Nats Travel Home

[colt]

The ACT contingent arrived home around 4.30 today after a fairly wet trip today. We had a false start with Kaz's FC failing to proceed with a faulty solenoid, then Tim's ute leaked it's shocky air everywhere. What a mess! We changed his wheels so that he could drive without scraping. He & Bec are now on a holiday in SA. We came across various people on the journey home, staying overnight in Bendigo again. Today we drove steadily with rain, RAIN X is terrific stuff, I think I used my wipers about 6 times the whole day. Thanks to Peter Longhurst for that trick. We came across John Rap, Custom FC & Ed at Gundagai, hope you all got home ok. Dropped Peter off at the Tumut turnoff  & proceeded to Yass & home.
Thanks to all the SA guys & girls for a terrific Nats, we all had a great time. Plenty for the girls as well. Now we can look forward to Orange.
Colin.

[FC_Driver]

Rain X...
I used it from somewhere befor Violet Town to Cootamundra & didn't need to put the wipers on once.......yes it did rain all the way.
Our poor old FC is now resting after a very fast trip home.
Bruce & Jan

[Ed]

Hey Col,

It was WET wasn't it??  I left John Rap and Alex just north of Gundagai, I was anxious to get home and see the family.  We also used rain x to make the journey that much easier.

Glad to hear you guys got home safely despite the small mechanical problems.

Bruce, I've put the car out in the sun to dry off!

Cheers

Ed

[RET]

Most of the rest of the NSW Club left Mt Gambier on Monday morning, stopping at Bendigo that night. Tuesday morning we visited the Holden Museum at Echuca, and Geoff K's family farm near Mangoplah before stopping again in Wagga. Home by late afternoon on Wednesday.

Here are a few pics from the return leg of our trip...


Club Members checking out the Holden Museum in Echuca


Leon spies something of interest in the engine bay


The FE and FC currently on display in the museum.*


It's many a year since there was a line-up like this outside the Mangoplah Pub.


Home-brew X2 air-cleaners on an FB ute at the Klimpsch's place. The very definition of "agricultural" ...!


The view out of the shed.

cheers
RET

* Who belongs to this FC? I'm pretty sure I've seen it at a Nationals at some stage.

[Ed]

cool pics RET,

Looks like the FE/FCs are waiting for the farmer to open the gate at the farm.

[TTV6FC]

Hee Hee Ed,nice pics RET.Love that twin filter set up.Was it actually welded or or just sitting there together?...

[collecta]

Some excellent pictures RET glad to see you all made it home safe and sound was great to catch up with everyone.
cheers
Scott

[RET]

Was it actually welded or or just sitting there together?...

It was welded together, and apparently the paper elements within it had the top and bottom cut down, and the paper interleaved.

Agricultural: effective if not necessarily attractive

cheers
RET

[FE_STD_WAGON]

Good to hear you all home safely and what a great Nats I enjoyed catching up with old friends and making new ones and the cars ! Amazing.
Greg Pritchard and I left after the delegates meeting on Monday and went via Ballarat to Melb [western ring Rd ] onto the Hume Freeway to almost Albury, I say almost Albury because the old Ute started to make a BAD rattling noise from the engine  with about 40 K's to go to Albury and it was already dark [ about 8.45 ]. We pulled up in a rest area and found the harmonic balancer pulley had come loose from the balancer. we decided to continue on hoping it wouldn't completely part company as it was close either way. [ I was glad we were in 2 cars ]
We made it and went straight to a motel I think they would have heard us a couple of K's away
The next morning the hunt was on for a Balancer and do you think we could find a grey motor balancer from any business [ including Rares ] NO. They said it would take 1 to 2 days to get 1 in.

