Monday 16 February 2009
Friday 13 February 2009
Thursday 12 February 2009
Thanks to you all....
Thanks to all of you that followed our adventure both here on the blog-site and within your owners club forums.
The car is on the water back from Egypt and will be with me in around 4 weeks. Once back the engine will be removed and we'll get a clearer idea from the builder (Vulcan Engineering) what went wrong and the way forward etc.
Your support was much appreciated.... watch this space though because we're competing in a two-day event at Chatsworth House in June and then a 7 day event from the Brooklands circuit to Casablanca in November.... You'll see an LC win in 2009!
See you all.
Regards
CD
The car is on the water back from Egypt and will be with me in around 4 weeks. Once back the engine will be removed and we'll get a clearer idea from the builder (Vulcan Engineering) what went wrong and the way forward etc.
Your support was much appreciated.... watch this space though because we're competing in a two-day event at Chatsworth House in June and then a 7 day event from the Brooklands circuit to Casablanca in November.... You'll see an LC win in 2009!
See you all.
Regards
CD
Sunday 8 February 2009
Here's the score...
We checked into our hotel and awaited the arrival of the spares from the UK. They arrived late last night and we hoped we could breath life back into Colin.
I spent 4 hours today working with the mechanics trying to get the engine back to life.
The initial checks revealed that all the cylinders were holding pressure and remarkably none of the valves were smashed. We re-assembled the top-end using the new cams and buckets and checked for clearance.... We were having to use the original shims and these needed cutting back. This was done using a rotary drill and a cutting disk.... Welcome to Egypt!
Having reduced the thickness by 40 thou, we tried again; still no clearance....
We removed the shims..... no clearance! A closer examination revealed that the head had been modded (which we knew) but the standard cam we'd brought from the UK head the valves open.... In short, we were finished! As mentioned on the following forums, The Fat Lady had just sung!
We've now arranged recovery from Luxor to the exit port at Hurghada, so we'll be travelling with Colin, but he'll be on a flat bed.
I honestly believe that we were in a strong postion to finish 2nd but possibly 1st. The engine failing cost us the rally and I am hoping that Vulcan Engineering will be as disappointed with their engines performance as me..... especially with the spend involved... I'll keep you all updated and let you know what happentced to the engine etc...
Once again Ces and I would like to thank you all for your support.
I spent 4 hours today working with the mechanics trying to get the engine back to life.
The initial checks revealed that all the cylinders were holding pressure and remarkably none of the valves were smashed. We re-assembled the top-end using the new cams and buckets and checked for clearance.... We were having to use the original shims and these needed cutting back. This was done using a rotary drill and a cutting disk.... Welcome to Egypt!
Having reduced the thickness by 40 thou, we tried again; still no clearance....
We removed the shims..... no clearance! A closer examination revealed that the head had been modded (which we knew) but the standard cam we'd brought from the UK head the valves open.... In short, we were finished! As mentioned on the following forums, The Fat Lady had just sung!
We've now arranged recovery from Luxor to the exit port at Hurghada, so we'll be travelling with Colin, but he'll be on a flat bed.
I honestly believe that we were in a strong postion to finish 2nd but possibly 1st. The engine failing cost us the rally and I am hoping that Vulcan Engineering will be as disappointed with their engines performance as me..... especially with the spend involved... I'll keep you all updated and let you know what happentced to the engine etc...
Once again Ces and I would like to thank you all for your support.
Saturday 7 February 2009
For you ze war is over!
Saturday 7th February 2009
Time: 09:30 - 10:00
Distance: 20 miles
Rally Position: Failed to finish.
Soma Bay, Egypt - Desert road……
For you ze war is over!
After a very bad nights sleep worrying about what today would bring the alarm finally confirmed it was time to attempt the drive from Soma Bay to Luxor via a huge timed stage.
The car started and sounded so noisy that the man at filling station asked if I wanted diesel and he was serious! We filled up and tried to make the run to make our time windows and attempt to hold our position. Within 20 miles the engine dropped back to two cylinders and this was immediately followed by a very loud metallic sound and then silence……… I thought for you ze war is over and we coasted to a halt in the middle of some very high mountains.
