Oddest 'what car' ever? What V8 to drive from UK to Vietnam?
Discussion
fivetenben said:
Cheers for that, it's certainly an interesting leftfield choice; I'll give it some thought. Seems that gumtree one has had a price reduction btw, as it's the same one I found for £5750 here: http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C322582
Would look rather incongruous driving around downtown Hanoi too, me thinks!
Even the meter works... Would be good to know how much it costs to go from UK to Vietnam.Would look rather incongruous driving around downtown Hanoi too, me thinks!
chrisispringles said:
This appears to be it.
I'm not sure I'd take a modern barge on a drive like this. Too little ground clearance, too little tolerance to crap fuel and too many possibilities for electrical problems.
E36s/E39s have generally been some of the toughest wearing "cars" on the rallies. E.g. vs. Audi 80s / 100s and the rust/rot they get at 15-20yrs (brake lines, anybody?! I'm not sure I'd take a modern barge on a drive like this. Too little ground clearance, too little tolerance to crap fuel and too many possibilities for electrical problems.
).Caveats: by "cars", I mean that. For the same money, a lot of off-roaders/soft-roaders have been a LOT better. Never seen a cheap E38 pushed across this terrain in anger for a long period. As you say - clearance, early introduction of tech, etc. would concern me a bit. Ditto overhangs and parts availability (post USSR)
2.5pi said:
there are quite a few beemers of that vintage operating out in the 'stans so the fuel issue may be soluble, at least it has an adaptive ECU to retard for low octane .
Fuel quality wouldn't worry me on that one jot as long as you stick to new/major pumps, and run it on their highest Octane rating. You'll probably get a bad tank every 10-15 and draining half of it + topping up with good will generally fix if. Worst case, full drain.I'd throw a bottle of injector cleaner in every fifth tank given the hassle of losing days / cash on rallies like this, and likewise keep a couple of bottles of octane booster for when required.
But as 2.5pi says, ignition retardation goes a looooong way on a lot of these cars. Was astounded at what was running without issue (albeit with MASSIVE fuel consumption / horrific torque) on what must have been ~70 RON.
I can't believe you're not taking the P6, that's made for the job!
Any reason why Iran is off limits? Are you a - whisper it - journo, or have they found some other reason not to let you in? Five days spent with the nicest people in the known universe would be a far more enjoyable route to Bonkersville (Turkmenistan) than the boat, I can assure you...
Whilst the Crown Vic is a great suggestion, I think it lacks a certain JNSQ. In fact, I don't think you can really top your mates Royce except with a single car...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
Do it in style Ben.
Any reason why Iran is off limits? Are you a - whisper it - journo, or have they found some other reason not to let you in? Five days spent with the nicest people in the known universe would be a far more enjoyable route to Bonkersville (Turkmenistan) than the boat, I can assure you...
Whilst the Crown Vic is a great suggestion, I think it lacks a certain JNSQ. In fact, I don't think you can really top your mates Royce except with a single car...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
Do it in style Ben.
mig25_foxbat2003 said:
I can't believe you're not taking the P6, that's made for the job!
Any reason why Iran is off limits? Are you a - whisper it - journo, or have they found some other reason not to let you in? Five days spent with the nicest people in the known universe would be a far more enjoyable route to Bonkersville (Turkmenistan) than the boat, I can assure you...
Whilst the Crown Vic is a great suggestion, I think it lacks a certain JNSQ. In fact, I don't think you can really top your mates Royce except with a single car...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
Do it in style Ben.
There's more than one way to top a Rolls - you've just got to think laterally. Any reason why Iran is off limits? Are you a - whisper it - journo, or have they found some other reason not to let you in? Five days spent with the nicest people in the known universe would be a far more enjoyable route to Bonkersville (Turkmenistan) than the boat, I can assure you...
Whilst the Crown Vic is a great suggestion, I think it lacks a certain JNSQ. In fact, I don't think you can really top your mates Royce except with a single car...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
Do it in style Ben.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Cortina-P100-3-5cc-...
When I initially looked into things a year ago the plan was to go through Iran; however I think the FCO kinda have a point in advising against it, and I imagine visas are now next to impossible to get anyway after the embassy storming, hence the (potential, depending on RHD/LHD) route across the Caspian via Baku. It is a shame, as Iran is somewhere I really wanted to visit.
