The £7700 Corvette C6
Discussion
FelixP said:
Loved reading through this and reliving the trip, still so much more to come!
Steve I wish I nabbed the pint glass with that 2 in 1 pizza, who needs google maps?
We did talk about it, that place must lose loads of those every year. Although given how we were having to wedge all our kit in the boot and 'persuade' the lid to close, there was a high likelihood the glass would have shattered long before you got it home. Steve I wish I nabbed the pint glass with that 2 in 1 pizza, who needs google maps?
Monday 1st July
The push to reach the most northerly city/town in the world.
A still morning, a perfect time to fly the drone. Felix and I are flying novices, although my teenage R/C car racing experiences helped a little. I got a little daring flying between a boats superstructure, but was grateful of the collision detection, more practice needed.
Time to put on our pre-warmed shoes, pack away the (now dry) car washing kit and move on, for hundreds more miles of driving north.
We stopped for a little more drone filming. As Felix drove back and forth I soon discovered that Oystercatchers do not like Drones flying overhead and quickly had to land, to avoid damage to either!
All the photos are as they came from my phone, such vivid colours.
One of the pleasures (and jeopardy) of not planning the route in too much detail, is the delight in stumbling upon unexpected places and scenery. This cafe was perfect, with great food, sensible prices, friendly service and a good view too.
Mmmm, Pistachio milkshake.
National flags, when displayed, were often these long, triangular designs.
We encountered some roadworks on one stretch, but the view meant it wasn't too much of a hardship.
Another sign to tease us, still no sightings of Reindeer or Moose. The trees, where present, were typically smaller in stature, with Birch being the commonest species.
Having an interest in WW2 history, I pulled into the Tirpitz museum car park, sadly it was closed, so we took this photo with the Fjord in the background and drove on. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Ti...
The scenery looked as we imagined the Arctic would, during the summer. Bleak, with limited vegetation and snow patches.
Traffic was so light, just a car every few minutes, so we spent some time driving back and forth over our own personal suspension bridge. the drone footage would make the final cut of the video, as you shall see at the very end.
Not that you can tell, due to the permanent daylight, but it was now gone 10pm, as we approached Hammerfest and finally saw our first Reindeer.
We had made it to Hammerfest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammerfest_(town)
A lively place, with youngsters on quad bikes and some modified cars too. We bought some supplies, cooked dinner at the Airbnb, then went back out to look at the midnight sun (again).
The next day should be mercifully shorter in miles, time to get some sleep.
The push to reach the most northerly city/town in the world.
A still morning, a perfect time to fly the drone. Felix and I are flying novices, although my teenage R/C car racing experiences helped a little. I got a little daring flying between a boats superstructure, but was grateful of the collision detection, more practice needed.
Time to put on our pre-warmed shoes, pack away the (now dry) car washing kit and move on, for hundreds more miles of driving north.
We stopped for a little more drone filming. As Felix drove back and forth I soon discovered that Oystercatchers do not like Drones flying overhead and quickly had to land, to avoid damage to either!
All the photos are as they came from my phone, such vivid colours.
One of the pleasures (and jeopardy) of not planning the route in too much detail, is the delight in stumbling upon unexpected places and scenery. This cafe was perfect, with great food, sensible prices, friendly service and a good view too.
Mmmm, Pistachio milkshake.
National flags, when displayed, were often these long, triangular designs.
We encountered some roadworks on one stretch, but the view meant it wasn't too much of a hardship.
Another sign to tease us, still no sightings of Reindeer or Moose. The trees, where present, were typically smaller in stature, with Birch being the commonest species.
Having an interest in WW2 history, I pulled into the Tirpitz museum car park, sadly it was closed, so we took this photo with the Fjord in the background and drove on. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Ti...
The scenery looked as we imagined the Arctic would, during the summer. Bleak, with limited vegetation and snow patches.
Traffic was so light, just a car every few minutes, so we spent some time driving back and forth over our own personal suspension bridge. the drone footage would make the final cut of the video, as you shall see at the very end.
Not that you can tell, due to the permanent daylight, but it was now gone 10pm, as we approached Hammerfest and finally saw our first Reindeer.