Within 30 minutes a recovery truck was with us and I asked for recovery to Luxor, around 180 miles away. My hope was that the spares arriving from the UK would get me mobile again…..
Safely delivered to our hotel I lifted the rocker cover…. pics to follow but imagine a cam-shaft in three pieces and you get the idea….
Simon and Andy (RPS) are yet to see the damage, but I think it is terminal…….
The blog will continue to give updates over the next few weeks and also be able to upload some bigger in action rally shots, but for the time being thanks to all our supporters!
We’ll be back!
June 2009 - Lotus Cortina The Rally Show, Chatsworth House www.therallyshow.org
September 2009 - Lotus Elise sports car challenge www.guildofmotorendurance.com
November 2009 - Lotus Cortina - London to Casablanca www.endurorally.com
September 2010 - Lotus Cortina - Peking to Paris www.endurorally.com
Shit happens, but here’s a view of the Nile from my hotel window! Later people…..
Today’s car summary:
Faults: Rev counter & speedo, oh and the camshaft is broken into 3 pieces!
Issues: Minibar is empty.
Colin score 1/10
Time: 09:30 - 10:00
Distance: 20 miles
Rally Position: Failed to finish.
Soma Bay, Egypt - Desert road……
For you ze war is over!
After a very bad nights sleep worrying about what today would bring the alarm finally confirmed it was time to attempt the drive from Soma Bay to Luxor via a huge timed stage.
The car started and sounded so noisy that the man at filling station asked if I wanted diesel and he was serious! We filled up and tried to make the run to make our time windows and attempt to hold our position. Within 20 miles the engine dropped back to two cylinders and this was immediately followed by a very loud metallic sound and then silence……… I thought for you ze war is over and we coasted to a halt in the middle of some very high mountains.
Within 30 minutes a recovery truck was with us and I asked for recovery to Luxor, around 180 miles away. My hope was that the spares arriving from the UK would get me mobile again…..
Safely delivered to our hotel I lifted the rocker cover…. pics to follow but imagine a cam-shaft in three pieces and you get the idea….
Simon and Andy (RPS) are yet to see the damage, but I think it is terminal…….
The blog will continue to give updates over the next few weeks and also be able to upload some bigger in action rally shots, but for the time being thanks to all our supporters!
We’ll be back!
June 2009 - Lotus Cortina The Rally Show, Chatsworth House www.therallyshow.org
September 2009 - Lotus Elise sports car challenge www.guildofmotorendurance.com
November 2009 - Lotus Cortina - London to Casablanca www.endurorally.com
September 2010 - Lotus Cortina - Peking to Paris www.endurorally.com
Shit happens, but here’s a view of the Nile from my hotel window! Later people…..
Today’s car summary:
Faults: Rev counter & speedo, oh and the camshaft is broken into 3 pieces!
Issues: Minibar is empty.
Colin score 1/10
What a disaster?
Friday 6th February 2009
Time: 07:00 - 17:26
Distance: 190 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Cairo, Egypt - Soma Bay, Egypt
What a disaster?
A very early start was arranged so that all the cars could be taken to the foot of the pyramids before the gates were opened to the public.
The views were fantastic and without the crowds of touts and beggars the whole experience was a great deal more pleasurable than the day before on foot.
At the drivers briefing an extra two timed stages were listed for the day.
Stage 1 - 4 kms hard sand with later rock-bed.
Stage 2 - 4 kms rock-bed turning to hard sand or in other words stage 1 backwards!
This was going to be interesting because for once on the return journey we could fully open the taps knowing that we weren’t about to drive into a huge ditch.
The run in was in open desert and very uneventful.
Before the stage we gave Colin the once over and apart from the ever present rattling, all was good.
Once on the stage I was determined to make-up for the balls-up on Wednesday, so pushed hard. In summary I am pleased to report that we set the fastest time for stage 1.…
The return was about pushing harder but not too hard to spin etc. So away we went… I am again pleased to report that as we finished stage 2, again we’d set the fastest time! I felt Wednesday was recovered!?!
