Soldato
I think that would drive me insane going all that way in a 1l, it'd take you forever to get anywhere lol
So may call it crazy...but I think it sounds like fun.
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Soldato
You know it makes sense.
Permabanned
You'll only need to fill her up once for the whole trip too.
Yeah I know but its all for the banter...
Soldato
I'd go in a 2CV..
Don't make the mistake of thinking they are cheap though, some are, and some aren't. They are getting on a bit and good ones are starting to get rare and are valued accordingly. You'll find spares for them no problem all through Europe, though eastern Europe and Russia, I have no idea if they where even sold there.
If you fancy a 4x4, citroen did one, called a Sahara (they are crazy, have 2 425cc engines are rocking horse poo rare.. they also put a fibreglass body on a 4x4 2cv chassis - called a Mehari... Last option (and quite pricey) is a 4x4 2cv build by a bloke called Louis Barbour, link here. You would not believe the stuff they can tackle, makes blokes in land rovers blush.
If your not actually offroading though a 2cv should cope with "roads" just about anywhere - the orignal design was supposed to be able to tackle a ploughed field.
best thing about 2cv's is that they are fairly easy to keep running as they are about as basic as you get engineering wise (just make sure if you get one that the pin is in the gearbox that stops the box unwinding in reverse - unless you fancy a gearbox rebuild in Ulan Bator that is)
Don't make the mistake of thinking they are cheap though, some are, and some aren't. They are getting on a bit and good ones are starting to get rare and are valued accordingly. You'll find spares for them no problem all through Europe, though eastern Europe and Russia, I have no idea if they where even sold there.
If you fancy a 4x4, citroen did one, called a Sahara (they are crazy, have 2 425cc engines are rocking horse poo rare.. they also put a fibreglass body on a 4x4 2cv chassis - called a Mehari... Last option (and quite pricey) is a 4x4 2cv build by a bloke called Louis Barbour, link here. You would not believe the stuff they can tackle, makes blokes in land rovers blush.
If your not actually offroading though a 2cv should cope with "roads" just about anywhere - the orignal design was supposed to be able to tackle a ploughed field.
best thing about 2cv's is that they are fairly easy to keep running as they are about as basic as you get engineering wise (just make sure if you get one that the pin is in the gearbox that stops the box unwinding in reverse - unless you fancy a gearbox rebuild in Ulan Bator that is)
Soldato
timbob said:
and in the middle of a blazing russian summer you will fry....
Associate
I would not buy a 2CV. The point in doing the rally is doing it in something rubbish costing >£500, you’re going to leave it in Mongolia remember 1-way-trip.
You get a 2CV for £500 or less it WILL have a 100% rusted un-weldable chassis, which is why nearly all the people last year who did the rally in 2CV’s gave up when their car broke in half in the middle of nowhere.
A nice 2CV with galvanised chassis is £1500+ nowadays and do you really wanna drive a classic to its death?
You got 3 options:
1. If your sensible/boring, do the rally with a Suzuki SJ in 1 litre form or a Russian commie box (Trabant, Lada, Yugo, old Skoda, 126).
2. You can gamble on fewer specific part breakdowns and use something German or Jap like an old polo or micra.
One team did the rally and made it to Mongolia in a mini so theres some thoughts for you.
3. Or go nutty with something like a Reliant robin but the cars will take a beating.
I’m not sure but I reckon that if you have something like a 1.3 you could take a spark plug or 2 out of the engine and run with fewer pistons if you don’t mind misfiring for a 1/3 round the world trip.
P.S How much of the required charity money have you earned and have you looked at getting the required visas?
You get a 2CV for £500 or less it WILL have a 100% rusted un-weldable chassis, which is why nearly all the people last year who did the rally in 2CV’s gave up when their car broke in half in the middle of nowhere.
A nice 2CV with galvanised chassis is £1500+ nowadays and do you really wanna drive a classic to its death?
