25 replies to this topic

[Richard_]

I've been thinking of going off for a couple of weeks, maybe four in the mini when it's done and covid restrictions lifted. Possibly touring in the italy direction or maybe north through scandinavia. Just me and a tent but hotels now and then. Not too much planning. How far could I get? The car is pretty much a standard 998 city. Where would you head for and what mods to the car would you consider doing? Some gentle off road sections would be interesting.

[johnR]

I took my 998 city down through the Alps to Turin then Monte Carlo on the back roads. An amazing trip. We took spare coil and points, oil, (didn't need any of it) and a plug in beer cooler!

[Richard_]

Sounds and looks great. Did the locals like the car? Any mishaps?
No roof clobber- hotels was it?

[johnR]

Sounds and looks great. Did the locals like the car? Any mishaps?
No roof clobber- hotels was it?

Yes, it was very well received, hoots and waves all the way. We stayed in motels on the way down then rented an apartment for a week near Monaco. No mishaps, the only issue was due to the engine being sat around for some years the rad had become partially blocked and this caused some overheating especially when climbing the Alpine sections on hot days. having the bonnet open on the catch 'hook' kept it under control.

Edited by johnR, 01 April 2021 - 01:14 PM.

[goudoogje]

Well, Jeroen did a small report about our trip some time ago:

 

http://maximummini.b...e-and-back.html

 

well before that, my brother and I did a trip from Holland to Greece with his MPI back then, after two roadside repairs, the third time was a bit to mutch, and the AA brought us home for the last miles in germany. 

 

I still want to thank the Italian lorry drivers with helping out with our fuel pump, and the Greece welder who fixed our exhaust  

 

If your car is in good state, take some oil and some basic tools, and just go. You will love it. 

[Richard_]

Thanks Goudoogje. I forgot to say I'm located in suffolk uk. A good starting point would be felixstowe to hook of holland.

[Spherix]

Thanks Goudoogje. I forgot to say I'm located in suffolk uk. A good starting point would be felixstowe to hook of holland.

 

Should you have any trouble on your arrival, you could then easily pass by a Mini specialist on your route  

[Richard_]

Sounds and looks great. Did the locals like the car? Any mishaps?No roof clobber- hotels was it?

Yes, it was very well received, hoots and waves all the way. We stayed in motels on the way down then rented an apartment for a week near Monaco. No mishaps, the only issue was due to the engine being sat around for some years the rad had become partially blocked and this caused some overheating especially when climbing the Alpine sections on hot days. having the bonnet open on the catch 'hook' kept it under control.

Thanks JohnR- I just read your rebuild thread. I think describing your car a 998 city is being somewhat modest! Superb job.

[Spider]

I love doing 'road trips' in my Moke, it's pretty much what I live for these days.

 

Our trips are quite different to the type of trip you're contemplating.

 

I'd suggest before setting off thinking about some creature comforts like decent seating, cup holders, have a GPS mounted in a sensible location and a good music box. You'd also be wise to put your mind to making the Mini as secure as you can. It will attract a lot of attention, some of which will be unwanted. In many ways, when parking up, you can be better off doing so somewhere busy as the casual thief will be less inclined to consider it. Mini are usually easy to break in to and once they are inside it, if they are intent on stealing the car, consider it gone. Personally, I think things like Alarms and Trackers are little more than junk as they are so easy to defeat. Often, something as basic as a chain through a wheel and around a pole is well enough to put off a thief.

 

When planning your routes, as best as possible try and consider plan B as well, even if in sections, you just never know what can happen out on the road.

 

While none of us like to have a breakdown and it can be a big dampener at the time, they sure do add to the adventure and character of the trip as well as surprising yourself as to just what you can pull off when in a jamb. In this regards, try and find out where there are Mini Friendly parts suppliers and workshops on-route. You can have stuff sent, but that's fraught with risk and delays that doesn't help, but the story of telling this afterwards, can be bigger than the trip itself.

 

Take loads of photos rather than try and make a video. Videos can be entertaining, but to put together something that's even 1/2 decent is much more work than the trip itself and extremely time consuming.

 

Do it !

[mk1leg]

my friend Sebastien and I took a road trip on the BaB el RaiD rally from La Rochelle through Spain and to Morocco

start line in La Rochelle

ferry to morocco

desert

finish line

we came 53 overall

 

 

 

 

[Richard_]

[quote name="Spider" post="3689419" timestamp="1617565

Spider- thanks for that advice sounds like based on solid experience. I'm a fan of a kill switch somewhere hidden. My old elf (now gone) was great for quickly taking the rotor out as the grille went up with the bonnet.
I'm thinking of going alone. Pros and cons both ways. Any thoughts on this?

Edited by Richard_, 07 April 2021 - 07:54 PM.

[Richard_]

[quote name="mk1leg

Looks tremendous - the car looks fully prepped. I love it. I may not be able to go to those lengths in reality though. I've considered the mongolia rally recently but that also looks too wild. I don't fancy all the hassles with visas and bribing police!

Edited by Richard_, 07 April 2021 - 08:05 PM.

[Spider]

[quote name="Spider" post="3689419" timestamp="1617565

Spider- thanks for that advice sounds like based on solid experience. I'm a fan of a kill switch somewhere hidden. My old elf (now gone) was great for quickly taking the rotor out as the grille went up with the bonnet.
I'm thinking of going alone. Pros and cons both ways. Any thoughts on this?

 

Stuff like that can help. CSI have a distributor that needs a Fob near it's (remote) sensor before it will work. I feel in terms of immobilising, this is one of the better options as a complete distributor is needed in order to bypass it. The remote sensor is on a cable and can be fitted anywhere in the car, the usual place is near the ignition switch.

One security measure I have seen on a Mini was to 'thread' a 1/4" Steel Rod from around the door lock, through the body, behind the trim over the rear quarters and in to the boot. When locking up, up open the boot, push these rods forward, then lock the book. It dead bolts the doors then and the boot is a little harder to break in to than the front doors. If I were to fit such a system, I'd use the 1/4 Rod down to the door aperture then fit some guides to the Body and use some heavier rod where in closes between the door aperture and the door frame. You'd also want to fit some positive means of holding them in an unlocked position so they don't lock while you're driving it.

[Chris1992]

Not quite on the same scale as some others here, but I've taken my Mini down to the 24hr Le Mans 4 times (nearly) out of the 10 times I've been. About 800 miles in total. Always great fun! Never with out issues though! lol. 

 

2014 - Still had my original 998 at the time. The starter solenoid started playing up in Calais, so it misfired all the way there and all the way back.

 

 

2017 - We didn't even get to Dover before my ebay special 1275 spontaneously cacked itself. 

 

 

2018 - Now with a freshly built KAD 1275, smooth sailing all the way. Except for my LCB manifold shearing into 3 pieces in France, so I had to do the entire return journey with essentially open headers, I've just about got my hearing back, but on the plus side it was fun shooting flames in the tunnels 

 

 

2019 - Ran flawlessly all the way there, and most of the way back, before inexplicably dying about 2 hours south of Calais. We thought the carb was playing up, but after 3 carb rebuilds at the side of the road we found it was the coil getting a bit toasty.

 

 

Also, in case anyone is interested, this is a little video montage I put together of our last 2019 trip. Hoping to be back there soon!

 

 

 

 

[Spider]

I'm sorry, I meant to comment on this one earlier !

 

my friend Sebastien and I took a road trip on the BaB el RaiD rally from La Rochelle through Spain and to Morocco

start line in La Rochelle

 

Whats a GREAT event / adventure - looks ACE and good on them, not just for having a good go at it, but finishing too.

Brilliant