trip away in our A

[Lawrie]

i posted my last trip,away in my 34 coupe on the v8 side.
Myself and Cheryl in our As are off to albany for the nations there so though our trip would be of intrest.
we left Mackay on the 27th , after i had driven up to mackay from gladstone(450klm) , with another couple who,s car gave some major trouble and they unfortunatly had to turn back.
the first days travel to Cappella was easy ,
Day two was from Cappella to Injune, we got a flattie just out of emerald , and after changing the spare got the flat fixed in emerald at a very helpfull repair joint who could not have been more helpfull(CQ tyres and mechanical)
we then headed off to our lunch stop at Springsure .
Man this was one of the worst roads ever, hence we were we way behind schedule and never arived at Injune until 5-45 and there were lots of kangeroos out.
fuel at Injune servo was 2-69 per litr but at the fuel depot round the back was only2-31.
Cheryls A was using a bit more fuel than mine , so in the morning before leaing for charleville i changed out the carb for one i had fixed up.
This fixed the fuel usage problem no worries.
My A towing the camper trailer on the run from Injune to Charleville used 12.4 ltrs /100 ks, pretty good i thought.
rest day today in charleville ,
Dinner last night fresh australian beef steak and vegies,good stuff ,and a joint effort, me on the steak and cheryl the veggies.

 

[Synchro909]

Lawrie, We don't leave till next Wednesday. Our first day is about 440 km (275 miles to those who use the old measurements) to Ouyen in a convoy of 5 cars. IMO, that is a good number - plenty of peole and cars but not difficult to manage.

Your photos make me wish we were already on the road. Love the one of the straight, flat road disappearing into the distance.
Travel safe, mate.

 

[Lawrie]

Yes , we are about 1100 ks in
Weather lovely
Cars good , not much traffic , nice truck drivers
Very good

 

[dave in australia]

Enjoy the trip.

 

[nkaminar]

The boys from Down Under.

 

[Fullraceflathead]

Have safe travels and no breakdowns!!!

 

[katy]

Have safe travels and no breakdowns!!!

Ditto

 

[KMBeers]

Travel safe and enjoy the ride!

 

[Lawrie]

today was a big days travel at 470 ks,weather is heating up and was round 31c.
cars ran around 80c so not too bad.
left charleville at 7-30 this morning and 80ks down the road i copped a large rock from a passing wide load , man i got one huge fright as it nerly came through the screen.left a 1/2 inch hole.my screen is a modern one luckily.
i put a square of tapeover both sides and will get it sorted on the way.
fuel usage is once again good,but getting up there,cunnamulla 2-70 ltr,
not so many kangeroos out today but plenty of emus and goats,the emus are as dumb as but the goats are road wise and dont come across the road when you approach.
We are at Bourke for a day so will sort out the screen tomorrow.
sad thing, even in way out small localities, there are cenotaphs listing the locals who served in both wars and those who paid the ultimate price,quite sobering.
we had dinner last night ,crumbed chops and vegies,the chops were terible,lucky we had a good serve of vegies, we had bought the chops at the butcher,tonight we hace rib fillet steak, so shoud be good.
both cars and drivers did a great job today.and drunk lots of water along the way.

 

[Lawrie]

double post

 

[Terry Burtz Calif]

Lawrie,

Thanks for your report. I assume that ks is kilometers (292 miles) in one day.

Is this with one of the new engines?

If so, please tell us what modifications were made during the build.

 

[David in San Antonio]

How hot is it there? I guess the spring is just beginning.
Are you using side curtains on the open car?

 

[Synchro909]

How hot is it there? I guess the spring is just beginning.
Are you using side curtains on the open car?

He said it was about 31°C (88°F) so I doubt he will lbe using side curtains. The hole in the windscreen is probably enough ventilation!!
BTW, even though we in Australia are on the opposite side of the world from the fighting in WW!, on a percapita basis, we lost more men than any other country. As a result, many women did not find a husband aftewards. I had 2 great aunts who never married.

