We're in the news again. Yes indeedy, we had another half page feature in the Sheffield Telegraph last week and we both appeared on the BBC Radio Sheffield breakfast show talking about the trip.
Thanks to everyone who came to the Crown last weekend. We hope that you weren't too bored by so many photos of sand. Our pictures and talk were completely upstaged by the arrival of 'the cake', photos of which should appear soon.
There haven't been many updates recently as we've both been so busy since we got back. But rest assured we will be posting full details and pictures of the trip very soon.
We are very pleased to say that we have raised £2,000 so far and will be making our first donation very soon.
Hey! We're having another party
Friday, 19 January 2007 22:08
Photo's, movies and booze a plenty at the Crown on 3 February. If you haven't already heard it it's a chance to catch that exciting anecdote about sand! See you there. That's 19.00 Saturday 3 Feb at the Old Crown Inn on Scotland Street.
Wow! We're overwhelmed.
Thursday, 18 January 2007 19:58
The past few days have been amazing. We thought that we where headed off to Gambia on a little fundraising trip that no one really cared about. We get back and find that our blog has had nearly 2,000 hits whilst we were away and that you were all concerned when we didn't report in. If we'd known you were all following us we might have put in a bit more effort to find a cybercafe in the desert or savannah. Sorry.
But all is not lost on 3 February you will have a chance to catch up on what we've been up to. The folks at The Crown have welcomed us back and we'll be having an 'illustrated talk' and general boozing evening. More details shortly.
In the meantime we can report that we expect the Trabi to go to auction this Sunday. We'd also like to remind you that our fundraising is not over just because we're back, don't forget to sponsor us.
5,320 miles and we're home
Tuesday, 16 January 2007 09:01
We are back in Yorkshire and trying to readjust to UK living and sorting out our photos, movie clips and witty anecdotes all of which will be posted here in the next days and weeks. Just a few minutes after we arrived we were celebrating the finish, and Dave and Linda's wedding
But first some thanks. Mandy has done a fantastic job in converting our rather random and incoherent text messages into our blog. She was ably assisted by Pete who has done the technical stuff to make it work. The blog was a bit of a last minute addition to the site and we have been amazed by the number of people who have been following our adventure, thanks to you all for your emails, text messages and most of all the continued donations that have been coming in. We can only apologise for the vagaries of mobile technology which meant you missed out on many messages that we couldn’t send. Graham did a great job as stand in co-driver for the first leg of the trip, he had all the excitement of a surprising number of roadside repairs and emergency stops to iron out the Trabi’s little idiosyncrasies without the benefit of actually getting the nitty gritty of the trip (and the good weather). It must have been difficult to head home when all the teams were getting ready to leave Marrakesh and set off for the desert. He turned down at least one offer to continue to Banjul with another team.
Now for today’s update. We did indeed have a huge salad on Saturday which was a refreshing change to fried fish and rice and certainly more appetising than our desert diet of bread, cheese triangles and sand. We’ve been busy sorting through our photos, there are a lot of pictures of empty roads and sand, and formatting our video clips for the web. The Trabi didn’t go in yesterday’s auction but should be in next week’s, despite its dicky carb we hope it will make a good price especially as it will be part of a two for one offer. If you have a look at our links page you’ll find a link to a Trabi Kombi that Colin drove to Banjul a couple of years ago, despite several efforts to sell the car at auction it is still unsold so it is being offered as a spared vehicle to whoever buys our pink beauty.
A lettuce as big as your head!!
Sunday, 14 January 2007 11:02
That’s what they’ll be looking for when they get to the supermarket. A diet of fish and rice on a good day, albeit very nice barracuda and the like, and bread and sand and cheese triangles otherwise, with no fresh fruit and vegetables has made them crave for lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, apples, pears etc !
The roads in Gambia were the worst ever and hard work to drive on. Nevertheless team Sunspots managed a river trip and stayed in a little hut which they shared with giant bats, a giant mouse (?) and various other varieties of jungle wildlife. They got to Banjul in time (10 minutes to spare!) for Dave and Linda’s wedding and attended in full suit and posh frock respectively. They gave the inevitable toaster as a wedding gift – yes, gift wrapped and carried all the way from the UK.
The Trabi, which had soldiered on gamely all the way, began to struggle towards the end. A carburettor rebuild, complete with additional sand, didn’t do much for performance and simple obvious repairs were hard to achieve as every time the bonnet was opened they attracted a crowd like bees round a honey pot. Little Trabi had done its job and taken Dominic, Chris and Graham on many an adventure. Now at it’s destination it was left behind in Banjul, with a wistful wave from Dominic and Chris, to wait for the auction and the next chapter in its life.
