Sunday morning was glorious weather. The CMI rally agenda meant a trip to the Concorde Museum in Bristol. However, despite a decent night’s sleep (& having bailed too early to earn a hangover) I was still apprehensive about the throttle cable & decided to forego the pleasures of a Marcos convoy to head home – still a three hour plus journey. I have to say the hotel car park was an impressive sight in the morning sunshine. Probably a good thing the hotel was in its own grounds as the peaceful Sunday morning was ‘enhanced’ by the noise of various Marcos starting up. The actual journey back home was uneventful, although it would have been more fun with the two other North West cars along. Another ‘story’ for the Marcos collection, but to be honest I would have preferred a more straightforward weekend for a change. On the other hand it was lovely to see other owners, & I finally got to see the Morrisons LM500, newly roofed & painted. It looked rather good! (For an LM)
Tag Archives: CMI rally
CMI Rally 2024 Part 2: “The morning after”
Overnighting in the car in Sainsbury’s car park could have been a lot worse ie it could have rained, or been cold. (Channeling my inner Bear Grylls however, the hood cover plus several detailing clothes provided a makeshift duvet). Of course, it could have been a lot better ie I could have got some sleep.
After a liquid breakfast from the supermarket market garage (not that sort!), another call to The AA & about 0830 a very nice chap who was actually from The AA turned up with a low loader.
Having had a ponder as to whether to go on to Redline or go back to Chariots, I decided on the latter as a few WhatsApp messages with Jay suggested he knew how to fix the problem. About 90 minutes later we were back where I had started from 13 hours previously & ‘the fix’ had commenced. I had to chuckle when Jay proceeded to drill out the rivets securing the fuse box in order to access the other end of the throttle cable where it connected to the electronic throttle. Not my idea of roadside repairable at any rate!
A mere 20 minutes later, & up cycling the throttle cable from an old Jag, I was good to go. It was too late to make the CMI rally morning meet at Redline, & I doubted I would achieve Bradford-upon-Avon in time for lunch at the Five Zeros cafe, so I headed straight for the day’s third event… Meet up at the old Marcos factory on Westbury Trading Estate, Trowbridge. Three hours later I got there at exactly the same time as the main group of owners, & it wasn’t long before we were all listening attentively as Dave Chivers, the ex-Marcos Production Manager, as he talked us through the factory set up. Always something interesting to learn on these occasions, & of course although I had visited a few times while Marcos were operating, it was nice to be back where the car had been put together 27 years ago.
Next stop, the hotel for the CMI Rally dinner. It was nice to grab a beer & start catching up with a few people, & even meet some new owners. As usual, some of the Luxembourg owners had come over – a bloody good effort & I love their passion for the marque. Dinner was great & conversation was sparkling (for a car club) with the exception of my own, as the wine was rather soporific. I even spoke to a few people who read this blog, which was very gratifying. (You know who you are!)
The after dinner entertainment consisted of a birthday surprise for the inimitable Richard Partridge (not one but two birthday cakes, no less) and some more Marcos tales from Dave Chivers. The highlight for me was the inside story of the various shenanigans at Le Mans when Marcos competed there in the 24 Hours race. Every time I hear more about it, there is more chaos, derring do & skullduggery to be had. Great fun! Alas, the lack of sleep was catching up on me & I am afraid Dave closed his session with a (well deserved) quip about needing to finish as I was dropping off. Mea Culpa. I made my apologies & went to bed. It had been an eventful day.
CMI Rally 2024 Part 1: “No plan survives contact with the enemy”.
So this weekend is the CMI Annual Rally. Hurrah! However, the Mantis is still down at Chariots having passed the world’s most expensive MOT (inside joke) so I have jumped on a train from South Manchester to Lewes & picked the car up. So far so good. I need to be at Redline Sportscars around 1030 Saturday morning for the start of the day’s CMI rally agenda. Redline is a good three hours drive from Clayhill, & as I am only able to pick the car up after 1900, the cunning plan is to drive the car about halfway from Lewes, then get some zeds in a B&B in Shedfield. After an awesome breakfast, it will be back on the road first thing with a view to arriving at Redline in good time.
That was the plan. And it was a good plan. Splendid even. What actually happened however was that less than an hour in, the throttle cable snapped whilst the car was in the overtaking lane of the M27. After a few seconds wondering where the pedal had gone, realisation dawned & I managed to coast onto the hard shoulder. After registering the breakdown on The AA app, a local garage turned up to recover the car to Sainsbury’s car park which is where I am writing this at 0215 in the morning. Unbelievable. And as of 15 minutes ago, they are advising that they can’t get a recovery vehicle to me until between 0800 & 1000 later this morning (Saturday). That’s about 12 hours after I broke down.
The AA, you suck!!!
