How to survive a 2000 mile journey with a newly acquired Elite?

[Iome]

But if I just want a cheap set of winter tires to start life with, do any modern 4x114.3 wheels fit okay? I've got here for example some 4x114.3 Nissan studded wheels, center bore 66.1mm, with 14" 185/65 tires I might use. Or is there some compatibility problems?

 

Another thing: If water pump was diagnosed as a possible threat, so you know if there is a typical way for Elite water pump to break? Does it nicely start leaking slowly and making noise, or does it just suddenly jam or something?

[Don.Hasi]

sadly I dont know the center bore for your car, but the offset of your rim is +15

Edited January 27, 2015 by Don.Hasi

[soldave]

sadly I dont know the bore of your car, but the offset of your rim is +15

I think they are 60mm, but could be mistaken.

[Karl lambrechts]

You can truly say (for heroes only): 'This is how a man buys his car.' :-)

[matk]

Lol here's what happened when I bought my Eclat in Manchester and tried to drive it down to France...

 

 

Wouldn't put me off trying again though. It was the water pump on mine that let go. I wouldn't have coped without the help of Cliff Ledger, so your plan to identify people on route is good. 

 

The Temperature gauge is your best friend, watch it always!

[Dunc]

I am just off the bottom of the M25 (6km north of J7). I have a full toolkit and a little bit of elite/eclat knowledge and a few spares.

 

I also have some 185 14 winter tyres that I bought for my long departed alfa romeo which were hardly ever used. They have been sitting in my garden for a few years, so I will need to check them in case they are now ruined, but you are welcome to them if you need them and can use them. They are not a great brand (Colway) but they are winter/snow tyres that were bought new about 7 years ago and have about 100km on them.

 

You can also stay at mine if you need to. The tyre are on a set of alfa 14 inch alloys, but you could get them fitted locally?

 

mobile +44 773 272 1566 if you need help/assistance.

 

I will check the tyres tonight to make sure they are okay.

 

I would strongly urge you to take a Voltmeter, a roll of electrical wire, and a bag of relays.

[mikeeech]

Defo do a blog of this journey. I was once a member of club lotus and a guy did a trip to the artic circle in a caterham 7 which made an interesting read.

 

I would avoid the M25 on a friday if you get there in the late afternoon. The traffic will be heavy around heathrow (where you join from the M4) and there might be a chance of over heating if you re stationary for a long period althoguh the weather might work in your favour at this time of year.

 

Whilst motorways are good for low stress if you keep moving, if it's stop/start then this will stress the clutch, cooling, oil flow - if it's raining then the risks go up due to water ingress. Also you will need breakdown cover since, if you breakdown without it on the motorway (roads designated with a M prefix in the UK) it will cost a small fortune to move the car to the nearest slip road since the highways agency have car recovery providers. A years membership of the AA or RAC will pay for itself if you breakdown.  

 

Personally I look forward to following your journey even if it is uneventful. What a great adventure.

[Herc]

Re. blog.  If you are an iPhone user and you want to do a running-progress blog,  I found TrackMyTour great. http://trackmytour.com/

 

I used it on continental trip in my Tesla recently, and it went down very nicely.  It links your progress updates automatically to Google Maps.

 

Oh, and its free!  There are probably some similar Android apps.

 

Herc

[Clive59]

A lot more of a challenge than my trip, I had the other extreme, lots of heat and no aircon. One of the biggest moments was when I came to exit the ferry in Melbourne, as it was up a steep slope up to the top level and the engine was cold, and these days people just don't know that you need to warm up an engine on older cars, the guys directing traffic got a little impatient while I sat there for a couple of minutes.

 

Hope the heater works!

 

Good luck, and yes, keep eye on temperature gauge. It does rely on the 10V regulator too to give accurate readings, so make sure you warm it and watch the fans kick in and out a few times before proceeding.

[Loose Cannon]

A few Excel owners use 185/60/14 winter tyres without problems

[Iome]

sadly I dont know the center bore for your car, but the offset of your rim is +15

 

I've tried to find used wheels, but this offset seems to be a problem. Anything under +30 seems to be special wheels and then it becomes hard to find 4x114.3... Any tips where to find such? I'm not very familiar with UK, Netherlands, German sources... I've tried eBay so far with no luck. Well, I found there, but quite expensive for my budget: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SSR-Speedstar-Racing-Longchamp-XR4-4x114-3-15-7J-ET11-Nissan-Toyota-Not-Rota-/191498280049

Btw, German eBay has wheel search by ET, UK ebay doesn't...

