Granadaland Greenhouse Gassers Great Getaway

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

The Granadaland Greenhouse Gassers are loading up the Merc and setting sail for the continent!

 

Let's go!

 

[320touring]

FTP?

[Skizzer]

Just realised you left the twin-axle trailer at home?

[hairnet]

not gonna be picking up any fares there?

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Nothing more than a tyre failure. Still missed the ferry!

 

 

Spots:

 

 

[Ghosty]

Junkman finally getting an R16?

[hairnet]

or a lesson in flemish

[vulgalour]

I am agog at the Datsun.  I've never seen one of those outside of a photograph from when they were new or in more modern times at a show.  To see one out in the wild like that is truly astonishing.

[Junkman]

Well, here I am in a hotel in Dortmund, the beer is good and the local peasants haven't spit roasted me in front of a beer tent yet in one of their usual traditions. Sadly, even the Big Bad Belching Benz piece of pure, anadulterated shit, Mr Conelrad, and I, made it in one piece, so so far, this trip hasn't taken on usual Autoshite romantics. I'm confident, that this thread is going to take a turn for the better* soon.

[Richard]

That's a seriously weedy set of jump leads.

[Skizzer]

Bin auch in Deutschland, aber ein Bisschen mehr südlich: Kelkheim im Taunus.

 

No plans to collect anything though, soz, and no Datsuns so far - epic spot, that.

[hairnet]

well...?

[Junkman]

This morning, we left the hotel and were greeted by this:
 

 

 
We then set off to Essen and saw this:
 

 
Then we entered a car park and there were MIBs:
 

 
Exactly like us:
 

 
In the same car park, there was this:
 

 
JRG Granada was delightful:
 

 
Including the spec:
 

 
 
 
They had a bit of a car show going on in town, so we went to visit it.
 
Inside, I found a gear knob for a Series OLLI:
 

 
A model of a Pobeda:
 

 
There also was shite:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Then we spotted the first real classic:
 

 
Yours for 6,900 Yeerows. Apparently being a lowly 200E with the povest spec I have ever seen must command a healthy premium, which is further proof that Autoshitism is taking the World by storm.
 
They also had a Glas:
 

 
This wonderful Hercules klappi:
 

 
Some Simca:
 

 
Ur-Rangey:
 

 
 
This looked lethal enough for me to want to ride it home:
 

 
 
There were people having a drinkage in this:
 

 
 
Made from Panhandles, I understand:
 

 
 
A beige CX that had not a drop of green piss left in it, judging by the puddle absence:
 

 
 
Alfasud with oroginal paint and no rust:
 

 
 
Ka-pao!
 

 
 
A proper automobile minus ectoplasm:
 

 
 
This had me almost change my further travel arrangements:
 

 
 
I was tempted to sell my daughters for a moment:
 

 
 
Egg yoke yellow Audi:
 

 
 
Beige Audi:
 

 
 
Some Soviet chod:
 

 
 
And last, but not least, this made me a bit sentimental. My very first car was one of these:
 


 

 

Sadly, when we returned to the Big Bad Belching Benz this evening, that miserable piece of shit hadn't been nicked.

[danthecapriman]

Some absolutely lovely cars there. The 2.0 L Granada is like new. Do German Fords have OMGOSF tax?

Don't suppose you got pics of that yellow/gold mk1 Capri?

[hairnet]

many italian oof

 

the adac truck is ace too

 

must do essen at some point

[EssDeeWon]

some nice motors there jon. Especially the 2.0 granny outside.

[Junkman]

Some absolutely lovely cars there. The 2.0 L Granada is like new.

It was a lovely thing throughout.

 

 

Do German Fords have OMGOSF tax?

Sadly yes.

 

 

Don't suppose you got pics of that yellow/gold mk1 Capri?

Sorry, no.

[Junkman]

must do essen at some point

 

Be prepared that it is massive. One day is not nearly enough. I doubt two are.

However, most of what is there is high end shit that has had its living daylights restored out of it, targeted at the money enthusiasts, rather than the car enthusiasts.

However, when you pick your raisins carefully, there is some delightful chod there. And I do mean delightful, because I don't think shitism has anything to do with money. For example, there was a delightfully shonky Pegaso Z102 there that seriously tickled my wantometer. It was one of those rare occasions where I wish I was a tad weller off.

There was also a surprisingly small proportion of pre war shite. So if you are so inclined, this show is not for you.

[hairnet]

did remise in dussel twice - very high end scheisse there

 

didnt put me off

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Essen had this:

 

 

A polite Rover in an Austrian car park:

 

 

Everybody in every country has a grey or silver car, the only colour is in the houses!