We had made it to Hammerfest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammerfest_(town)
A lively place, with youngsters on quad bikes and some modified cars too. We bought some supplies, cooked dinner at the Airbnb, then went back out to look at the midnight sun (again).
The next day should be mercifully shorter in miles, time to get some sleep.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 28th November 10:05
Tuesday 2nd July
Keep heading north until the road runs out!
After a more leisurely start, partly to give Clive a much-needed wash, we took the most northerly highway in the world, the E69 and headed to Nordkapp. Reindeer became a common sight, with the landscape bleak and houses few and far between.
It was cold and dull, with low cloud and the occasional rain shower.
Not having a camera equipped with zoom, this was as close as I could get to the Plover's that scuttled around the rocks.
Sorry if the photos look a little samey, that's how it looked for 50 miles. Plus, it was too cold to get out very often, fatigue was setting in at this point of the trip.
We reached the end of the road, passed through a booth, paid to park (we weren't going to pay the considerable extra fee to go into the visitor centre/restaurant) and had our first view of the headlands and Arctic Ocean.
In the distance we could see a bank of fog rolling in towards us from the north. The Svalbard islands lay hundreds of miles further north, after that, just polar ice until the North Pole.
Just a few minutes later the fog descended and it felt even colder, just 42F/5C, quite a contrast to shorts and T shirt weather a few days further south. Don't worry, I peeled the stickers off afterwards.
We chatted to a group of British bikers who had seen us at the Atlantic Road bridges. When we got back to the car they'd stuck a sticker on!
Felix and I felt a real sense of achievement in making it to the very top of Europe, 3098 miles so far. The Corvette is just a brilliant car, super tough and so versatile. At that time it was almost certainly the most northerly Corvette in the world.
After pausing for a few minutes, the realisation set in that we had to be back home by Sunday, ready for work Monday. Everyday ahead would be long, with 500 to 600 miles, on single carriageway roads, with a low speed limit, at least until we reached Germany and beyond.
For the first time in more than a week, we'd be headed south. The fog was thick, so a biker tucked in close behind, indicating he wanted us to lead, until it thinned after 20 miles and it was safe for him to pass and accelerate away.
Civilisation and our next overnight, Honningsvåg, often regarded as the most northerly town in the world (it's higher than Hammerfest).
It rained all night, that and just feeling tired helped me make the decision that we wouldn't worry about washing the car again for the rest of the trip.
Keep heading north until the road runs out!
After a more leisurely start, partly to give Clive a much-needed wash, we took the most northerly highway in the world, the E69 and headed to Nordkapp. Reindeer became a common sight, with the landscape bleak and houses few and far between.
It was cold and dull, with low cloud and the occasional rain shower.
Not having a camera equipped with zoom, this was as close as I could get to the Plover's that scuttled around the rocks.
Sorry if the photos look a little samey, that's how it looked for 50 miles. Plus, it was too cold to get out very often, fatigue was setting in at this point of the trip.
We reached the end of the road, passed through a booth, paid to park (we weren't going to pay the considerable extra fee to go into the visitor centre/restaurant) and had our first view of the headlands and Arctic Ocean.
In the distance we could see a bank of fog rolling in towards us from the north. The Svalbard islands lay hundreds of miles further north, after that, just polar ice until the North Pole.
Just a few minutes later the fog descended and it felt even colder, just 42F/5C, quite a contrast to shorts and T shirt weather a few days further south. Don't worry, I peeled the stickers off afterwards.
We chatted to a group of British bikers who had seen us at the Atlantic Road bridges. When we got back to the car they'd stuck a sticker on!
Felix and I felt a real sense of achievement in making it to the very top of Europe, 3098 miles so far. The Corvette is just a brilliant car, super tough and so versatile. At that time it was almost certainly the most northerly Corvette in the world.
After pausing for a few minutes, the realisation set in that we had to be back home by Sunday, ready for work Monday. Everyday ahead would be long, with 500 to 600 miles, on single carriageway roads, with a low speed limit, at least until we reached Germany and beyond.
For the first time in more than a week, we'd be headed south. The fog was thick, so a biker tucked in close behind, indicating he wanted us to lead, until it thinned after 20 miles and it was safe for him to pass and accelerate away.