Dominic and Chris were whisked away to the airport in a Chavmoblie, complete with burberry upholstery – a far cry from the transport of the last month. They travelled back light leaving most of their luggage behind to be made use of by the locals. Dominic also left 10kgs (I think I must mean pounds!!) of himself behind (which will be no use to anybody!)
They are back home now, many thanks to Maurice for the lift from the airport at such a late hour, and will hopefully be telling us more tales of their adventures en Trabant!
Welcome Home Dominic and Chris!!
PS For those of you who are wondering - the final total mileage was 5,320 miles!
Obo baa ngiy riir...
Monday, 08 January 2007 13:01 Distance today: 310
...or Wolof for ‘the car is humming’, Wolof being the language of Senegal and Gambia. Yes, they’ve bought a phrase book which no doubt came in very handy when they were browsing in one of the biggest covered markets in Africa, particularly as they saw no other white faces in the crowd. As ever, team Sunspots are well off the beaten track!
They were in Kaolack, not far from Gambia, and the days sightings included monkeys, vultures and baobabs – those rather interesting, upside-down looking trees! They had driven 60k on savannah sand tracks. On Sunday they were heading for the Gambian jungle – 300k up river from Banjul - so much for being nearly there!
Talking of mileage – I’ve lost track of the daily tallies but they had just passed 8000k (so have done a bit of a balancing sum!)
Animals, birds, camels, dragonflies... the I Spy options are endless
Saturday, 06 January 2007 14:55 Distance today: 1800
Some more stories from a conversation had with Dominic, in no particular order!
Having been enjoying views of even more of nothing Team Sunspots were delighted to get to back to relative civilisation where there was a myriad of choice for the I Spy game. On the beach on the Senegal river the alphabet could have been used up on the amazing birds and wildlife alone – whilst we were speaking Dominic’s toe was bitten by a C for (no not camel!) - crab. He got a bit excited as a bird swooped by to catch his (the bird’s) supper. They have, however, now seen a few camels having visited the camel market in Nouakchott.
Team Sunspots have been travelling mostly on their own! This paid off when the convoy of 25 or so cars were crossing the Mauritania – Senegal border which took 5 – 8 hours. Trabi got through in an hour and they were, unusually, given papers to travel unaccompanied through Senegal. The Trabi magic continues! They have met many police road blocks - going into and out of towns, way up in the hills and so on. The police ask for all manner of things from papers to fire extinguishers to properly fitted seatbelts – any loophole they can find to be able to issue a fine commonly known as a 'tourist tax'. So far Sunspots have been well prepared and remain un-fined.
The Trabi did join a convoy crossing from the Western Sahara to Mauritania which took 4 – 5 hours. They were actually lucky to be there at all as, unknowingly, Chris had just driven through a minefield!
The trusty Trabi soldiers on despite an intermittent ignition problem, fixed as necessary, but still manages 60 kph on one cylinder even if it takes a while to get there! It has been fantastic off road, flying through the sand – proving that the KN air filter was a good move and thus justifying the KN motorsport classification, thanks KN!
The journey North (?!) to Chinquetti was really hard work as the car was under maximum strain struggling against the wind and sands however the journey south again was a breeze! This added about 1000km to the trip – are they mad? However it was well worth it as Chinquetti was stunning and included a visit to a local school where the Director proudly showed off some centuries old documents in the school library.
The sirocco was very cold and made the travellers feel very weather-beaten (or exfoliated as it was put!) – it even managed to strip paint off the side of the car. Now they have stopped Dominic said it was great not to be moving and to be able to enjoy a warm breeze. They plan to stay an extra day on the beach, where quite a few of the other cars have arrived, to rest and recover. Then it’s the last ‘little bit’ to the Gambia although they have learnt not to trust the mileage on road signs.
A number of cars have dropped out but many struggle gamely on. One Team lost the fuel pump on their car so have rigged a jerry can on the roof rack with a gravity fuel feed to the carburettor. This trip certainly tests ingenuity.
That’s all for now but hopefully there’ll be some more before Team Sunspots returns to reality!
Out of the silence...
Thursday, 04 January 2007 18:32 Distance today: 820
You will have noticed a distinct lack of news for the last few days, not because they were lost in the dunes but because there is an unsuprising lack of phone masts in the desert. All is well!