As for the P6, it was great for Morocco, but it's time to move on I'm afraid...
Right, an update!
Been fairly busy with work and other such inconsiderate things lately, but have also been keeping an eye on what's out there in the world of V8s, and viewed my first car today - a Mercedes SL. Admittedly, despite being a soft topped GT, it's very much at the sensible end of the spectrum, but as I'd never really poked around one before, I felt I should give it a chance. You can read my extensive whafflings on the subject in my blog here:
http://80breakdowns.com/2012/09/26/v8nam-the-searc...
...or for the to-the-point version, basically, I think it's a bit too much of a safe option, and so the search continues. I hope to get out and view a few more possibilities over the weekend, but being based on the Devon/Cornwall border, there aren't very many possibilities coming up close to home. Things intriguing me at the moment (which aren't at the other end of the country) are:
This Chimaera. I was all set to arrange a viewing, but then I noticed it's also up for auction on the bay, with some quite hectic bidding. 4 days to go, so I may try a sneeky bid at the end. PS- you ain't seen it, right!
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
This... erm... well, it's a Pontiac Firebird. I have no idea if that's a good thing or not, but it's not a bad price, it's manual and looks cool:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PONTIAC-FIREBIRD-TRANS-A...
There are a few other ideas too, but I'm going to keep them to myself for now, as flashing up funky budget V8s you're keen to buy on here probably isn't the best way to make sure there's no competition... I'm sure you understand!
Oh, and after a lot of thought/perusing ads, I've decided against the Daimler 250 by the way. I still feel too young for it, I'm afraid; erring towards something slightly sportier...
Been fairly busy with work and other such inconsiderate things lately, but have also been keeping an eye on what's out there in the world of V8s, and viewed my first car today - a Mercedes SL. Admittedly, despite being a soft topped GT, it's very much at the sensible end of the spectrum, but as I'd never really poked around one before, I felt I should give it a chance. You can read my extensive whafflings on the subject in my blog here:
http://80breakdowns.com/2012/09/26/v8nam-the-searc...
...or for the to-the-point version, basically, I think it's a bit too much of a safe option, and so the search continues. I hope to get out and view a few more possibilities over the weekend, but being based on the Devon/Cornwall border, there aren't very many possibilities coming up close to home. Things intriguing me at the moment (which aren't at the other end of the country) are:
This Chimaera. I was all set to arrange a viewing, but then I noticed it's also up for auction on the bay, with some quite hectic bidding. 4 days to go, so I may try a sneeky bid at the end. PS- you ain't seen it, right!
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
This... erm... well, it's a Pontiac Firebird. I have no idea if that's a good thing or not, but it's not a bad price, it's manual and looks cool:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PONTIAC-FIREBIRD-TRANS-A...
There are a few other ideas too, but I'm going to keep them to myself for now, as flashing up funky budget V8s you're keen to buy on here probably isn't the best way to make sure there's no competition... I'm sure you understand!
Oh, and after a lot of thought/perusing ads, I've decided against the Daimler 250 by the way. I still feel too young for it, I'm afraid; erring towards something slightly sportier...
DonkeyApple said:
Yup. It's a gamble as to whether Isreal hit it while you are there or not and personally, I wouldn't think it worth the hassle.
If you'd been, you'd understand that it massively is worth the hassle. Can you imagine an English person finding you pitching a tent (unknowingly) on his land, and instead of giving you a b
king, insisting that you come eat dinner with his family and sleep in his living room? Without sharing a single word of common language? Iranians are awesome. It's their government who are knobbers.
mig25_foxbat2003 said:
DonkeyApple said:
Yup. It's a gamble as to whether Isreal hit it while you are there or not and personally, I wouldn't think it worth the hassle.
If you'd been, you'd understand that it massively is worth the hassle. Can you imagine an English person finding you pitching a tent (unknowingly) on his land, and instead of giving you a b
king, insisting that you come eat dinner with his family and sleep in his living room? Without sharing a single word of common language? Iranians are awesome. It's their government who are knobbers.
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