Collecting Eleanor and our final Preparations

Date: 16 and 17 May, 2024

Rally day and journey: Collecting the car and final preparations

Accommodation: Shangri-la

Weather: Hot hot hot – 32 degrees

So, Thursday things got serious. We were all assigned a group to get our official paperwork, name tags, driver licenses and name tags. We were in red group, which was the second of 5 bus loads, we were pleased to be on an early bus as there is quite a bit to do once you have your car – assuming your car works after all those months on the water and sitting around. Eleanor left the UK on the 8th of February, so she has been sitting around quite a bit.

We collected our paperwork at 9.30am and then we piled onto the bus and went to the warehouse to collect the cars. We knew ahead of time from CARS, the car transport company, that our battery was flat and that we would need a jump start. The bus ride took an hour in slow Beijing traffic, I find the pollution makes my eyes sting a little.

We finally arrived, and there was Eleanor, waiting for us, patiently and I was very pleased to see her – I know, I’m personifying her again.

We pushed her out of the warehouse so we could line her up for a jump start, the mechanics came over with their gadget and there was tut tutting as he decided the battery was not even drawing. We tried hooking her up to Martin and Fran’s car to see if that made a difference but sadly no.

By this time we had drawn the attention of some Chinese people, who it turned out where from the China International Historic Vehicles organization and they were there to provide additional local support. It was fantastic, Derek, their leader spoke excellent English which was extremely helpful. They had a couple of flatbed trucks and all sorts of things you might need for getting historic cars on the road. Unfortunately no batteries, however we managed to borrow one from our mechanic sweep team and Derek arranged with his team to purchase the right sort of battery for us to be brought to the hotel later on.

Andrew was a bit tense with having an issue with the car straight away, but in reality it is quite helpful, it gets you into the grove of solving problems, which is an almost daily occurrence on the rally anyway.

So off we went, following our first lot of tulip map instructions in 5 years. You can find our about navigation in our next blog. As you can imagine, the route is pretty hectic with all the traffic, motorway junctions, bicycles, motorcycles and random pedestrians coming for all angles.

The first activity is to purchase fuel at the station which is just under 2kms away. Actually, you can see from the navigation photo, that it is actually 1.73kms away. It was bedlam with all the cars needing to fuel up – they can’t be shipped with much fuel in them.

After filling up we then go along a measured distance trial so you can ensure your Monits are calibrated correctly, and then it is off to find your way, using the tulips, back to the hotel. This is actually quite a good way to navigate, you will see from the photo we get instructions which are very helpful.

Back at the hotel we went straight into scrutineering, this is where they inspect the car for working lights, indicators, brakes etc and also make sure you have your safety and necessary emergency equipment. Having done the rally before, most of Eleanor’s supplies for this were left over from last time!

During scrutineering, the mechanic picked up that we were missing a grab screw on the mechanism for the carburettor, so that was lucky, and we were able to be put on the list for mechanical help the next morning. We have to carry a lot of spares, a grab screw was not in our pack.

After the car passed her checks, we then park up and take everything out. For some of the crews, especially those who build the cars themselves, they are the ones who pack their cars before shipping. Eleanor was packed by the RPS team just before she left the UK. We like to go through everything that is in all the bags and packed, we have packing lists for it all, so it’s a matter of being systematic. You can see the load we carry in this video.

RPS also have in the car a folder with the parts lists, and also a very helpful list of what checks and maintenance tasks we have to do every day and every few days. Experienced mechanics don’t need this, but for me, at the end of a long day driving, it is great to have a cheat sheet to remind me.

After we had done all the counting and making sure everything was where it should be, we took a break out of the hot sun in the hotel room before I came back down again to collect the battery from Derek’s team. I was about to get my tools out to install the new one, but they would not hear of it, they whipped out their tools and next thing I know it is all done. As much as you are supposed to do as much of your car maintenance yourself, when we have these local teams, they love being part of it, so you end up letting them. It is part of the joy of these sort of events.

Speaking of joy, by this stage we are starting to attract a crowd. Locals who are interested are not allowed to be in the carpark with everyone working on their cars, for safety and security reasons, but they do line up on the footpath and look over.

After the battery installation it was time to get back into the room to get cleaned up for the welcome cocktails and gala dinner.

This was the first time the New Zealand team got to wear their shirts which Martin and Fran has sorted. We have our logo they designed on Icebreaker black shirts.

The dinner was rather interesting with lots of food, and both local and Peruvian wine. All the New Zealanders sat together and we had a lovely time getting to know each other. Some of the others know each other from NZ rally events.

Friday 17th May, 2024 – final preparation day.

After breakfast it was straight out to the car to start on more work. The mechanics came over to fix the carburetor arm issue, we stuck our 4 Day Week and 4 Day World stickers on, we did a spanner check – basically ensuring all nuts and bolts are tight, and I went under the car to check under the car and grease the nipples.

After that it was a quick trip to the supermarket for some last minute supplies, then back into the air-conditioning! This afternoon Andrew has been focusing on his initial navigation preparation and we repacked into our water and dustproof bags, ready to pack the car tonight after dinner when it is cooler. Oh, and a bit of last minute clothes washing.

Tonight is our last night in Beijing, the rally starts in earnest tomorrow at the Great Wall.

© Charlotte Lockhart 2024. All rights reserved.