They had a very long day yesterday and probably the day before. They were at Chinquetti - quite a way inland and drove 720k to Rosso. The first 80k was off road with 2 hours of 50-100m visibility due to sand storms. Today was a further 100k off road to the border of Mauritania and Senegal. The first hour was in the dark but they saw pelicans and flamingos as the sun rose.
Team Sunspots are now safe and sound soaking up some sun on the beach in Senegal for a few days. If you look at the map - not far to go now!
I Spy...
Saturday, 30 December 2006 11:34 Distance today: 563
You ain't seen nothing until you've seen nothing for 563k to Dakhla. The well know family car game of 'I Spy' didn't last long after R - rocks, S - sand and R - road were used up. Not even a C for camel in sight!
Car was a bit iffy for the last 60k but OK now. Into the real desert tomorrow (I wonder how you define that?!)
Lots of cars out - Go Trabi Go!!
We've just added some new pictures in the blog archive.
Tales from a traveller
Saturday, 30 December 2006 11:18
If anyone thought a smoky two stroke Trabi would leave its carbon footprint in Marrakech, have no fear. Its little 35mm exhaust pipe paled into insignificance compared with what was there. Thick, stinking, choking smoke in colours from light grey to black, spewed into the Moroccan air like mini Bunsfields. From the airport, a blanket of brown smoke can be seen hanging over the city. Still, it saves having to wear sunglasses; especially if they're left at home. True we added our bit to the atmosphere but ours was wholly exonerated by the joy given to so many Moroccans. As we approached, jaws dropped which changed to smiles then to broad grins and often shouts, laughter and even had one group of lads jumping in unison at the sight and sound of us.
As for sights, one of the best was the carriage of the newly purchased solitary sheep. Sixes or so get put on the roof of ones transit but the single purchase is usually with its head and forelegs over the handlebars of the purchaser's moped with the body between the rider's legs. Not a baaaaad way to travel.
Noting the Trabi has just been loaded with 85 litres of fuel, that's 3 x 20 litre jerry cans and a full 25 litre tank, its weight has been doubled. Long live the smell of a 2 stroke. Oh yes, and thanks for having me for the ride.
graham
Trabi travels on...
Friday, 29 December 2006 14:40 Distance today: 552
At 2200 on Day 13 the team texted from Laayoune, now officially in the Western Sahara, having driven across amazing but rather dull desert driving past lots of signs warning of - sand!! Hmmm...! There were many police roadblocks but no hassle for the trabi - must be it's smart good looks..!
They now have 85litres of fuel on board in anticipation of a 0500 start on a journey to Dakhla. Having checked the map this appears to be on the end of a rather long spit but obvioulsy considered worth the detour. We shall see.
Day 12
Friday, 29 December 2006 14:21 Distance today: 328
With the Sunspots team now reformed, Chris and Dominic set of round the west end of the Atlas mountains driving 80k on a single track road - probably the scenic route knowing Dominic! There followed an excellent road to Agadir where, sadly on of the teams in a Range Rover ground to a permanent halt. The trabi gamely carried on to Tiznit with an overnight stay on the town square - one hopes in a room!
With 1200k to catch up they have a couple of long days ahead.
PS Apologies for delay in update - technical hitch yesterday which seems to have put itself right today!
Catching up...
Wednesday, 27 December 2006 10:47 Distance today: 577
Just to back track a little and catch up on a couple of texts. Christmas Eve saw them having a good run to Marrakech drawing much attention on the way. So much so that they were stopped for speeding - I wonder what the limit was!! The policemen just laughed at them, shook them by the hand and sent them on their way! Can't see that happening on the M25 but then most of us don't drive sticker covered pink East German cars! (see photograph now on Day Two - thanks Pete!)
As Dominic has said the car seems to be running very well, comfortably cruising at 80 - 85kph. The few minor problems have been easily sorted. However, one puzzling moment was when Graham had slipped out of gear, in the process of changing it, and the engine was revving particularly fast. They were concerned enough about this so pulled on to the side of the road only to discover that, with no prop shaft tunnel running down the middle of the car, and Dominic twisting and reaching into the back of the car, his rather large size 11 was pressing on the accelerator!!
For those who like statistics - they have so far used 270 litres of fuel and are averaging 40.5 mpg. They did, in fact, reach the half way point on Christmas Eve.
Christine will have now joined Dominic who would have been in the airport carpark this morning with the engine running. They are about a day and a half behind the other teams so have a bit of making up to do. Good luck to them both and we look forward to more news from the desert.
Palm tree overloads Trabi (note the Cadburys Heroes tin lid as lost wheel trim replacement!)