Then it dawned on me that it was Des Gillett's [ Vic club ] home town and if anyone would know where to find one he would. So i rang him but he was still in Mount Gambier, but said he had an old grey at the back of his car yard and there might be one on it. Yeah there was. and i could use his garage at the back of his car yard to fit it [by this time it was pouring rain ]. Des had already rung a friend to open up the shed. When his mate Rob arrived to open up the shed he said he also had an old spare grey motor at home with a balancer on it and I was welcome to it if it was better than Des's. It was amazing it was.

Rob helped me fit it and I was on my way. All up 4hrs delayed.

My Thanks goes to  Des, Rob and Greg as with out their help I could still be there now.

Tuesday Night we got to Greg's mum's place in the blue mountains and stayed the night.

Wednesday night I got home. in time for my daughter Jacqueline's 7th birthday on Thursday

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL IT WAS A FANTASTIC TIME AWAY AND I WILL NEVER FORGET IT .

Cheers Mick

[FC0058]

Hi From WA
Gary (FE_UTE), myself and our lovely wives departed the Mount at the completion of the deligates meeting. Our quick trip home pushed the old small block grey's, the more we pushed the better they performed.
-Monday: Mount Gambier - Adelaide
-Tuesday: Adelaide - Streaky Bay
-Wednesday: Streaky Bay - Madera
-Thursday: Madera - Calgoolie
-Friday: Calgoolie - Home by approx 4.30pm

The trip was rather eventless, I still have the same oil leak as I had at the 10th nationals, my timing advanced itself just before lunch today. Gary had a couple of sqeaks here and there but nothng to stopped the WA Nations express.

Gary & I will ad photo's soon.

Cheers Jim

[colt]

Good to hear you got home ok guys. how many miles would you have done per day?
Colin

[FC0058]

Hi Colin
A brake down of the approx miles covered per day are as follows:

Mount Gambier to Adelaide = 277 miles

Adelaide to Streaky Bay = 434 miles

Streaky Bay to Madura + 485 miles

Madura to Kalgoorlie = 443 miles

Kalgoorlie to Home = 382 miles

Total = 2021 miles

Our average speed was approx 60 to 65 and on the odd occasion we hit 70 MPH

Sorry about some of my spelling yesterday must have been the white line fever, I have now had some sleep and am into my 3rd game of League "Roosters V Storm".

Cheers Jim

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

An SA straggler got home today, my FE came home on the back of a car trailer. Interesting (challenging) drive along the freeway using a Toyota Tarago  .
Now I have to pull the trans to see what happened 

[FC0058]

Geez Glen you averaged just over 50 miles a day . Should have stuck with they grey and crash box.

Hope every thing is ok wth your car.

Cheers Jim

[HAD 708]

RET
The FC you mentioned viewed at the Echuca holden museum belongs to Paul Rankin a member of the Vic Club
Brett

[Hewart]

Glad to hear everyone has made it home OK.....

Great pics Richard! Looks like a great convoy home!

Sorry to hear about your car troubles Stinky and Mick!

We got home last night. We took the scenic route to and from the Nats.... leaving 2 weeks ago we stayed:
 1 night in Wagga Wagga
 2 (very hot) nights at Mildura
 3 nights in Adelaide
 4 nights at Mt Gambier, and home with
 1 (wet) night in Port Campbell and
 2 nights at Sheperton.

We took in all sorts of sights all over the joint (Murray river, sunset over the water in Adelaide, the Blue Lake, sinkholes, Glenelg, Victor Habor and the 12 Apostles) and took a trip to the Birdville Motor Museum (saw Efijgy ), and a trip to the Holden Museum at Echuca (that's a very nice FC there too Brett!).

Not to mention the bonus of seeing over 120 FEs and FCs at the Nats and catching up with a lot of people there. We took just over 1,260 photos (which we'll start sorting through soon) and travelled just over 4,000kms in the Commodore (we met the FC in Adelaide and drove her from there to Melbourne without drama).

Thanks to everyone for a great Nationals and a great excuse to take the family on a great holiday . I recommend it to everyone!

Cheers
Les...