[Iome]

Also you will need breakdown cover since, if you breakdown without it on the motorway (roads designated with a M prefix in the UK) it will cost a small fortune to move the car to the nearest slip road since the highways agency have car recovery providers. A years membership of the AA or RAC will pay for itself if you breakdown.  

 

These AA and RAC memberships would be great, but I think they are for UK residents only? We have similar here in Finland, but they accept only vehicles not older that 15 years (for EU wide cover). I think my car insurance covers towing costs though (after quite a high excess anyway).

[Iome]

Also you will need breakdown cover since, if you breakdown without it on the motorway (roads designated with a M prefix in the UK) it will cost a small fortune to move the car to the nearest slip road since the highways agency have car recovery providers. A years membership of the AA or RAC will pay for itself if you breakdown.  

 

These AA and RAC memberships would be great, but I think they are for UK residents only? We have similar here in Finland, but they accept only vehicles not older that 15 years (for EU wide cover). I think my car insurance covers towing costs though (after quite a high excess anyway).

[The Pits]

Great story, the whole of TLF is willing you on!

 

Best of luck and keep us posted.

 

European breakdown cover would be best but doesn't sound like the Fins get a good deal!

[vintaylor]

Very much looking forward to this !

[Bibs]

Isn't ADAC EU wide?

 

http://www.adac.de/

[Iome]

Isn't ADAC EU wide?

 

http://www.adac.de/

 

They do speak some English in their website: http://www.adac.de/mitgliedschaft/adac_membership/

But "Using the links below to acquire ADAC membership requires that your place of residence is in Germany."

[Bibs]

http://ourtour.co.uk/home/review-adac-european-breakdown-cover/

[Iome]

http://ourtour.co.uk/home/review-adac-european-breakdown-cover/

 

Thanks! It seems that joining online is not possible, but it's probably possible by phone. I'll call the tomorrow... 

[Don.Hasi]

The ADAC has a great app for reporting breakdowns too with a GPS modul which delivers your exact location to the provider. Very helpful if you stranded in the middle of nowhere

[cdfps]

Hats off to you for the worst / best idea ever for a road trip!  

 

Perfect time of year,..check.  Best snow car ever,... check.  Tons of experience with the vehicle,.. check.  Most reliable marque,... check.  What could possibly go wrong.   This will be better than a top gear holiday special.

 

 

On a serious note, 

 

1. Maybe take pictures of the engine, undercarriage, suspension, carbs, radiator, etc and post the pics before setting out.  If anyone sees anything seriously out of sorts, they can tell you.  Some things like bad rear u-joints show up easily in a picture.

 

2. I would think the luminition ignition would be a "game ender" if it died along the way so maybe whatever you need to put points in on the side of the road might be nice to bring along.

 

3. The prop shaft joints would be bit of a problem if they went on the side of the road so I would double check those.

 

4. Seconds on the water pump.  Those seals don't like sitting much in my experience. 

 

5. Some ZDDP rich oil additive which the non-roller cam lobes will like at sustained high speeds.

 

I cannot tell you how jealous I am, good luck and thanks to googe, onnea!

[Iome]

I'm sorry but it seems I won't be able to set up a blog. I'll try to report here in the forum...

 

So far happened:

- Today I drove to the airport 300km/200miles and tried to sell my old car, VW Passat -90, before getting to airport. I was asking a reasonable 200 euros for this very reliable car, but was not sold.

- At the airport security my wrench was taken away. I got to keep screwdrivers, duct tape, and towing rope. I'm traveling with Ryanair so only hand luggage... 

 

Now to London and tomorrow I'll see the car.

 

Sorry I've had no time to contact all you friendly people who have offered me help during my trip.

[basalte]

Good luck to you with this journey, hope it is not too eventful and you get a chance to enjoy the scenery. Still a bit mystified as to how I achieved 210 kilometers from Telford to London in my just-bought Elite 2.2 with overheating on the cards-serves me right for not at least checking the water level. 

I too had a small molewrench confiscated by Georgia security 6 weeks ago. Forgot it was in my pocket and no-one pulled me up about it on the way out...

Wrenches are innocent OK !  

[Bibs]

Good luck

[CharlieCroker]

We need photos, get a photo bucket account and a smart phone, you can post photos along the way. Good luck