road. So most of this (other than the pictures) is new.
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bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,885
Club RR Member Number: 71
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Sept 27, 2016 21:11:33 GMT
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The nice thing about this for you is, I didn't have time to tell the story on the road. So most of this (other than the pictures) is new. Ahh even better and I'm sure I'll not be alone in wanting you to continue - so make with the story and pictures please
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Anglia68
Posted a lot
Powered By Boredom.
Posts: 2,049
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Sept 27, 2016 21:29:32 GMT
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I'm looking forward to you re-telling your adventures in Europe and beyond.
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Sept 29, 2016 0:42:18 GMT
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Also keen on hearing all about it.
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oukie
Part of things
Posts: 307
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Sept 29, 2016 16:16:17 GMT
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I followed you guys on bookface, but I'll read it all again here.
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Mr2 mk1 x4
Honda Accord 2.4 Executive (luxo barge)
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Sept 29, 2016 20:30:31 GMT
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I was working on islay the local barmaid was an aussie she had bought a yaris her dad and brother were coming to meet her then doing the rally always wonder how they did so good reading this here. Another bookmark from me !!
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speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member
"Nice Cortina mate"
Posts: 2,277
Club RR Member Number: 118
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Oct 10, 2016 21:26:28 GMT
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We awoke mildly rested having been introduced the previous night to the epicly cheap Formula 1 chain of motels. Seriously: 20 Euros a night. How are they making money?! At this point, other teams had the advantage over us by a long shot. Not only could they surpass our top speed of 55mph, we were actually limited to... err, 40mph. Remember that new engine? Technically we were still running it in at this point. We opted for the "A and B" roads of France, a half decent alternative to the motorways in comparison to the UK. But still with the problems of stopping in virtually every town and village. Not great, we were hoping to make good progress in Europe and it was already day 2. Pressing on, we stopped for a croissant, coffee and changed the running-in oil in Lille. And, happily, we found some 20w50. Something which ended up being a bit of a struggle on the entire trip. Turns out, nobody sells it. Progress. We entered the motorway and shot across the rest of France, Luxembourg and into Germany. A few stops along the way for fuel and food, each time doing the mandatory checks for oil, wheel nuts (because of the incident a few days before), tyre pressures etc. Normal old car stuff. Things were going great. Then suddenly, they weren't. Prior to the trip, during the manic and exhausting engine swap, mostly done on evenings before the sun set, we installed an alternator. Just using what we had lying around, I stole an alternator off my Bedford CF. It seemed to fit with a little bracket modification. And the Bedford was broken so it wasn't going to be missed. I should have known better. I bought that truck off some pikies. Back in Germany, we'd started to relax a little and turned some music on. Semi-confident that we needn't listen out for every little noise quite as intensely as we had before. (Lack of sleep makes you super anxious). The music can't have been on for more than 5 minutes when this screaming noise started up from the engine. The alternator belt was slipping. It had been slipping earlier in the trip but it was simply a case of jiggling our not-so-good bodge of an alternator bracket. What can I say, we were KNACKERED when we made that. Some mumblings of "it'll be fine" on our way to bed and it was ignored. We stopped in an autobahn services and checked the belt again. The alternator was actually *jamming* every couple of revolutions. Urgh, not good. Not good. Took the alternator out and the housing was loose. The everything was loose. 2 of the housing bolts were completely out and the 3rd was missing. Damn and blast. (Expletives may have been toned down for the younger audience). Ok, we can deal with this. Just do the two bolts up and we'll bodge the 3rd until we can get some parts. Put it all back together. And it's not charging. It is, as the Germans would say, Kaput. Scheisse. Keeping our cool and with the sun setting, we headed to a nearby campsite with plans to visit a motorfactors in the morning. Hopefully they'd have the parts we needed. Not the worst part of the world to break down in... The morning brought good and bad news. The motorfactors could get a replacement for the alternator. But it would be 24 hours. And 200 Euros. Ouch. We had a plan though. There were some really pressing jobs that we simply hadn't had time to do. We couldn't go anywhere so why not now? We adopted a really nice quiet neighbourhood and royally brought the whole place down by taking the whole car apart, replacing fluids, header tank, removing heater box, relocating batteries, installing oil cooler and other messy jobs. Back to the campsite for bier and schnitzel. Tomorrow is another day.
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speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member
"Nice Cortina mate"
Posts: 2,277
Club RR Member Number: 118
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Oct 10, 2016 21:36:06 GMT
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Alternator picked up, we found another lovely neighbourhood to ruin and set about modifying our new alternator to fit the weird bracketry we had going on. I should mention that we have NO pictures of the classic car garage opposite. They had everything, even old J tin. And pics Colonelk ? A few hours of p!ssing around later... Yeah son! Sprits picked up, we pack up and leave. A Micra's a Micra, but a mystery box could be anything. It could even be a Micra! Something something on the road again... Back to entertaining the locals And one bonnet down shot, somewhere in Austria...
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Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,875
Club RR Member Number: 15
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Oct 12, 2016 16:23:52 GMT
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Please sir, may we have some more?
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here
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speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member
"Nice Cortina mate"
Posts: 2,277
Club RR Member Number: 118
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All in good time Haven't even got to the good bit yet.
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Colonelk
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,740
Club RR Member Number: 83
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Oct 13, 2016 11:15:33 GMT
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I'm going to dig through my photos ASAP
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Oct 15, 2016 22:38:28 GMT
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Bookmarked This looked great when I saw it parked up a couple of months ago, now looking forward to hearing the background behind it
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Colonelk
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,740
Club RR Member Number: 83
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tdk
Part of things
Posts: 958
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Bravo, gentlemen, BRAVO!
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RA40tony
Europe
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Posts: 768
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Saw a Mongol Rally micra parked in Athens on Tuesday
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1979 Toyota Celica GT. Currently Gone.
1975 Toyota Celica ST. 13x7 Allycats, "the stick" applied. 100kW 4AGE... Sold
1963 Karmann Ghia - Lo & Slo, Sold.
1965 VW Fastback - cruising
1953 Oval Ragtop, work in progress...
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eternaloptimist
Posted a lot
Too many projects, not enough time or space...
Posts: 2,578
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Bravo, gentlemen, BRAVO! What he said!
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XC70, VW split screen crew cab, Standard Ten
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speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member
"Nice Cortina mate"
Posts: 2,277
Club RR Member Number: 118
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Oct 31, 2018 21:40:57 GMT
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Hello! I've done a bit of a rubbish job updating this thread, haven't I?
Well. The story is now available in a slightly more easily digestible format:
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