 

[Lawrie]

Rest day today in Bourke, did some grocery shopping,then caught up with some bill paying.
rang the glass folks for the screen and they have them in stock so got that ordered.
But i will see and maybe leave until i get home,I will give it some thought.
Over the back of where we are stopped is and old paddle steamer, we walked down to have a look and it was heading off for a cruise in 1/2 hr so we burned back and got the wallet and cameras and headed back in the A. we had a great time and the river (darling ) lookes great, a bit low at only 4 meters but still impressive.
the roos were beside the track down to the boat,they kept an eye on us.
Tomorrow we head off towards Cobar and Broken Hill, we had been done this way only in may in the 34 3w, funny the fuel usage is similar.but cost per ltr is higher.
We have had the bad experience with the chops last night so to tonights diner is joint effort ,savory mince rice.
weather is a bit cooler so travelling tomorrow will be nicer

 

[Lawrie]

terry, yes its one of your engines,number 11 or 16,
fitted with my oil pump, my mech and vac adv distributor.
full flow oil filter, 97 carb,your head,specialties motor cam.
tows the camper easy as,3.54 gears, mitchell OD and standard A gearbox.
camper weighs around 305 kgs.
the engine has around 25thousand miles on it.
it was the first one we built,and have since built 12,
lawrie

 

[Synchro909]

Lawrie, We don't leave until Wednesday and plan on arriving in Albany the day before the rally starts. We will be doing some sightseeing on theway even though we have driven that road before in our A as you know.
When are you expecting to get there.

 

[Lawrie]

We had an easy day today,after a cold night at the Emmdale roadhouse,we stayyed out in the scrub by the road house.
Man,it was cold overnight 8c, but warmer nights are coming.
Later a guy in a little buss box stopped to chat, he was travelling around Australia in it.it had the right rear wheel on a lean,but no drama ,he just burned off towards Cobar.
We left for broken hill about what we thought was 7-30,but the state had switched to daylight saving overnight,so it was 8-30.
this far out in the country wrecked or burnt out car carcasses our common,
There were a couple of groups of emus ,some with 5 small ones, they are dumb and often try to comit suicide on your bumper.
todays drive was only 309klms ,so nice and easy.
trucks and road trains are no problems, even though they are on schedules and we are not,are very pleasant and there are lots of straights so passing us is easy for them.
The places seem quite familiar as we were down here the other month in the 34.
Tomorrow we are off to Peterborough where we have a rest day,(only 283ks)
We have the footy grand finale tonight

 

[katy]

buss box?

 

[Synchro909]

buss box?

I write that "buzz box". Spelling varies and there is no right nor wrong. You won't find it in any dictionary but every Australian knows what it is.
It is a small, usually Japanese car with a high revving engine that makes a buzzing sound as it goes down the road.

 

[Lawrie]

Today, Broken Hill to Peterborough,easy285 ks or so.
Yesterday we watched the footy final ,great, for those members who dont know our footy,have a look at NRL grand final,its brutal.
Leaving broken hill after fuelling up, i was surprised how well the cars were running,, cold morning air might have helped, later we see a group of about 50 4WDs lined up ready to depart town,they must have been on a tag along tour or something,they passed us down the road a way then promply turned off a dirt side road, we never saw them again.
At the border between New south wales and South australia stopped for a look,when we we were here in our As in 2004 the shop and pub were open,not now though.
At the next little place Olary,we had stopped here in the 34 a couple of months back, we ment to get a photo of the As but got sidetracked answering questions from other travellers.
Also further on at Manor Hill, we had to get an ice cream,as as before in the 34 we had.
the owner of the small shop reconised us and took pics of the As for her picture wall in the shop.
both cars going great,
Then we come to the quarantine station,and we have to give up our tomatoes,piece of onion and me,my last passion fruit from home,i was alowed to eat it before handing over the peel.
So we are now set up in the camper at peterborough until wednesday morning when we head to Port Augusta.
And like when here in the 34, the radiator is full of bugs and flies
fuel was around $2-39 /ltr
lucky we don't need much