BiTurbo's Field Trip to Wales: Day 5 and the trip home

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
08/23/2018 at 13:00 • Filed to: BiTurbo's Field Trip, Europpomeet, oppomeet 2018, Fix It Again Tony

Day 5. Day 5 was special. For the first time in the Wales trip we actually set off as a proper convoy! Nothing (immediate) to fix. Wahey! Took until the last day to do it, but we got there :)

First step, fuel!

The previous night, 4muddyfeet presented awards! Twingotamer won fastest at karting, Mr BRZ won...shall we say ‘bravest’ driver ;)

I, however, humbly accepted the award for ‘most entertaining’ ;) pride of place on the front of the Fiat:

Blinked. Slick...

The end-result of this was that I got to drive around Wales with a sticker proudly claiming the fact that I am ‘definitely not a sheep-shagger’. The Welsh, true to the warmhearted nature we’d experienced so far, thought this was very entertaining ;)

All went smoothly until Duurtlang was a little over-ambitious turning into a junction and clipped a kerb at quite some speed...

Still, let us test out the BX’s party piece of putting the suspension at the top of its travel, sticking an axle stand under the corner and lowering the suspension so it picked its own injured wheel off the ground ;)

Once that was fixed, we managed to get the first and only photoshoot of (nearly) the whole gang! Managed to miss Mr Elise and Mr Cap puc cino who could only make the first half, but still!

Proud that in its highest position the BX rivals the Pajero for ground clearance ;)

After a day of convoying around some more lovely Welsh roads that was that :) what an absolute adventure.

Wasn’t quite over for us yet though. After stopping off in Shrewsbury overnight (some awesome pubs there), our little gang wended our way home. We very nearly got home without needing to work on a car every single day , but this last time we were pleased to help.

About 10 miles from home we came across an old boy in a cracking jacket and a 1920s Rolls Royce stranded on the side of the road.

All it needed was the spare wheel swapping over, but there’s a locking ring inside it that had got jammed trying to take it off. Little did he know that he’d met the perfect people for the job!

Tools out, old wheel off and new wheel on. All done in no time :)

There’s some serious engineering in one of these. You can tell the designers were involved in aircraft back in the ‘ 20s. Just check out the hub:

Monster splines locate the wheel, and there’s a funky single wheelnut with locking teeth to prevent it unwinding (it was the outer toothed section in the wheel that had got dislodged and stuck).

The engine’s a similar work of art:

The chap was so grateful he let me have a little drive in it! The gearbox is unsynchro’d and the throttle’s a little tricky. The solution was to just stick it in fourth and lift the clutch (no throttle at all). All 5 metres of the thing just eased itself away...in top gear...without a single splutter or hesitation. I suppose a low-revving 7.7l I6 will do that.

And that, finally, was that :) a few of the guys crashed at my place before their various ferries and eurotunnels in the morning, but that was it.

So, what did we learn?

BiTurbo228 is either very good, or very very bad at road trips. Probably both.

Wales is a stunning place full of the whole gamut of driving roads, great scenery, and friendly people.

Oppopeeps are a great bunch . If anyone wants to join in any future hi-jinks I’d highly recommend it!

It really pays to bring tools along with you, and having at least a bit of experience to dive in and fix things. There’s at least four separate occasions we’d probably have been stranded if we hadn’t.

I’ve got a lot of work to do on the Fiat (more on that next!).

DISCUSSION (13)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/23/2018 at 13:13

That Roller is a beauty. How’re the external-band drum brakes?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
08/23/2018 at 13:15

It really is :)

Don't think I got it fast enough to test them really, but I didn't really notice any real heaviness to the pedal. Quick google suggests they're servo-assisted!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/23/2018 at 13:28

I know that there were some odd old-time servo assists that were linked to the actuation system via chain - crazy stuff.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/23/2018 at 13:35

Thanks for letting us join vicariously in your adventures through these posts !

I think you missed a lesson though.. something with hedges ;P

Klaus Schmoll > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/23/2018 at 14:34

It was a great trip! Where are we going next year?

duurtlang > Klaus Schmoll
08/24/2018 at 03:10

Where do you want to go next year?

davedave1111 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/24/2018 at 05:15

“The chap was so grateful he let me have a little drive in it!”

Must not have realised you were driving the Fiat... :)))

That’s a great story. I’m not sure I’d dare try and fix something that valuable in case I broke it more.

What was it like to drive? Did you go around any corners? [ETA: Or straight on at any corners, into a ditch?]

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > davedave1111
08/24/2018 at 06:07

Haha funny man ;)

It was very interesting to drive. Sort of like a boat, but without any of the undulating wave-like lean and wallowyness that implies. Sort of glides along without much effort in anything you apply, steering or brakes or throttle.

Felt surreal to me in 2018. Can’t imagine what it felt like to someone in the ‘20s.

Oh, and the gearbox was really odd. Slipping it into gear you can feel each tooth slowly knocking past. Not like a modern gearbox where you get horrible graunching of gears. You can basically choose a moment to slot the gear in inbetween teeth.

Actually, felt like a tractor gearbox...but made really, really nicely ;)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Klaus Schmoll
08/24/2018 at 06:10

Ooh now there’s a question :)

On a bit of a whim I looked at car ferry prices to Iceland the other day, but at Ł400 round trip might be a little beyond people’s budgets!

Besides, it’s one thing working under a car every night in temperate Wales. It’s another thing that close to the arctic circle...

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
08/24/2018 at 06:11

You’ll have to do the same thing with the ‘ring trip for me ;)

Ah...yes. I have definitely missed a lesson there...

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/24/2018 at 08:21

I will definitely do that! I’m actually thinking of buying a knock-off GoPro like thing, mainly to record the drives through the mountains .

Klaus Schmoll > duurtlang
08/24/2018 at 14:43

In geographical terms I’m open to anything. As you know, it’s the dates where I’m not very flexible. T hat bein g said, maybe we could meet György half-way or come even a little closer? I feel likeEastern Europe might be new for a lot of us, or at least that there are areas we haven’t been ten times already.

duurtlang > Klaus Schmoll
08/25/2018 at 02:26

Your inflexibility about the dates is known, I might have the same problem next year. We probably need a big poll after the Nürburgring meet to determine when most people have the time.

Same thing with location. I personally really like the Eastern Europe suggestion, it’s rather convenient for me too. I fear it’s too far away, geographically, for many people though. Mostly those in the UK. Maybe further than the roughly 1600 km one way you and I drove to Wales. You can always fly and rent, but I guess that’s just not the same thing. It’s unavoidable for some , but i magine mister biturbo finishing his X1/9 and his Frankenspit, leaving them at home and then renting a Toyota Yaris.

But we’ll see. Although I like to be very inclusive I’ve noticed that democracy doesn’t work all too well for small decisions (no one replies). F or big decisions like date and location some democracy is absolutely mandatory.