Road trip to Bavaria in a 70's Triumph - am I mad?
Discussion
We trip down to Italy the scenic way every year in our 91 Mazda Eunos and enjoy the driving (well maybe not French Autoroutes but they are a lot quieter than UK Motorways).
Having owned a GT6 back in the day I would say points to consider would be:-
a) cockpit temperature if it's likely to be summer and hot - unless you have a sun roof?
b) cooling system being up to scratch, maybe fit an aux cooling fan.
c) gearing for motorway driving (about 19mph in top IIRC). Having said that Mazda's about the same and 65-70mph cruising's OK.
d) ensure European breakdown cover is adequate for your needs and be aware Insurance company will decline repatriating the vehicle if the cost of recovery exceeds the value of the vehicle (though the way GT6 prices have gone recently that shouldn't be a problem!).
Flying or going by train then hiring is an option but don't bank on hiring something sporty from the majors.
Twice now we've been left with the "or similar" option as per hire company's Ts&Cs which tends to default to a Fiat 500 or similar.
Finally bear in mind the car doesn't know it's going on holiday so 2k miles abroad shouldn't be any more taxing than a similar mileage here i.e if you aren't confident it will do that sort of trip in the UK maybe you shouldn't be going.
HTH.
Cheers, pewe.
Having owned a GT6 back in the day I would say points to consider would be:-
a) cockpit temperature if it's likely to be summer and hot - unless you have a sun roof?
b) cooling system being up to scratch, maybe fit an aux cooling fan.
c) gearing for motorway driving (about 19mph in top IIRC). Having said that Mazda's about the same and 65-70mph cruising's OK.
d) ensure European breakdown cover is adequate for your needs and be aware Insurance company will decline repatriating the vehicle if the cost of recovery exceeds the value of the vehicle (though the way GT6 prices have gone recently that shouldn't be a problem!).
Flying or going by train then hiring is an option but don't bank on hiring something sporty from the majors.
Twice now we've been left with the "or similar" option as per hire company's Ts&Cs which tends to default to a Fiat 500 or similar.
Finally bear in mind the car doesn't know it's going on holiday so 2k miles abroad shouldn't be any more taxing than a similar mileage here i.e if you aren't confident it will do that sort of trip in the UK maybe you shouldn't be going.
HTH.
Cheers, pewe.
gregives said:
Contemplating doing a road trip this year, but torn between taking our GT6 or flying out there and hiring a car. Anyone else done/planning anything similar?
Whatever you do Bavaria is a great region. Great rail links great towns and villages with great places to eat and drink in all of them and the walking is brilliant.No. You'll come across plenty of other lunatics doing similar.
Bavaria sees plenty of what the Germans call 'oldtimers' and IME people are generally very happy to help if you encounter trouble. I have taken an old Alfa Spider with a dodgy starter motor to and from North Italy (through Switzerland into Germany and over to the Eurotunnel) on several occasions.
I've seldom been stuck by the side of a road for more than ten minutes before some local has stopped to offer help and often to reminisce about classic cars of their youth, English or Italian. It is quite fun to pull their legs when they start tutting about the lack of reliability of Italian cars only for me to point out that Herr Bosch, rather than Signore Marelli or Mr Lucas, provided the faulty electrics
I take the precaution of travelling with a selection of known points of failure spares like a dizzy cap, some spark plugs, belts etc as well as a roll of duck tape and some cable ties. In addition, when on the move with my E-type on the Continong, I tend to ensure that I have a goodly collection of the most likely required non-metric spanners with me, just in case. Clearly any other English car of a certain age might require specialist spanners, too, and I am not familiar enough with Triumphs to know which ones might be needed.
Apart from that, while I know that space would be at a premium, spare petrol and water/coolant are probably very sensible precautions, unless your fuel gauge is completely reliable and your car is not susceptible to overheating.
Bavaria sees plenty of what the Germans call 'oldtimers' and IME people are generally very happy to help if you encounter trouble. I have taken an old Alfa Spider with a dodgy starter motor to and from North Italy (through Switzerland into Germany and over to the Eurotunnel) on several occasions.
I've seldom been stuck by the side of a road for more than ten minutes before some local has stopped to offer help and often to reminisce about classic cars of their youth, English or Italian. It is quite fun to pull their legs when they start tutting about the lack of reliability of Italian cars only for me to point out that Herr Bosch, rather than Signore Marelli or Mr Lucas, provided the faulty electrics
I take the precaution of travelling with a selection of known points of failure spares like a dizzy cap, some spark plugs, belts etc as well as a roll of duck tape and some cable ties. In addition, when on the move with my E-type on the Continong, I tend to ensure that I have a goodly collection of the most likely required non-metric spanners with me, just in case. Clearly any other English car of a certain age might require specialist spanners, too, and I am not familiar enough with Triumphs to know which ones might be needed.
Apart from that, while I know that space would be at a premium, spare petrol and water/coolant are probably very sensible precautions, unless your fuel gauge is completely reliable and your car is not susceptible to overheating.
Gassing Station | Events & Meetings | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff