update…

Lots to update; it’s been weeks since we have posted! We’ve had a load of kid related and work related stuff going on and I cannot believe it is November already…Christmas is almost upon us.

There’s a whole host of photos that I am editing from various events that will be posted soon I promise!

The BMW 3.0L CSA is progressing slowly – the engine block and cylinder head are away with our engineers for checking and the required parts list is growing.

Spring has brought us reasonable rain; everything is green and lush for the moment, but like most parts of Aus we could do with more liquid gold from the skies.

We have Summer soccer season starting for Billy and Charlotte is rehearsing for her acrobatics end of year performances.  Tom will finish his first year of his chef’s apprenticeship schooling in a couple of weeks (where did that time go?). Lulu the cat turned one a couple of days ago too.

Life is busy as usual – happy and hectic! Every so often I jump in the car and drive a few minutes out of town to enjoy the scenery. The countryside around us is so beautiful at this time of year – it’s really easy to blow off some hours just cruising our great roads and marvelling at mother nature’s amazing work…

August Ramblings…

Wow – where did July go??? Our July disappeared in a flurry of work coming at us on all fronts – workshop busy, signwriting busy, my other contract stuff busy…plus the school musical in which Charlotte had 4 costume changes; the most challenging for me being the construction of a very elaborate jelly fish outfit! I finished Billy’s and Charlotte’s costumes the morning of the dress rehearsal – talk about pressure! All went well thank goodness; although Billy was very flat-footed at soccer the morning after the concerts (2 performances in one night).

Soccer is now over for another year – Billy is already looking at his options for Summer sport (more stuff to cram in) and Charlotte continues with acrobatics. The acro kids are now beginning to learn their routines for the end of year concert…aaarrgh; scary huh! End of year really is looming large! Tom has managed to take one night off from work to get to the football in Melbourne; only to sit in the frigid conditions and watch our team get slaughtered by the opposition…he had his sad face on for a couple of days!

We’ve just had a VIP family birthday (Charlotte) and another next week (Tom). Mike and I are struggling with the thought that we shall soon be the parents of a 16yo! A watershed birthday as Tom shall be able to get his Learner’s Permit and that means lots of driving practice with Mum and Dad – help! This weekend is Soccer presentations and a whole Sunday with the GCC Sporting Register (see below). Next weekend is birthday party time for Charlotte with 9 of her friends at a great adventure park close by…oh fun! 10 giggly 11yo girls for 4 hours – Mike and I shall need eyes in the back of our heads for that one (and alcohol – lots of it after the event!).

Mike has started compiling lists for the BMW – pages of little stuff that we shall need and isn’t that always the way with a resto project. Classic BMW parts are just as expensive as Classic Porsche parts…oh well; it’s only money! He has the engine apart and soon the major components shall be sent away to the respective machinists for refurbish.

This Sunday is August Breakfast Club followed by a tour to the Gippsland Vehicle Collection at Maffra for an American Car Display, then off to Holley Hill Winery for some afternoon tipple and BBQ. The weather forecast isn’t great but so what – it’s winter here; it’s supposed to be cold and wet! We’ll just rug up like Eskimos and go to have fun…looking forward to a great day.

We’re giving some support to the GCC Sporting Register Teams (Team Wild Dog and Team Wildhunde) for the annual 6 hour relay event at Phillip Island at the end of August. Good luck to both Teams – hope you all have a stack of fun and sorry we can’t be there with you that weekend…

Most people I know….

You all know the words that follow….”think that I’m crazy…” WELL I AM! Certifiably insane according to some!

Today we spent the afternoon at the new Haunted Hills Track with the Sporting Register. The afternoon was a simple get together of members for a look, see and experience the new circuit. It was not an “event” as such, rather a “come and try and familiarise one self with this great new circuit”.

It was a wet, cold, miserable day. It was positively frigid at Haunted Hills and I wondered more than once why I left our warm, cosy house with fire ablaze to spend the afternoon in the wet and cold.

Well with no “car” on the road at the moment, we took Bertha Van complete with 2 kids, a picnic etc. The day started with groups of 10 cars behind a pace car for a few quiet laps. After that, 2 cars per time were allowed on the circuit at once to travel at a pace comfortable for the driver.

