Well, I've just got in properly! Aymat followed me all the way home, dreadful traffic and we stayed far too long at Hugh's! So, we dashed back to mine, removed a bootlid in the dark, and found a spare GLT seat, loaded him up and I led them to the motorway. In theory they had about 20 minutes to get from the M40 junction where I led them, to Dover, but they had 2 hours extra if they need it for boarding the train, which is nice of Eurostar. So, the AA reckon it should take 2 hours and 9 minutes from where I left them! We'll see how they go!

Fantastic meet. Many thanks to Hugh and his parents, especially for supplying us with an excellent meal on Sunday and putting up with us taking the place over.

Certainly a few odd looks due to a whole bunch of 300's parked in Hugh's road. And apparently is was too much for some drunks, causing them to crash their Fiat into a lampost!

Hugh looked like he had far too much fun with the grinder. There's one very sorry looking 360 GLE, with ghetto air con, i.e. missing roof, and it's been lowered somewhat at the rear!

The Dakar car has been raised at the rear pretty sucessfully, and is also missing a large section of roof!

Hope everyone gets home ok, great to see you all, and especially Aymat for making the journey.

Pete

Aaron: Haha, I thought that confused you

When I said I was heading for Tiverton, I wasn't lying....I went north before leaving Crediton. It's a lot shorter, but slower roads also...but...I guess it's faster overall, as I was sat on the M5 doing 65 for about 20 mins before a maroon mk2 GLT came blatting past!

I figured you hadn't seen me, so I set off in pursuit.....5 mins at an unspecified speed, and a lengthy hold-up behind some goon in a barried up Ford Probe who wouldn't budge over (and got undertaken, ultimately)....Nessy caught up! I flashed, but no reaction, so I pulled alongside and on with the horns Are they loud, out of interest? They don't sound that loud when you're in the car, but I'd be most pleased if they're actually capable of shaking loose the fillings of any peasents who dare to cross my path

I was trying to baby it back to save fuel, but that (and a diversion down the M40, when I meant to head for the M6....moron) cost me a fill-up before home. Twas worth it though

A proper post tomorrow - I'm shattered!

cheers

James

That road to Tiverton is ace! I loved driving that in the dark, nothing coming so mainbeam with driving lights, could see where I was heading, twisty, hilly, narrow, fast, slow, open, wooded, it has everything that road and it must be quicker. Just made more sense to Steve and myself to go that way rather than to Exeter.
Pete

Quality meet everyone, looking forward to seeing all the pics of the weekend.
Cheers pete for the halfshafts, will be fitting those later tonight.
Oh and nice meeting 'our creator' and his very tidy GLT.
See you all soon.
Adam

Just got up, having got back at 3am after stopping at Salisbury. Then ending up joining the A34 south by accident, asking at a petrol station wheres the next access to A34 north and him handing me a leaflet telling me it's closed.... thankfully it reopened yesterday!!

Great meet though, I have a load of pics that I'll try and sort out tonight. Unless Hugh wants to do 'em

EDIT: Hugh, cheers for putting us up - and for your parents for being so tollerant!

James

Yeah, you were right - didn't notice you when I passed you the first time. I had to undertake that Probe too, Probe by name, Probe by nature... Your air horns sound great - quite musical and resonant, and yeah I guess loud too given our unspecified speed!

Great meet, and good to see everyone

Hugh's uploaded a fair few of the pictures here:

http://www.e-penguin.uh-hosting.co.uk/gallery/album01

Hmm, this nut doesn't seem to want to undo - I'd better light that blowtorch and give it some heat............

My reputation precedes me Actually didn't need heat for that one, or for any others for that matter. Denied Also that's Pete's one. Mines got a more powerful flame Cheers to Adam for showing me a new way to get ball joints out of steering arms without a splitter. That ones stored up now for possible use later. Although I admit I still would prefer a carefully placed splitter, although hammering at it was more fun

Thanks to Hugh and James for putting me up. Thanks also to Hugh's parents. Compliments to his Mum who cooked us up a stirling Sunday lunch too. Considering all the parts I got etc, a lift home was the least I could do

Also thanks so much to Aymat for coming all that way to see us. It was great to meet you finally, and so weird that you seem to know us already even though we've never met before I'll see you in a couple of weeks along with Rupert and James.