Civilisation and our next overnight, Honningsvåg, often regarded as the most northerly town in the world (it's higher than Hammerfest).
It rained all night, that and just feeling tired helped me make the decision that we wouldn't worry about washing the car again for the rest of the trip.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 28th November 12:16
Lovely shots. Norway is a beautiful country, well worth doing a roadtrip in.
However...
"A usually streamer-like pennant in national/livery colours and/or a sometimes simplified charge, that is flown in place of a national or other flag to avoid the appearance of an empty flag pole – especially popular in Northern Europe and Scandinavia but increasingly used in the UK"
Source: this dictionary of vexillology and being Swedish
However...
Fishy Dave said:
Monday 1st July
National flags, when displayed, were often these long, triangular designs.
...that's not a flag, that's a wimple!National flags, when displayed, were often these long, triangular designs.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 28th November 10:05
"A usually streamer-like pennant in national/livery colours and/or a sometimes simplified charge, that is flown in place of a national or other flag to avoid the appearance of an empty flag pole – especially popular in Northern Europe and Scandinavia but increasingly used in the UK"
Source: this dictionary of vexillology and being Swedish
Wednesday 3rd July
We were currently at 'B' at the top of the map. The day ahead would see us drive due south, through Lapland and into Finland.
Add on a couple of hours for stops and fuel.....
We'd say goodbye to the sea for a while. As we headed inland, trees started to become more frequent, until we reached forested areas, that would become the norm.
The landscape gradually flattened as we left Norway and entered Finland and another time zone, putting the clocks another hour further ahead (2 ahead of the UK).
We quickly noticed differences over the border. The quality of the tarmac was not quite as good in places, phone signal was patchy, cars were frequently adorned with spot lights and metal bars, for moose protection and the biting insects increased in number!
We were on constant Reindeer watch, we did not want one of them flying through the glass.
One moment that I wish we'd captured on video was when filling up with fuel. Two guys in a battered Toyota Corolla were filling next to us. We got chatting, one of them said he was a rally driver and could he have a drive in the Corvette. I politely declined, no harm done and off they went. As we got back in the car to drive off the Corolla reversed at speed across the front of us, they banged it into 1st, in a spectacular 'one tyre fire' (Felix quote) with smoke pouring from the front as they drove off. Hilarious, the Finns have a great sense of humour, although the lady that came out of the shop opposite didn't know what was going on! It confirmed I made the right decision, turning down their kind offer of a drive.
We'd officially left the Arctic.
On to our next Airbnb, at Ylitornia, having stopped at a local supermarket, for Pizza (again). First, we had to run the gauntlet of vicious mosquitos.
My 'try a native drink' experiment was slightly more successful than the infamous 'Mr Basil' I had the misfortune of drinking in Morocco, on the previous road trip.
I was grateful of the netting, even more so of the effective blackout shutters in both our bedrooms, as it still never got dark at this lattitude.
Thursday 4th July
Another 600+ mile day ahead. After just one mile we crossed the river, into our 8th country, Sweden.
Pringles make for excellent road trip snacks, balancing nicely on a leg as you drive.
Plenty more Reindeer to dodge and to admire.
We had certainly returned to civilisation, with the occasional delay in traffic, some dual carriageway and high octane fuel available at last.
That could make for an interesting overshoot, from the skijump!
When in Sweden.... we decided a Billy Bookcase wouldn't quite fit, so we drove on swiftly.
We did buy a Plopp bar though. What do you think it tasted of?
Our overnight, a nice 2 bed cabin overlooking a lake, at Jattendal.
Red is a forgiving colour from a distance, but the car was looking pretty grubby, with an impressive collection of bugs on the front. The front wheels were slowly turning a nice shade of anthracite.
We were currently at 'B' at the top of the map. The day ahead would see us drive due south, through Lapland and into Finland.
Add on a couple of hours for stops and fuel.....
We'd say goodbye to the sea for a while. As we headed inland, trees started to become more frequent, until we reached forested areas, that would become the norm.
The landscape gradually flattened as we left Norway and entered Finland and another time zone, putting the clocks another hour further ahead (2 ahead of the UK).
