Jenn
Part of things
Posts: 929
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Mar 16, 2006 20:16:44 GMT
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www.plymouth-dakar.co.uk/Forgive me if this has been brought up before my time but I wondered if anyone had attempted this or plans to? Basically you buy a car for under £100 ad on a limited budget set off to complete the course and when you reach the destination (in fact it's now Banjul) the cars are sold off for charity and you all fly home. Immense fun by the look of it, if you don't die on the way. I'm up for it if anyone wants to make a team (unfortunately I am useless except for driving!).
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GJM
Posted a lot
Alloy engines; like communism- great in theory.
Posts: 1,393
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Mar 16, 2006 20:18:01 GMT
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Always throught it'd be an absolute lark
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Mar 16, 2006 20:23:45 GMT
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some guys on volkszone did it a year or two ago i seem to remember
what did the chaps who bought the 929 do? staples to naples or something?
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Mar 16, 2006 20:24:21 GMT
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hummmmmmmmmm sounds like a whole lotta fun
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once again rocking with 1117cc and 4 gears!
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Mar 16, 2006 20:24:33 GMT
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i quite fancied the Staples to Naples (where the beloved Hazmobile took its final journey last year) but it seems you have to be right on the ball on the day the entries open on the website... and it was the day i got married, so i sorta missed out. i thought whipping out my PDA in the ceremony to check a website was a bit harsh
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Never trust a man Who names himself Trevor. Or one day you might find He's not a real drug dealer.
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Mar 16, 2006 20:40:28 GMT
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I've always wanted to go on that rally when I can spare the money, looks like great fun. Shame the cars have to be LHD these days, because I always planned that I'd go down to my mate, the local Volvo specialist's place, get him to flog me a well maintained but unwanted 740 plus all the spares and spare tyres he could lay his hands on for £100, and run it mainly standard (the 740 was one of the most over-engineered cars ever devised, they used to test them in circumstances rougher than anything you'd experience on the Plymouth Dakar. ) except maybe get a set of taller springs for ride height, make up sumpguards etc to protect the underside, and a higher-sitting exhaust at home, make some bullbars, get some sponsors and tape up the lamps, and set off, but now that the cars have to be LHD (although I can see the sense in it, they mention that the Gambian military and police don't like letting RHD cars in and it's not worth turning up in a RHD only to be hassled off of guys who have assualt rifles and probably little patience for forgeigners deliberately flaunting their laws! ;D ) Having said that, although it would take a little more time and money, I reckon I could make a trip to some now-EU, former Soviet states for a holiday beforehand, having set aside some money for it, and rather than getting a plane home just buy an old GAZ or UAZ off roader, (failing that a Trabant Kubelwagen from East Germany! )preferably ex Red Army for that ultimate off road ability,(although it would probably be adviseable to buy a few tins of dulux and making it look a little less military, plus remember to shave and not wear anything militant looking, less those aforementioned armed border guards think I'm some sort of terrorist or similar! ;D ), taking it home and entering that instead, a great alternative to a Lada Niva or Riva, and no doubt better accross the desert provided I get a reliable one! Of course my devious little scheme will have to wait until I have the time and money to do it, and can rope in enough poor and gullible sods to go on the jaunt with me! ;D A GAZ 69 Kozlov (meaning 'The Goat'!) These were famous for their sheer unstoppability, various armies, rebel organisations and terrorist groups all over the world did, and still do, use these things, so they'd have no problem getting to Banjul. Maybe I'd have to enter the rally dressed like this fetching comrade as well, whether it's the car or the busby he certainly seems to be getting all the ladies that way! ;D ;D The UAZ 469, these replaced the GAZ 69 as the main Land Rover-type 4x4 of the Red Army, but there was also a civilian model, and versions of them are still in production, so it shouldn't be hard to find one in the ex USSR, but whether I can get one for the equivelant of £100 is a different matter, these things are legendary 4x4s in various countries. Not quite so roomy and only FWD, and not that rapid either, but bloody cool and surprisingly resiliant, plus that little two stroke with only 7 moving parts can't possibly be that unreliable or hard to fix. ;D Doubt I'd convince anyone to join my team though, and even if I did I wouldn't be able to fit them all in plus our spares and provisions! ;D ;D That and they'd be a little hard to find.
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"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"
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Mar 16, 2006 20:48:13 GMT
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www.teamlostbaja.co.uk/ the VZi crew and their Baja I met a bloke at Castle Combe the other year who was attempting it in a Trabant ;D
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Mar 16, 2006 20:50:01 GMT
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I'd fuggin love it me, wouldnt want to flog off me tat at the other end though. I'd have to take a Ford Scorpio or some such worthless crusty old shed so I wouldnt miss it too much.
