[Well that my part of this update.Now I'm asking for yours.]

Back home at the phone… “Unsuccessful again”... but the bad news is met with good.. Another wonderful motorist had been able to assist with a special tool that made the rare wheel nuts come free, with a bit of technical manoeuvring and will power!  The wheel was off and the replacement was on! 
FCCOOL now ready to roll on to the next pit stop at Part Macquarie. "Wintersun" or bust!

Leon advised me at this stage that his mobile phone was now also about to run out of charge.
Aware of the need to save what ever charge that was left for the unforseen on route to Port Macquarie, I quickly (of course)  have to relay my final words of motherly advice; “Make sure you both recharge your phones at the Port”.
 I'm assured by Michelle’s the elated voice in the background that "all phone charges are on board" (just not car charges unfortunately  ) and I advise the hopeful travellers; "I'll call you in few hours to see how it all went".

My most sincere mothers hope is that Leon will take the opportunity to give more than his FCCOOL car a pit stop and rest at Port Macquarie.    As I understand he has slept little more than a few staggered hours, in days, in preparation of his prized car for this long awaited trip and event. 

Well that my part of this update.
Now I'm asking for yours.Many hours have past since I last got through to the "Cool's"
Phone says; "not available"? 

Then I read here that after I had believed they were finaly on their way, they had more than phone battery trouble!!!!        
Surely not??? 

So I imagine the phone battery ran right out about that time too, as I have heard a word since. 

    
Did they make it to Port Macquarie?
Was the wheel what they needed?
Did they take more than 3 seconds to charge the phones before they resumed the journey northbound?
Were the phone chargers on board FCCOOL, or still at home in Sydney with the spare wheel and the super special socket? 
Did little Leon have so much faith and confidence in the amazing FCCOOL, re any further mishaps, that he again went back to playing phone games     on both mum and dads phones, while Mum  was peacefully dozing?
    ...or even worse (God forbid  ,... while "Dad" was dozing?   
Were they stopped at the boarder and detained for the kids having "cool bananas" hidden under the seat!
Did they push on through and make miraculous time, and are now recovering nicely from exhaustion in a luxury motel suite, too distracted by the spa and big soft bed,      to remember to plug the phones in?
...or why they had come at to the land of sun at all???      for Leon...most likely...NOT!

Or was there a ticket tape welcoming party at the boarder awaiting Leon, the cool dude with his cool brood in FCCOOL, that caused him to have to be detained and spend the next 6 hrs signing autographs and "posing"    for car magazine photos, by his incredible COOL FC?

If you have heard from Leon and can offer me any further update at all of your own, I would be more than grateful.

Please, please let me know.
 With thanks to you all...   
     
                         ~ FCCOOL’s  Coolmum.
                                       …actually “very proud Mum”!

Word came back that there are no doubt tyres with a club member at "Bowraville". Though way too far ahead at this stage of his journey to be useful. If only we could find someone who was heading southward from Coffs Harbour region who could do a rescue drop off!

Then I next hear that Leon has received another call that someone at Port Macquarie has a heap of the exact required wheels standing by on loan offer. But again still just out of reach to make use of to get Leon’s beloved family  ...and "cool car" on the northbound road again.
 
I had to hang up as Leon had yet another call coming through. More ideas of help and further encouragement.
It seems someone about to drive south, may be able to bring a wheel from the Kempsey district, but he won't be leaving before around 4:00 am. Meaning a seven hour "camp in the car" at least, ahead for Leon’s boys.

What an unexpected adventure my cool little grandsons are having.
Camping in "daddy’s FC wagon" on its first big "run in", out of town!
Good thing they are all now bedded down in lots of not so cool blankets!
Lets hope it wont turn out to be a seven hour roadside sleep over.
Comfy accommodation for this little battling family in the Sunshine state going to waste, and all!


  ...Meanwhile the wonderful guy at Port Macquarie is also still on the job. With hope that a closer contact of his, near Old Barr may be able to assist "the Cool Family".
Worst come to worst this great guy at "the port", has even indicated he may yet personally come to the rescue, and make the long drive down and back.