We quickly noticed differences over the border. The quality of the tarmac was not quite as good in places, phone signal was patchy, cars were frequently adorned with spot lights and metal bars, for moose protection and the biting insects increased in number!
We were on constant Reindeer watch, we did not want one of them flying through the glass.
One moment that I wish we'd captured on video was when filling up with fuel. Two guys in a battered Toyota Corolla were filling next to us. We got chatting, one of them said he was a rally driver and could he have a drive in the Corvette. I politely declined, no harm done and off they went. As we got back in the car to drive off the Corolla reversed at speed across the front of us, they banged it into 1st, in a spectacular 'one tyre fire' (Felix quote) with smoke pouring from the front as they drove off. Hilarious, the Finns have a great sense of humour, although the lady that came out of the shop opposite didn't know what was going on! It confirmed I made the right decision, turning down their kind offer of a drive.
We'd officially left the Arctic.
On to our next Airbnb, at Ylitornia, having stopped at a local supermarket, for Pizza (again). First, we had to run the gauntlet of vicious mosquitos.
My 'try a native drink' experiment was slightly more successful than the infamous 'Mr Basil' I had the misfortune of drinking in Morocco, on the previous road trip.
I was grateful of the netting, even more so of the effective blackout shutters in both our bedrooms, as it still never got dark at this lattitude.
Thursday 4th July
Another 600+ mile day ahead. After just one mile we crossed the river, into our 8th country, Sweden.
Pringles make for excellent road trip snacks, balancing nicely on a leg as you drive.
Plenty more Reindeer to dodge and to admire.
We had certainly returned to civilisation, with the occasional delay in traffic, some dual carriageway and high octane fuel available at last.
That could make for an interesting overshoot, from the skijump!
When in Sweden.... we decided a Billy Bookcase wouldn't quite fit, so we drove on swiftly.
We did buy a Plopp bar though. What do you think it tasted of?
Our overnight, a nice 2 bed cabin overlooking a lake, at Jattendal.
Red is a forgiving colour from a distance, but the car was looking pretty grubby, with an impressive collection of bugs on the front. The front wheels were slowly turning a nice shade of anthracite.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 28th November 15:53
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 28th November 16:58
Cambs_Stuart said:
That looks like an incredible trip. I've not been to Norway for 30+ years and never that far north. Out of interest, how did you find the long days driving? Did it ever become a chore?
Thanks, it's one of the best things I've done to date. Driving north, through Norway, didn't feel too tiring, there was always something to see, the scenery was stunning and we had the goal of reaching the North Cape. The way back had some excessively long days, without the mountains or sea to enjoy. Mercifully the traffic was light, until we reached the usual traffic from the very south of Sweden onwards. We were pretty exhausted at times, but Felix introduced me to Smith and Sniff podcasts. Having Youtube on the Android head unit was good. We broke the day into 2 hour stints; I'm not sure I could have done that many 12+ hour days by myself.
klevenspielberg said:
Lovely shots. Norway is a beautiful country, well worth doing a roadtrip in.
However...
"A usually streamer-like pennant in national/livery colours and/or a sometimes simplified charge, that is flown in place of a national or other flag to avoid the appearance of an empty flag pole – especially popular in Northern Europe and Scandinavia but increasingly used in the UK"
Source: this dictionary of vexillology and being Swedish
That is very good to know, thank you. However...
Fishy Dave said:
Monday 1st July
National flags, when displayed, were often these long, triangular designs.
...that's not a flag, that's a wimple!National flags, when displayed, were often these long, triangular designs.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 28th November 10:05
"A usually streamer-like pennant in national/livery colours and/or a sometimes simplified charge, that is flown in place of a national or other flag to avoid the appearance of an empty flag pole – especially popular in Northern Europe and Scandinavia but increasingly used in the UK"
Source: this dictionary of vexillology and being Swedish
I'll leave the original post with my incorrect term, so it doesn't look odd. Friday 5th July
Our overnight was at 'D', tracking down the Baltic coast, occasionally catching a glimpse of the sea, but it was mostly trees and few hills. Sweden was by far the cheapest of the Scandinavian countries, with petrol and fuel slightly cheaper than the UK.