We turned away from the stages and onto the main road to our hotel. We cruised along at 110kph and all was well with the world. Very quickly we were nearly an hour up on our expected time of arrival window and there would be no penalties for an early arrival, so time for the pool etc…. ( I know it’s snowing in the UK)
Then all went wrong….. Colin nose dived as the power simply fell away…. Huge amounts of back-firing started and thoughts turned to faulty points, spark-plugs etc.
After 10 minutes tinkering by the roadside, Peter and Betty Banham arrived in one of the sweep mechanic vehicles. Peter re-checked the plugs etc, as I had done and then went on to check the cylinder compression levels. He suspected that we’d dropped a valve and that for us the war would be over…..
Once he removed the rocker cover, all became apparent…..
The cam shaft had punched a hole through one of the bucket tops that open and close the valves and was busy working it’s way through the others….. Yum, Yum… This explained the rattling we’d been suffering since leaving the UK, but all advisers had been saying “They all do that”……
The top-end was re-assembled and we pushed on for the hotel on 3 cylinders…. Our penalty free window was now going to be tight…. We in fact made the window with 2 minutes to spare, but now the really hard work began.
Friday in the Middle East and Arabic countries is like Sunday at home, everything is shut!
Here were the options…….
I either pulled out and called it a day?
Got some spares flown out?
Bodged a repair?
Anybody who is following this blog and knows me, will know that pulling-out was not really an option.
We spoke to Steve at Vulcan Engineering (who built the engine) and he was as devastated as us with what had happened. It seems as though the wear is either down to a faulty cam or buckets, but I am sure we’ll have a more detailed report for you once Steve has had the engine back next month. He did not have parts on the shelf to assist.
Andy from RPS the car builders phoned a friend in the UK and as we speak he and his wife are about to have a lovely weekend in Luxor courtesy of Clive and Ces and perhaps Steve (Vulcan) if you’re reading this a contribution from you guys? The friend is bringing some replacement buckets and cam-shafts, so the boys here will repair and allow us to continue… Here’s the tricky bit though….
If we don’t start today at the designated time and compete in an 80kms off-road stage, we’re out…
So the RPS mechanics (Andy and Simon) have bodged the “hole in my bucket” using washers! I’ve test driven the car and it’s about 70% power… If it can hold for the day and stage, the replacement parts will be here tonight at 8pm.. Tomorrow (Sunday) is a rest day, so the RPS boys will have all day to re-build the top-end of the engine……
SO…… What a disaster? Today will tell….. If the blog is not published later today, it’ll be because I am either still stuck in the desert or pissed in the bar!
Today’s car summary:
Faults: Rev counter & speedo, oh and the engine is running on 3 cylinders!
Issues: Will a washer last 247 miles today?
Colin score 2/10
Time: 07:00 - 17:26
Distance: 190 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Cairo, Egypt - Soma Bay, Egypt
What a disaster?
A very early start was arranged so that all the cars could be taken to the foot of the pyramids before the gates were opened to the public.
The views were fantastic and without the crowds of touts and beggars the whole experience was a great deal more pleasurable than the day before on foot.
At the drivers briefing an extra two timed stages were listed for the day.
Stage 1 - 4 kms hard sand with later rock-bed.
Stage 2 - 4 kms rock-bed turning to hard sand or in other words stage 1 backwards!
This was going to be interesting because for once on the return journey we could fully open the taps knowing that we weren’t about to drive into a huge ditch.
The run in was in open desert and very uneventful.
Before the stage we gave Colin the once over and apart from the ever present rattling, all was good.
Once on the stage I was determined to make-up for the balls-up on Wednesday, so pushed hard. In summary I am pleased to report that we set the fastest time for stage 1.…
The return was about pushing harder but not too hard to spin etc. So away we went… I am again pleased to report that as we finished stage 2, again we’d set the fastest time! I felt Wednesday was recovered!?!
We turned away from the stages and onto the main road to our hotel. We cruised along at 110kph and all was well with the world. Very quickly we were nearly an hour up on our expected time of arrival window and there would be no penalties for an early arrival, so time for the pool etc…. ( I know it’s snowing in the UK)
Then all went wrong….. Colin nose dived as the power simply fell away…. Huge amounts of back-firing started and thoughts turned to faulty points, spark-plugs etc.