We drove the four or so laps behind the pace car and I decided then and there I am going to LOVE this place! I was lucky enough to be invited to go for a run in Alan’s MG Midget with him at the wheel. Well, we spent most of the time sideways (in perfect control) and it was a blast to experience a fast lap in a well set up car. I was all smiles when I got out of the Midget! Mike went out with Wayne in his MR2 which is now sporting a 6 speed gearbox and quick rack – excellent hill climb car and the owner isn’t a bad steerer either! Mike then did a few laps in the MR2. Billy hopped in with both Mike and Wayne for some laps and had the time of his life. Charlotte on the other hand was unusually cautious today and didn’t take up any of the numerous offers to go for a run. She contented herself with watching the action for the most part.

I was offered several drives by very generous people today – but I decided that today was going to be the day when I would prove myself crazy…and give Bertha a chance to show that she is more than capable of holding her own on a circuit.

 

I doubt anyone (other than Mike, the kids and Wayne) expected that I would actually do this – but the pics are there to prove that Bertha did in fact strut her stuff around Haunted Hills! I took Billy for a couple of laps, then took Charlotte for a faster lap and then yelled gleefully at Mike to jump in! It was a laugh and a blast. I spent a lot of time on the cutout in second gear, got faster and spent some time in third and with a few more laps would have settled into spending most time in third gear which isn’t slow. I am rusty and out of practice…but the ol’ gal and me did OK!

Steve decided prior to this to run the circuit in the opposite direction. I thought this would possibly be a little much for Bertha so sat it out. Everyone came in saying it was like running at a completely different place, such was the difference. Most notable contender for me was Ray in his M3 – fully sideways; in complete control coming up and over the rise off the esses towards the finish running in the anti-clockwise direction. Awesome to watch! In fact the Bimmer spent a lot of time going sideways today…the Youldens (Ray and Kent) did many laps and then we finally convinced Theresa to have a go (I think she was in total control – no sideways for Theresa!). Steve had a drive of Wayne’s MR2 and it was difficult to get him out of it…lots of people swapped around in cars today and that was the beauty of the informal nature of the afternoon.

The funniest was at the end of the day – I took Steve, Alan and David around the track to go to peg out a site for a sign on a corner of the circuit which the Sporting Register is sponsoring. Steve jumped in the front and Alan and David in the back. I took off pretty hard and Steve yelled “holy s..t I should have put the seatbelt on!” I heard giggles from the back seat from the two “grown men”…Steve then announced there needs to be a “Van Class” for hillclimbs and Alan told me I should enter the Van in the upcoming events as he reckoned there would be a lot of people finishing behind me…well maybe I will; one day!

This was a very popular event with at least 30 cars turning up; despite the lousy weather. Everyone had a simply terrific day. It was laid back, informal and totally fun. It was also enough to tell me that I have spent too much time not pursuing what I love most – hillclimbing. Time to renew an old passion…

For more info about Haunted Hills check out the Gippsland Car Club website at: http://www.gippslandcarclub.com.au/

For a lap around the circuit with Steve, check out the YouTube video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ8zVB2WFUs

July Breakfast Club

Whoa – life has been a little crazy for this author. Work and family commitments have taken precedence and hence I am only just catching up with posting the events of the past few weeks. I haven’t even seen my new car for more than a few minutes!!! (NOT happy about that…)

Anyway…another Breakfast Club has come and gone. Despite being a VERY cold day, the last weekend of the school holidays etc we still had a great turnout.

Most of the cars were local, which is terrific as a few were newcomers to the Breakfast Club. The Sporting Register love hosting visitors from far and wide, but a large part of the focus is to gather Gippsland car people together.

Lots of great cars and some new bike attendees too. Notables of the day - the new toy of one of Sporting Register members; an RX-7 with all the fruit and then some; plus the most beautiful early Fairlane Coupe I have ever laid eyes on… Along came 3 Harleys, a regular Breakfast Clubber in a GT HO, a very pretty Mustang, the E49 Charger was there again, plus the pair of Jags – the D Type and an E Type coupe.  Another local with his Ferrari joined us for his second visit plus numerous others. Steve brought the Sprite complete with Sporting Register A-board strapped to the rollcage above his head!

It was a great day – cold; freezing in fact, but the atmosphere was warm and welcoming as usual!

Next Breakfast Club is Sunday August 10 – note it in your diaries and come early for a good parking spot!

900kms, 2 days, 2 cars, 2 trailers, 2 kids…

A BIG adventure, this is what we bribe the kids with anyway…now how are we going to keep Charlotte and Billy happy and amused on a 900km roadtrip in 2 cars towing 2 trailers over 2 days? CD’s, iPods, drawing books, games, lots of yummy nibblies, the promise of new and different country to explore all do the trick!

We set off Sunday afternoon (right after June Breakfast Club) en-route to Myrtleford for an overnight stop which would put us about half an hour from our ultimate destination. We were on a mission – one which we had been planning for the last month…to collect the new toy! I am now officially a BMW Mamma and I am in love already with this gorgeous car. More about the car in later posts…

Billy rides with me and Charlotte goes with Mike. Each car is stacked with “provisions”…CD’s, iPods, bags of nibblies etc. I fill the MultiVan with fuel (holy hell – one expensive roadtrip this one will turn out to be with Ultimate running between $1.68 and $1.75 a litre!) and Mike checks over the trailers, replaces a globe and all is well (lack of use for both plagues us electrically the entire weekend; even though both were checked prior). Off we go again, along the M1 and hit the 80kph roadworks zone which continues from the outskirts of Melbourne and through town – BORING and in most parts limiting the speed limit is unnecessary. An hour and a half later we stop at Kalkallo and Mike fixes a blown globe and bad connection in the tandem for me. Then we set off again and Billy says to me “how much longer Mummy?”. “Um, sweetheart, we’ve got a way to go yet. You know how long it takes to get to Winton, right? Well we have to go past the Winton turnoff and just keep going. How about we listen to a CD or something, eh?” “OK Mummy, this is going to take a long time isn’t it? Can we open the lollies now? Can I put Billy Thorpe on?”. “Good man – what a great idea!” I say. Meanwhile, Charlotte is busying herself taking photos out of Mike’s car along the way.

Dusk starts to fall and my mobile goes off. Mike is asking me to pull over as his dash lights have gone out, the parkers are off and with that no lights on the car trailer. Okey dokey, so we pull up and Mike changes a blown fuse. Bloody things go out again a few Ks down the road so I take up the rear and we decide to soldier on into Wangaratta where we can stop and assess the problem. By now it is dark and the wiring issue cannot be fixed on the side of the road. So we buy a handle of fuses, and Mike keeps chucking them in the fuse box to get through the town with lights still working. We pull off at the Myrtleford turnoff and Mike ’yanks’ the trailer plug so the fuse won’t keep blowing and he has some lights at least. Then I look at the tandem. I have stopped with the left indicator on and nothing doing on the trailer! I try the right one, no-one home there either! “Stuff it” I say. “Let’s just get to the Motel and we’ll tackle them both in the morning”. The kids by this stage are hungry and sick of sitting in the car (so are we) so we hustle to Myrtleford as quickly as possible!

We arrive about 7.00pm, making the trip with all the stops about 5 and a half hours which isn’t too bad. We check in at The Golden Leaf Motor Inn, leave the cars and trailers on the street and stroll down the main drag to find the Pub. The food at the Myrtleford Hotel is excellent, we sit by a roaring fire and the service is just as warm and friendly. We all clean our plates, go for the dessert menu and stroll back to the Motel in very nippy conditions with full tummies.

Monday dawns and Mike and I are up and organised early so we can get a look at the trailer electrical gremlins (he looks and fixes, I run bags out to the car and cups of tea to him and hustle the kids into action). We had been hoping to be up at Coral Bank by about 8.30am, but the trailers take some time and we don’t hit the road until 9.00am. It is the most beautiful drive from Myrtleford into the Kiewa Valley, the roads are fantastic (would have been awesome without the trailers) and the weather is kind to us. I am finally getting butterflies in my stomach…I am so eager to get there that I overshoot David’s driveway and have to manoeuvre the tandem to make a u-turn on a windy piece of road (challenge successfully completed).