Ugghhh!
The rain was VERY heavy for a while, we dived into a services to wait it out. Good as the AD09's are in all conditions, it wasn't worth throwing it off the road as standing water built up.
Words were nearly had!
The overnight at Malmö was unremarkable, but they did have these two relics in the back garden.
Volvo
Saturday 6th July
The first major navigating/planning error. With the last of our mega-long days ahead, a quick glance at Google maps in the morning was the extent of our route planning. We chose the quickest route, through what looked like an undersea tunnel (Google maps has given it a road number).
We crossed the long bridge between Malmö and Copenhagen, entering Denmark.
Google maps showed a symbol for a ferry, how odd. Oh no, we joined a queue, by which time it was too late to turn around and detour. Pulling up to the check in/ticket sales " No, we haven't pre-booked, no thank you, we don't need a flexi-ticket, cher-ching, 300ish Euros later (from memory) and we joined a long queue. We were still there almost two hours later.
By 'flexi', what they actually mean is 'priority'. Very annoying, with many hundreds of miles still ahead. Google has been a bit premature in assigning a road number in my opinion, whilst a sub-sea tunnel is well underway, it won't be open for some years yet.
Some time was made up through Germany, with more 100 octane Shell race fuel. Eventually we made it to our final overnight, a small, boutique hotel in Sint Niklaus, Belgium. As we checked in late, there was no-one on reception, leading to a slightly frustrating series of phone calls and instructions on how to get in, where to park and where our room keys were. Much as Felix and I get on so well travelling, it was nice to have a bit of space, with our own hotel rooms.
Sunday 7th July, our final day.
A relatively short hop, through Belgium, a little of northern France and through the tunnel, to Blighty.
One last McDonalds breakfast, in Kent, then I said bye to Felix, as he went to collect his C6 from the specialist the next day, who fixed his oil leak (sump gasket). I was back home by mid-afternoon, so pleased to see my little son and wife.
What an adventure it had been.
The trip miles stood at 5547.2, since leaving home two weeks before. The total miles now at:
The engine light is only because it's not running.
I topped up the oil a further 600ml on the driveway, meaning the total consumed was 1 litre exactly. The AD09 tyres were showing between 4mm and 5.5mm on all four tyres, good going for a semi-track tyre.
The steering wheel had been slightly off-centre since northern Norway. We'd not hit anything, but it turns out one of the front eccentrics had slipped, but caused no extra tyre wear. The two colours make it easy for me to switch between road and track camber settings.
Other than that, nothing mechanical to report. Within a week I'd cleaned Clive thoroughly, inside and out and re-fitted my noisy exhaust, much better.
I love the final video that Marc Peters edited, it took months of work, but hope you'll agree the production standards are top notch:
Our overnight was at 'D', tracking down the Baltic coast, occasionally catching a glimpse of the sea, but it was mostly trees and few hills. Sweden was by far the cheapest of the Scandinavian countries, with petrol and fuel slightly cheaper than the UK.
Ugghhh!
The rain was VERY heavy for a while, we dived into a services to wait it out. Good as the AD09's are in all conditions, it wasn't worth throwing it off the road as standing water built up.
Words were nearly had!
The overnight at Malmö was unremarkable, but they did have these two relics in the back garden.
Volvo
Saturday 6th July
The first major navigating/planning error. With the last of our mega-long days ahead, a quick glance at Google maps in the morning was the extent of our route planning. We chose the quickest route, through what looked like an undersea tunnel (Google maps has given it a road number).
We crossed the long bridge between Malmö and Copenhagen, entering Denmark.
Google maps showed a symbol for a ferry, how odd. Oh no, we joined a queue, by which time it was too late to turn around and detour. Pulling up to the check in/ticket sales " No, we haven't pre-booked, no thank you, we don't need a flexi-ticket, cher-ching, 300ish Euros later (from memory) and we joined a long queue. We were still there almost two hours later.
By 'flexi', what they actually mean is 'priority'. Very annoying, with many hundreds of miles still ahead. Google has been a bit premature in assigning a road number in my opinion, whilst a sub-sea tunnel is well underway, it won't be open for some years yet.
