Tommy's A-series Misery - Austin 7 Tinkering

[sharley17194]

Seems i started this road trip badly 😂

[Sigmund Fraud]

Was it you chaps making... erm... swift progress along the A343 towards Andover this afternoon, or are there more than one Starsky&Hutch tribute Robins around ?

[Tommyboy12]

8 hours ago, wesacosa said:

looks like an epic trip. Enjoy 

For the Panda, are you thinking of the Panda to Pandino trip or your own route 

I'll give you a hint

[Tommyboy12]

1 hour ago, Sigmund Fraud said:

Was it you chaps making... erm... swift progress along the A343 towards Andover this afternoon, or are there more than one Starsky&Hutch tribute Robins around ?

Definitely was us!

I set of at 10am from Chateau-Tom. First stop was Bedford train station to pick up @sharley17194. Then we headed down to sunny Bournemouth. Nothing like tackling the M25 in the blazing summer sun on a Sunday in a car with no AC...

I have to admit I was very jealous when I saw the paint job

However when I got close... Hand painted by Stevie Wonder with no masking whatsoever 😅

We trundled our way through traffic and traffic and more traffic

Unfortunately the temperature and the traffic was getting the best of the Robin's apparently delicate cooling system. Simon decided to stop before he did and serious damage and call recovery. So I abandoned him on the M4/A34 junction services.

I believe he is en-route home still but the plan in the morning is I head over to Chateau-Sharley and we give the cooling system some TLC, de-silt the block, fit the heater matrix back into the loop, and give it a tune as it was choking me out with unburnt fuel coming out the exhaust.

Then we head north. Who knows when, or where to! How exciting!

 

[sharley17194]

It’s going well! 

[Matty]

Go on boys! This annual bout of complete insanity is one of my forum highlights. Everything crossed 🫡

[sharley17194]

Send love and prayers, I made it 67 miles which is, I admit, 66 more than I thought I would. This was a precautionary break down, save me driving 150 miles home. 😂

1 minute ago, Matty said:

Go on boys! This annual bout of complete insanity is one of my forum highlights. Everything crossed 🫡

 

[Tommyboy12]

I'm ready for the off! First stop, Chateau-Sharley!

[rob88h]

The Met Office has warned the UK could see temperatures climb to as high as 34C this week as the fourth heatwave of the summer is set to sweep the country.

Perfect* weather for it. 

[EyesWeldedShut]

Aye, but once they get north of the border ......

[Tommyboy12]

43 minutes ago, rob88h said:

The Met Office has warned the UK could see temperatures climb to as high as 34C this week as the fourth heatwave of the summer is set to sweep the country.

Perfect* weather for it. 

Perfect weather for a Robin with delicate cooling?

I've made it to the first stop!

 

[Tommyboy12]

We're off!

 

[Tommyboy12]

We've made it to wolleys edge services near Huddersfield. Time for a well deserved break for lunch 

[wesacosa]

15 minutes ago, Tommyboy12 said:

We've made it to wolleys edge services near Huddersfield. Time for a well deserved break for lunch 

was it you two guys who had the mk3 Robins on the forum a few years ago or was that a different pair of masochists 

[Tommyboy12]

Just now, wesacosa said:

was it you two guys who had the mk3 Robins on the forum a few years ago or was that a different pair of masochists 

Yeah we did a long weekend round the Peak District finding rude places names!

[Tommyboy12]

We are making steady progress. Both cars are behaving which is shocking considering one is a complete unknown and didn't make it home yesterday. We've made it to Scotch Corner. The plan is still Edinburgh tonight but that's 3.5 hours away!

 

[Tommyboy12]

Progress is progress 

[Tommyboy12]

[High Jetter]

Seems to be a bit of a queue - border control? 😀

[Tickman]

Madness.

Hope you got to Edinburgh and are enjoying a bit of a break.

[sharley17194]

We made it to Edinburgh, we were advised to park on a side street….wonder if the cars will be there tomorrow, I can only hope not!

 

[Tommyboy12]

Were ready for the off this morning.

Its going to be a looong day. Being very organised we only booked a hotel in the pub last night. Options were limited so were staying in Gairloch.

First stop is Fort William. That's 3.5 hours from where we are.

Followed by a loop round Applecross pass which is another 3.5 hours.

Then it's another hour to the hotel.

All of these times are in a normal car...

[Matty]

Well done so far men! What's the route this year?

 

(Posted this a bit quick. Toms explained above 😄) 

[Tommyboy12]

For context

[Tommyboy12]

Quick fill up and we're off! Next stop fort William!

[Tickman]

24 minutes ago, Tommyboy12 said:

Quick fill up and we're off! Next stop fort William!

That's 5 minutes walk from my daughter's flat.

Hope you saw some sights in Leith

[320touring]

1 hour ago, Tommyboy12 said:

Were ready for the off this morning.

Its going to be a looong day. Being very organised we only booked a hotel in the pub last night. Options were limited so were staying in Gairloch.

First stop is Fort William. That's 3.5 hours from where we are.

Followed by a loop round Applecross pass which is another 3.5 hours.

Then it's another hour to the hotel.

All of these times are in a normal car...

Hopefully you don't get passed by the cyclists on the pass of the cattle🤣. There is a viewpoint at the top so you can rest the cars there if needed.

 

The road out of Applecross to the north is brilliant, if a little twisty.

 

Safe travels 

[Tommyboy12]

Making our way through Loch Lomond national park. Quick pitstop but the route is rather pretty 

[Tommyboy12]

Calendar material right here.

As we were driving past the three sisters on the way to Fort William

 

[mercedade]

That's fucking quality.