David is waiting to greet us (having heard the trailers go past and turn around to come back) and I jump out of the car to take this gentle man’s hand in both of mine and we greet each other like old friends. We have had emails coming and going between us for weeks and we both feel like we have known each other for years. Before we all go to look at the car, we stop to admire the panoramic view of the ranges surrounding the Valley; we can see Falls Creek shrouded in clouds, the Kiewa River is running below us, David’s and Rae’s herd of very fine Black Angus come to the fence to check us all out and “Moo” their greetings. I know then and there we aren’t going to be rushing to get out of this Heaven on Earth; it is simply the most beautiful place to be on a holiday Monday morning.

Finally, David pulls me away from the view and suggests we go and survey as he put it “the damage”. David is genuinely concerned that I will have some reservations once I see the car, even though he had previously gone to great lengths to describe it to me accurately. Mike and I walk into the shed and we both break into huge smiles…out of my mouth comes a breathy “WOW”. I walk around the car and then around the piles of parts, picking things up, putting things down…David is getting concerned and asks me several times if I am happy. I finally link my arm through his and tell him yet again I am VERY Happy and know that I am truly lucky that he agreed to sell such a beauty to me.

We set about pushing the BMW out of the shed to prepare for loading on the trailer. The calipers are binding, making it hard work. Neighbour Les arrives just in the nic of time to lend a hand. We get chatting, only to find that Les is a car collector too. He points to his sheds over the road and lists the numerous Minis stored in them! Turns out Les sold two Minis to a friend of ours in Melbourne not so long ago! We end up exchanging notes on all the people we know mutually through cars – David throwing in that he once owned a yellow ’65 911 that has since been competing in Group Sb. Mike and I know the car instantly – the world of cars and car people is such a small one!

Once the car is loaded, we tackle the vast pile of parts. David fires up the tractor and we chain up the engines etc and load them in the tandem. The cows come running every time the tractor starts, looking hopefully at David and mooing belligerently when the hay they are expecting isn’t duly delivered to them (they had been fed already!). We wrap, box, load and repeat the process several times…well mostly Mike does whilst David and I chat. Thank goodness one of us is focussed on the job at hand otherwise we’d still be there.

David has a pile of manuals, magazines and a period correct Alpina steering wheel sitting on the bonnet of his 635 BMW. The 635 is a whole other story… I stay determined not to check this car out too closely as we may have needed to plan another trip, build another shed, take another mortgage if I do! Stunning car…lots of grunt potential…I am NOT buying it…I WILL resist temptation… I keep my eyes firmly on the prize of the manuals etc and David and I struggle to determine a price that is fair. Neither of us are really sure. I want to pay their worth; but how to determine that? In the end I use examples of like items in the Porsche world and we settle. The rare and complete manuals, the mags and other bits plus the gorgeous Alpina steering wheel get boxed and put in my car where they are safe for the trip home. There is a massive file for the car as well – I cannot wait until I have some time to go through it.

Finally everything is loaded and a sprinkle of rains starts as Mike and David tie down the trailers. We chat some more, have coffee and cake courtesy of Rae, chat some more…eventually we have to leave. It is early afternoon and we have a long drive home. We say our goodbyes after David takes some pics and as I get in the Van, I catch the wistful look on David’s face. My heart is cracking for this man I have just met. I have been there before myself and I know exactly how he feels. I make David a promise that we will come up with the car for a trip when she is finished. That is one promise I will not be breaking.

The tow cars both cope very well with their respective loads, the Van pulls like a train and copes with most of the big hills without issue. The Ute struggles on a few of the biggies and I lose sight of Mike a couple of times climbing out of the Valley. But for the most part we are amazed at how effortlessly both the cars are towing. We stop at Glenrowan in a huge queue of long weekend holiday makers for petrol and succumb to late lunch at McDonalds (ugh). We make good time down the Hume and stop for fuel at Longwarry and are home around 8.00pm. The lights on the car trailer finally lay over and play dead about 5km from home! The tandem goes away in the carport and Mike and Tom take the BMW to work for unloading. I shoot off an email to Rae and David to let them know we are home safe. By 9.00pm the household is in normal mode again.

900kms, 2 days, 2 cars, 2 trailers, 2 kids, the BMW baby home safe, new friends, a fun adventure. Couldn’t think of anything better we would have wanted to be doing.

Thanks to Charlotte and David for the photos…