 

[andrew e]

Great stuffer gassers, but isn't this more up your street in Dortmund (it's great by the way, well it was 10 years ago).

 

http://www.intermodellbau.de/en/home.html

 

Edited to make sense.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

San Leo, Italy.

 

[bub2006]

I would love a European road trip. Toyed with driving to Spain for a holiday. Lovely pics junkman.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

We are back. I had intended to update this thread a little more dynamically, but my 17.5p/MB mobile data was monopolised by Google Maps, and the one hotel with functional WiFi blocked Autoshite.

 

Techno Classica was superb, albeit a bit posh! This was a show for cars which can be safely parked on carpet. But it wasn't the Lamborghinis and Porsches which made me wish I was rich, it was the amazing stuff on offer in the auto jumble. I could have filled an Estafette. Since Junkman already covered it so well, I'll leave just the one photo:

 

 

This boy was guarding a glass case full of the Bosch K-Jetronic parts which have been torturing us on the Granada. The more animated chap you can see at the counter was happy to listen to Junkman's tale of woe and offered some helpful advice. Which was nice.

 

Unfortunately, one day is nowhere near enough time to see everything here and plenty was left unseen when they turfed us out at the end of the day. We didn't even find the second floor of exhibits until half an hour before the end! 

 

The Mercedes is entirely competent on the autobahn, just as you would expect. The maximum comfortable cruising speed of the car is between 100 and 110 mph, but it takes a little while to get there. You can probably imagine what this does to the fuel economy.

 

 

Piandimeleto, Italy. This day couldn't have been further from the autobahn. A day of clambering up and down mountainous winding roads of wildly varying quality, and I loved every second of it. Italy is a lovely place, and I could happily spend the rest of my life sitting in a town square drinking €1 coffees. 

 

We headed home via Austria, Germany and Luxembourg. Here's a shot of the Benz on the Fernpass, another beautiful road I feel privileged to have driven. Austria is a stunning country, and even just blazing through it on the motorway is a holiday in itself. 

 

 

After covering almost 3,000 miles in a week without complaint, I don't feel that I can complain about this car. I mean, I'll try - it's still pitifully slow, and since it averaged a pretty unimpressive 29 mpg over the trip it doesn't offer any benefit over a petrol. But it is, unarguably, a Transcontinental Cruiser.  

 

... and then back to England.

 

 

It's sad that after a week of beautiful weather and enjoyable motoring we arrived back in England on a day when the entire motorway network had broken down and rain pelted off the ground. We attained an average speed of only 33 mph between Dover and Birmingham, and had to abandon the M6 altogether.   

 

So my verdict is that if you want to buy an old Mercedes to go see some old cars in Europe, you'll have a fantastic time. Just don't buy the Mercedes and maybe think twice about that last channel crossing.

[Felly Magic]

That white Skoda at the show is a front engined prototype mule Daverapid would go all wobbly if he saw that up close and personal

[Junkman]

I will provide my account of things, and the real reason we did the trip in the first place, tomorrow, because today, I'm reconvalescenting and thus can't be arsed.

 

Only so much for Mr Conelrad's statements regarding the Big Bad Belching Benz: I'd rather set myself on fire, than ever again going through the ordeal to take this miserable piece of shit a mile further than Bramhall. I'd happily do the only thing that is appropriate, but he won't let me, because for some inexplicable reason, he seems to actually like that automotive furuncle.

 

I despair.

[Junkman]

Anyway, after the Techno Classica, we ventured southbound towards Munich.

Amongst the shite I was able to pap on the Autobahn, was this Magirus R81 someone berefted of its former usefulness:

 

 

Blurred Camaro in front of a car dealership that may delight the Scottish members of the forum:

 

 

Something incredibly overhyped:

 

 

Some PHWOAR sporting Austrian temporary plates:

 

 

A blurred beige Avensis:

 

[Junkman]

In Munich, we visited a man, who, contrary to me, actually has a model car collection:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A moderate* amount of intoxicating liquids was consumed:

 

[Junkman]

Then we proceeded further southward.

Upon reaching Austria, I paid the rent for my own property:

 

 

Big Bad Belching Benz pointing Italyward:

 

[Junkman]

Austria was completely void of shite. In fact, it was virtually void of cars. The roads were eerily empty.

So Italy was achieved with practically no pappage in .at at all.

 

Upon arrivage, we were rewarded with this:

 

 

 

 

In Codroipo we visited our first contact. Sadly he wasn't in that day, but an old man on the premises allowed us to roam.

These are the findings: