The Autoshite holy grail is now one of us!

[JohnK]

I'm sure DaveB47 said he was uploading info from the 'other' board elsewhere so hopefully Richard will be able to copy his post across!

 

A couple of impromptu purchases and home improvements have buggered me up until next week but my bonus will be paid next week Martin so I will whang a few more quid into our kitty for the car. Actually I need to reply to Richard on Facebook and arrange getting my hands on this to do the clutch and that ...

[worldofceri]

Lost posts are at fahl.us

[cort16]

That was a great post. 24 hour toilet lolz I hope we can get it back

[worldofceri]

http://fahl.us/topic/24053-the-autoshite-holy-grail-is-now-one-of-us/?do=findComment&comment=1041200

 

Picture links seem to be broken but if AD copies the text across I expect he can stick the photos back in.

[dollywobbler]

Come on Dicky! It was bloody awesome reading. 

 

Not sure about these new mirrors though. It'll be bloody concours at this rate.

[trigger]

Post them back up Ducky, it was one of my favourite posts of recent times on here!.

[quicksilver]

They are absolutely showroom fresh. Disaster

Only on Autoshite would someone complain that new-old-stock parts are too good

[vulgalour]

I have money from the sale of literally a print, where am I sending it?

[Skizzer]

I have money from the sale of literally a print, where am I sending it?

 

To the link in my sig please, which goes to www.paypal.me/sierrabase.  That's if you really, really insist - HMRC says I mustn't do anything at all to encourage you to donate, otherwise I have to pay income tax on it.

 

You're a top man for doing these for the cause, thank you very much.

[Skizzer]

Oh and by the way - the mirrors are a little prezzie from me, not coming out of the crowd fund which has higher priorities.

[vulgalour]

Done

[Skizzer]

...and received with many thanks!

[Angrydicky]

I like the base, base, base base...

Every year, myself and a few friends with old cars go on a week-long roadtrip to a different part of the country. This year, it was Cornwall and the West Country. This year, we decided that as we all like Little Chef, how old-fashioned and non-pretentious they are, to offer them some free publicity during the trip. Surprisingly they went along with it and had some magnetic signs made for our cars! Having them stuck on the ropiest Ford Sierra in existence was probably not what they were imagining when they agreed to it, but I digress...

It just so happened that we were leaving one day after I got back from Shitefest. Now, I'd intended to take the Maestro this year, but at the last moment, having hitched up the trailer tent, I discovered that the brake lights weren't working. This was unfortunately not a bad connection; the brake light switch had collapsed and failed. A horrible job which involves grovelling around in the footwell and trying to get onto something you can't see! Anyway, I couldn't get a new one in time and discovered issues with the Somerset too, upon attempting to take that. That left one running vehicle for me to take...

 

Disappointingly, it did mean leaving my classic trailer tent behind as the bASe doesn't have a towbar. But my Shitefest tent was still in the back and so, with minimal preparation (just tyres pressures and levels) I chucked all my camping clobber in the back of the Sierra and headed off on probably the longest journey it's done in years.

A group of us initially met up at Thame in Oxfordshire. I convoyed with the owner of the Tobacco Leaf P6 V8 from Epping and I checked the oil on the Sierra before we started heading West. So, hurtling along the M4 and all of a sudden the bonnet popped onto the catch! Grateful again to Cortinaboy for working hazards on this car, I pulled onto the hard shoulder, hopped out and pushed the bonnet back shut.

We stopped at a services, can't remember where.

 

 

I found somewhere suitable to park the Sierra, then found that the bonnet was now jammed shut and wouldn't open! Tried in vain to manipulate the catch from beneath the car. There were clear screwdriver marks where it had happened before! Not much I could do really, so we pressed on for Somerset, intending to call the RAC out in the evening once we were safely in our campsite. 

 

 

 

First stop on the roadtrip was Cheddar Gorge.

 

 

After picking up the Little Chef signs from the Podimore branch, we camped nearby at a field behind a pub with no facilities and ground like granite. It was cheap though! In the morning, we went on to my friend George's place near Glastonbury. Unfortunately he could only make one day of the roadtrip due to work commitments. He's got a fairly impressive barn full of old crocks, in fact it was from him I bought my Somerset in 2014. George offered to sort the Sierra's bonnet catch, so into the barn it went:

Fortunately after a bit of fiddling, he managed to release the catch. Turns out the cable was sticky, and the catch kept stopping short and the cable had actually jumped off. It's okay if you remember to push the catch back to the right position before closing the bonnet! (Note to self - must lubricate cable - catch lubrication didn't work).

After having a look at a charging issue on Ed's Landcrab, we headed on down to the Haynes Museum, which as always, was an enjoyable experience!

Then, we waved goodbye to George and disappointingly, just down the road from the museum Adam lost oil pressure in his P6 and we had to stop. Sadly, the car ended up being trucked back to Essex with suspected oil pump failure while its owner continued as a passenger. 

I think we were getting cold at this point and looking for somewhere to spend the night, fortunately Ed put on his phone charm and managed to get a holiday cottage for all of us for 60 quid or something. 

 

 

Which had some interesting features.

Pressing news indeed.

 

 

After a good night's sleep, we drove up to Watchet, which boasted some interesting junk shops. And lots of boats.

 

I found an amazingly accurate* Land Rover model in one of the shops.

While Ed bought a nice, fashionable suitcase to put his nice, fashionable shirts in.

 

Problem number two with the Sierra was that the drivers dangly mirror was getting very loose and wobbly. I was concerned it would fall off, so did what any autoshiter would do in the situation and gaffer taped it on.

 

We then headed down along the North Devon coast and through Exmoor to Little Chef at Okehampton, which is the furthest Westerly Little Chef in England and also boasts a 1980s Fat Charlie on the side of the building.

 

 

 

We then followed Ed down into Cornwall and to a nice spot he'd somehow found on Streetview near Camelford. It was here we pitched the tent. There were lots of wild sheep and horses roaming around and there was a ford which provided a good photo opportunity.

 

 

We came across an abandoned airfield nearby so decided to do some exploring. 

 

Part two to follow.

 

[beko1987]

That looks like great fun!

[trigger]

Brilliant! (again).

[danthecapriman]

Excellent trip AD, I bet that's the furthest the Sierras been in years.

Do any drag runs on the old airfield? Must have been tempting!

[The Moog]

That is outstanding.

 

How much persuading did Little Chef take?

[beko1987]

More to the point, did you get given an Olympic breakfast at every little chef en route?

 

Have LC done any social media/their own coverage of it? Would love to see that!

[Angrydicky]

Thanks for the kind words chaps. Hopefully this time I won't lose the post and have to spend another couple of hours putting it up again!

Excellent trip AD, I bet that's the furthest the Sierras been in years.
Do any drag runs on the old airfield? Must have been tempting!

 

Very tempting, though we were shitting ourselves that security/police would turn up as it was right next to a public road!

That is outstanding.

 

How much persuading did Little Chef take?

Surprisingly very little. I think they were of the opinion that free publicity is well worth taking, especially if it's on distinctive classic* cars.

[dollywobbler]

Yes! The bestest of tales has returned!

[Angrydicky]

Part two. 

 

We headed down along the coast towards Newquay. The weather kept going between sunshine and torrential rain, and I was getting really hacked off with the brakes and wiper blades on the Sierra, which were both squealing terribly.

 

 

 

On the way we stopped in Port Isaac, where Doc Martin was filmed. And which had the tiniest little cobbled street going down to the harbour, which was causing absolute chaos with traffic. Fortunately, we parked at the top of the town and walked down, one of the few sensible things we did on this trip.

 

 

A bit further on, we found a cracking Bedford CF camper that was full of filler, so a quick stop had to be made for a photo of possibly the two worst vehicles in Cornwall.

 

 

Matt also papped a couple more cars, the only other Sierra we saw in Cornwall which was a white MK2 estate, and a roofracked Saab.

 

 

 

So, the plan for this evening was to stay in the most shite and dated hotel we could find in Newquay. We had already scoped out tripadvisor and discovered one, the Edgcumbe Hotel which looked like a complete 1970s timewarp. Unfortunately, further investigation revealed it had closed last year, so we settled for the second best, a hotel called The Eliot. 

 

Dated looking old hotels we saw on our way into Newquay.

