A man possessed ... or how a Capri named Carla took over my life ...
Submitted by Speedbird on Fri, 28/11/2008 - 8:50pm.
in
Team 50degreesNorth
A Ford Capri to Mongolia ... and back ... how hard can it be?
My last post described how I came to be possessed by a 1980 Ford Capri Ghia with an auto ‘box and a 2.0 litre Ford OHC ‘Pinto’ engine. I say possessed deliberately and with feeling. Followers of the story so far will have noted my impulsive and reckless purchase of ‘the car you always promised yourself’ and read how I described her as flirty, almost thirty, and very definitely dirty. I wrote that the Force was strong with this car. Nothing since has proven otherwise. She sits now on my drive a little cleaner; and somewhat chastened by the wrinkles and pock marks that show her age. All her camouflage has been removed. Her dark shades - gone; the killer heels - gone. The tinted quarter window film, smoked indicator units and black headlight shields have all been stripped away and the oh so pretty but oh so impractical RS3100 alloys have all come off. And yet she still draws all who see her to pause, sigh and remember another time, another place. Or indeed, Another Girl, Another Planet. She still has the power; the Force is still so very strong in her. She has occupied my life for more than a year now and since the decision to attempt The Official Mongolia Charity Rally in her, she has kept me busy night and day. Yet she still has not run more than a few miles! I have become a man possessed indeed!
I have become possessed by a fury of red oxide and a hurricane of Hammerite as I wage war on rust. Possessed by the need to strip, clean and repaint every nut, bolt, washer, screw, body part and panel. I have refurbished, repaired or replaced just about every conceivable fixture, fitting and fixing (and some inconceivable!) that I could turn a spanner or driver to. I have improved parts and destroyed parts. I have made some things better and others I have made worse. Still I go on ... it has proven to be an addiction, an obsession, a possession of the highest order.
Soon she will be ready to run free again, to run like the wind ... all the way to borders of Mongolia and back ... but for now, the rally preparation continues ...
Date | Message | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 weeks 4 days ago | Aaaaarghhhhh! Archie .... how could you? "significant risk of breaking down" .... read more » | |
| 2 weeks 5 days ago | This is a message to NAG Mongol, Edinburgh Mongol and Exploro Ergo Sum (clever) teams .. and a few others ... the organisers are probably too polite to tell you, but I'm not .... change your BLOODY NAME! The Mongol Rally is the one that charges £650 per team and makes a profit in return for laying on a bit of music and a bar in Prague (Like that's hard!).... they also encourage teams to raise money for charity after recouping expenses .... so if you think "a pound for me and a pound for them" is a good way to raise money for charity then sign up for the MONGOL RALLY ... send your enormous cheque to The League of Adventurists ... read more » | |
| 2 weeks 6 days ago | In searching the internet for Capri rally car images I stumbled across this image from the Plymouth - Dakar Rally 2004.
Fiona, (Easterby) if you happen to be following my team blogs, was it the 2004 Plymouth - Dakar you did?
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| 3 weeks 10 hours ago | Andy, what are you thinking as far as sleeping gear? I was thinking an army cot with sleeping bag, so I'm not on the ground with the "critters". Sleep in the open roadside if weather is OK. Pop a tarp over if it's raining or likely to dew. Any ideas you have chewed on? (An army cot weighs about 24lbs, folds to around 42-in long by 8-in diameter.) I'm still nurturing the idea of a light motorcycle-spec trailer too. A Capri ain't a truck. If we expect to see out the rear window, we'd better have roof stowage, and perhaps tow a mini box on a ball hitch. Food, camp gear, clothing, spares, tools, a bit of fuel, it all adds up... without a lorry, we have to be self-contained. Thinking aloud, "blue skying", quite open to ideas here. Norm | |
| 3 weeks 1 day ago | does anyone actually read any of this? I post ... no one comments or replies .... is any one out there???? | |
| 3 weeks 4 days ago |
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| 4 weeks 4 hours ago | Today has been a good day! The sign up for the Official Mongolia Charity Rally 2009 has started, a bunch of new teams have registered so I don't feel quite so alone; my co driver issue has pretty much resolved itself with Norm Murdock of 'Team Blitz' more or less committed to actually making the trip as well as to providing much needed suppport ... thank God! the team got it's first donation to our charity, Save the children ... thank you so much to Panda Selecta from Retro Rides ... you are a star ... I can't tell you how good that feels .... the first donation to get us started means the world to me! read more » | |
| 6 weeks 7 hours ago | Team 50degreesNorth read more » | |
| 20 weeks 1 day ago | It was a bright, clear day in October 2007 that I spotted her. There she sat, black and low and menacing. She wore black shades; her expression purposeful. In kinky boots she sat on her haunches, close to the ground with poise and grace; coming out of the low sun she was a panther waiting to pounce. Her narrow waist flared to the curve of her hips. She was beautiful ... she was flirty and nearly thirty; and she looked really dirty ... read more » | |
| 20 weeks 6 days ago | This V8 Capri won the London to Sydney Millenium Marathon Rally in 2000.
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