Isle of Man 2010

[Dave Eds]

Aaaargh !

You are never safe Gary - we are watching you fron overseas!

[Nobby]

says the man in dodge shorts

[GeoffSmith]

We can certainly see who all the imposters are on LEC. With these louts 'en route' it has become very quiet on here all of a sudden

Down to you and me then?

[dapinky]

For some reason, Angie didn't want to get up at 0530 for a fast lap of the TT circuit

So i went out, about 15 minutes before 'the crowd' intending to take up a vantage pint on the top of the mountain to film the convoy coming through........


.....I'd been sat in the car, in the thick fog for about 20 minutes when i finally achieved about 15 seconds of video - all showing headlights in the fog travelling at 25mph

Still, on the way back for brekkie, we dropped down out of the cloud and had a nice run back to the hotel

[inkitin]

Back home now.

Wishing all the others well with their various journeys.

Great trip !

[dapinky]

Just got in - knackered, but worth it

A whole weekend of mending / tinkering...........

........who says that 'cheap' elans are more likely to need attention than more expensive ones when taken out on a fast sustained run



(i had to replace a tail lamp bulb on Angies car)

[chris.t]

Yet another successful trip to the IOM, thanks DaveT for all your organising! A brief summary of events which will no doubt be backed up by shed loads of fotos and vids.

Friday – Journey to the Island

Dee and I stopped at Stafford Services to meet with the East Mids crew, quick cuppa and toilet break which resulted in us being late setting off for Asda. Arrived at a packed out Asda in Runcorn to meet up with the rest of the party (probably late – sorry) and then headed off to the ferry. Dee and I were just one of several of the group to get split up and lost. When we arrived successfully at the TomTom destination we found we were at the freight ferry port not the IOM Steam Packet. The ferry was leaving in 1/2 hour and we were 4miles away thru Liverpool traffic. We made it by the skin of our teeth.

The crossing was very calm and we made good time to the Island. A quick trip to the hotel at Glen Helen to freshen up was followed by a welcoming chat from Inspector Flint (IOM PD) and Stuart from IOM radio.


Graham noticed he had a slight coolant leak from somewhere but nothing serious fortunately. The meal that night was at a little restaurant at Niarbyl (sp?) with a splendid view of the setting sun over the sea. Then back to the hotel for a few sherbets.


Saturday – Sight Seeing

The next day rain was forecast but this didn’t deter us. We were up for a 6am dash round the TT circuit. It was a shame that the maximum speed on the mountain section was 30-40mph due to low cloud but enjoyable none the less. Following breakfast we planned to watch some rallying that was taking place at various points on the island. This was preceded by a trip to the cash machine and garage for refuelling. We proceeded onto the mountain part of the TT which was still covered in cloud where Graham found that one of his light pods had jammed down. A loose screw was found to be the culprit and besides the lamp having a fair degree of water it, after minor adjustment it functioned normally.

That’s when we found out that we’d lost DaveEds who we also couldn’t contact on his phone. We decided to go back to the hotel to see if he had problems. Sure enough there was the breakdown van and his Elan semi dismantled. The immobiliser had done its job, unfortunately on a fairly permanent basis! After baffling the breakdown fella and Dave a small boy, circa 10 years old, turned up and fixed the problem somehow! Cheers Matt, good job mate. The lad was so small that Dave thought about keeping him in the boot for emergencies (oohh errr that’s sounds bad – hey ho). The fault was found to be with the bit on the key ring that turned off the immobiliser.

We’d made a cock up on the timing for the rally, so decided to go to the Calf of Man and then on to watch the Rally. On arriving at the C of M PaulW announced that his exhaust was blowing which was subsequently found to be caused by all 6 of the bolts connecting his turbo to his down pipe being missing. Nobby whisked Paul off to the nearest B&Q to get some suitable M8 bolts and the problem was solved. While the car fixing was going on the rest of had a nice cup of tea and a slice cake/scones in the café. Saw some seals too by the way.

On the way back from the C of M some of us went to see some of the Rallying. We thought Roland and Dan were coming but they didn’t appear and wrongly assumed that they had changed their mind. The rallying was entertaining but on returning to the hotel we found out the truth about R & D. The cooling pipe to the turbo had burst but a fix had been found so the car was back in business.



That night the party split into two ethnic groups, Indian and Chinese, for the evening meal. All I can say is they like their curry’s hot on the IOM and the Chinese meals have plenty of alcohol by what I could see. Despite needing to be on 100% alertness for the track day in the morning it was a bit of a late session!

Sunday – Track day

The next morning the sun was out and all look good for the morning spent on track. The 6 Elans present made up 50% of the field and performed impressively on track. From driving Nobby and Pauls cars I found that my cars handling needs a little work doing to it. The suspension is much too soft. Thanks guys for letting me drive your cars, Paul your car has awesome performance! Regrettably though Nobby took one of his brake pads down to the metal but fortunately a spare set was on hand which Pinky (LEC equivalent of an AA man – he’s a very nice man) ably fitted in double quick time. Back to the hotel then after the track to pick up the ladies and to decide on a plan of action. Those that hadn’t seen the Laxey wheel went to watch it go round and those that had seen it before went to Peel for a stroll along the Prom and have an ice cream. They do fantastic ice creams on the IOM!!! On getting back to the hotel PaulW found that he had an oil leak from one of the oil pipe joints. Hope it wasn’t my driving Paul The solution to the problem was straight forward enough if you could get a spanner to the hex nuts, which were, it seemed, in an impossible location. Anyway with the help of the LEC AA man enough was done to stem the flow albeit maybe temporarily. That evening the more energetic of the group (the ones that didn’t get up early to do the track day) wined and dined on Italian fare in Douglas whilst the shattered trackers spent the evening sipping Magners and munching pasta. I for one was glad to see my bed that night.

