Saturday 20 December 2014

Dont panic ..22 months to go

 

 

October 2016... 

...Is about 22 months away.... depending on when your reading this post ;you will have this Christmas and another to get through ...plus a few Easter breaks and some summer holidays, then it will all be worth it-
It will be time to dig out the old string backs, don the driving shoes and strap yourself into a 30 plus year old car, ready to rattle about Britain for 48 hours and 2,000 miles of old car petrol head heaven.  You will be taking part in one of the best,most original endurance classic car events that has stood the test of time, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for charities over the years.

Have a look at the other pages on this blog to get a feel for it..

So in between all the everyday stuff that has to be done in the next 22 months you can indulge in thinking about getting a car ready ..look forward to 02.00am finishes in the shed,laying on cold garage floors, having cold EP90 dribble up your arm or weld splatter finding its way down your pants...it will all be worth it ..honest.

I haven't even got a Triumph to get ready at the moment but I have my eye on one.
I am hoping to get  a 1976 Dolomite Sprint -I did my first ever RBRR way back in 1996 in a Dolly Sprint,so it would be great celebrate my 20th anniversary and the events 50th in a car that will remind me so much of my first event.

It was my only car and used everyday  -I don't think I was even a member of a breakdown service back then- I replaced parts when they wore out and welded it up when it failed its MoT (using metal sourced from old washing machines hence its nick name "Zanusi")
I had learnt about the RBRR via an old copy of Practical Classics that had been left in the tea bar at work, I read the article whilst on a break during a night shift and decided to enter the 96 event. I  joined Club Triumph in the January of 96 and had my entry accepted along with my membership.

"Zanusi" thanked me for entering it in a 2,000 mile event by throwing its cam sprocket ...a "new" engine was sourced with gearbox via the back pages of "Club Torque" -in fact I think it was advertised in the paper copy of secretary's notes we used to get- no interwebby e-bay stuff back then-one telephone call later I was borrowing a mates van and setting off for the drive from Cumbria to Norfolk to pick up the said engine- we left at 3.00am and were in the pub back home by 8.00pm- no sat nav, just a road atlas and some scribbled directions to the "middle of no-where" on the fens...life was so simple back then-it was great road trip.
 - I bought a £100 Ford escort MK3 "the red alert"  to get to work and back whilst I was fixing the Dolly- I shall post some more about those preparations in the next  22 months or so..

In the mean time I suggest you start tucking away a few quid a week for the 2016 petrol fund ..



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