LEGS around Deeside 17th April

[bingoking]

I have now planned a route for the 1st drive of the new season and as intimated in an earlier post we are doing a run up to Deeside to celebrate Gordon Masson getting back behind the wheel of his lovely Esprit GT3 after a 2 year enforced lay-off on medical grounds.

Gordon as you will know is a long time member of this forum in it's earlier guise as The Lotus Esprit Forum.

So time to dust of the cobwebs on your car pump up the tyres check the fluid levels and get it out of the garage for a drive!!!

It will be an early start for most in the central belt to make the meeting points below.

The route for our run would be as follows

THE ROUTE

and after Castle Fraser we may either re-trace our steps or head back over by Braemar and back to the Central belt. The choice is yours

Meeting points to join the group

8:00am Broxden Services, Perth

9:00am Stracathro Services on A90, Nr Brechin

9:20am Cairn O'Mount Car Park

10:00am Milton of Crathes, The Roayl Deeside Railway Preservation Society (Coffee stop)

We join up with another Lotus Group out of Aberdeen on the Aberdeen Drive it Day organised by Alan Sharpe of NE Club Lotus Details here

The plan is then to head up to Castle Fraser for a group photograph of the cars.

Castle Fraser is a National Trust Property and a tour of the castle can be taken as well as lunch.

In order to know how many we will have can you indicate by copying and pasting the list below into your reply if you are meeting for coffee at Milton of Crathes or making your own way to Castle Fraser and taking the tour or lunch.

Gentlemen start your engines!

1. bingoking +1 coffee, Castle tour, lunch

[scottmgibb]

Putting my name down for this but... my MOT expires on the 15th!! Don't forsee a problem getting a ticket before then, but you never know what problems are lurking... Will probably tag along in the Pug if nothing else.

1. bingoking +1 coffee, Castle tour, lunch

2. scottmgibb - cup of tea at Milton (will meet you there as I will be with NECL too) and on to Castle (though no tour as I have yet another lunch to attend elsewhere!)

[Al]

Yup, up for this one. Up early by the looks of it as well. Giving up a day marshalling at Doune hillclimb so a huge sacrafice on my behalf to meet some new faces....

I will plan to meet you at Broxden Services but if running late I can always meet you at Stracathro as the schedule is nice and relaxed. (I would phone and warn you). I can have lots more beauty sleep! - I need it. Speak nearer to the time.

This is my 777th post yippee.

1. bingoking +1 coffee, Castle tour, lunch

2. scottmgibb - cup of tea at Milton (will meet you there as I will be with NECL too) and on to Castle (though no tour as I have yet another lunch to attend elsewhere!)

3. Al + 1 coffee, Castle tour, lunch

[GordonMasson]

WOW... you are making me feel like Royalty Brian

Really looking forward to meeting up with you guys and hopefully the sun will shine and there will be a chance to get some great Lots pictures.

Not sure where i will be joining you as yet but i will confirm that nearer the time (wont have done too many miles behind the wheel of the GT3 again by then but i will see how it ...and I are going)

So........

1. bingoking +1 coffee, Castle tour, lunch

2. scottmgibb - cup of tea at Milton (will meet you there as I will be with NECL too) and on to Castle (though no tour as I have yet another lunch to attend elsewhere!)

3. Al + 1 coffee, Castle tour, lunch

4. Gordon + Linda...................WOOOOHOOO

[bingoking]

It will be great to see you behind the wheel of the GT3. Hope we can keep the paparazzi away from Royality.

Don't worry about keeping up, I am not a fast driver as Al. can testify!!!

[Al]

Och, your not that slow for an old boy! I just had some frustrations to work out that day as no speed limiter in passenger seat...... Will be sensible hat on again on 17th.

Looking forward the day and meeting new faces and cars. But where are Justin, Andrew, Hedgerly etc?

May be staying up in Aberdeen overnight on the Sunday as I have an interview at the start of the following week but not sure which day yet.

[GordonMasson]

Well tthats the car taxed as of today so i will have a chance to take it out for a run over the weekend......happy days

[bingoking]

MOT'd and taxed my Esprit ready for the LEGS Breakfast meet on Sunday.

[Scotty C]

castle fraser

[bingoking]

Are you there already.... the run is not until the 17th.

Will you be coming along and if so where will you be joining us?

[scottmgibb]

MOT'ed and ready to go - see you there!

[bingoking]

Good news Scott see you there.

[Justin182]

I'll be there, well I'll try! I'm actually at home for this one!!!!!

What time will you be turning off the A90 roughly? I'll try and meet you there and head over the Cairn O'Mount

[Scotty C]

I have a boys night out next saturday, so will have to wait and see how that works out.

if i can make it i will be on my own so i'm sure there will be room for a small person?

[hedgerley]

It's a good job SWMBO runs our social diary! When this came up I told Brian I couldn't make it due to a family do down in Yorkshire - its actually this weekend. Which means the 17th is free

So, subject to confirmation from my Social Secretary, Hedgerley will be joining the Hoon.

Edited April 7, 2011 by hedgerley

[bingoking]

Replying to last 3 posts

Justin

Stracathro services 9:00 AM then turning of to Fettercairn and then a leisurely drive over the Cairn O'Mount PS All nurses welcome, Scotty C may have a spare seat if he survives the Boys night out!

Scotty C

Get a life, there's more to life than a night out with the boys, what about a day out with the boys driving that lovely 2-11 over the Cairn O' Mount road.

Hedgerley

Some brownie points there Mark, imagine a SWMBO messing up the social diary!! She wil probably get out of the hole by blaming you for not listening, mine does!!

Mrs Bingo

What's that dear, if it's a nice day I can only go if I take the Elise so you can get the top off!

