Sussex Road Trip

We'll be in Italy with the Abarth and a bunch of Alfisti, but I'll keep an eye on this forum for any interesting reports!

Have fun all, and play nicely with each other.  I'll raise a glass of Chianti to a whole lot of cast-iron American-ness behaving itself in an exemplary fashion.

Roger

Have a great time Roger and we’ll look forward to hearing all about it when you get back.

Paul

So it's now four days to Sussex Road Trip liftoff'; all fluids have been checked and then re-checked, the diff leak has been sorted, a secondary spanner check completed by a suitable grown up and a fire extinguisher appropriately fitted and hopefully never to be used.

Bar refuelling and packing, I'm all done, so here's hoping for good weather (dry and warm, but not too hot), a reliable car that gets there and back under it's own propulsion and most importantly safe travels over the next 480 miles; by the time I get home, my mileometer should have clicked over 1000 miles travelled since delivery last October last year.

God speed, everyone.

L

Hi Lee, 

You're welcome to convoy down with us if you want to. We’re going to take a gentle cross-country amble avoiding the main routes as much as possible.

Paul

I'd love to Paul, but sadly, I have a meeting en route, so will have to head down solo and attend to that first.

Just out of interest, what route are you taking? I'd initially planned to go A1, A14, M11 and then south, but the A14 on a Friday is a worry frankly.

Lee

We’re taking a meandering cross-country route keeping off the main trunk roads as much as possible. We’re having lunch in Wargrave, which is just south of Henley-on-Thames.

We’ll see you there.

Paul

Well, my mini road trip has been bought to a successful conclusion, a little earlier than I had hoped due to a work related crisis, now resolved.

In just over 24 hours, my car has covered 400 reliable 'development' miles and my total mileage covered since delivery in October last year now teeters tantalisingly at a whisper under 1000 miles.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Colin and Nicky for their exceptionally hard work in creating a very memorable event for all the attendees; and Colin in particular, I do personally appreciate what work goes into creating such a successful and carefully thought out event; especially that road book, which was something of a triumph...

It was a genuine privilege to meet such a variety of interesting people on the trip; Gerry especially, but also the members from both clubs.

I found myself quite besotted with one or two of the cars there and can quite picture a Hawk 289 in my garage to keep my 427 company in the coming months and years, one very period original car in particular...

My 427 was driven hard over the last two days, experiencing all weathers (but mostly rain) and getting stuck in two particularly bad jams on the way home; yet the car behaved itself impressively throughout; with rock steady oil pressure and water temperature.  Outside of that, nothing else really matters and the little bits and pieces that did manifest themselves along the way really do amount to small tweaks and nothing more, which is testament to the the quality and thought invested in the original build of the car, so hats off to you Mr Brookes.

As Cobra owners, I am constantly reminded at events such as this how very fortunate we are to have such a circle of great owners, enthusiasts and specialists within our reach; and that's before we start to consider the cars themselves, which really are unique.  Yes, we all experience challenges from time to time; some big, but most less so.  We really shouldn't take for granted what we have, as in my experience of owning other older cars, Cobra ownership (and all that comes with it), really can't be beaten.   

So, here's to the next event - I'm off for a long soak in a Radox filled bath as I really do feel like I've ridden an angry horse non stop for the last day - which demonstrates that you can have too much of a good (great) thing.

L

I'm pleased to report that my newly rebuilt engine behaved impeccably over the weekend, despite some testing conditions, although it does seem to have a thirst for oil.

Many thanks to Colin & Nicky for hosting a terrific weekend and for all of the hard work they put in to organising everything. Special thanks also to Gerry & Rhona for hosting a fantastic barbecue on Friday evening and for opening up their workshop and collection for everyone to see.

Paul