Some time was made up through Germany, with more 100 octane Shell race fuel. Eventually we made it to our final overnight, a small, boutique hotel in Sint Niklaus, Belgium. As we checked in late, there was no-one on reception, leading to a slightly frustrating series of phone calls and instructions on how to get in, where to park and where our room keys were. Much as Felix and I get on so well travelling, it was nice to have a bit of space, with our own hotel rooms.
Sunday 7th July, our final day.
A relatively short hop, through Belgium, a little of northern France and through the tunnel, to Blighty.
One last McDonalds breakfast, in Kent, then I said bye to Felix, as he went to collect his C6 from the specialist the next day, who fixed his oil leak (sump gasket). I was back home by mid-afternoon, so pleased to see my little son and wife.
What an adventure it had been.
The trip miles stood at 5547.2, since leaving home two weeks before. The total miles now at:
The engine light is only because it's not running.
I topped up the oil a further 600ml on the driveway, meaning the total consumed was 1 litre exactly. The AD09 tyres were showing between 4mm and 5.5mm on all four tyres, good going for a semi-track tyre.
The steering wheel had been slightly off-centre since northern Norway. We'd not hit anything, but it turns out one of the front eccentrics had slipped, but caused no extra tyre wear. The two colours make it easy for me to switch between road and track camber settings.
Other than that, nothing mechanical to report. Within a week I'd cleaned Clive thoroughly, inside and out and re-fitted my noisy exhaust, much better.
I love the final video that Marc Peters edited, it took months of work, but hope you'll agree the production standards are top notch:
Edited by Fishy Dave on Friday 29th November 11:13
Not too much to report recently. I've mostly been driving the Mustang, just because it's a novelty and not a keeper, so makes sense to enjoy it whilst I can.
I was pushing to get Clive back to the States in the spring, for the next big adventure, but alas have fallen some way short of sponsorship needed to help cover costs. A shame, as I had a number of cool opportunities lined up, including an appearance at NASA, to coincide with the distance to the moon milestone. I'm planning to go to the National Corvette Museum BASH in April for my two book launches, but without Clive. Hopefully I can meet the right people and make a future trip a possibility.
Back down to earth, the delrin bushings have become a real pain. They bind and almost seize up, whilst the front, upper wishbones have developed play and I'm tired of adding shim washers to reduce the rattling and knocking. I have therefore bought and fitted genuine GM C7 wishbones. They are a perfect fit, with a redesigned rubber bush that is supposed to be less prone to working out under track forces. It has transformed the ride, being slightly more compliant, more importantly no more knocking and banging over rough tarmac.
One thing I didn't like were the sharp edges to the castings, they would have cut my hands at some stage, so I ground them all back before fitting.
BORG have kindly sent me slightly longer alloy sleeves to try at all other wishbone locations, to reduce the binding. I will fit these in the future, along with grease nipples and report back.
On the way to the dentists...
Vette News has published part 1 of my Arctic write up.
I was pushing to get Clive back to the States in the spring, for the next big adventure, but alas have fallen some way short of sponsorship needed to help cover costs. A shame, as I had a number of cool opportunities lined up, including an appearance at NASA, to coincide with the distance to the moon milestone. I'm planning to go to the National Corvette Museum BASH in April for my two book launches, but without Clive. Hopefully I can meet the right people and make a future trip a possibility.
Back down to earth, the delrin bushings have become a real pain. They bind and almost seize up, whilst the front, upper wishbones have developed play and I'm tired of adding shim washers to reduce the rattling and knocking. I have therefore bought and fitted genuine GM C7 wishbones. They are a perfect fit, with a redesigned rubber bush that is supposed to be less prone to working out under track forces. It has transformed the ride, being slightly more compliant, more importantly no more knocking and banging over rough tarmac.
One thing I didn't like were the sharp edges to the castings, they would have cut my hands at some stage, so I ground them all back before fitting.
BORG have kindly sent me slightly longer alloy sleeves to try at all other wishbone locations, to reduce the binding. I will fit these in the future, along with grease nipples and report back.
On the way to the dentists...
Vette News has published part 1 of my Arctic write up.
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