26-08-2023, 06:12 PM
A friend came across this article in a publication called "The Dorset Yearbook". the article is 12 pages long and doubtless copyright would rear its ugly head! However if anyone comes across it, it is a fascinating read. I will try and make a short precis.
Background. Two 20 year olds in July and August 1966 were at a loose end and decided to go travelling. Gary had a car (1929 Chummy ,an original relatively unmolested car) and a licence, Mick had a tent!
The car log book was lost - probably to a "bitza" so it had a modern registration number (l) DPR53C. The Seven was loaded with "a comprehensive range of engine and transmission spares, extra spare wheel, camping gear for two months and had an ex Army 6V metal cased radio battery behind a front seat". No side screens, but the hood was made by a sailmaker in Weymouth. Gary was mechanically savvy and had reversed and lengthened the rear brake levers, but the extra weight carried in the back made for "interesting" cornering and on bad roads the levers apparently struck things and could lock either or both rear wheels! This mod was put back to "standard sometime on the journey) In France they did 600 miles in the first three days (no Autoroutes then) down to Pouillon...beyond Pau. They spent time with friends there and made a trip into Spain over the Pyrenees. Spanish roads cause the petrol pipe to fracture at the carb union. They discovered that you need to keep more fuel in the tank on badly cambered roads when driving on the "wrong" side and that in very hot (98 F)weather SAE40 grade oil didn't get used as fast as SAE30
They cut down to Lourdes on 2 August (over commercialised), Carcasonne (a bit of a dump!),through the Carmargue (very beautiful), on to Cannes (hellish drive). and 6 August to Nice (awful traffic). The next stage was to Postojna (by 11 August) in Yugoslavia via northern Italy (using Autostrada!) The fan belt disappeared, but this caused no overheating! They made a replacement from a leather strap! Then at Lake Bled, a month after leaving it started raining....and was snowing in Austria. On the 18th of August they left for Austria and had to detour into Italy. Roads were blocked by landslides, mud and floods, but they pressed on through it all (keeping up with with Austrian army Haflingers!) They made it to Bad Hofgaststein and got to the Tauern tunnel through more floods and first gear passes so steep the passenger had to walk. A high speed (relatively) rail trip through the tunnel was next - sitting in the car! On the 20th they made it to a flooded campsite at ChiemSee on 20 August having had overheated brakes when descending a temporary gravel road, ending up with a front wheel resting on the rear tyre of a truck. Then (still raining) on to the Autobahn at Munich (where the carburettor blocked itself) and on to Ulm, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Rastatt on 22 August.. Next was France (Verdun) where they got some copper split rivets and made another fan belt tha that tinked tunefully with the starting handle! Then to Paris (25 August) where they "did" the Champs Elysee and bought ferry tickets home (no turn up and go then!) from Le Havre. A brief stop in Rouen where the car misbehaved...not petrol, not jets...a miserable spark! No life in the battery! Gary thought the regulator was fed up with being covered in mud and regularly soaked in water they limped to a garage, and got the battery on charge (camping behind the garage. Next morning all was well so off to the ferry and home on 27 August. The distance he estimated was over 3,500 miles at around 45mpg. Plus one and a half gallons of oil - mostly SAE 30 when it was so hot. Apart from Fan Belt, no spares!
What became of the car? He hand brush painted it blue (instead of brown) and gave it a bit of a service and kept it as his only car for 18 months -including touring Cornwall and travelling regularly between Birmingham and Weymouth. Then he swapped it for an ohv Standard Canley tourer which never went further than Glastonbury to Weymouth and it used more oil than the Austin!
What a great trip. I wonder what happened to the car? (Dr) Gary Guiver emigrated to Australia in 1970 and spent 30 years working in education before retiring in 2001.
Background. Two 20 year olds in July and August 1966 were at a loose end and decided to go travelling. Gary had a car (1929 Chummy ,an original relatively unmolested car) and a licence, Mick had a tent!
The car log book was lost - probably to a "bitza" so it had a modern registration number (l) DPR53C. The Seven was loaded with "a comprehensive range of engine and transmission spares, extra spare wheel, camping gear for two months and had an ex Army 6V metal cased radio battery behind a front seat". No side screens, but the hood was made by a sailmaker in Weymouth. Gary was mechanically savvy and had reversed and lengthened the rear brake levers, but the extra weight carried in the back made for "interesting" cornering and on bad roads the levers apparently struck things and could lock either or both rear wheels! This mod was put back to "standard sometime on the journey) In France they did 600 miles in the first three days (no Autoroutes then) down to Pouillon...beyond Pau. They spent time with friends there and made a trip into Spain over the Pyrenees. Spanish roads cause the petrol pipe to fracture at the carb union. They discovered that you need to keep more fuel in the tank on badly cambered roads when driving on the "wrong" side and that in very hot (98 F)weather SAE40 grade oil didn't get used as fast as SAE30
They cut down to Lourdes on 2 August (over commercialised), Carcasonne (a bit of a dump!),through the Carmargue (very beautiful), on to Cannes (hellish drive). and 6 August to Nice (awful traffic). The next stage was to Postojna (by 11 August) in Yugoslavia via northern Italy (using Autostrada!) The fan belt disappeared, but this caused no overheating! They made a replacement from a leather strap! Then at Lake Bled, a month after leaving it started raining....and was snowing in Austria. On the 18th of August they left for Austria and had to detour into Italy. Roads were blocked by landslides, mud and floods, but they pressed on through it all (keeping up with with Austrian army Haflingers!) They made it to Bad Hofgaststein and got to the Tauern tunnel through more floods and first gear passes so steep the passenger had to walk. A high speed (relatively) rail trip through the tunnel was next - sitting in the car! On the 20th they made it to a flooded campsite at ChiemSee on 20 August having had overheated brakes when descending a temporary gravel road, ending up with a front wheel resting on the rear tyre of a truck. Then (still raining) on to the Autobahn at Munich (where the carburettor blocked itself) and on to Ulm, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Rastatt on 22 August.. Next was France (Verdun) where they got some copper split rivets and made another fan belt tha that tinked tunefully with the starting handle! Then to Paris (25 August) where they "did" the Champs Elysee and bought ferry tickets home (no turn up and go then!) from Le Havre. A brief stop in Rouen where the car misbehaved...not petrol, not jets...a miserable spark! No life in the battery! Gary thought the regulator was fed up with being covered in mud and regularly soaked in water they limped to a garage, and got the battery on charge (camping behind the garage. Next morning all was well so off to the ferry and home on 27 August. The distance he estimated was over 3,500 miles at around 45mpg. Plus one and a half gallons of oil - mostly SAE 30 when it was so hot. Apart from Fan Belt, no spares!
What became of the car? He hand brush painted it blue (instead of brown) and gave it a bit of a service and kept it as his only car for 18 months -including touring Cornwall and travelling regularly between Birmingham and Weymouth. Then he swapped it for an ohv Standard Canley tourer which never went further than Glastonbury to Weymouth and it used more oil than the Austin!
What a great trip. I wonder what happened to the car? (Dr) Gary Guiver emigrated to Australia in 1970 and spent 30 years working in education before retiring in 2001.
