Rog Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Having just returned from a Stelvio tour (via Continental Car Tours) and perhaps feeling a little smug I thought I'd post a word of encouragement to those who might be wavering over a decision to participate - GO FOR IT. Our round trip was a tad over 2,000 and the car behaved well, using just a litre of oil and returning 24 mpg. CCT offer a tour which, on the whole, is well packaged and takes in at least 9 alpine passes including the iconic Stelvio. I'm afraid I ran out of superlatives in trying to describe the utter beauty of the scenery - just pack your wimples and bone up on the lyrics to the sound of music!! Thorough preparation of the car is an obvious must and while it may seem a bit extreme, I don't regret fitting a new clutch for the trip; it takes a lot of stick (a fellow tourist with a nice MGA lost the slave cylinder and had to be recovered in a blizzard from the top of Stelvio). Brakes too take a lot of punishment (we could have fried eggs on ours more than once) and I had to cope with quite a bit of brake fade. The car was not completely happy at altitude in the rarified atmosphere but I did manage to keep going and we never lost forward motion in part, I think, to a clean K&N. One last tip; on the run into Bormio (the Stelvio) make sure you take on a full load of fuel before you make the ascent because the next fuel we found was at the Swiss border (about ten miles before Livigno). Maybe I'd have found some earlier if I'd gone "off piste" but we were sure relieved to get 45 litres of Q8 in the tank. PM me if I can answer any questions but let me, in closing, thank Alex and others who helped me in preparing for what was, by any yardstick, a truly memorable experience. Rog Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Davies Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Rog, Great news - sounds fantastic. Have just returned from a similar tour to the Italian lakes and back over several of the major Alpine passes - we didn't make it over as far as the Stelvio - that's one for next time... We also noticed a fair difference in performance at the top of the passes but never felt as though we wouldn't make it. The car had a good service beforehand and a small bag of odds and ends remained in the spare wheel well with the tool roll for the entire trip. Only opened the bonnet to connect the airbed pump a few times and to pour in the spare litre of 20/50 for the run back. Goes to show that these old cars can be pretty reliable with just a bit of sensible maintenance. All in all a great trip and highly recommended to fellow TR owners who are considering something similar. The only significant downside is the current strength of the Euro... had to cut back on the ice creams after the first few days!! Cheers, Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TRTerry Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Hi Rog, Fantastic to hear you had such fun as we will be going on the same trip on Fri 24 July. Any tips on the hotels and their meals? Or local bars, restaurants etc? How about journey times to get to the destination, and did you use the Austrian and Swiss motor-way passes? Thanks Terry Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johnny250 Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Great drive Rog.... have a good time Terry, treat yourself to a 5 Euro hot dog at the top and of course a souvenier bottle of Stelvio ale...... john Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TRTerry Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 I will, especially I now have my newly fitted dashboard indicator aid for the (partially) deaf, blind, and memory impaired! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony Millward Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Gosh, you guy's are so lucky to have all the places like that to take your TR's. Thanks for sharing your experience's Rog, (you too John), it sounds absolutely great. I would love to do that run as I'm sure there are others here in Oz (and possibly the US), who feel the same. Please keep posting your drives here fella's as it's the only way some of us can experience the fun you obviously had...great stuff, keep it coming... Cheers Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Markus Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Hi Tony. Maybe when you finish your car we should organise a bit of an Ashes Tour to the UK. Perhaps 4 Aussie TR's in a container. Meet the boat when it arrives and then, let the fun begin! Perhaps a bit of circle work outside The Palace and then off to the the passes for a week. Sounds like a bit of a laugh . Seriously, we in the Antipodes have some awesome roads to drive but what we see on TV and hear about from those fortunate enough to visit these places just makes us envious. Ah well, we'll just have to keep dreaming and buying Lotto tickets I s'pose. Go the Aussies!!!!! Mark 70 Damson PI Victoria Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Hi Mark, it's a long and expensive exercise to ship a TR halfway round the world. Isn't it easier just to fly over and borrow a car when you get here ? All it needs is the insurance arranging, that can't be much hassle. It was easy enough in the 70s when I organised it for friends from the USA. Rapid Wedge available if you need one next year ! Cheers, Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
