David
Harper smiles for the camera Ranald
Bruce gets final instruction Alex
and john Carmichael
Allan
Mackay gets "Dutch Courage"
Gordon
and Lesley Wright in MGB
Neil
Ellis's Westfield
Ian
and Hilary Smith, splutter away
Pete
Davis in MG Midget, Hugh McGouran in rebuilt Elise
McQueen Escort and Mini
Steve
Moodie points to "What goes on tour, goes on Facebook" on his
Avenger Tiger. So go look and see.
Line-up
at Rest and be Thankful
Richard
& Fiona Lamont at the Rest
Allan
Mackay overshadowed by Phil Hannah's Landie Anglia
at start of fateful run up Rest
Charlie
Campbell's Chevette kicks up the stones on the Rest
Colin
Jaggard starts award winning "spirited" sprint
Porsche
takes hairpin on the Rest
Crew
at Inverary Castle
Donald Campbell gives a thumbs up for the event
La
Crofterra Pandemonia - 4 & 5 September 2010 Report - Jim Paterson Photos -
Charlie Donaldson & Jim Paterson Video - Charlie Donaldson, Allan Mackay, Gary Bates, Jim Paterson
Fortyfour
starters lined up for Highland Car Clubs 2010 Crofterra Pandemonia at
the new start location in Pitlochry on 4th September.
Running a couple of weeks earlier than in previous years, to try and
catch some summer weather, the new start location at the famous
Festival Theatre in Pitlochry was chosen to ease the pre-event
traveling for those entering from the south. I
joined
the starters at Pitlochry after a quick run up from Edinburgh on the
A9. My journey took about an hour and a half, but that was nothing
compared to Adrian Harper and Tim Lomas who had driven up from Great
Ayton, north Yorkshire. They started about 3.30am to cover the
250 miles in their Ferrari 360 F1 to arrive at Pitlochry at
8.00am. As
Adrian put it, "There's not much traffic on the road to hold you up at
that time of morning!"
Douglas Anderson was to be my
co-driver
for the day, but last minute problems meant he had to drop out, so I
was left to do the run "single handed". Not a real problem, as I can
manage to hang on to others coat tails pretty well, and simply moved
from one cars tail to another throughout the two days.
Ian
and Hilary Smith brought their Imp along, still suffering the
"splutters" which cursed it on the recent Deeside Way in July. Ian had
tried many things but was determined to make the Crofterra despite
the spluttering! Hugh McGouran from Billingham in York
returned
with his yellow Lotus Elise. Completely rebuilt after last years
argument with a couple of kerbs, it now looks better than it did when
it left the Norfolk factory. Some spread a
rumour that that
isn't too hard to do!!! Careful, I have an Elise as well!
As the
cars lined up for the start we were joined by the arrival of a group of
Mazda MX5 enthusiasts from Holland who had pulled in to see the
Festival Theatre. One of their crew helped out with the flagging away
of the cars. Was this HCC's first dabble in the "international scene"?
The
route took us south from Pitlochry on the old road to Dunfallandy
toward Logierait, looking out for cyclists on this popular cycle route.
Heading west along the side of the River Tay got us to Aberfeldy.
A long loop south to Milton through Glen Cochill and back
north
from Amulree through Glen Quaich got us to Kenmore
Though
I
was number three to leave, hence the 3 on the picture of the
rally
plate above, I doubled back so I could take some video clips of the
starters
(video teaser above, while I work on the feature). Plenty of smiling
faces waiting to
start, including Tracy Smith and Emma Richards in the Riley Elf.
Just
as well I held back, as I met up with the first casualty of
the day on the route by Glen Cochill.
Colin
Jaggard had his head buried under the bonnet of his 1956 Morris Minor,
along with a few other heads. By time I turned up "lack of sparks" was
the report from the "buried heads". The points had been
replaced,
and a new coil tried, but still not a flicker. Fortunately I carry a
multimeter, which told us that we had an earth short between
coil
and the points, and a dis coil.
Colin
thought we
"techies" were speaking a foreign language as we beavered away. He did
however offer us his leatherman all in one toolkit hoping he could be
of some use :-) Two faults on any system can get you really
confused, and this one was no different. However the Moggy finally
roared into
life and Colin was quickly on his way back to Aberfeldy
on a "cut and run" to Kenmore to catch the others. Though the timing
must have been out after all that fiddling, Colin still managed to keep
up a good rate of knots!
From
Kenmore the route took us through Glen Lyon along the riverside. We
turned south at Bridge of Balgie, missing out the loop to the old
hillclimb at Kenknock which is pretty rough these days, certainly for a
Ferrari anyway!
By now folks were getting peckish
and a call to the pub at
Killin seemed a good idea, where I met Margaret and Donald Campbell who
were letting their Mini cool down. Beth and Graeme Cargill in the
Frogeye Sprite, whom I'd been following for part of the route, were
also there. Refuelled we set off again, but my Sprite began to splutter
and lose power just after we left the 30mph signs. Bu**er I thought,
then realised I'd flicked the pump cutoff security switch off at the
lunch stop!