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1972 Fiat 130 1985 Talbot Alpine 1974 Lancia Beta Saloon 1975 + 1986 Mazda 929 Koop + Wagon 1982 Fiat Argenta 2.0 iniezione elettronica 1977 Toyota Carina TA14 BEST CAR EVER!!!!!!!! 1979 Datsun B310 Sunny 4-dr 1984 Audi 200 Quattro Turbo 1983 Honda Accord 1.6 DX GONE1989 Alfa 75 2.0 TS Mr T says: TREAT YO MOTHER RIGHT!
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RetroMat
Posted a lot
Column Shifting!
Posts: 3,444
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Mar 16, 2006 21:06:59 GMT
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Mar 16, 2006 23:02:22 GMT
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i would love to but i have no mechanical knowledge
rich
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1974 Fiat 130 Coupe 1987 Saab 900 turbo 1988 Mercedes 300ce coupe 1988 Skoda Classic Trials Car 1988 Skoda road rally rapid 1990 Saab 9000 Carlsson
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Mar 16, 2006 23:07:58 GMT
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I'm game next year. Crew anyone? ;D
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I'd love to do it as well - it's on the list
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I think an R-R team for next year is a must! I'd love to do it, but having the funds / time to take 3 months off work is tricky for most people. The guys that did Staples to Naples in the Doomwagon really inspired me, and that one is a lot shorter (3 or 4 days I think) so a lot more accessible for most people. But it gets booked up within seconds.
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Mar 17, 2006 10:11:24 GMT
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Hey Benzyboy hows tricks? Got that V8 running yet? I would thouroughly recommend it, as Benzboy said we did the Staples to Naples one last year which took us over the alps in the much missed DoomWagon. Really good laugh especially if you have the right car. Most people seemed to miss the point of it though and took along modern Euroboxes that they didn't even have to flip the bonnet. For us this was a common sight. But the old girl did us proud. Danblez says: Go do it. Full story here for those interested. www.durbster.co.uk/content/s2n/index.shtml
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Last Edit: Mar 17, 2006 11:20:17 GMT by danblez
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Mar 17, 2006 10:13:57 GMT
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What's the point in taking a good car? You've got to take a shed, it's like a swansong for them
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Mar 17, 2006 10:14:03 GMT
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Mar 17, 2006 10:15:39 GMT
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What's the point in taking a good car? You've got to take a shed, it's like a swansong for them Exactly, although we took great pleasure in going to the rescue of a G plate volvo 440, a VW polo and 2 Sierras! The DoomWagon rocked a fat one.
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Last Edit: Mar 17, 2006 10:16:53 GMT by danblez
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Mar 17, 2006 10:18:28 GMT
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scumball is just far too 'easy' in my opinion....
a budget of £1000 means that there's zero chance of you actually not making it. Unless you spend the £1000 on a shagged xj-s, james may stylee....
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Mar 17, 2006 11:14:01 GMT
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I loved the "What we learned" bit on the S2N website "What we have learned on this trip: * The Staples 2 Naples rally is outrageously good fun. * The Staples 2 Naples rally can be very stressful. * Switzerland is spectacularly beautiful. * Italy is bigger than you think. * The Italians understand the appeal of such silliness. Even Italians driving Ferrari 360s and Police cars gave us the thumbs up. * The Swiss do not understand the appeal of such silliness. * Driving up mountains can produce some strange noises from your gearbox. * Driving down mountains can produce some strange noises from your brakes. * Prop shafts may wobble but they don't fall out. Well, they might but ours didn't. * Make sure your spare tyre is good. * Take two spare tyres. Possibly three, or four if you can fit them in. * Beware of dodgy tyre valves, dodgy tyres and nails in the road. * Driving a £62 car for over 1,800 miles is quite an experience. "
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Mar 17, 2006 11:27:57 GMT
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Hey Benzyboy hows tricks? Got that V8 running yet? Helloooo! I've been missing in action for a while as I've moved to Cornwall. No V8 yet as I've only just found a place to live. I have bought another silly luxo-barge though... I couldn't stick to just one car for long ;D Come to think of it, the old Volvo could be a prime candidate for S2N or some such competition - it only cost me £80 and I reckon it'd make it without too much fuss... I think... I miss that Mazda. One of the best cars I've ever owned! But it had such a fitting end to its life - you guys did us proud! ;D
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