You got 3 options:
1. If your sensible/boring, do the rally with a Suzuki SJ in 1 litre form or a Russian commie box (Trabant, Lada, Yugo, old Skoda, 126).
2. You can gamble on fewer specific part breakdowns and use something German or Jap like an old polo or micra.
One team did the rally and made it to Mongolia in a mini so theres some thoughts for you.
3. Or go nutty with something like a Reliant robin but the cars will take a beating.
I’m not sure but I reckon that if you have something like a 1.3 you could take a spark plug or 2 out of the engine and run with fewer pistons if you don’t mind misfiring for a 1/3 round the world trip.
P.S How much of the required charity money have you earned and have you looked at getting the required visas?
Caporegime
Ax would be my choice imho, its got hit it with a hammer mechanics.
Soldato
CaneyJ said:
Only if you don't drive it back
valid points though, A cheap 2CV may well be knackered... I snapped my frame going round a corner
and the body shell was in excellent condition.
Associate
Would YOU sacrifice 3 MORE weeks of your life just to get a banger back to the UK? Or sell it in Mongolia for a nice flight ticket home? Going there and back is just insane!
Of all possible cars, only the fiat panda with double sunroofs is as close as your gonna get to a convertible but 4*4's aren’t cheap either nowadays, the 2*4 are nearly as competent.
Of all possible cars, only the fiat panda with double sunroofs is as close as your gonna get to a convertible but 4*4's aren’t cheap either nowadays, the 2*4 are nearly as competent.
Soldato
CaneyJ said:
Surely going in the first place is insane.
2cv's are rag tops
interesting facts from the mongolia site about the 2005 Rally.
# 43 cars left London.
# 27 cars reached Mongolia.
# 14 cars reached the finish in Ulaanbaatar.
# 2 teams were robbed at knife point.
# 1 car snapped in half.
# 3 engines fell completely out of the cars.
# 1 team were held for 5 days in no-mans land.
# 1 team cycled 200km to get to the finish when their car gave in.
# 100's of tyres were blown.
# 1 team got engaged.
# 1 team found a 10ft deep pot hole.
# 1 team found a 25 tonne crane that had rolled due to a pot hole.
# 3 teams attended weddings
# 1 team had to reverse up a mountain after losing all bar one forward gear
# 1 person was stoned by a mongolian nomad (who he then shot at with a gun)
# 1 team rammed off the road after an arguement over water melons.
# 1 person spent a day in a Turkish hospital.
# 3 people were banned from Turkmenistan for a year.
# 1 person was detained by police in Azerbaijan and threated with a beating from a dwarf. This followed an incident with a cow.
# 2 cars flipped over in Mongolia.
# 3 teams were chased by armed bandits.
# 0 teams died.
# every team had a very memorable trip.
A lada Riva? Although 1500 I think.
Hmm, no good
http://www.mongolrally.co.uk/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=6name=The Cars
A reliant kitten maybe?
Edit: It looks brillaint - might have to have a go next year!
Hmm, no good
http://www.mongolrally.co.uk/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=6name=The Cars
A reliant kitten maybe?
Edit: It looks brillaint - might have to have a go next year!
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Soldato
I read through most of the site this morning, and it looks an amazing trip. Would love to do it someday - the pics on the site and on some of the cars sites make it look epic.
Doing it upto Russia would be a safer bet though I think, is it a similar route to what the Gumball rally takes?
Doing it upto Russia would be a safer bet though I think, is it a similar route to what the Gumball rally takes?
We have not actually started collecting money yet...the sign ups arent even open yet. The organisers are sorting out visas for you this year (which is nice!).
I am tempted to do it Lada or something like that. Those machines will take anything you throuw at them. The problem is that you cant find good examples of them in the UK.
I am tempted to do it Lada or something like that. Those machines will take anything you throuw at them. The problem is that you cant find good examples of them in the UK.