A fast run down the A85 through Glen
Dochart to
Crianlarich, and up to Tyndrum. We headed north up the Fort William A82
before cutting into Glen Orchy. Always a favourite, especially if you
hang on to someone else's coat tail, like I did. Graeme Cargill led the
way so I could take the "blinders" without fear of meeting someone
coming the other way!
We
stopped just at the southern end of the Glen, to be joined by Scot
McQueen and Andrew Mackinnon in a rather smoking brakes 1959 Mini.
Scott had been having trouble with binding front brakes and by the
smell I think there was still a stickiness somewhere. It was then
that I noticed the fuel guage was reading close to
empty.
This is when I noted that the roadbook told us last fuel at Tyndrum.
Oops... Fortunately I was carrying a 10 litre jerry can, bought for the
Trans Alpina last October. This has rescued the Sprite several times,
and again today.
Pressing
on I left the main route at Cladich as the long route to the next fuel
stop at Lochgilphead seemed to be stretching things a bit. So I headed
direct to Inverary, where some of the early runners were already
propping up the bar! A proper re-fuel and over to the Rest and be
Thankful.
Here
I met Cameron Gilmour, at least his feet. He was well under the MGB
fixing a clutch hydraulic leak that had completely given up on the
entry to the car park. Plenty of help, though co-driver Lorna Scott
seemed to be enjoying the champagne and nibbles that appeared from
fellow helpers, keen to "watch" progress.
I heard
also that
Andrew MacAskill and Allan Matheson had a throttle cable snap on their
1979 Porsche 911. I have seen a 911 being driven with the co-driver
pulling the throttle while crouching on the rear bumper, but not sure
if that is strictly legal. I also heard that they were dropping oil
later, so not the best of trouble free runs for them.
A
great time was had on the Rest, The Friends of the Rest were there to
help, and we all got a fair shot at re-living the hillclimb heydays of
the fifties and sixties. Ranald Bruce and Louise Wall in their 1972
Lancia Fulvia stopped mid run, which was quickly traced to a failed
fuel pump. I was surprised when it suddenly started again!
Turns
out Ranald has a backup electric pump in circuit as well. Now thats
what I call insurance. The Ford Anglia was not so lucky. Clipping a
rock snapped a trackrod end, and with both wheels going in different
directions put the Ford up the banking. A low loader trip home seemed
to be on the cards.
Andrew
Davidson, Steven and Diane Kinghorn who own the old road, and are
leading lights for "Friends of the Rest". They are great fans of the
Classics, and always give a warm welcome to Classic events. Especially
for the Crofterra they put up a "Spirit of the Rest" award for the car
that in their opinion expressed the spirit of past times on the Rest.
Colin Jaggard received the prize; a bottle of whisky (what other
"spirit" could there be) from Diane, for his entertaining run up the
hillclimb in his Moggy.
All the crews were well fed
and watered
at the Argyll Hotel in Inverary, but their room allocation system let
them down. A couple of our crews found there reservations made months
before had been re-let. HCC ran a raffle and made several hundred
pounds for Maggies Place charity.
Sunday
morning and the sun shone, but the clouds to the north were menacingly
black. After fuelling we all drove over to Inverary Castle to have our
photos taken in front of the Castle, something we did on the
International Autoecosse back in June. HCC's Charlie Donaldson and the
organising team decided to go for singleton shots as coordinating all
the entries for a group shot is a nightmare. I can vouch, as I did it
on the Autoecosse!
We
all headed back up to Cladich to meet the A85 to Oban. The organisers
had found a neat road from Taynuilt to Oban through Glen Lonan. This
sleepy little road had a rude awakening with so many Classics
disturbing the Sunday morning long sleep in. I came up against Roy
McQueen this time, who together with George Douglas in their 1979 Ford
Escort Mk11 were under the back end. The Panhard rod had slipped down
and was hitting the ground on some of the "yumps" on the route. I
helped out with a half inch socket to tighten the unit back into place,
and we were all off again.
Stops for fuel and coffee
were spread
out on the route to Ballachulish. The route took us to Kinlochleven,
but I cheated and cut over the bridge pushing on to Fort William.
I
did take the Strone road from Fort William to Spean Bridge, to see
Neptunes staircase, and the view over Ben Nevis. I met up with some of
the Classics at the Commando Monument at Spean Bridge, where we stopped
for lunch.
We then headed cross country
on the A86 to
Newtonmore and on to Grantown-on-Spey to join the
Motormania Classic Car Show parade. The final leg took in
Cawdor
Castle, Daviot, Trombreck and onto the finish at Fairways Inverness.
I
had a holiday flight to catch so I had to cut and run and head south at
Newtonmore, but much fun was had on the final section and at
the
prizegiving in Inverness.
