Dave or Helen’s

We’re under 3 weeks to the start of the rally. Dave says he only needs another 4 months to get ready. The “to-do list” is getting shorter but we still have a loooong way to go.

Hospital & Magic Moments: As we expected the hospital has told us we won’t be able to take the kids for rides due to liability issues. However, they are going to clear out the area in front of the hospital so we can have an exhibition of the cars in the rally. On the morning of Friday the 26th they’ll let the kids, who are able, come down and hang out with the rally drivers. Our plan to give them tee-shirts and take their picture behind the wheel of a car is progressing perfectly. We have a great camera, a printer that will print direct from the camera, and the shirts turned out great.

With a red sharpie marker we’ll be able to write in the name of the child after the word “Driver”. Don’t they look good? With the help of the head of our local law enforcement we have made a contact with the Birmingham police and are working on having an officer there to hand out driver’s licenses, police badges, or something like that.

The TR6: The fabricator and chromer did a fantastic job on the light bars. The quality of the chrome is beyond expectation. We’re running a set of original English made Lucas fog lights along with a set of Hella driving lamps. We haven’t committed to the placement yet and are still trying to find the optimum location.

The badges are an original Royal Auto Club badge and an original English AA club badge with the membership number and the Coventry chapter engraved on it.

Dave wants to freshen up the rear brakes before the run. He’s collecting some spare parts to take, checking the various systems for problems, and generally “fussing” over his baby.

The Trip: Dave has talked with the man mentioned earlier who is going to loan us his enclosed 24 foot trailer. It looks like that offer is still there. The host of the rally in Birmingham has found a safe place for us to leave the truck and trailer while we’re on the run. Considering the size of Dave’s truck with a 24′ trailer behind it (well over 45′) we think this is a major victory. We haven’t picked the route we’re going to travel to Birmingham yet because of the hurricanes. The last report we had was heading across I-10 through Louisiana was fraught with trouble because of the widespread power outages. Many gas stations still don’t have power and therefore can’t pump gas. If you consider the gas mileage hauling the trailer Dave isn’t sure if we can cross the state on one tank of gas. We’ll make this decision at the last minute.

Fun Stuff: The Royal Auto Club in the UK used to have a big rally every year. Participants would start with a cloisonne RAC lapel pin and each year would be given another small pin with the year on it. Dave found an original pin in England for Helen. It seemed appropriate considering it had a 1974 bar on it which is the same year as the car we’re driving in our rally. She’s going to wear it while we’re underway.

 

The Rally: We’ve been told 15 – 18 cars have entered the rally. There will be some beautiful examples of vintage British cars. The latest entrant is this nice MGB GT.

A majority of the “B” line was produced as a convertible. The hatchback model was exported to the states from 1965 through ’74, fitted with a 4 cylinder engine, and was designed by the house of Pininfarina, the famous designer who shaped, and produced, the coach-work of many Ferrari’s. 

Party Time: If you’ve read this far then you must actually care about us and this event. Thats important to us and we think you deserve a reward for that, don’t you? How about free wine? We’re having a send-off party on Sunday the 21st starting at 4PM at the winery. Don’t forget to put this in your calendar and join us.

Dave and Helen: The other day we were asked if we were getting excited yet. The answer is, right now we’re hopeful. We’re hopeful the weather holds, hopeful we don’t have trouble, hopeful we’ll really be able to take 2 days off for the first time in over 4 years, hopeful we are smart enough to do, or say, the right thing at the right moment, and we’re hopeful we can make a difference.

We want to thank you. We mean it….. your support, your encouragement, and your prayers are appreciated so very much.  

More to come……………

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 7th, 2008 at 9:48 pm and is filed under Cars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.