No bitter sting of tears for us
Tuesday, 26 December 2006 17:41
A 10am start for a trip out into the High Atlas. Snowy peaks aplenty all around and above. We avoided the hustlers wanting to take us to the waterfalls and headed to where 'tourists don't go' and the Berbers scrape a meagre living. The views and the walk along the river bed were stunning and beckoning to higher peaks. Never keen to return the way he went, Dominic chose an alternate route rather than the bridge and took the stepping stone route. They weren't stepping stones and his jeans had a well needed wash.
Who needs a map when you're in an Atlas – literally dizzying heights
Having done nearly 4000km of (virtually) trouble free driving it was time to put the Trabi through its paces and introduce it to some donkey tracks. Off we set to the Tizi-n-Tagtout pass, marked on the map as a white road. On the ground it was also white in places where the snow hadn't melted. We climbed to about 1,800m passing one village and very few signs of life. After an hour's driving (10km) our plans to cross the 23km pass were thwarted by fallen trees and packed ice. A two point turn managed by pushing the car sideways on the sheet ice put us back in a homeward direction, it was just 35 minutes back down the mountain to the main road.
Graham drove through an unbelievably busy souk en route back to Marrakech with the crowds (grudgingly) parting to allow the pink beauty through (car not Graham). We had a few coughs and splutters from the engine on the way back into town which seem to have been solved with new sparkplugs and reconnecting the exhaust pipe which had decided to part company from the silencer, and we had been getting used to tinitus.
We have cased the airport ready for Graham's departure and Chris' arrival tomorrow. We have pimped our ride ready for the desert, Santa was stolen a couple of days ago and we now have a camel mounted on a plinth on the bonnet, bring on the sand.
Happy New Year from Africa, where there currently is snow.
Over the water...
Sunday, 24 December 2006 08:56 Distance today: 236
They arrived at the ferry port at 7.15 am for the 9.00 am ferry which finally left at 11.45!! A further hold up of 3 hours at the customs in Tangiers delayed the journey further. The next diversion was missing the turning to Fes which then took them along the coast road and then inland to Wazan.
Evening entratainment was browsing the local souk - I wonder what bargains have been bartered for!
Straight on for Marrakech
Over half way!
Saturday, 23 December 2006 10:57 Distance today: 787
Dominic has sent their daily mileage tally - this entry accounts for a couple of days and also includes a rest day. They're well over half-way!!
What he didn't say...
Friday, 22 December 2006 17:14
Salamanca was amazing and the camping was cosy, despite the snow! It seems they might have had a problem on the way to Seville and achieved a very short journey. It's not clear if they lost gear oil or not or whether the clutch is slipping but whatever it was, it's not too bad. They have obviously now made it to Tarfia and are getting ready to head off across the next bit of water. Good to know that they have met up with others, no doubt much comparison of journeys will go on tonight.
Mileage is now a bit out - but for those of you who are interested I'll try and get an accurate update!
Trabi Pepe at Jerez
Torro torro trabi, see you tomorrow my son
We can see Africa
Friday, 22 December 2006 16:59
It's been possible to see Africa since yesterday lunchtime. We arrived at the Challenge hotel to be met by a couple of dozen other teams. Rather than head for a shower and some r and r we gave the car a quick check to find manifold loose and very little transmission oil. Today we have got more oil and generally been tightening nuts and bolts and moving fog lights to the roof. Go faster stripes look good.
Tomorrow we should be on the 09.00 ferry to Tangier. A very stern looking hotel concierge is looking daggers at me so I´ll be off before he gets me for using his reception PC. Hopefully more news via text soon. Happy Christmas.
Day four
Tuesday, 19 December 2006 11:38 Distance today: 534
If ever you need to know, colour coding of car fuses isn’t reliable! The red one bought and fitted wasn’t the amperage expected and caused a small fire which, happily, was quickly put out with no damage done!
Fortunately back to sunshine all day and the overnight stop was a campsite in Salamanca. Having been heavily laden, before departure, with tasty consumables from a variety of well-wishers kitchens, Lisa’s cakes have been keeping the boys going and are nearly gone! Thanks Lisa for a taste of home on the journey!
A wing and a prayer for dos hermanos
Day three
Monday, 18 December 2006 12:26 Distance today: 673
The glorious sunshine enjoyed on Sunday was replaced with fog all day for the trip to Bayonne. Despite this, and two stops on the hard shoulder, all was well and Bayonne was reached in 12 hours.
Dominic’s digital camera, which he had to ‘gently’ encourage Nikon to send back from being repaired, to be collected at Graham’s the day of departure, has now proved not to be working!! Let’s hope Graham remembered to take his camera!