Another fantastic event
from Highland Car Club. Have a look at the 2008 and 2009
events that we have joined. I look forward to the 2011 event, to
discover some more of Scotland's gems that are off the beaten track.
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I
joined
the starters at Pitlochry after a quick run up from Edinburgh on the
A9. My journey took about an hour and a half, but that was nothing
compared to Adrian Harper and Tim Lomas who had driven up from Great
Ayton, north Yorkshire. They started about 3.30am to cover the
250 miles in their Ferrari 360 F1 to arrive at Pitlochry at
8.00am. As
Adrian put it, "There's not much traffic on the road to hold you up at
that time of morning!"
As the
cars lined up for the start we were joined by the arrival of a group of
Mazda MX5 enthusiasts from Holland who had pulled in to see the
Festival Theatre. One of their crew helped out with the flagging away
of the cars. Was this HCC's first dabble in the "international scene"? 
Though
I
was number three to leave, hence the 3 on the picture of the
rally
plate above, I doubled back so I could take some video clips of the
starters
(video teaser above, while I work on the feature). Plenty of smiling
faces waiting to
start, including Tracy Smith and Emma Richards in the Riley Elf. 
Colin
Jaggard had his head buried under the bonnet of his 1956 Morris Minor,
along with a few other heads. By time I turned up "lack of sparks" was
the report from the "buried heads". The points had been
replaced,
and a new coil tried, but still not a flicker. Fortunately I carry a
multimeter, which told us that we had an earth short between
coil
and the points, and a dis coil. 
at
Killin seemed a good idea, where I met Margaret and Donald Campbell who
were letting their Mini cool down. Beth and Graeme Cargill in the
Frogeye Sprite, whom I'd been following for part of the route, were
also there. Refuelled we set off again, but my Sprite began to splutter
and lose power just after we left the 30mph signs. Bu**er I thought,
then realised I'd flicked the pump cutoff security switch off at the
lunch stop! 
We
stopped just at the southern end of the Glen, to be joined by Scot
McQueen and Andrew Mackinnon in a rather smoking brakes 1959 Mini.
Scott had been having trouble with binding front brakes and by the
smell I think there was still a stickiness somewhere. It was then
that I noticed the fuel guage was reading close to
empty.
This is when I noted that the roadbook told us last fuel at Tyndrum.
Oops... Fortunately I was carrying a 10 litre jerry can, bought for the
Trans Alpina last October. This has rescued the Sprite several times,
and again today. 
Here
I met Cameron Gilmour, at least his feet. He was well under the MGB
fixing a clutch hydraulic leak that had completely given up on the
entry to the car park. Plenty of help, though co-driver Lorna Scott
seemed to be enjoying the champagne and nibbles that appeared from
fellow helpers, keen to "watch" progress.
A
great time was had on the Rest, The Friends of the Rest were there to
help, and we all got a fair shot at re-living the hillclimb heydays of
the fifties and sixties. Ranald Bruce and Louise Wall in their 1972
Lancia Fulvia stopped mid run, which was quickly traced to a failed
fuel pump. I was surprised when it suddenly started again!
Turns
out Ranald has a backup electric pump in circuit as well. Now thats
what I call insurance. The Ford Anglia was not so lucky. Clipping a
rock snapped a trackrod end, and with both wheels going in different
directions put the Ford up the banking. A low loader trip home seemed
to be on the cards. 
Andrew
Davidson, Steven and Diane Kinghorn who own the old road, and are
leading lights for "Friends of the Rest". They are great fans of the
Classics, and always give a warm welcome to Classic events. Especially
for the Crofterra they put up a "Spirit of the Rest" award for the car
that in their opinion expressed the spirit of past times on the Rest.
Colin Jaggard received the prize; a bottle of whisky (what other
"spirit" could there be) from Diane, for his entertaining run up the
hillclimb in his Moggy.
Sunday
morning and the sun shone, but the clouds to the north were menacingly
black. After fuelling we all drove over to Inverary Castle to have our
photos taken in front of the Castle, something we did on the
International Autoecosse back in June. HCC's Charlie Donaldson and the
organising team decided to go for singleton shots as coordinating all
the entries for a group shot is a nightmare. I can vouch, as I did it
on the Autoecosse!
We
all headed back up to Cladich to meet the A85 to Oban. The organisers
had found a neat road from Taynuilt to Oban through Glen Lonan. This
sleepy little road had a rude awakening with so many Classics
disturbing the Sunday morning long sleep in. I came up against Roy
McQueen this time, who together with George Douglas in their 1979 Ford
Escort Mk11 were under the back end. The Panhard rod had slipped down
and was hitting the ground on some of the "yumps" on the route. I
helped out with a half inch socket to tighten the unit back into place,
and we were all off again.
I
did take the Strone road from Fort William to Spean Bridge, to see
Neptunes staircase, and the view over Ben Nevis. I met up with some of
the Classics at the Commando Monument at Spean Bridge, where we stopped
for lunch.