Very long trip; help please!

[1.3_LHD]

Hi all,

It's been a long time since my last post here, I try to read as much as I can but work keeps me busy lately.

Anyway, I need you help guys. As you may imagine I am from Spain and I own a 1992 Rover mini cooper 1.3i. It's been sitting in my parent's garage since I came to Ireland 4 years ago. My father barely uses her to go to the shop, so after thinking a lot about it I have decided to bring her over!.

I have all my ferries booked (Santander - Playmouth and Pembroke-Rosslaire). It’s a 2 days trip and I can’t stop thinking about it, what if something goes wrong? How many stops?, etc.

The mini is pretty standard, so I was thinking about changing the suspension before the long trip. I know the standard suspension is crap, specially for our Irish bumpy roads . But I am completely lost. My idea was to buy something in minispares or similar, get it shipped to Spain and fit it there. But I have no idea what to buy; there are too many options. I just want something affordable, good compromise between comfort and sport, and better than what I have. Any suggestion/ advice?

Also it is the first time I am going to do such a long trip in the mini, so one of my best friends (mechanic) is going to have a look at her before the long journey. Is there anything in particular we need to watch for? Any thing I should bring with me just in case it breaks down?

Any advice or comment will be highly appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance.

[The Marcos Graveyard]

A full service before you start should see you right, I wouldn't go changing any of the suspension tbh, at least not until you get the car to Ireland.
Trip wise, if you keep the speed to 100kph, you shouldn't have too much problems, you need to take a break every 3 hours or so, which is about as much as you get between petrol fills and pi55 stops, give yourself plenty of time, there is nothing wrong with getting to the port early, it's getting there late that causes all the headaches.

For peace of mind you could join the AA, ask any of the O'Carrolls

Bring food with you as eating on the ferry is a rip off, as it is at motorway halts for that matter.

Make sure the radio works and that you have some way of charging your phone.

Bring spare water and a can of petrol.

A co-driver is handy. (provided they can stay awake)

Bring a camera to take pics so you can show us later.

[BlackSe7en]

Don't worry about the suspension. Woody and myself , accompanied by FatMan in his Estate, drove to the Salou IMM and back in a Moke. The problem we encountered was rounding the splines on the Drive Flange in France , 50 miles from the ferry. The AA came to our rescue and brought us home. We took our time travelling home , giving ourselves about a week to get home. On the way to the IMM we stayed (When we could find them) in the Formula 1 type Motels which worked out cheap enough.

[Simon and Natasha]

When you get to the port in Pembroke don’t buy the tea from the little cafe in the main building as you will spend the next four hours on the bog on the boat. trust me it happened to me when I brought the wife’s sky rose back from Essex on Sunday.

Wouldn't be surprised if the welsh girls there brew the tea with a communal tea bag. it's rats!

Oh just a bit of warning to all if your thinking about going to England soon, watch out for 2 sets of what looks to be traffic monitoring camera’s on a yellow beams across the motor way because they are average speed cameras and they are right little buggers

the best way to go from Plymouth is the a38 to the M5 follow that all the way to the top to the M4, then it's near enough a strate road to Pembroke but the signs will only say fishgard on them so follow that because it will split into a fork at a point where u will see the first sign for Pembroke dock.

Have fun because it's quite a nice drive from Pymouth

[1.3_LHD]

Thanks very much for the comments and advice.

The Marcos Graveyard: can I join AA with the car having Spanish plates? I thought I couldn’t. I checked with my insurance in Spain and the breakdown assistance covers me no problem. However if they can’t fix it they will send the car to the nearest garage, and if it hasn’t been fixed in 48 hours they will ship it back to my address in Spain!! Imagine being 50 miles from Pembroke after diving all the way…

100kph is what I calculated and the mini feels comfortable at that speed, but no more; and a stop every 300 km is what I thought, thanks for confirming! . I’ll ask my mum to prepare some tortillas (spanish omelettes) for the journey . I didn’t think about the can of petrol, thank you for that tip.

I’ll take lots of pictures and, will post them here, and will tell about my journey in case it helps someone else.

BlackSe7en: trip to Salou? Wow!, that’s a very long trip. I am not travelling through France, otherwise believe me I would be asking you for Motels and directions! (don’t understand french )


Thank you again both.

[1.3_LHD]

[quote="Simon and Natasha"]
the best way to go from Plymouth is the a38 to the M5 follow that all the way to the top to the M4, then it's near enough a strate road to Pembroke but the signs will only say fishgard on them so follow that because it will split into a fork at a point where u will see the first sign for Pembroke dock.

Have fun because it's quite a nice drive from Pymouth[/quote]

I am printing this part! Thank you. That was one of my fears; to get lost in England. I'll be bringing maps with me but you never know.

I'll bring some teabags with me as well; dont like the idea of being on the bog for 4 hours

I take note of the speeding cameras too.

Thank you for everything, and If you see a left hand drive black mini cooper in Cork you know who the owner is

[Simon and Natasha]

What your e-mail address mate cos i will send you a detaled route plan

Oh another quick thing , just after bristol you will come to the 7 bridge toll bridge and it costs £5.10 for a car. bloody welsh you have gotta pay to get into wales but not to get out. funny that

[BlackSe7en]

If you break down and your Mini is brought back to the Spainish address. Get your mate to fix it over the winter and then you can drive it to IMM2008 from Spain and try and win the "Furthest Travelled " prize. That's if you are further from Holland than the Portugeuse.

[1.3_LHD]

[quote="Simon and Natasha"]What your e-mail address mate cos i will send you a detaled route plan

Oh another quick thing , just after bristol you will come to the 7 bridge toll bridge and it costs £5.10 for a car. bloody welsh you have gotta pay to get into wales but not to get out. funny that [/quote]

Email address: agarciacaro~hotmail.com

£5.10? Hope they take credit cards because I am not changing euros into pounds just for a few hours.

Thank you again!

[1.3_LHD]

[quote="BlackSe7en"]If you break down and your Mini is brought back to the Spainish address. Get your mate to fix it over the winter and then you can drive it to IMM2008 from Spain and try and win the "Furthest Travelled " prize. That's if you are further from Holland than the Portugeuse.[/quote]

I am thinking about kidnapping my mate and bring him with me for my peace of mind

I am not further than the portuguese...thanks God

[Simon and Natasha]

i dont think they do take cards mate. might be worth just getting 20 euro changed up. if u dont use it you could always change it back.

have sent e-mail too

[DaveC]

Best of luck with the trip, follow the advice above and you won't go wrong. The only thing I can add is that driving in England always seems to take longer than it looks on the map!

[Simon and Natasha]

I will second that. i think they delibretly slope the sides of the motorway so you have nothing to look at, and they wonder why more English people fall asleep at the wheel.

[woody]

Don't touch the suspension before the trip,leave well enough alone. If you have a few days in Spain get it serviced on the first day and drive it around a bit then it should be ok for the long drive.Your Insurance covers breakdown in Spain and getting amini fixed in uk is easy so I wouldn't worry to much.
Good luck

[The Marcos Graveyard]

This link will get you to the Via Michelin site where you can use their route planner to give you all the directions you need.

http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/ ... mePage.htm

[1.3_LHD]

Your are all brillitant!.I cant stop thanking you for the advise.

Simon and Natasha: I'll follow your advise and get some change for the trip; better be save than sorry. Email received and replied. Thank you again.

woody: That’s the idea, good service, change everything might brake, and I was going to take the opportunity and change the suspension with my friend the mechanic. But all of you say is not a good idea, so I suppose I will wait.
The brake down assistance covers me all over Europe, so I think I’ll be fine.

DaveC: I arrive Plymouth at 17:00 pm and the Ferry from Pembroke to Rosslaire is at 2:45 am, basically I have 9 hours to do 400 km. Plenty of time if there is no ferry delay

The Marcos Graveyard: I knew that one; I was also told about http://www.ie.map24.com, I didnt really check it yet, but it is supose to have 3D maps...

Thank you all again.

[The Marcos Graveyard]

[quote="1.3_LHD"]
DaveC: I arrive Plymouth at 17:00 pm and the Ferry from Pembroke to Rosslaire is at 2:45 am, basically I have 9 hours to do 400 km. Plenty of time if there is no ferry delay [/quote]


Don't forget it'll take about 30 mins to get off the boat at Plymouth and you have to check in at least an hour before hand in Pembroke.

[1.3_LHD]

I think I'll talk to the guys before I get on the boat.

Maybe if I am one of the last ones to get on, I'll be one of the first ones to get off....How does it work?

[The Marcos Graveyard]

It dosen't work that way, usually it's first on, first off, but being at the top of the queue dosen't mean you will be the first car on.

[1.3_LHD]

If that is the case, I'll be the first one on!!

Thank you The Marcos Graveyard for the advice

[keith]

massive trip! i did it going the other way in 1980, in a mini 1000, with a co-driver: Manchester to Barcelona, via ferry to san sebastian or bilbao, cant recall.
a good service before you set off, including a fresh fan-belt: do bring water, oil and a few tools. Depending on where you are coming from in Spain its not actually that far: the longest part is the ferry! On my trip we manged to blow out the exhaust, which was noisy for the last 4 hours! best of luck!

[BlackSe7en]

A new set of wiper blades might be an idea. YOu probably won't need them in Spain, but the UK and Ireland part of the trip wil wear them down.
Go n'eiri an bothar leat.

[1.3_LHD]

Great advice! Thank you keith and BlackSe7en .

I’ll get new wipers, the exhaust should be ok, but I am worried about the alternator. It has never been changed before and I heard is one of the parts might break…

[DaveC]

If the alternator is working ok don't change it. If you are worried about it and can get a spare one bring it with you

[The Marcos Graveyard]

Alternators are hardy enough, shouldn't be a prob.