Sunday, June 11, 2006

London to Brighton Run Completed






Today was the London to Brighton kitcar rally, which I took part in.
On the way to Hampton Court Palace on the M3, the accelerator cable melted in the engine bay, due to the extreme heat of the day coupled with with how close it was to the exhaust manifold. On all our previous journeys in the Jester, nothing like this had ever happened, so after trying to fix it ourselves on the hard shoulder, it was time to accept defeat and call the AA in to recover the car.
The AA were onsite with us in just over 20 minutes, and the very nice man told us he refused to be beaten by a melted accelerator cable. He then proceeded to try 4 or 5 different designs of his own to help us, before manufacturing one from old cable sheathing and connectors he had in his van. The upshot of his very extensive efforts was the Jester was back on the road again! (With the cable now routed well away from the exhaust manifold!)
We just managed to get our route book stamped at Hampton Court Palace just before the organizers packed up and headed down to the seafront at Brighton.

Some 30 minutes into the journey, the temperature gauge in the Jester was beginning to read very high indeed, so we pulled over and then the water system boiled over, with steam going everywhere! Some fast investigation indicated that the fuse for the cooling fan had blown, so a quick replacement and FIVE liters of water later, we were on our way again, playing catch up by now!

The check point was Bentley wildfowl and motor museum, where we finally caught up with 30 or so other cars on the rally. After a look around the museum and a bite to eat, we headed off on the final 25 miles into Brighton, (with no issues to report!)

Upon arriving at the esplanade, the commentator interviewed us and we shared, amongst other things, our new found knowledge on cooling electrical systems with the crowd.

The journey back to Reading presented few issues, with time for reflection on an outstanding day.The weather was brilliant, the company too, the AA chap went above and beyond the call of duty, (without whom the whole day would have been cancelled.) If anyone reading this ever gets the chance to enter their kitcar in the London to Brighton run, DO IT. It will provide memories and stories from the one day, for the rest of your life.