MG MGA Dave Godwin's latest adventure BBS discussion at MG-Cars.net

MG MGA - Dave Godwin's latest adventure

RIP in Europe 2013 Last November, RIP arrived in the UK, having left Cape Agulhas, the most southerly point of Africa in September 2012, with 10 other classic MGs. She had survived The Road from Hell in northern Kenya and enjoyed the comradeship with the other classic MG Adventurers along the way. However, a coming together with a Taxi in Nairobi meant that RIP had to spend the winter in the UK at a panel beater, to return her to the condition she has become accustomed, while Laurel and I returned to Australia. So, we returned to the UK in the summer of 2013 to rescue her and decided to take her on a Last Fling in Europe before shipping her back to the Gold Coast, Australia. We set about giving her a well-earned major service, changing all her oils and vacuuming a bag full of African dust out of her carpets. The compression on cylinders 1 and 2 was found to be slightly down, so I decided to replace the head gasket. However, on a closer inspection of the head gasket, no fault could be found, so the two exhaust valves were removed and found to be pitted – possibly due to the poor grade of fuel RIP drank in Africa. A quick valve grind soon fixed that problem and RIP was ready for her next adventure. Who says classic cars have to be high in maintenance? RIP has covered 22000km through terrible conditions and other than two pitted valves and a fuel pump failure – which was entirely my fault as I had forgotten to replace the sealing tape when inspecting the points before leaving for Africa – she has been absolutely trouble-free! Long may RIP enjoy her adventures… RIP, having visited 3 of the 4 southern-most towns on the globe – namely, Invercargill in New Zealand, Hobart in Australia and Cape Agulhas in Africa – we decided this was a good time to visit the northern-most town of Europe – Nordkapp (North Cape), Norway. So, in the company of the Slater’s and Fowler’s in their MGBGTs (they had both accompanied RIP through Africa in 2012), we set off on a ferry to Esbjerg, Denmark, the start of the Artic Highway. Laurel and I have heard and read a lot about Scandinavia in the past but we were not prepared for the orderliness and beauty that we witnessed. The mountains, some still snow capped, lakes and forests covered much of the land not taken over by farming. Motorways and minor roads were generally in perfect condition, all houses and buildings looked as if they had just received a coat of paint, not a rusty car was seen – nor an obese person – the Vikings sure are a grand race! We quickly found that the cost of living is astronomical but were told that the wages are in line for the majority of the population to enjoy their lives… Where do I start! The purpose of the trip was to visit Nordkapp, which is latitude 71deg 10min North and 2000km from the North Pole, before the midnight sun started setting. We failed miserably – we left the UK too late and took too long to traverse Sweden from South to North – then through northern Finland into Norway and on up to Nordkapp. There was so much to see, not the least being Santa’s Office on the Artic Circle 66deg 33min North! This gave us an opportunity to thank Santa for the gifts he has given our children and grand children over the years (in the hope that he will continue to be generous, of course!) Reaching Nordkapp was a special time for RIP, Laurel and I. To stare northwards over the Artic Ocean and imagine nothing between us and the North Pole but water and ice, was awesome. We duly took our photos and popped the cork of a bottle of champagne when there was a thunder clap and the heavens opened and we bolted for shelter. We had been on the road for just over a week and had experienced the best weather that Scandinavia could offer us – sunshine and more sunshine! Our trip south through Norway offered us the best MG driving – EVER! The scenery; mountain passes, mountain passes, mountain passes – just UNREAL! Towards the top of my personal list must be Stelvio Pass in Italy, but I believe the Trollstigen Pass beats it for beauty. Driving around 27 hairpin bends is awesome, but doing it alongside a roaring river, waterfall and over an ancient bridge is double awesome! And the best is still to come – we had to drive down the pass on the other side of the mountain, crossed a fjord by ferry before doing it all again – over and over. Does this constitute heaven for an MG driver? I think so! MG heaven for our wives was arriving at the Artic Circle Raceway at 5pm one day and finding it open and ready for racing… This is the most northerly race track in the world and after a few tentative laps, the Girls loved the thrill of passing each other – we couldn’t wipe the grins off their faces for hours afterwards! Thanks heaps to Sue and Nigel, who did a lovely job of planning and leading us through the best parts of Scandinavia. They organised the weather perfectly and even found a moose for us to photograph – albeit due to RIP stopping to pick up something that had blown off the windscreen! Co-incidences often come at the most unexpected times. While I was booking into the hotel on our last day in Norway, a chap sauntered over to Laurel sitting in RIP and said “I know this car. RIP has traveled from China to Abingdon and Cape Town to Abingdon – I have read all about her!” A good pick-up line, yes, but good friends are never more than a brief conversation away and Are, who is on the committee of the Norwegian MG Car Club, took us to his house to show us his beautiful black MGA – called Black Lady – which is in better condition than it was at birth – and a good time was had by all! We also met Eric, a mad classic motorcyclist who rides a Ural with sidecar, who befriended us in Bjerkvik and showed us a Junker, a German WW2 plane, essentially intact, as it had landed on a nearby lake in 1940 and couldn’t take off before the ice melted, so ended up under water for 60+ years! We said our goodbyes to the Fowler’s in Lubeck, Germany and headed off to our next appointment with Piero and 70 other classic MGs on the Island of Sardinia. At this point, RIP had covered 7200km since leaving the UK – I didn’t know that it was so far to Nordkapp! Over the next 10 days, the Slater’s led our now-diminished MG convoy through Berlin (Germany), so much history!; Cesky Krumlov (Chez Republic), a really quaint medieval village; Vienna (Austria), coffee and chocolate to die for; Cinque Terra (Italy), a long walk to 5 remote, coastal villages not reached by road for centuries and The Leaning Tower of Pisa – another 2000km journey for RIP – en route to Livorno, near Rome and our over-night ferry heading for Sardinia with 70 other classic MGs from around Europe and the UK. RIP in Sardinia, Sicily and back to the UK in 2013 We met our UK mates, the Barron’s, in their black mga twin cam, in Livorno, Italy and caught up with many of the people we had met when we joined Piero and his MG followers to Greece in 2011. Once in Olbia, Sardinia, the many-mile long convoy of 70 classic MGs headed over the numerous mountain ranges and through deep valleys to our hotel/home for the next 9 nights, in Tortoli, half way down the East coast of Sardinia. Piero forgot to organise the weather for this particular part of the trip, as the majority of cars had tops down in glorious sunshine, before a cloud burst caused mayhem! RIP has been through many a shower but this one drenched us including both sides of our spectacles! Many of the MG drivers panicked; some stopped on the motorway without pulling over to put up their hoods and one unfortunate Twin Cam was hit while parked under a bridge, with damage along the whole length of the left side of their car. It was very fortunate that no-one was seriously injured in this scramble to put up the hoods! Our time in Sardinia was very relaxing, as Piero ensured that there was plenty of downtime for us to enjoy the facilities of our beach-side hotel, if we wanted to. A few days were spent driving over mountain passes into the interior to visit various historical sites, a winery and to participate in a motorkhana on a local soccer field. We even spent a day in a ferry boat, traveling up the dramatic coast line in crystal blue water… Sardinia has been conquered by the Greeks, Italians, French, Arabs and just about every other nation on earth over the years – what for, I don’t know, as it is not a mineral-rich nor farming country – except for grapes and olives, which seem to thrive without water and with plenty of sun, sun, sun. On our last day in Sardinia, Laurel flew home to attend a wedding using wedding cars sevenoaks and we said our goodbyes to the MG clan that was heading back to the ferry at Olbia: the Slater’s and Barron’s were joining RIP on another adventure – Sicily - the home of the famous Targa Florio race in the early c1900’s. Landing at Trapani on the west coast of Sicily, we all felt that Sicily had a “feel” of its own. It was rich in history, the ancient sites were well kept and the distances were manageable – read, short. We enjoyed Old Town wherever we went – Trapani, Palermo, Erica, Agrigento, Baghera, Monreale and Taormina – mainly for the shopping, food and the ancient ambience. RIP even had the opportunity to visit base camp of Mt Etna and I walked – stumbled - to the top to take her photo! We were lucky to have met Piero (another Piero) while in Sardinia, who lives in Sicily and he organised for