My Gumball Rally entry & things I shud do b4 we go?

[Sam340]

As some of you may know I primarily bought my 340 for

'The Student Gumball Rally'

that I am taking part in on September the 3rd.

I have created a Myspace page where details and pictures of the car and team can be found which will be updated regularily - www.myspace.com/teammaxpower (we were going to be sponsored by maxpower magazine however we are not anymore)

Apart from the obvious oil change, spark plug check and general service what other things do you think i should do check to ensure the car makes the 3000 mile round trip!!

I cant see any reason why the car shouldnt make it although it would be a disaster if it didnt as im planning to strip it out and have a go at drifting it when i get back!

Thanks in advance

Sam

[jtbo]

Checking engine mounts that engine is not sitting in bad position and causes propeller shaft rubber to melt, with 1,7l & 1,4l engines I would make sure and replace engine mounting rubbers as those are not too pricey and saves lot of work.

Maybe change fuel filter too, possible dirt from fuel tank might get on move when there is several fill ups in short time, so putting new one can help in such case, also take one new with you.

Then I would check fuel hoses (yep, I'm paranoid about these) also replace them if original and also replace main relay behind dashboard.

Most of these may be just over reacting, but also most of these are rather cheap compared to what it costs when some of these fails on road, also amount of work is not too bad at home, but on road when it is raining it is no fun

[Sam340]

I agree,

These things are worth checking / sorting beforehand.

Dont fancy wandering into a car shop and trying to get a Hungarian or Croatian person understand that I need a new fan belt, nevermind engine mounts!

[SteveP]

Check the diff and gearbox oil levels, and if the diff gasket is leaking....

[Nick C]

1500 miles in 6 days? Wimp Try 6000 miles through Deserts and Mountains in three weeks, in a far stupider car! :shock::shock: http://www.himalayandrive.com

I'd say change all the fluids, plugs, filters, leads, cambelt etc. make sure the battery is in good condition, check/change the brake pads/disks, change the brake fluid, check box & diff oil levels, check the conditions of all hoses etc.

Also take a few obvious spares with you - gaffer tape and cable ties are wonderful things , but you may also need some fuses, bulbs, etc.

And make sure you check what you need in the countries you're going to, in many european countries it's law to have things like a warning triangle and first aid kit.

HTH,

Nick

[redline]

huh , who you calling a wimp , you and Chris couldent even make it to the Hampshire pageant of motoring and thats only about 10 miles from Where you live lol

[Chris_C]

Sod the mountains and deserts... its the cr*p speakers I'm worried about...

Good luck with the gumball dude, havn't read it all yet, but looks a laugh!

[Chris_C]

Just had another flick through... theres a 480 entering, the driver is a Southampton student... I know of no 480's in the motorclub, I would have had his engine by now...

[SteveP]

Sod the mountains and deserts... its the cr*p speakers I'm worried about...

I'd be more worried about driving a Rover based on an indian car with a frog engine

[Chris_C]

Anyone keen for this next year? V3M A & B teams? Kar will be under 2 litres... hopefully over 180bhp... but under 2 litres

[stemll]

1500 miles in 6 days? Wimp Try 6000 miles through Deserts and Mountains in three weeks, in a far stupider car! :shock::shock: http://www.himalayandrive.com

Or 1500 miles to Prague in 4 days in a car costing £100.
http://www.czechwrecks.com

Admittedly that's nothing compared to the himalayan but, if you want a real challenge look at http://www.mongolrally.com, Hyde Park to MOngolia, max of 1 litre. Lots of 2CVs and Panda 4x4s

BTW, we get to Prague the same day as Student Gumball. Poor city won't know what's hit it!!!