After 10 minutes tinkering by the roadside, Peter and Betty Banham arrived in one of the sweep mechanic vehicles. Peter re-checked the plugs etc, as I had done and then went on to check the cylinder compression levels. He suspected that we’d dropped a valve and that for us the war would be over…..
Once he removed the rocker cover, all became apparent…..
The cam shaft had punched a hole through one of the bucket tops that open and close the valves and was busy working it’s way through the others….. Yum, Yum… This explained the rattling we’d been suffering since leaving the UK, but all advisers had been saying “They all do that”……
The top-end was re-assembled and we pushed on for the hotel on 3 cylinders…. Our penalty free window was now going to be tight…. We in fact made the window with 2 minutes to spare, but now the really hard work began.
Friday in the Middle East and Arabic countries is like Sunday at home, everything is shut!
Here were the options…….
I either pulled out and called it a day?
Got some spares flown out?
Bodged a repair?
Anybody who is following this blog and knows me, will know that pulling-out was not really an option.
We spoke to Steve at Vulcan Engineering (who built the engine) and he was as devastated as us with what had happened. It seems as though the wear is either down to a faulty cam or buckets, but I am sure we’ll have a more detailed report for you once Steve has had the engine back next month. He did not have parts on the shelf to assist.
Andy from RPS the car builders phoned a friend in the UK and as we speak he and his wife are about to have a lovely weekend in Luxor courtesy of Clive and Ces and perhaps Steve (Vulcan) if you’re reading this a contribution from you guys? The friend is bringing some replacement buckets and cam-shafts, so the boys here will repair and allow us to continue… Here’s the tricky bit though….
If we don’t start today at the designated time and compete in an 80kms off-road stage, we’re out…
So the RPS mechanics (Andy and Simon) have bodged the “hole in my bucket” using washers! I’ve test driven the car and it’s about 70% power… If it can hold for the day and stage, the replacement parts will be here tonight at 8pm.. Tomorrow (Sunday) is a rest day, so the RPS boys will have all day to re-build the top-end of the engine……
SO…… What a disaster? Today will tell….. If the blog is not published later today, it’ll be because I am either still stuck in the desert or pissed in the bar!
Today’s car summary:
Faults: Rev counter & speedo, oh and the engine is running on 3 cylinders!
Issues: Will a washer last 247 miles today?
Colin score 2/10
Thursday 5 February 2009
What a result!
Thursday 5th February 2009
Time: Rest Day
Distance: 0 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Cairo, Egypt
What a result.
Sure enough our cock-up on the first stage yesterday had cost us dear dropping into 5th place on the stage. However on the second stage we’d recovered the situation by winning the stage…. At close of play we’re still second in class and second overall but now we’ve closed the gap on the rally leader from 11 minutes to 5 minutes. There are some huge stages to come later this week (80kms) so it’s still all to play for. The downside is that the Morris 1800 and the Holden are less than a minute behind us.
The broken engine mounting:
As you can see the rubber block that is sandwiched between two sheets of metal to give some flexibility had completely split. Thanks again to Simon from Rally Preparation Service, a fix was found….
The block has been drilled and bolted and secured with some chain. Not fancy but keeps us in the race
Oh and yes, here’s some pyramids etc…
Todays car summary:
Faults: Rev counter & speedo
Issues: None
Colin score 9/10
Time: Rest Day
Distance: 0 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Cairo, Egypt
What a result.
Sure enough our cock-up on the first stage yesterday had cost us dear dropping into 5th place on the stage. However on the second stage we’d recovered the situation by winning the stage…. At close of play we’re still second in class and second overall but now we’ve closed the gap on the rally leader from 11 minutes to 5 minutes. There are some huge stages to come later this week (80kms) so it’s still all to play for. The downside is that the Morris 1800 and the Holden are less than a minute behind us.
The broken engine mounting:
As you can see the rubber block that is sandwiched between two sheets of metal to give some flexibility had completely split. Thanks again to Simon from Rally Preparation Service, a fix was found….