Ah well, Spain tomorrow!!
Day two - farewell two
Sunday, 17 December 2006 16:14 Distance today: 500
After final bits of packing, tweaking under the bonnet, modifications to the roof rack etc AKU was on it’s way again with a final farewell and au revoir from Dominic's family.
Dover was made in good time where the ferry book-in staff gave their generous support, in the collecting bucket! The French customs officer was rather bemused and shook his head in that Gallic way they have. Safely across the Channel, Dominic and Graham where tucked up in Chatres by 22.30 having made good time despite a few coughs and splutters due to the HT leads. Let’s hope they find the French equivalent of Halfords to put that right soon!
They had a bright and early start and were on their way to Bayonne before most of us were at work.
The first farewell!
Saturday, 16 December 2006 13:56 Distance today: 320
A number of the good folks of Sheffield, and some of our ardent supporters, arrived at the City Farm to see us off on our adventure.
We sped away on time at 11.00 complete with a shower of rice on the bonnet! We had a good journey South, with even more looks and photographs than before now that the pinkness of the car is covered in the stickers of our sponsors and details of the trip, arriving in Surrey at the predicted time despite the usual hold-ups on the M1 and M25.
Well, the final morning is about to dawn and we have piles and boxes all over the house, over the next couple of hours we'll see if we can fit it in the car.
We haven't really had much of a chance to thank folks over the past few weeks so apologies if you are one of the many who have sent cheques, done bank transfers or used Paypal, we will write to you all when we get back. Thanks to all our friends, families, colleagues and the huge number of strangers who have got us this far. You can now look forward to a month of not hearing about that bloody trip to Gambia. Also a quick no thanks to the National Trust for not letting Chris have time off over Christmas and costing us £400+ in changed travel arrangement. Bye. C&D
Tired and emotional…
Thursday, 14 December 2006 10:50
And we haven’t even set off yet! The past few weeks have been rather full-on and it’s beginning to take its toll. It hasn’t helped that Chris is in Wakefield and Dominic in Sheffield. Chris has been having some pre-trip dental treatment and currently has toothache (which should be fixed next week) whilst the marketing team at SGMT is down two members of staff and Dominic’s workload has doubled accordingly. The dodgy spare wheel was collected from Red Lion Garage this morning and we need to get a couple of new HT leads but there is a chance that we now have all the correct paperwork, camping equipment, maps, spares and a car that goes and the washing machine has been working overtime sprucing up long forgotten clothes to wear and discard on the trip. It remains to be seen if it will all fit in/on the car but it looks like we might actually be ready.
Not long to go
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 10:41
After months of inaction, prevarication and putting things off to tomorrow, it is very nearly too late for any more preparation. At last we are counting down to departure in hours rather than months, weeks or days. Eeek. We will be setting off from outside Heeley City Farm, Sheffield at 11am on Saturday morning, we hope to be there from about 10am. The café opens at 10.30am so you can get some elevenses once we’ve hit the road, then head to the excellent South Yorkshire Energy Centre which opens at noon. We had grand plans for a brass band and all manner of entertainment but, you know what, getting the car ready has been a bit more of a priority. It would be great to have a crowd to see us off. The forecast is good but chilly so wrap up warm. You can use the site of the day link below for a map.
We were donated a very substantial Land Rover roof rack from Freecycle last week so this morning was spent cutting it down to size to fit a vehicle somewhat smaller than a Landy.
The rest of the morning was taken up with some rather slapdash branding of the car with cut vinyl and logos. Suitably liveried the car then made an appearance at the Heeley City Farm Christmas Fair where the folks of Sheffield continued to be very generous with their cash. With Gift Aid we are very near to £2,000 raised for our charities.
Dust a plenty
Thursday, 07 December 2006 19:39
We have been worrying about the affect that the desert is likely to take on our less than substantial disposable paper air filters. After a chat with Bob at Technical Services UK we have become convinced that the best solution is to fit a KN filter. Bob gave us a contact to speak to at KN and we are now the proud owners of the only Trabant sized filter they had in stock. KN sponsor all manner of motorsport teams and we qualified for a 50% motorsport discount. Hurrah.
Why Sunspots?
Tuesday, 05 December 2006 12:00
There are many questions we get asked about the trip and the charities, hopefully this website answers most of them. However there is one recurring question that we should have answered ages ago, why are you called Team Sunspots?