foster461 Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Hi Mark, it's a long and expensive exercise to ship a TR halfway round the world. Isn't it easier just to fly over and borrow a car when you get here ? All it needs is the insurance arranging, that can't be much hassle. It was easy enough in the 70s when I organised it for friends from the USA. Rapid Wedge available if you need one next year ! Cheers, Alec Alec, I would not underestimate the motivation to repatriate your own TR even if just for a week or two and drive it. I discussed this some time ago with Don Elliott I think and from the US it wasnt too bad in a shared container. When I costed out the auto rental in the UK, that further diluted the shipping cost and I have not ruled out making this trip before I get too old to deal with it. So I'm only 3500 miles away and Oz is a lot further so maybe that extra distance does put this idea out of reach. Stan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Hi Stan, of course I'm not underestimating the attraction of driving your own car on the other side of the world ! But it's not exactly a budget sort of a holiday . . . . And I certainly wasn't talking about auto rental cost either . . . . I meant as in fly over and I'll trade the TR keys for a bottle of duty-free Scotch, now push off for a couple of weeks and enjoy yourself. Cost is insurance and fuel, rental doesn't come into it. Two or three thousand miles is no big deal to a TR, and it's only a car for heaven's sake. What goes around comes around, some day someone returns the favour - if not to you, to a buddy. That's life. Cheers, Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Markus Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 That is an incredibly generous offer Alec and just goes to prove how close the TR community is. I was just joking but would love to visit the UK and Europe soon. Been the other way and seen Asia and USA/Canada so can't complain. I've read about the great passes of Europe and seen them on TV etc but have always dreamt of driving them myself. One day. Cheers! Mark 70 Damson PI Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hi Mark, nothing incredibly generous about it. Currently we're doing quite a bit of work on several of our old cars. Hopefully next year there'll be 3 or 4 reliable ones. How damn much can I drive them ? Anyway, they're only fun cars, hobby stuff. They're all money pits whether you drive them or not, so why sit on them if they're up and running ? Let some other blighter have a bit of fun too. Years ago lots of folks thought like that, nowadays too many get all precious about their ruddy cars. They're only tin boxes with wheels, the worst you can do is bend them terminally, they're not irreplaceable icons, and it's not like anyone ever intends to prang them - accidents happen; people matter, not metal. As I said before, what goes around comes around. Anyway, Wedges aren't exactly expensive - not every TR man's cup of tea either. Mind you, it's funny how opinions can change when you hook in behind a couple of hundred brawny bellowing V8 horses - hardly the same thing as a 3A or a PI 6 to be sure, but there's no substitute for cubic inches when it comes to hanging the tail out on the way up a mountain !! One fine day you'll have that Alpine beer ! Cheers, Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony Millward Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 That is an incredibly generous offer Alec and just goes to prove how close the TR community is. I was just joking but would love to visit the UK and Europe soon. Been the other way and seen Asia and USA/Canada so can't complain. I've read about the great passes of Europe and seen them on TV etc but have always dreamt of driving them myself. One day. Cheers! Mark 70 Damson PI I'll second that, and it's well worth considering a UK trip..possibly the next Malvern show (if it's at Malvern). It would be good meet you guy's.. Cheers Alec. Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marks Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 I'll second that, and it's well worth considering a UK trip..possibly the next Malvern show (if it's at Malvern). It would be good meet you guy's.. Cheers Alec. Tony now theres a thought Tony, Malvern!!! better start saving the pocket money Pam lets me have!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrianC Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hi Tony.Maybe when you finish your car we should organise a bit of an Ashes Tour to the UK. Perhaps 4 Aussie TR's in a container. Meet the boat when it arrives and then, let the fun begin! Why bother with the container? How about driving the cars (London-Sydney Marathon in reverse)? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graeme Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Hi Rog, Fantastic to hear you had such fun as we will be going on the same trip on Fri 24 July. Thanks Terry Hi Terry, We too are going on Friday 24th, are you travelling to Dover? As we are in the north east, we are going from Hull, thought you might be, being from Mansfield. Graeme Looking forward to Friday Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony Millward Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Why bother with the container? How about driving the cars (London-Sydney Marathon in reverse)? It would be a great run Brian but all that way in reverse??..... Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrianC Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 It would be a great run Brian but all that way in reverse??..... Tony Shouldn't be a problem compared with doing the first part upside down. [Off to Malvern any minute now, so you can't catch me ] Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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