The block has been drilled and bolted and secured with some chain. Not fancy but keeps us in the race
Oh and yes, here’s some pyramids etc…
Todays car summary:
Faults: Rev counter & speedo
Issues: None
Colin score 9/10
Wednesday 4 February 2009
What's that knocking noise?
Wednesday 4th February 2009
Time: 08:00 - 17:00
Distance: 286 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Matrouth, Egypt - Cairo, Egypt
What’s that knocking noise?
We left our hotel at 08:09am and headed some 100kms to the start of the first timed stage. The stage was 14kms long and was a mix of very hard rutted baked mud and sharp loose gravel.
Our arrival timings put the Datsun 240Z at the front and this was followed by the Holden. Immediately behind us was the Morris 1800 Land Crab, so it was a real re-run of the 1968 London to Sydney marathon with all three cars being of the era.
The stage ran alongside a railway line and then dived off into open countryside. For this stage we were told the rely on the GPS rather than the route notes (tulip notes). Unfortunately Ces was a bit flustered as we approached the start due to a last minute route change and we took off from the line using the wrong notes. Needless to say the navigation soon became a nightmare and we went way off route, nearly getting ourselves stuck in some very soft sand. It was at this point that we were overtaken by the Morris 1800 and we knew all was not looking good for our overall or class position.
The upside of being overtaken was that we could follow the Morris in and record a time one minute slower than them.
As you can see with this pic, once you go off route, things all look very much the same.
After the stage there were some fairly strong exchanges of views within the car, but it was agreed the tulip notes were wrong. That was of course why we’d been told to use the GPS!
From the stage we made our way in silence to the museum at El Alamein and took time to let the car and occupants cool down….
After lunch we had another extended drive to the second stage of the day. This was a 4km blast in soft sand totally based on the tulip notes.. On route to the stage I heard some serious knocking from within the gearbox tunnel and Ces said “what’s that knocking noise?”…. It was too late to check and so we entered the stage. To say we were keen to push this and recover our dreadful morning session was an understatement.
The stage was short with numerous twists and included a full-blown, jump over hill-crest….. We flew the course and ripped through the sand. All the time the knocking got louder, so I drove faster the mask it.
After the stage I checked underneath the car and all looked good. It was only once I opened the bonnet and looked in more detail I found the cause…. We’d broken and engine mounting and drove the second stage like it! For those not mechanically minded, it holds the engine in the car!?!?! We nursed the car the remaining 100kms or so and into Cairo. Luckily Thursday was a rest day, so we had sometime to effect and repair or bodge!
The driving in Egypt is generally bad, i.e. driving the wrong way down a dual-carriageway is acceptable. But in Cairo it is taken to a new level…. So after a sweaty and stress filled journey, we arrived at our hotel right by the pyramids. This is the view from our balcony!
Colin was abandoned in the car park for the night and we experienced a real 5 star hotel…
Howard (you work with Ces) this pic is for you!
Tomorrow we’ll fix the car….
Todays car summary:
Faults: Rev counter & speedo
Issues: Broken engine mounting.
Engine rattling like hell, we need to wear ear-plugs!
Colin score 7/10
Tuesday 3rd February 2009
Time: 08:00 - 17:00
Distance: 247 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Tobruk, Libya - Matrouth, Egypt
It’s very nice, the people are very nice and I like it…..
We had our final night’s dinner in Libya and whilst the restaurant was clean and tidy,
The hotel was something else….. It was brand new, but was in fact apartments presented as hotel accommodation. Each apartment had three bedrooms and two toilets, plus a kitchen and sitting room area. What it did not have was curtains or any hot water! The beds were comfy but the packs of wild dogs that roamed the streets outside and fought for territory all night were not….. Oh for the use of a gun!
We woke-up bright and early and had breakfast and then headed for Egypt……
We arrived at the border at around 10:00am and expected a long wait, instead the Libyans couldn’t wait to get rid of us and it was with a sad farewell that we waived goodbye to the secret policeman and the unbelievable amounts of rubbish that is to be found in Libya…..
We drove 100 yards and were met with “Welcome to Egypt” from the customs officer, which is an improvement from UK customs…. However thereafter, we waited….
And waited (I’ve got man boobs?)
And then Colin swapped his Libyan plates for Egyptian….
After 4 hours, we were able to leave and we followed Nigel and Paula in the apparently unstoppable Datsun 240Z
The driving in Libya had been bad, but in Egypt it appeared that stacking was the problem…
Once in Egypt proper, we met with the local car club and had a welcome beer on the beach….. think about a film called “Ice Cold in Alex” it was the best beer I’ve ever had.
Tonight, we’ve given Colin the once over and courtesy of FEDEX the replacement temperature sensor has arrived and been fitted, plus we also have some extra spares (just in case). Tomorrow tests begin, i.e.
Stage 1 is 14kms (rough gravel)
Stage 2 is 4kms (soft sand)
These stages are building to some later in the week that are 70 and 84, so fingers crossed….
We’re 11 minutes behind the leader, but a lot can still change….
Todays car summary:
Faults: Rev counter & speedo
Issues: Knocking from rear damper on nearside (spanner fix).
Engine rattling like hell, we need to wear ear-plugs!
Colin score 9/10
Monday 2nd February 2009
Time: 10:00 - 15:30
Distance: 187 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Apolonia, Libya - Tobruk, Libya
Some corner of a foreign field…
Today we were able to visit another historic monument even before we’d started the car. The ruins of an ancient Greek and then Roman port were located literally on the doorstep of the hotel.
And on this occasion it all looked original without any evidence of re-pointing in sight!
Once in the car and whilst waiting for my route and time card for the day, I looked back through the earlier photo’s of Colin and noticed how the interior had changed….
It looks as though we’ll be bringing some of the desert home with us!
The run today took us along the coast road and into the town of Tobruk. My great uncle had served with the 8th Army during the second world war and spent some time in Tobruk, so I was keen to follow in family footsteps. The first port of call was the Knightsbridge Cemetery, which was a fairly miserable experience but at least for one day the men who were laid to rest there had some visitors from home, although the huge amount of Kiwi’s, Oz and SA’s are not so lucky, but to them we also pay our respects.
After the cemetery visit we continued into Tobruk town centre and made our way to the hotel. It was only when we tried to check in that we were told that we’d been moved to a sister hotel. Now being in a strange town, with no mobile phone, no understanding of Arabic seemed a pretty unsuitable way of starting a trek alone to the next venue. The answer? The local police said they would escort me… fair enough, except he meant escort as in police escort, with blue lights and siren…!
The hotel, was in fact some apartments that were half finished. This meant that we had no curtains and more importantly heating. Not a problem during the day when it was 25 but at night… wow!
Tomorrow we have an early start and head for Egypt….. Hooray!
Todays car summary:
Faults: Rev counter, speedo, temp sensor.
Issues: The handbrake has failed, we need to inspect rear shoes.
Engine rattling like hell, we need to wear ear-plugs!
Colin score 9/10
Sunday 1st February 2009
Time: 10:00 - 15:30
Distance: 182 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Benghazi, Libya - Apolonia, Libya
Some Roman ruins.
Today was yet another transit day and the organisers had scheduled in some stops to break-up the route.
The roads out of Benghazi were a lot quieter than we’d been used to and the views a lot more spectacular.
We passed a number of caves where apparently the ‘freedom fighters’ had lived during the fight for independence from Italy.
We also visited some Roman ruins that turned out to be a World Heritage site! I am not known for my love of culture, so the visit here lasted around 30 mins, but for those of you who do, here’s some pics….
Tomorrow we head for Tobruk and we intend to visit some of the Commonwealth War Graves whilst in the area. I am fairly confident that the boys who fell there don’t get many visitors, so we’ll be dropping in on them.
The general mood on the rally is that we could have pushed on yesterday and been in Tobruk today and Egypt tomorrow, but we suspect there were terms and conditions with our visas to pass through Libya, so at the moment it feels like were dragging our heels a little.
The car performed well today but is suffering from the poor fuel quality and pinking merrily away on all the hill sections and under hard acceleration. For once I can see the benefit of 99 Octane and Shell Optimax!
Todays car summary:
Faults: Rev counter, speedo, temp sensor.
Issues: Horn & lights fixed (fuse).
The handbrake has failed, we need to inspect rear shoes.