When we applied to take part in the Challenge we had to submit a team name and despite thinking about it for nearly six months we left it to the last minute. We are both big fans of the Fall and toyed with many Fall song titles and lyrics as our team name with the most likely being Kurious Oranj but we just couldn't bring ourselves to have a picture of Mark E Smith on the car.
The back up artiste had to be Julian Cope, the great man has a huge back catalogue of suitable songs to plunder - No Hard Shoulder to Cry On, Highway to the Sun and Drive, She Said but without a doubt it had to be Sunspots if only for it's lyric 'Sunspots changing gear, driving round with my very best friend'.
They came, they partied
Sunday, 03 December 2006 12:00
We had our launch party at the Old Crown last night. The Dakar and Bust DVD was on heavy rotation on the plasma screen and many a Pink Trabi and Two Stroke cocktail were drunk. Suddenly we feel really excited about the trip especially given the excellent support we have been getting from everyone.
Yay, we're in the paper
Friday, 01 December 2006 14:00
We've been very remiss in keeping you up to date on the press we've been getting. Given that we're on the front of the Sheffield Telegraph today it's probably worth giving you a bit of an update. We had a full page feature in Knight Rider the IFA owners' club magazine in the summer, Heeley Voice magazine featured us and Exposed magazine gave us a mention in the November issue. A couple of student journalists at Sheffield University have also interviewed us, we hope to have their pieces on here shortly.
The people of Sheffield support us
Tuesday, 28 November 2006 19:33
Despite less than promising weather first thing we had a very good day outside Sainsbury's on The Moor today. Chris had a pre-expedition dental appointment to have a crown fitted but still managed to speak to plenty of people despite a numb face. The car caused a bit of a stir, hundreds of people stopped to talk to us and we had a visit from a photographer from the Sheffield Telegraph.
What have we got here?
Saturday, 25 November 2006 19:31
We are getting used to comments from the people of Sheffield but last night we had our best so far. Dominic was in the back of the car fiddling with speaker cables when a pizza delivery bike pulled up, the rider got off his moped and started muttering to himself, 'what have we got here? It's a crazy pink Trabant!'
He was somewhat taken aback when Dominic spoke to him - from inside the car. Much shaking of hands and discussion of the trip then took place whilst the pizza went cold.
Apologies to our neighbour who had a slightly cold pizza last night.
We're legal
Wednesday, 15 November 2006 19:31
New numberplates and tax disc now proudly displayed, one of the staff at the DVLA office was particularly pleased that the mauve of the disc would go nicely with the car.
My, that's pink
Tuesday, 14 November 2006 19:29
We had our DVLA inspection for our Trabi today. The amount of rigour amazed me.
I had a chat with the inspector before we went outside to look at car and apologised for the rather bright pink. He had emailed another branch to find out what to look out for as he'd never done a Trabi before, the only response he'd had was 'Pink! Make sure you get a photo!' He asked me all sorts of questions about availability of parts, how it is to drive, how long we'd had it etc basically lots of chat.
The only thing he did that was anything like an inspection was ask me where the chassis number was and take a photo of the VIN plate. I returned a couple of hours later to pick up the completed paperwork, tax disc and number plate authorisation.
Whilst I'd been waiting for the inspector all the front desk staff had gone to the window to look at the car in the car park, I was impressed how many knew it was a Trabi.
The rest of the day was spent sorting out car items. I had some box section cut and drilled for fitting the Peugeot seats (French comfort instead of German utility) their purple covers go nicely with the pink paintwork. The stereo from the terrible Citroen we had has been fitted and miraculously the radio now works. Other stray bits of dodgy wiring have also been fixed so we now have fog lamps. We can now also adjust direction of airflow thanks to some WD40 and a hammer, we'll now be toasty warm in France and Spain and toasted in Africa!
East German day out
Monday, 06 November 2006 19:25
Well, what a day out we had yesterday at East German Day at Crich Tramway Museum. I drove out of Sheffield with Chris rather nervously taking over once we were out onto the quieter Derbyshire roads and that was the last chance I had to drive. Judging by the grin on her face I think it's safe to safe Chris quite enjoys driving a Trabi. We were amongst the first to arrive at Crich and were set up right by the entrance along with some Ladas and an extremely fine Skoda day van (best in show)and as the first thing the public saw as they arrived we got a lot of interest in the car and the trip. There were quite a few people in costume/uniform, a German tram was running and there was a good mix of vehicles, Barkas, Tatras, Ladas, Skodas, Wartburgs and quite a few Trabis.
