Thomas, this made me think of you over the weekend, thought I'd report it. Long story so settle in......
I may be telling you what you already know so forgive me but here's a little background. The Monte Carlo rally is one of the oldest, and probably most famous, rallys there is. It still runs today as part of the World Rally Championship but is a watered down version of a "classic" Monte. Back in the day there were about half a dozen start venues, you then travelled about 1000 miles or so (the concentration run)from your chosen start venue before meeting all your fellow competitors in the middle of France somewhere. You'd all then compete over a few days, and nights most of the time, as you went over virtually every mountain (or "Col", mountain road/pass) in France on your way to Monte Carlo. A quick race around the F1 circuit and a nice prizegiving at the palace saw the event finished. All very civilised but exhausting and a tremendous challenge to the pioneer, or even classic 50s - 70s, motorist.
The great news is the Monte Carlo Historique runs the week after the WRC event and copies the classic format! Google "Monte Carlo Historique" and have a look at the ACM website for more info including a fantastic entry of over 300 competitors in every European competition car you can think of, and quite a few even I couldn't! Only vehicles up to 1980 need apply. This year there were start venues in Reims, Copenhagen, Turin, Barcelona and Glasgow.
So to celebrate the Glasgow start some enthusiasts organised a tour to Reims to see the competitors start there, not a competition just a bit of exercise for our classic cars. My mate and I took a last minute notion to do this at the New Year so furiously got ready before last Wednesday nights start. We then drove through the snow to Hull for a ferry to Rotterdam, on down through Holland, Belgium and into France. Then home - 1350 miles in 92 hours at an average of 30 MPH!
My wife lent us her car to do the event, a 1969 Fiat 500. Fabulous little machine but hindered by only having 17 BHP. And on this event I think a few of our horses were lame as it wasn't performing correctly and would only attain 40 MPH rather than it's usual top speed of 54 MPH! Still we were there for fun and we were certainly enjoying the challenge.
But disaster struck in Reims when the dynamo pulley disintegrated. Despite our best efforts finding someone who could/would weld (or, to be honest, someone who was actually working) on a Saturday, in France, was impossible. But sometimes disaster brings out the best in human nature along with a large dose of luck and we got both. Through persistence eventually we met a man who knew a man who may help, he took us to his friend who had the pulley we needed. Turned out he was the President of the French Fiat 500 club! What are the chances?!
Anyway, my apologies for thread stealing: to the point - he took me to his workshop, full of 500s and various other interesting autos. He kindly welded the old pulley too even after giving me a replacement. And as I watchede him I realised he must be a GJ BB767 kind of guy: all his work benches were on castors, so was his MIG, his workshop immaculate, his workmanship was exceptional and his kindness overwhelming. Thomas, do you have a French relative?
Not up to speed with inserting photos so I'm afraid they're thumb nails but they show the little car fighting the snow and then in France, the damage to the pulley, the repair and a shot of the workshop I grabbed before leaving. I didn't think enough to take some quality shoots I'm afraid.
You have a son that you can be proud of sir, and I wish more were like him.
But I hope it will end up safely in Scotland.