Engine rattling like hell, we need to wear ear-plugs!
Colin score 9/10
Time: 08:00 - 17:00
Distance: 286 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Matrouth, Egypt - Cairo, Egypt
What’s that knocking noise?
We left our hotel at 08:09am and headed some 100kms to the start of the first timed stage. The stage was 14kms long and was a mix of very hard rutted baked mud and sharp loose gravel.
Our arrival timings put the Datsun 240Z at the front and this was followed by the Holden. Immediately behind us was the Morris 1800 Land Crab, so it was a real re-run of the 1968 London to Sydney marathon with all three cars being of the era.
The stage ran alongside a railway line and then dived off into open countryside. For this stage we were told the rely on the GPS rather than the route notes (tulip notes). Unfortunately Ces was a bit flustered as we approached the start due to a last minute route change and we took off from the line using the wrong notes. Needless to say the navigation soon became a nightmare and we went way off route, nearly getting ourselves stuck in some very soft sand. It was at this point that we were overtaken by the Morris 1800 and we knew all was not looking good for our overall or class position.
The upside of being overtaken was that we could follow the Morris in and record a time one minute slower than them.
As you can see with this pic, once you go off route, things all look very much the same.
After the stage there were some fairly strong exchanges of views within the car, but it was agreed the tulip notes were wrong. That was of course why we’d been told to use the GPS!
From the stage we made our way in silence to the museum at El Alamein and took time to let the car and occupants cool down….
After lunch we had another extended drive to the second stage of the day. This was a 4km blast in soft sand totally based on the tulip notes.. On route to the stage I heard some serious knocking from within the gearbox tunnel and Ces said “what’s that knocking noise?”…. It was too late to check and so we entered the stage. To say we were keen to push this and recover our dreadful morning session was an understatement.
The stage was short with numerous twists and included a full-blown, jump over hill-crest….. We flew the course and ripped through the sand. All the time the knocking got louder, so I drove faster the mask it.
After the stage I checked underneath the car and all looked good. It was only once I opened the bonnet and looked in more detail I found the cause…. We’d broken and engine mounting and drove the second stage like it! For those not mechanically minded, it holds the engine in the car!?!?! We nursed the car the remaining 100kms or so and into Cairo. Luckily Thursday was a rest day, so we had sometime to effect and repair or bodge!
The driving in Egypt is generally bad, i.e. driving the wrong way down a dual-carriageway is acceptable. But in Cairo it is taken to a new level…. So after a sweaty and stress filled journey, we arrived at our hotel right by the pyramids. This is the view from our balcony!
Colin was abandoned in the car park for the night and we experienced a real 5 star hotel…
Howard (you work with Ces) this pic is for you!
Tomorrow we’ll fix the car….
Todays car summary:
Faults: Rev counter & speedo
Issues: Broken engine mounting.
Engine rattling like hell, we need to wear ear-plugs!
Colin score 7/10
Tuesday 3rd February 2009
Time: 08:00 - 17:00
Distance: 247 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Tobruk, Libya - Matrouth, Egypt
It’s very nice, the people are very nice and I like it…..
We had our final night’s dinner in Libya and whilst the restaurant was clean and tidy,
The hotel was something else….. It was brand new, but was in fact apartments presented as hotel accommodation. Each apartment had three bedrooms and two toilets, plus a kitchen and sitting room area. What it did not have was curtains or any hot water! The beds were comfy but the packs of wild dogs that roamed the streets outside and fought for territory all night were not….. Oh for the use of a gun!
We woke-up bright and early and had breakfast and then headed for Egypt……
We arrived at the border at around 10:00am and expected a long wait, instead the Libyans couldn’t wait to get rid of us and it was with a sad farewell that we waived goodbye to the secret policeman and the unbelievable amounts of rubbish that is to be found in Libya…..
We drove 100 yards and were met with “Welcome to Egypt” from the customs officer, which is an improvement from UK customs…. However thereafter, we waited….
And waited (I’ve got man boobs?)
And then Colin swapped his Libyan plates for Egyptian….