A welcome relief to this mum of "FC COOL", I really must admit.

My next call to Leon is good news. The motorist who stopped earlier is back. He has an odd, though suitable tyre that will fit at least to get the family moving again. It's more like a four wheel drive style tyre, Leon tells me, but the rim will fit, and an exchange of $45. with this so welcome stranger, makes it a real bargain in this situation to get all to safety off the roadside.
The plan is to get to Port Macquarie on this wheel, fit FCCOOL with the offered matching wheel, and roll on up and over the QLD. boarder in original FCCOOL style.

The prayers are working.

The local trader leaves Leon to fit the wheel.

Only I discover on my next check in that the rare and special (just like my boy  )imported socket Leon uses to remove the wheel nuts can't be found on board.
Its either at home with the spare, or lost in the dark amidst unpacked bags and bedding in the make shift sleeping place of young "Leon and Karsons" big adventure.









I'm in the same Sydney suburb, and Leon is now asking I go down and do a search of his garage workshop floor! Yikes! Is he kidding? 
But then again he knows I'm a "Cool mum" so I guess he isn’t.

So I get on my warm hunting clothes, steal capped boots and head on down.

Finding the light switch in the dark in this “geniuses workshop” (to my boy ) was my first big challenge.
I survived that quite well,  I'm proud to say, and began to survey the areas I'd been instructed to pan in.
I think I may have struck gold, and now have to drive back home to “phone in” with the news. How to get the thing there is next bridge to cross. Get there first.

I get back home and begin to describe on the phone, this cylindric silver nugget to the master.
Unfortunately I've struck out.

Ruling out that object (what ever that thing was    ) I make another trip back down with even more descriptive details of the lost treasure I'm in search of, and further clues Leon has come up with as to its elusive whereabouts.

On return to Leon’s home base battle ground, my next find is looking good. Way more fitting the description, I think I have it for sure this time, and as I'm heading back home I’m thinking of ways I can relay a picture of “the find” to ground zero, to make certain it’s “the one”, as I begin to consider the idea of the request I sense is coming next in relation to my cool motherly duties.
An unexpected Friday night drive to have an unplanned visit with my dear sis at Wingham. 

Hi all you wonderful people. I'm Leon’s Mum.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts, ideas, help and even prayers for Leon to get FCCOOL to Queensland for its debut comeback.   

After so many countless hours of dedicated ingenious and hard work on this worthy project it’s disheartening to see these things going on for him. 
It’s a shame he couldn’t have arranged to have an escort to take this amazing car out on it's first big run.
A film crew along even  could have captured all this for starters!
What a story???
A testimony to his passion, more than commendable drive to push on and not give up until he reaches his goal, against the odds and trying conditions. To see FCCOOL, come through to victory.

I believe he certainly deserves some kind of award at "Wintersun" for that alone.

At leats he has all of you cheering him on from the sidelines along the way.

My reason for posting right now is for an update for my self.
Leon phoned me with very little phone credit and only one charged mobile phone between himself and his wife Michelle. (little Leon Jr. had been using mums phone to amuse him self on the trip with phone games unsuspecting of a what was about to happen) when his tyre blew out.

Due to space problems, the car loaded with all but the spare on board, the unthinkable happens. Just past the Taree turnoff, on the freeway to Queensland.

I have a sister the other side of Taree, who I contacted. She begins to send out word to locals for the not so usual type of tyre needed.

He mentions this forum so of course as "mum" I go to work in Sydney try to find help.
First finding lovely Richard who sends out the SOS to Leon’s mates along the coastline.

Then I make contact with him again to assure him Richard is on the job too, and find a motorist has just stopped. But this rare wheel is a hard find on Friday evening of a long week end. And even to take his wheel for repair would mean leaving all that is most dear to him in the world unguarded on the side of the road.
His pregnant wife, his two beautiful little boys, and of course  ..."FC COOL" attracting the admiring gaze and attention of every passer by.

So Leon has no option but to stay with the precious car and, even more so, very precious cargo.

Reliant now only on whatever help comes his way 
                                                                     ...on the freeway.