So the list so far:

1. bingoking +1 coffee, Castle tour, lunch

2. scottmgibb - cup of tea at Milton (will meet you there as I will be with NECL too) and on to Castle (though no tour as I have yet another lunch to attend elsewhere!)

3. Al + 1 coffee, Castle tour, lunch

4. Gordon + Linda...................WOOOOHOOO

5: Justin182

6: Scotty C (Sore head permitting)

7: Hedgerley (Social Secretary permitting)

[Scotty C]

Ha ha, I can do the cairn any night of the week,

This boys night is a belated burns supper I have every year normally in January Getting harder and harder to get a group of 8 guys together for a beer.

[bingoking]

We could do a Burn's breakfast and kill 2 birds with one stone.

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftain o' the Black puddin-race!

Aboon them a' ye tak your place,

Bacon, Eggs and sausages

Weel are ye wordy o' a grace

As lang's my airm.

Kilts optional!

[hedgerley]

Hedgerley

Some brownie points there Mark, imagine a SWMBO messing up the social diary!! She wil probably get out of the hole by blaming you for not listening, mine does!!

Er, no Brian. Twas I that f****d up. The family do was always this weekend. As she reminded me, its been on the calender in the kitchen for the past 2 months. Ah but dearest says I, I am down in London all week earning a crust and besides I'm a bloke, I don't go in the kitchen.

I jest. I emailed the route this evening and gadzooks she is up for it. Definitely. The hoon that is.

So,

1. bingoking +1 coffee, Castle tour, lunch

2. scottmgibb - cup of tea at Milton (will meet you there as I will be with NECL too) and on to Castle (though no tour as I have yet another lunch to attend elsewhere!)

3. Al + 1 coffee, Castle tour, lunch

4. Gordon + Linda...................WOOOOHOOO

5: Justin182

6: Scotty C (Sore head permitting)

7: Hedgerley + 1. Castle tour and lunch. Not sure where we will meet as its likely we will make a weekend of it. Will advise when she decides.......

Edited April 7, 2011 by hedgerley

[Scotty C]

We could do a Burn's breakfast and kill 2 birds with one stone.

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftain o' the cairn o mount race!

Aboon them a' ye tak your place,

Bacon, Eggs and sausages

Weel are ye wordy o' a grace

As lang's my airm.

Kilts optional!

Classic

[Al]

Where's Andrew? Must be scared of getting lost again as the ball of string doesn't evidently stretch past Perth!

Looking forward to meeting new faces, cars & the drive itself over the now infamous Cairn O Mount that I`ve never driven.

Brian, I am getting off on Tuesday now as potential client has changed his mind on visit so fly overnight from New Orleans and will be knocking on MMC's door by 10:30 on Wednesday. I intend to head home for a couple of hours kip to kill the jet lag, and then will see you at the car club. I assume you are going? I don't suppose SWMBO will be pining for me any more than usual so will not notice I have sneaked out for a play.

Monty says he thinks my Evora now has the sweetest gearchange of ANY he has driven. Lets face it he will have driven most of our cars at some point I guess. I am collecting it back from MMC on Wednesday on my way home. It has the complete new linkage package as well as the cables which were rubbing like yours. All the other various bits glued back on and serviced so should be good. Only have to decide should I return it to summer boots for 17th? Is the temp staying up above 8C most of the time yet?

[GordonMasson]

Gear change...grrrr

I got a new gearbox fitted to the car with the later GT3 ratios which makes the car nicer to drive but something has happened to the gear change so you now need to be built like Arny to get it from 3rd down into 2nd.

I am hoping its down to the adjustment on the translator mechanism but one thing that did worry me was when i was ordering the parts from PMN today, he did suggest that some gearboxes that may have been fitted on the production line were just too tight and they were taken off and put back on the shelf.

I got this one through a Lotus employee who was going to use it in a kit car build..... i am hoping PNM are very wrong and its simply a linkage thing!

Anyway... even if i have to spend the next week in the gym building up my left arm muscles, i will look forward to seeing you all next Sunday

[bingoking]

Al.

Replied to your PM.

I will be at Bo'ness on Wednesday so will see you there.

I am dropping my car off at MMC to have the windscreen replaced on Wednesday but will be there much earlier than you.

Driving to Elgin yesterday on one of my favourite stretches of road, Carrbridge to Ferness the B9007, a car coming in the opposite direction kicked up a chucky stane that chipped my windscreen.

I was videoing my drive and have caught the offending stane on camera. I will post a link once I have edited it and uploaded to YouTube.

Shortage of windscreens at the factory so they have pulled one off the production line for me.

Did you know Monty is on holiday from today?

I had planned to put the summer boots on last weekend but ran out of time so will change them this weekend. 19c today on my way back from Inverness so temperatures are high enough, I can feel the winter boots melting!!

[Al]

Ouch! Bet you ducked when that one hit! The shortage may be because I had mine replaced during this garage visit amongst other items. I had a crack started top nearside under the A pillar trim on the March Breakfast Buttie run during the run home for no aparent reason and it was growing daily. I had it changed under warranty okay after it was determined no initial stone chip but apparently another Evora first for LEGS! Monty & his boys will be well practiced now for yours!

Yes I knew he was off to sunny Thailand and have been e-mailing and chatting as I have already paid the damage for the service. Been reminding him to keep the 8th May free.

Defo sounds like summer boots time - at least this week! Probably snow and ice next week as I'm back home.

Sorry to hear your news Gordon. Must be doubly frustrating after all this time.

[tut]

Thanks for the reminder Brian. I will be there if N3 is back from the garage, unfortunately it needs a new part that Lotus do not make for the early S1's any more, and I can not find a used one.

Last resort may be to strip the one from N1.

Cheers

tut