After 4 hours, we were able to leave and we followed Nigel and Paula in the apparently unstoppable Datsun 240Z
The driving in Libya had been bad, but in Egypt it appeared that stacking was the problem…
Once in Egypt proper, we met with the local car club and had a welcome beer on the beach….. think about a film called “Ice Cold in Alex” it was the best beer I’ve ever had.
Tonight, we’ve given Colin the once over and courtesy of FEDEX the replacement temperature sensor has arrived and been fitted, plus we also have some extra spares (just in case). Tomorrow tests begin, i.e.
Stage 1 is 14kms (rough gravel)
Stage 2 is 4kms (soft sand)
These stages are building to some later in the week that are 70 and 84, so fingers crossed….
We’re 11 minutes behind the leader, but a lot can still change….
Todays car summary:
Faults: Rev counter & speedo
Issues: Knocking from rear damper on nearside (spanner fix).
Engine rattling like hell, we need to wear ear-plugs!
Colin score 9/10
Monday 2nd February 2009
Time: 10:00 - 15:30
Distance: 187 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Apolonia, Libya - Tobruk, Libya
Some corner of a foreign field…
Today we were able to visit another historic monument even before we’d started the car. The ruins of an ancient Greek and then Roman port were located literally on the doorstep of the hotel.
And on this occasion it all looked original without any evidence of re-pointing in sight!
Once in the car and whilst waiting for my route and time card for the day, I looked back through the earlier photo’s of Colin and noticed how the interior had changed….
It looks as though we’ll be bringing some of the desert home with us!
The run today took us along the coast road and into the town of Tobruk. My great uncle had served with the 8th Army during the second world war and spent some time in Tobruk, so I was keen to follow in family footsteps. The first port of call was the Knightsbridge Cemetery, which was a fairly miserable experience but at least for one day the men who were laid to rest there had some visitors from home, although the huge amount of Kiwi’s, Oz and SA’s are not so lucky, but to them we also pay our respects.
After the cemetery visit we continued into Tobruk town centre and made our way to the hotel. It was only when we tried to check in that we were told that we’d been moved to a sister hotel. Now being in a strange town, with no mobile phone, no understanding of Arabic seemed a pretty unsuitable way of starting a trek alone to the next venue. The answer? The local police said they would escort me… fair enough, except he meant escort as in police escort, with blue lights and siren…!
The hotel, was in fact some apartments that were half finished. This meant that we had no curtains and more importantly heating. Not a problem during the day when it was 25 but at night… wow!
Tomorrow we have an early start and head for Egypt….. Hooray!
Todays car summary:
Faults: Rev counter, speedo, temp sensor.
Issues: The handbrake has failed, we need to inspect rear shoes.
Engine rattling like hell, we need to wear ear-plugs!
Colin score 9/10
Sunday 1st February 2009
Time: 10:00 - 15:30
Distance: 182 miles
Rally Position: 2nd from 41 (2nd in class)
Benghazi, Libya - Apolonia, Libya
Some Roman ruins.
Today was yet another transit day and the organisers had scheduled in some stops to break-up the route.
The roads out of Benghazi were a lot quieter than we’d been used to and the views a lot more spectacular.
We passed a number of caves where apparently the ‘freedom fighters’ had lived during the fight for independence from Italy.
We also visited some Roman ruins that turned out to be a World Heritage site! I am not known for my love of culture, so the visit here lasted around 30 mins, but for those of you who do, here’s some pics….
Tomorrow we head for Tobruk and we intend to visit some of the Commonwealth War Graves whilst in the area. I am fairly confident that the boys who fell there don’t get many visitors, so we’ll be dropping in on them.
The general mood on the rally is that we could have pushed on yesterday and been in Tobruk today and Egypt tomorrow, but we suspect there were terms and conditions with our visas to pass through Libya, so at the moment it feels like were dragging our heels a little.
The car performed well today but is suffering from the poor fuel quality and pinking merrily away on all the hill sections and under hard acceleration. For once I can see the benefit of 99 Octane and Shell Optimax!
Todays car summary:
Faults: Rev counter, speedo, temp sensor.
Issues: Horn & lights fixed (fuse).
The handbrake has failed, we need to inspect rear shoes.
Engine rattling like hell, we need to wear ear-plugs!
Colin score 9/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