I took part in the first procession at 13.00 the movie below is from the car in front of me but you do catch a quick glimpse of pink in the last few seconds. Chris went to the re-enactment of the fall of the Berlin Wall then led the second procession of cars at 15.00. We didn't win a prize but given that it was the car's first day out and we hadn't washed it we weren't expecting to. We met some very nice people, both public and other owners and had nearly £60 in our bucket by the end of the day.
Is it warm in there?
Friday, 03 November 2006 19:24
We are used to people stopping to talk to us when we park our Morris or the camper but we have a feeling we're going to get even more comments in the Trabi. Whilst I had the bonnet open at the garage last night, the car has a gravity fed fuel tank under the bonnet, the passenger in the next car said 'what's one of them then?' followed swiftly by 'where's it from?', 'how old is it?' and 'is it warm in there?' Her parting comment as I drove off was 'nice colour'. I've got the hang of the column gearshift and even remember to switch the fuel on before setting off, unlike when I left the garage the other morning - I only managed about 20 yards before I ran out of fuel.
We have an MOT
Wednesday, 01 November 2006 19:23
It was with a great deal of nerves and trepidation that I set off for Red Lion Garage first thing this morning. Normally I'm nervous about how much the garage bill is going to be but Harry and John have been working on the Trabi for nothing, so no worries there. Was I worried that I'd have forgotten how to use the column gearshift? No, what had set the butterflies a flutterin' in my stomach was the fact that with the car MOT'd and driving like a dream there is no reason for us to not go now. John and Harry have done a fantastic job on the car, they have gone way beyond just getting it through the MOT, short of stripping the engine it's had the works. Now we need to get it ready for the desert.
On other matters, we have the ferry booked, we've started our jabs, have three nights booked in the Marrakech Ibis for Christmas and thanks to Morris at Nostell we have a late night lift from Manchester Airport when we get back. We will be having a launch party on 2 December and our departure time is now set at 11.00 on 16 December from outside Heeley City Farm, more details of both will be confirmed shortly.
Tuesday, 31 October 2006 19:22
Of course the seal turned out to be the wrong size but I managed to find one very deep in a box in a dark shed in Derbyshire last night and we now have an MOT. Hurrah! I'll be picking the car up first thing tomorrow. Lots more new to follow shortly.
Looks like you've blown a seal
Friday, 27 October 2006 19:21
We are just sooo close to an MOT. John at Red Lion Garage has done an absolutely fantastic job on the car After three weeks in the garage, we have a sparkling engine and engine bay, tip top brakes, new tyres, lovely tuning and we're ready to roll...
...or not, the transmission oil has been changed and the engine run for about 20 mins (it sounds sweeter than a sweet thing) but what's this? We have a small pool of oil forming under the car which is clearly coming from the gearbox. A quick rub of the magic lantern and Graham is dropping off a Wellendichtring (radial oil seal) tomorrow, so fingers crossed we'll have an MOT on Monday.
Under car action
Monday, 09 October 2006 19:20
I always like walking under a car, the excitement of seeing those bits that are normally hidden is usually tempered by the fact that they are in a terrible state and in need of (costly) repair. But not with our lovely Trabi, I called by the garage en route to work this morning and Harry was keen to show me what a good state the car is in. It turns out that we don't need to do the rear brakes but the front ones need new cylinders which means I've had to make a call to Lars at LDM and they are now on their way from Germany. We also have a full set of new tyres thanks to Ken at Selecta Tyre in Buxton. It is looking increasingly likely that we might have an MOT by the end of the week!
We hit the streets
Friday, 06 October 2006 19:19
After picking up a bag of bits from Graham out at Youlgreave we did some, mostly electrical, work on the car at the weekend. On Monday morning the Trabi hit the streets of Sheffield in the rush hour traffic as it made its smokey way to Red Lion Garage where it was booked for an MOT. The garage have kindly donated the MOT and some time to get it through. Today we found out what we need to get it through the MOT. Not surprisingly the brakes need a full overhaul, blocks, cylinders etc and those East German remould tyres are as bad as they look. So off to Graham again tomorrow. Unbelievably we only have 70 days before we leave, eeek!
We meet Alan Titchmarsh
Monday, 25 September 2006 11:00
We have had one mighty busy week. Dominic and Paul had a good session with the car on Saturday and we are pleased to announce that it goes and even stops when it is told to. The drive round the block was somewhat interesting for Paul given the passenger seat only reclines but he did do a good impression of a laidback passenger.
What is a bit more exciting, but only just, is the fact that we met Alan Titchmarsh yesterday. He is the Patron of Seeds for Africa and was filming a new BBC1 programme at Nostell. He was very busy but did find time to look us pityingly, somewhat surprised that anyone should want to do something so foolish even if it is for charity. As you can see we managed to find time for a photo.