Monday – Return to the Main land

The next day, was not only the day we left the IOM but photo session day. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves but a degree of planning went into it much to the amusement of the locals.







We then went on to do the mountain section of the TT course which yet again was largely covered in low cloud. We stopped at the Pub on the right angled bend for another photo session and enjoyed a cuppa in this world famous venue.



While having our coffees I observed that fewer and fewer cars were coming off the mountain with their lights on indicating that there may have been a reduction in mist. On this vague premise DaveEds, Graham and I decided we would do the mountain again. The rest of the group needed to get stuff in Douglas before catching the ferry so we said we’d meet them there. Much to our surprise the mountain road was clear and dry and we had a great run over. Down into Ramsey we went because we hadn’t really been there to explore. There was nothing to see there so we decided to go back over the mountain, this time I got some video footage. We got into Douglas and met up with Paul and Nobby and set off to find an ice cream shop which we duly found.

On queuing for the ferry there was one last mechanical problem where Graham’s car refused to start. A confused ECU was thought to be the problem and after some turning it reluctantly fired up – phew.

The ferry crossing was a little more adventurous on the way back but none to onerous and after saying our fond farewells we made our way off the ferry right into the midst of the Liverpool rush hour traffic, a big change from the ‘rush minute’ on the island!!

There will be some video to come eventually and if you want to see the rest of the photos there is a slide show HERE. If you want any full res versions then pm me.

[dapinky]

Chris,

Are you doing a composite video?

Do you want me to send the video footage (trackside) from the Jurby session to you on a disc?

If so, do you want it in .avi (raw data), .wmv (Moviemaker), .camrec (Camtasia), or .nvc (Nero) ????

[chris.t]

Chris,

Are you doing a composite video?

Do you want me to send the video footage (trackside) from the Jurby session to you on a disc?

If so, do you want it in .avi (raw data), .wmv (Moviemaker), .camrec (Camtasia), or .nvc (Nero) ????

Yes Dave, send me what you've got and I'll cobble something together. I can import .avi no problem. Have you still got my address?

[dapinky]

Have you still got my address?

Probably not!

PM please.

[Dave Eds]

Multiple PM to the whole gang Chris if you're collating all the evidence!

Good pics BTW mate, the one of DT's car with the roof down will have rarity value!

None of the after track brake rebuild?

[chris.t]

None of the after track brake rebuild?

didn't take the camera to save weight

[DaveT]

Good pics BTW mate, the one of DT's car will have rarity value!

[inkitin]

Well, where do I start with with my thankyou's?

First of all thanks to DaveT for organising the trip. Without that initial prompt I would never have gone.

Secondly a massive thanks to Graham (GUK). Spotted that my Elan had a problem before I did and before it did any damage, stayed with me even though, like me, he was supposed to be going up to watch the rally. Diagnosed the problem and promptly started to effect a repair. Thanks Graham you're a star !

PaulW for donating a length of fuel hose and assisting with the repair and Dave (Dapinky) for supplying the tools and also assisting with the repair. To a mechanical numpty like me, it was humbling and impressive to see the LEC support system swing into action and it was even more impressive that others were more than willing to use bits from their own cars to help repair mine. Just superb !

Thanks to everybody on the trip for great company and good banter. The Chinese meal crew, I have to admit we did get a bit raucous, after the wine flowing freely and the inevitable nightcap(s!). Thank goodness I didn't book myself on the track session the following morning !

Some photos to come.

Roland

[inkitin]

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[inkitin]

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[m400kay]

Many thx to all me and kay had a great time. Home by 10.30 and parked up,Now wheres the garage key to get her locked up and stored down for a few months. Will look out photos later, Chris your brief summary of w/e is excellent and pics are splendid, looking at scotland for next year but thats a new thread.

[chris.t]

........ Chris your brief summary of w/e is excellent and pics are splendid, looking at scotland for next year but thats a new thread.

Mark, I woke up at 0530hrs as per usual so had a bit of time on my hands! Trekking back to Anglesey on Friday for a track day with the VX, don't know whether i'm coming or going at the mo.

[DaveT]

Another good weekend folks- thanx.
Good photos so far.
I didnt do any driving vids this year Chris.
Malcolm Buckler didnt join us cos he'd had an accident whilst working on his gearbox. He's OK now.
Derek has mailed to ask if we all got home safely.
I'm just about recovered after 2 8hr sleeps- not bad for an insomniac.

D

[DaveT]

Due to ongoing health problems and my forthcoming marriage plans I'll not be doing the IOM this year.

Anyone wishing to take over the helm will have as much help as I can give.


DaveT