one of his friends to show us parts of the Targa Florio track that still exists today. His friend had rallied it 4 times in the early 1980’s and showed us the start line, pits, corporate box, the main flagging point and grave sites of drivers who had lost their lives. The Madonie track is 45miles long, up a mountain and back again in an anti-clockwise direction and was completed 11 times – that’s 500 miles (800km) on dirt roads with 1000’s of corners. No wander the drivers used to come into the pits with blood pouring from their gear-changing hand! A highlight for me was, on completion of going through the Targa Florio museum in Cerda, the curator took the MG cap that I had recently bought from the MG Club stand at Silverstone, asked me to sign it and then hung it on a hat-stand with caps signed by many of the drivers of old, including Tazio Nuvolari! What an honour! Certainly not deserved – but a great thrill – he then insisted that we have a photo taken together and handed me a Targa Florio cap on our way out! The Barron’s had to return to the UK unexpectedly, so the ever-present Slater’s and RIP headed for the ferry from Messina to Villa san Giovanni, Italy, to start our long run back to the UK. The cost per kilometer to build a motorway in Italy must be in the 100 of $millions! RIP left her lights on as she entered 1000’s of tunnels and then drove over 100+ metre high via ducts above deep valleys for 1000’s of kilometers… This all made for tense driving, but the scenery was spectacular! Another highlight for us was an evening very near the Amalfi Coast, where Gianni, the treasurer of the Italian MG Car Club and a fantastic MG chap we met in Sardinia, organised for us to stay in a friend’s hotel and to eat at another friend’s restaurant. Imagine our surprise, when we were handed a letter on arriving at our table high up the mountain at Castellabate overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Here it is… Dear Sue, Pam, Ken, Dave and Geoff Each MG Car Club Italy member would have loved to have shared at least a short part of your drive and to dream with you. Even if this is impossible we want to tell you that in the place you are right now there is a small part of our heart. After the event which took place there last year, Castellabate became a home for MG people and so in this evening you are our special guests and our club is pleased to offer you this dinner. The President, Mr Fabio Filippello, the Steering committee and I, are there with you in spirit and we thank you for being so special and such good friends to us. I hope you find the place where you are as beautiful as I promised. Enjoy the evening and we all look forward to meeting you again. Fabio sends his best wishes remembering the good times spent together in Brescia, Monza and the Stelvio Pass. All the best from all of us, ciao! Giovanni Tesauro for the MG Car Club Italy Grown men don’t cry, but generosity like this does not come every day and we are all extremely grateful to Fabio and the Italian MG family for the continued efforts they make to embrace the International MG Family! Why would anyone ever want to be involved in any other pastime??? Well, the run home – another 2000km – was relatively uneventful and we arrived back in the UK 6 weeks later having completed 14000km and made more International MG Friends. What a blast! If you are wondering why I have not mentioned “car catastrophes”, it’s because there weren’t any! Other than changing the engine oil in RIP and Flame in a German workshop, both MGs started every morning and drove faultlessly during the entire trip. I have to confess I was surprised, as RIP had not been fettled since arriving in the UK from Africa, but I needn’t have worried – RIP behaved impeccably! RIP is now on her way home to Australia to be prepared for her next adventure – to drive 22000km from Ushuaia, Patagonia to Vancouver, Canada in 2015 through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Equator, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, San Salvador, Nicaragua and Mexico before entering the USA and headng for Canada. Struth – where will we find the time to organise this one, Laurel?

dominic clancy

And at the other end BTW the article is written by Dave himself, not by me

dominic clancy

One of the Targa Florio

dominic clancy

This one was in the set of photos he sent me, so the trip wasn't entirely without an upside !

dominic clancy

So hats off to Dave and Laurel (yet again). The shirt is his trophy from the MG dealer in Addis Ababa!

dominic clancy

One of the Norwegian passes (get the scale from the bus)

dominic clancy

This thread was discussed between 10/10/2013 and 11/10/2013

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