We've broken it
Monday, 11 September 2006 12:45
Well, all manner of things have happened since the last update. Having got the car going we decided to check it out for general condition. Aided by Paul, who has a wealth of experience of aircooled vehicles, various bits of tinwork were removed and rubber hoses checked. We were sure that we put everything back as we found it but what do you know, it looks like we broke it. But we do have a shopping list of parts that need replacing.
Chris' new job at Nostell Priory is causing more problems than the car. As House and Collections Manager she has to work Christmas Day so cannot do the first leg of the trip. After much pondering we have decided to carry on with the project with Dominic driving to Morocco and Chris flying out to Marrakech on Boxing Day.
Three fools have jumped at the chance to drive to Marrakech. At the moment it looks most likely to be Dominic's brother Graham who will be squeezing into the co-driver's seat.
It's alive
Sunday, 30 July 2006 12:00
It's alive, it's alive(ish)! We took a bucket, some Autoglym, T Cut and elbow grease down to the Trabi and sure enough a bit of polishing summoned up the 2 stoke Genie, there was a huge cloud of smoke and the pink beauty sprang into life. Strictly speaking I think it might have been less of the polish and more the rocking the car in gear to free the starter motor and a new battery that got it going but that's not such a good story is it?
The engine ran for a while and than died but at least we have action. We also have an idiosyncratic electric system, hazards but no indicators, washer but no wipers etc.
Lots of jobs to do and a new job
Friday, 28 July 2006 13:00
You'd think that a month after the last progress update that we'd be reporting that the car is running and that and MOT is imminent. But unfortunately we can report nothing of the sort. We haven't been sitting around but neither have we been working on the car. The poor thing looks very forlorn when I walk past it twice a day (to and from work) but it is locked behind steel gates and we have only limited access time. To compound matters much of that limited time has been swallowed up over the past few weeks with all manner of other activities.
We went to the PDC launch in a field in Devon early in July, we met some great people but we were definitely one of the quieter teams there. We are told by PDC veterans that the groups shake themselves down and likeminded teams gravitate together.
Our most notable news has to be that Chris has a new job near Pontefract. She starts on 14 August and we have to furnish a flat by then so even less time to work on the Trabi. At the moment it is also highly likely that she will have to work at Christmas if she does we are looking at ways for her to join the trip in Marrakech rather than miss the whole thing. So watch this space for an advert for a co-driver for the trip from Sheffield to Morocco. We hope it doesn't come to that.
Website happenings: the Build your own Trabi kits are proving popular, we've given away about 200 and they are being downloaded but we've only had a few photos sent in for the People's Car Park. Send us yours. The big news is that we now have a Pin the Tail on the Camel Flash interactive for you to play on the site. It has been developed for us by DESQ and we'll be using for a viral email campaign sometime soon. We've also added a few links to nice things on the links page.
By the way, we are not complaining that it is 32oC in the office, we see it as good training.
We didn't win 'Worst in Show'
Monday, 26 June 2006 19:05
Despite less than promising weather first thing we headed to Graves Park for the Festival of Transport. The camper was shown in the 'light commercials' section and the Trabi alongside and immaculate Cortina and a Scimitar. We had people around us all day (even long after the football had started) giving us advice, cash, offers of assistance and many a shake of the head and a wry smile. At last we also had a chance to get some photos of the car not in a storage yard.
Nothing whatsoever
Monday, 19 June 2006 19:04
A couple of hours were spent under the bonnet on Sunday afternoon, it would have been more but people keep stopping to talk. A fully charged battery and fresh fuel resulted in... nothing whatsoever. The electrics seem to be working but not a single sign of life from the starter motor. Looks like a project for next weekend.
Heeley festival
Sunday, 18 June 2006 12:00
Thanks to everyone who was at Heeley Festival on Saturday. The response we got from talking to so many people about what we are planning on doing was really encouraging. We hadn't really expected to raise much money on the day, we saw it more as the first step in raising our profile, so to have come away with nearly £100 for our causes is fantastic. Not only did we get cash (and pledges for more) but all manner of offers of support in kind as well.
People are obviously spreading the word as we met people on Sunday who said that they'd already heard of the pink Trabi. If you left us your email address we'll keep you posted on what we're up to, if you didn't email us and we'll add you to the list.
This might become a blog
Wednesday, 14 June 2006 12:45
We have a car and a very busy summer ahead of us. The website is beginning to come together but still has a long way to go.
