We Made It!

A big thank you to everyone who has sponsored us - we haven't a final figure yet, but it looks like we have raised somewhere in the region of £2500 for the Down's Syndrome Association, which is fantastic!

Our Volvo 360 did us proud and we made it all the way from Calais to Prague without a hitch. Except for a blowout at 80mph on the French motorway. Oh, and the leaky diff we patched with gaffer tape. Ah yes, and the petrol tank that leaked when it was full. And occasionally forgetting which side of the road to drive on, or getting lost. But other than that...without a hitch.

More details to follow, but in the meantime there are a feast of photos available at:
http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n314/fpahtk/ - click on the CzechWrecks2006 link.

Ready for the off

Well, this is it, D-Day. Train leaves for Calais at 7:04 so there's no turning back. Off to London in a couple of hours to meet up with Dave (who's working today!) and off to collect the car.

Then it's down to Folkestone and we're off.

Just time to post a couple of pictures whilst she's still clean and in one piece.

Many more to follow when we get back next week.

Getting Close...

So it's only a couple of weeks to go now! We have had some success with sponsorship from ALK who make Co-Pilot Sat Nav software. They've supplied us with an upgrade to the European maps in return for us putting some advertising on the car. At this rate we'll have covered up all the old paintwork in stickers, which is not necessarily a bad thing.. We've also put a sunstrip on the beast advertising the chaps at http://www.volvo300mania.com who've been incredibly generous with both their time, sponsorship money and parts to try and ensure we make it to Prague...

The only thing to do mechanically before we go is to top up the leaky diff, and bung some exhaust tape around it to try and keep enough in there to do 1500 miles. I'm also trying to get some press packs done to help out our sponsors - we'll see on that one.

So wish us luck. There'll only be one more post on here before we leave and that will show the car in all her stickered up glory just before we leave on the 31st.

Starting to look the part

Well, the dealer has pronounced the alternator as deceased. Even after being offered £100 off a new one by Volvo UK it's still over £250 so that was never going to happen. We did get quotes of £140 for a new pattern part and £40 from a breaker but then...

...the very nice people at www.volvo300mania.com found our car on CarDomain. We've accumulated sponsorship from them and also a free alternator. Another theory on the problems is the voltage regulator on the back of the dash (as we've lost lots of other lights too) and we've also been given one of those. All we need to do now is get them fitted and see if they fix it. We're not convinced about the alternator as we've definitely got the voltage so might try the regulator first. The battery light works on a balance of voltages so if one side is off that might throw it. With the other lights and dials out and the fact it started when we had problems with the radio, we think we might have blown something.

We have also made a start on the appearance of the car. We have the rally stickers and numbers on together with our charity ones and it's starting to come together. We have already spent more on the stickers than we did on the car but it looks worth it. No clues as to the theme or any pictures until the rally starts. Pics will be posted as soon as we get back.

Service update

Well, we've got some feedback from the dealer and it's pretty good news. They've done the brake fluid and checked everything over and there's nothing major that needs any attention. The rear wheel cylinders are leaking bit and the front discs are a bit worn but nothing worth worrying about. Other than that it was bits about a worn door hinge and faulty boot lock.

They haven't yet tracked down why the ignition light is on but the alternator is fine and is charging. Could be an internal fault in the battery or a wiring problem. Given the problems with the temperature and fuel gauges and the rev counter I reckon it's wiring. They're going to investigate further. There's also damage to one of the inlet side pipes but it's not leaking.

Should have it back by the weekend and will post a further update then.

No more BMW

Well, that's one less car to worry about. The BMW has now gone, sold for the princely sum of £28 on eBay and picked up on Sunday. Shame it only went for £2 more than the cost of the new battery we put in it!

Still, it had to go. The welding was a bit scary and we had no idea how much it was going to cost us. We've also had some lucky breaks with the Volvo dealer (see the link at the side!) that we may not have got from BMW so we're fairly happy. We've also now got a manual gearbox now that I'm certain is going to fare better in the Alps than the BMW's auto.

We've also got over £200 donated on our Justgiving page so far. However, don't let that put you off, the more the merrier so please get donating.

Dilemma Solved

Well, dilemma over, we're going in the Volvo 360. The BMW sold on eBay at the weekend for the enormous sum of £28! Given that we paid £77 for it, fitted a £26 battery and paid £21 in eBay fees I think it would be fair to say I'm a bit miffed.

On the upside, I have managed to blag a free service and brake fluid change from my local Volvo main dealer in return for which they are going to signwrite the rear quarterpanels with their own advertising. Was a bit wary of this as I wasn't sure that they knew quite what a wreck it was but, they've had it since Saturday and haven't rung up to get me to move it off their forecourt yet! I am really happy about this and might even replace my daily driver S40 with another Volvo now so they'll win from that at least!

In fairness, I did send them links to Czechwrecks and to the Topgear story so I think they're taking a flyer on getting it on TV or into the magazine. After all, if that happens it's very cheap advertising for them.

I must admit though, I didn't mention the flower on the roof. It's a leftover from Home2Rome 2005 that this car completed but it will be gone before we go to Prague. We have plans for the car so watch this space.