Good to meet some of the other guys too, like Statler for the first time and Greenvan for the second. Sorry we couldn't get Ronnie's ambient temp gauge working, but at least you've got the problem pinpointed now. I'll come back to you with confirmation of the pins you need to wire to on the back of the dash.

Hopefully we can all get together again for a big meet soonish. (Not too soon though, I'm all worn out at the moment )

so...

thanks very much for everyone coming down and lending a hand - snowey was finally towed away thisafternoon, i think dragging her arse, as there was a set of score marks in the ground (oops).. sad to see a car go to the crusher, but i think most of you will agree, we got pretty much everything of use off the damn thing.. except maybe the exhaust..

i've updated www.iroll.co.uk with the pictures and tale of the car - does anyone have any pictures of the car as a whole with the wheels/roof in place? I forgot to take some :S

cheers again for coming - i hope everyone had a good time eating, drinking, fixing and stripping..

Hugh

Only a short comment from me now because I'm very very tired: it was really a great meeting and I will come back!!! It was REALLY nice to put a face on nicknames and to see you all in real life.

The next time I have to stay for a longer period cause
- the meet was too short for me, I wanted to stay a little bit more
- I didn't expect so much traffic jams on the motorways on a weekend, we lost a LOT of time there

The next time, I will also SLEEP before because it was a bad idea to skip the night before with a birthday celebration in Belgium... It was sometimes difficult to stay waked up and to follow the "quick" rhythm when you were talking

I hope you all enjoyed my delicious chocolate cake with candle rests into it and that nobody was sick after that LOL

A very special thanks to... all the members there for the meet!!

I'm really proud of this community!!

(and a special thanks to Pete, yeah we are crazy and you know why )

I GO TO BED NOW

ps: NO, my age is not corresponding with the numbers of candles on the cake, 30 was for the Volvo 300, not for me

Here are my pics: (a video will follow)

When I leaved Belgium... 4:15 AM!!! (3:15 in UK)


On the motorway in France, at dawn...


The arrival in Calais for the check in, it's a crazy and wonderful place... with lights everywhere!


The check in






My favourite picture!! Waiting for the Shuttle


Inside the Shuttle with Sheryl, oops I couldn't take a flash photography


Our VERY crap maps from Google


Ermmmm no picture between the moment in the Shuttle and the Sathurday evening in UK But I have videos





Time to drink a Guinness with Pete after such a long trip!!! (while the other lazy members are watching TAXI2 on TV bloody englishmen LOL )


The waking up: what do you see when you open the curtains? Volvos 300 or course












Mmmm disks...






Power steering... Maybe one day on my GLT... Why is it RHD in UK






Steve, stop drinking!! Alcoholic!


Oops problem with the boot...


Ahhh finally a mk2!




















Oooooops, nooot good And no badge from Snowey because MJ removed it


The return with Pete to his home...




Three 80ies car with the same designed back, guess where is the Volvo


The content of the GLT on the way back to Belgium... No problems through the customs




I was home in Belgium at 6:45 and at 7 AM in my bed!!! We were just 2 minutes before the end of the "2 hours delay" that we could have for the Shuttle (I drove quite fast on the M26 ) but.... the next Shuttle for us was only at 1:45 AM...

Conclusion of that 1500 km trip: it was very nice, thanks to everyone again and I hope we'll meet again!

And I forgot, Wimpy burgers are really good and cheap, the best hamburgers I've ever seen

LOL, great photos mate. It was a shame it was all such a rush, we literally ran into my garden in the dark, armed with a set of tools and a torch, got the bootlid off, then found a seat, loaded it up and then I led Aymat to the motorway! All in 30 mins, with about 10 mins or more of driving! Proper crazy 300 maniacs!

That pub with the Guiness picture was pretty good, a shame the others didn't go there, very good live music too. I was dragged in out of the rain, while my food went back tp Hugh's without me as it was tipping it down.

We also found right and left hand drive cars together make for good communication in traffic on the motorway side by side. I pulled up the inside and we were able to decide if we'd make it to mine or not. Turns out there was an accident on the M4. Aymat, did you see the Focus in the field as we joined the M5, looked nasty!?

Love the sarcasm about the Wimpy burger. It has been so long since I've eaten one and there's good reason from memory.

Pete

Looks like a good meet guys, glad you all had a lovely time!