 

 

We were not disappointed with The Eliot though. I think the receptionist thought we were insane when we asked her if we could have the rooms with the most tired decor in them! "This isn't Fawlty Towers you know". The rooms themselves were disappointingly 1990s, but most of the communal areas hadn't changed since the 1970s.

 

 

The sign of a quality establisment, a bucket to catch water dripping through the leaky roof.

 

 

That evening we donned our 1970s/1980s clothing and went downstairs for a meal, which involved us going into a room packed full of OAPs on a SAGA holiday. We had a good time though, and that evening got very drunk in our room. 

 

The next day, we left Newquay and started heading south. I had managed to pick up some new wiper blades for the Sierra the day before, so while Ed drained this petrol station filling up his W6, I topped up the tank on the Sierra then ignored some bellend who sat there blowing his horn at me while I fitted the new wiper blades to the Sierra. As slowly as possible, once he started blowing his horn. Including testing and adjusting them before finally driving off.

 

 

This was the next campsite we stayed at. I can't remember exactly where it was but it was right next to a cove known as Blue Hills, which was rather picturesque.

 

 

The road down to the cove was extremely steep, bumpy and narrow.

 

 

It was a lovely spot there, though.

 

 

From Blue Hills it was a steep climb back up the track. From that campsite we made a pasty run out to Truro, which involved going up the other side of the bay and round one of the steepest hairpins I've ever encountered. I put my foot down in first gear and fortunately the Sierra made it with only a bit of wheelspin (I was three up). We then saw a MK1 Granada in Truro, and I felt like such a dick because not only did I miss his wave because I was too busy looking at his car, I forgot what I was driving! What a plank!

 

 

We then arrived at Lizard Point, which is the most southerly point on mainland Britain.

 

 

Part three will follow tomorrow!

[trigger]

I'm so pleased that you've reinstated this thread, like i said last time, i would love to do something like this, it looks so exciting!

[cort1977]

Fabulous.   Moar please.

[danthecapriman]

I'm so pleased that you've reinstated this thread, like i said last time, i would love to do something like this, it looks so exciting!

Same here, I'd love to just stick the tent and other crap in the boot of one of the cars and go somewhere like this for a break. Great fun. I think I mentioned it when this was up on the new old forum, but maybe we should all do an autoshite on tour type thing?

 

 

I absolutely love Cornwall, it's got to be one of the best places this country has to offer. I've not been for years but me, sister, and parents used to go every year, we'd meet up with my auntie, uncle and cousins and spend the holiday all together. Most of the time we'd stay in Hayle and spend the evenings in St Ives. Where there is/was a brilliant pasty shop on the waterfront. Great memories! I'm not so sure me taking the Mercury would be a good idea though! Some of the roads and tracks look very narrow and steep!

[adw1977]

I'm so happy this has been retrieved after the forum issues. Best advertising car ever!

[mat_the_cat]

Same here, I'd love to just stick the tent and other crap in the boot of one of the cars and go somewhere like this for a break. Great fun. I think I mentioned it when this was up on the new old forum, but maybe we should all do an autoshite on tour type thing?

 

 

I absolutely love Cornwall, it's got to be one of the best places this country has to offer. I've not been for years but me, sister, and parents used to go every year, we'd meet up with my auntie, uncle and cousins and spend the holiday all together. Most of the time we'd stay in Hayle and spend the evenings in St Ives. Where there is/was a brilliant pasty shop on the waterfront. Great memories! I'm not so sure me taking the Mercury would be a good idea though! Some of the roads and tracks look very narrow and steep!

 

I would love to too, and Cornwall would get my vote also. Maybe not in summer holiday season, but just before or after would get the best balance of weather/busyness.

[Cavcraft]

 

 

We came across an abandoned airfield nearby so decided to do some exploring. 

 

sierra34.jpg

sierra35.jpg

 

 

.

 

 

If one of them doesn't make the calendar I'll show my arse in Burton's window

[Sir Snipes]

I've had tea and scones at the Lizard Point cafe. It was fantastic.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I saw a beige Y reg Sierra in Worksop yesterday, a 1.6 L alas with the ostentatious coded grille..

 

Not sure if the top of the dash resembled the San Andreas fault though.

[worldofceri]

Are these any use for The Base?

 

If so I will literally post them somewhere at my own expense.

 

 

2x brand new exhaust rubber hangers. Bought by me in error.