Speedbird
All About Speedbird
Charity Rallier
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Joined: 2008-04-17
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AndrewLocation:
LondonAbout Me:
I was born in 1969 and, as it happens, so was the Ford Capri! Thinking about this prompted me to think it would be a good idea to do something spectacular in my Capri to mark this momentous occasion ... so in celebration of my 40th birthday and the 40th anniversary of the sexy European Pony Car, I thought I would spend the summer of 2009 driving to Mongolia and back!!!
The team is inspired by a number of legendary capri rally cars, chief among whom are the Larry Wells/Norm Murdoch 'Team Blitz' 2.6 V6 Mark I Capri which takes part in rally competition events in North America (as featured in Classic Ford Magazine Dec 2007) [www.teamblitz.com]. It was reading the article featuring 'Team Blitz' that really made me believe I could make the Capri my rally car. Since then, internet research has led me to discover that Stig Blomquist and Ben Rainsford won the London to Sydney Millenium Marathon Rally in 2000 in a Ford Capri Perana. This car and other Capri's have a long and distinguished classic race/rally record; it is these cars that are the basis and blueprint for my own effort.
In short, I am going to turn my ordinary road going 1980 Ford Capri Ghia 2.0L into a rally car; and as if that wasn't a monster job in itself, I am then going to drive it from London to Ulaan Baatar, and back! And in doing so I am going to raise a shed load of money for the really important work of the charities working with street children in Mongolia and elsewhere. If you are in doubt about the need or validity of this help, consider this: abandoned children as young as 2 years old are cared for by siblings as young as 4 years old. They live underground in office and apartment building heating ducts to keep warm; and survive by scavenging for scraps! Restoring the lives of such desolute and deserving kids to some sort of normality is not only worthy but absolutely necessary .... I intend to do my bit ... what will you do?
One thing you could do is lend Team50*North your fullest support; follow the blogs as they record the story of this amazing adventure and challenge, and if you enjoy what you read then make a donation through the 'Just Giving' link.
The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is have already gone over...
Contact Me
50degreesnorth@live.co.uk
MSN:
50degreesnorth@live.co.ukRally Interests
Favourite Rally Car:
At the launch of the 2008 Mongolia Rally, from Highbury Fields in London, I was impressed by the Silk Road Express Subaru Impreza but I think the boys might have been thinking about speed rather than endurance ... ooops! I shall watch eagerly to see how they can get on ... Tom and his team with their blagged Land Rover Defender - what a good result! I am laughing myself silly watching the exploits of Team Ghengis Can't ... the LDV looked great (another great blag!) ... I wanted to join these boys, but work got in the way ....wish I had now - they are hopeless but brilliant; Team NoKnownWay is in my thoughts as a South London based team - it's a shame we didn't manage to hook up before the rally but I wish them well; Big Kev and Paul in Team 1st Gear have impressed with their crack-on spirit, funny posts in the forums and amusing blogs - did you ever sort out the speed wobble??? ... (although I have never been quite sure about Big Kev's avatar .. is that really just a sock covering the crown jewels ??? ... ye gods man, put it away!!!) ... I worry about them all but then, help is on hand with Ambulance to Mongolia .. what star's and such a great effort and worthy contribution to the cause ... it almost brought a tear to my eye and lump to my throat watching them leave Highbury Fields with the Blue's and Two's going ... PURE MAGIC!!!!! Great Naadam, great Mongolian traditions on display, loads of pretty girls ..... what a start!!! ... But in truth ... the Super-Hero Medal must, SIMPLY MUST!, ABSOLUTELY MUST!, go to MATT HUNT (Matt Splatt) riding the CBR1000F under the the name of TEAM HANSEN TRANSMISSIONS in aid of promoting renewable energy, and through his effort showing it is still possible be to a petrol head and still care about the world we inhabit ... a truly AWESOME EFFORT!!! Go Matty ... ride safe ... be lucky ... and stay free ... you are a LEGEND!!!!!! Truly amazing watching Matt leave the Naadam buried under a mountain of kit revving that beautiful beast for all she is worth! It sounded sweet like you couldn't believe..... Matt Hunt gets my vote for the best rallier award for 2008 by a country mile! Good Luck and God Speed to you all, but special salutations to Matt .... you are a hero and you deserve a TV show of your own ...Ewan McGregor, who he???? See you all further on down the road ...;-D
Previous rallies:
None ... so I thought I would start with something simple .... like turning my Ford Capri into my rally car and driving her a third of the way around the world! She has the pedigree .. but I am not sure I can bear the thought of parting with her .... so here's a thought .... London to Ulaan Baatar ... and back .... in a 29 year old Ford Capri Ghia .... HOW HARD CAN IT BE? ;p
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Re: Russia and car colours
Submitted by Speedbird on Sat, 02/08/2008 - 12:42am.
Thanks for that ... I suppose everything is solvable with the usual 'simplification fee'
By the way - you guys were one of the first Mongolia Rally Youtube vids i saw and got me inspired to this!
It's all your fault! ;-)
Russia and car colours
Just had to reply with our experience in 2005. Stopped by the usual kalashnikov carrying teenager with a flying saucer hat at what appeared to be an internal border... I was ushered upstairs to where Uri sat with a huge ledger in front of him. Looking at the V5 he said "Red and Black?" and looked outside at our yellow and grey car... then nodded and filled the details in the book!