The wife of a close friend from university days recently had a baby, and I thought I'd pay a trip to see them. The other of our trio was also available, and in the spur of a moment, I'd suggested we "raid Den Haag in the Gamma" as an alternative to flying. The offer was readily accepted, but before anyone else knew the motoring pleasures (and risks) that lay in store.
When it came to Turin in 2006, I had no hesitation in signing up on the expectation that the Dedra would manage the journey with no trouble. As it happens, the only glitch on that journey was that the passenger side front indicator housing fell out, needing a gaffer tape repair to hold it in place!
As the day of this departure neared, I thought I ought to sort overseas breakdown cover - just in case. I also realised I'd left it too late to sort the cambelts before going, so would have to trust in another 500 miles out of them. (Yes, Roger, I know - it'll happen before the car emerges for the spring, I promise!)
The drama of Thursday is detailed above. At 08:15, I realised I had steam coming from the engine bay, and had a moment of panic. At the roadside in Bath I dithered over whether to return home and collect the Focus, but decided to get to work and see if the problem could be diagnosed. Sure enough, the hole in the hose was more apparent when I parked in Chippenham.
The Gamma Consortium is a friendly source of expertise. I suspect that the close bond achieved comes from us clinging to others showing the same obsession, madness and masochism. The task seemed to be that I needed to find a radiator hose for a Nova (the Quinten Hazell hose) or resort to the temporary solution of a universal hose. Stuck at my desk, I scoured the internet with little luck or hope. Eventually, I settled on a plan to purchase from Merlin Motorsport at Castle Combe circuit as they're only a mile or so from Andy's house. This would avoid me braving the traffic queues to get to Halfords (and its like) on the other side of Chippenham.
Upon arrival at Merlin, I was dismayed to discover that their longest universal hose of 37mm internal diameter was too short. The helpful assistant suggested silicone hoses - buying two elbow sections and a connecting aluminium section. He was tentative in offering the solution as "it won't maintain the period appearance of the engine bay" - like it bothered me at that point! I leaped at the suggestion, and made my way to Andy's for the repair.
The journey to West Hampstead was uneventful. I kept to about 60mph to avoid the worst of the wheel wobble, and enjoyed music (cassette adapter the best upgrade to the car so far!) as I cruised the M4. The car instils a different state of mind than the Dedra. The Dedra always seemed quite urgent, and although I was never an aggressive driver, my mind was always evaluating the next opportunity to overtake. The Gamma delivers its power more sedately. There never seems to be a rush to get anywhere. The seats feel like armchairs. In some ways, motorway driving in the Gamma is like sitting at home, listening to the stereo, but with a wheel to drape your arms on.
I arrived at about 10pm in the end - about 2 hours later than originally planned. I checked the engine bay, and no more puddles in the spark plug sockets, and no obvious leaks. Phew. We set off at 05:30 the following morning (after oil and water checks), avoiding the London traffic, and made our way to the M25 and then round to the A12. There's not much to add - again, the car cruised effortlessly and faultlessly. In order to keep on schedule after roadworks caused small delays, I did power through to 80mph where the wheel wobble effect was of small amplitude at the steering wheel. Again, the car was quite happy to sit at that speed, and it never felt fast or strained.
Once on the ferry, I was able to relax a little, and worry about seasickness instead of about the car! From the Hook of Holland, it's about 45 minutes to where my friends live. I parked between two old Peugots (a 404 estate, and a 304 coupe) owned by one of their neighbours and stopped to chat with the owner as he worked on the estate (bemoaning a lack of time for car maintenance - that's universal!) The journey back was likewise uneventful and comfortable.
From an impulse decision, through cursory preparation (trusting in the car) to the stress of last second repairs - and then a gradual relaxation back to faith in the car. It started first time every time, and behaved impeccably. Apart from the whiff of old leather inside, it could have been a journey in a modern car. Neither friend had quite appreciated how old the car is, nor the risk of us not making it there at all. How used we all are to 100% reliability...
My only other overseas drive was in the Dedra. Both journeys involved mostly motorway-type roads, which don't provide enough variance to be able to compare the characters of the cars fully. The trip to The Hague was a thoroughly enjoyable adventure, and I look forward to more like it (without the pre-trip stress, preferably!)
