Hi from hippy heaven

Geoff Cotton · January 15, 2008, 11:03:53 PM

Buona sera all, nice to find an alternative to the Alfa Bulletin Board's Australian thread, which tends to be dominated by a few contributors. I'm up in the hills behind Byron Bay, with a 101-series Giulia Sprint (Giulietta body, Giulia 1600 mechanicals) formerly owned by AROCA Vic's Jim West, and a TI Super replica partway built - at least I've got a caged, painted shell and a heap of bits that Vin Sharp has worked his magic on. The roads round here are very Alfa-friendly, and there's a small group of Alfisti in the woods nearby for company. My only hope is that I can get the TI moving under its own power before all the world's oil runs out...
Ciao,
Geoff

hammer · January 16, 2008, 05:36:37 PM

Welcome to the forum mate. I like the roads around your neighbourhood. I don't get down there often enough but it is a lot of fun when i do.

Are you going to bring that caged Super down to Qld Raceway at some point?

Regards,

Brent

Geoff Cotton · January 16, 2008, 10:52:31 PM

Quote from: hammer on January 16, 2008, 05:36:37 PM
Are you going to bring that caged Super down to Qld Raceway at some point?

Yep, that's the plan Brent, although I want to hillclimb it as well - Mt Cotton historics & Speed on Tweed for a start. Might run the Sprint in SoT if the TI isn't ready, although it'll need a better seat - the car leans into bends like an Alfa, and the standard seat is flat, so you're sliding across the cabin.

Cheers,
Geoff

Anthony Miller · January 17, 2008, 10:25:13 AM

I vaguely remember hearing a story about rolling up a bath towel and wedging it between you and the seatbelt latch. Apparently this was the prefered method of touring car drivers of the sixties & seventies

hammer · January 17, 2008, 10:43:56 PM

I like the sound of that towel thing. I might try that in my old landcruiser ute. The seats in that are less comfortable than milk crates!

Geoff, our webmaster put the 2008 calendar up on the AROCA Qld site yesterday so all the race dates are there. I'm going out for a spriint on Jan 26 as my 75 is still road registered. Quite a few of us are going to compete in the Top Gear race series at QR, which should be a bunch of fun. I'll be down the back of the pack but still having a blast.

I'm on holidays at present and took a drive with my wife today from Samford through Dayboro to Mt Mee. What a glorious road. And with there having been so much rain of late I almost thought I was up the back of Bangalow it was so green and lush.

Happy motoring.

Brent

mikz · January 19, 2008, 08:52:48 AM

Hi Geoff, seems I live a little further inland than you at Cawongla. I traverse the North Coast roads every day on my way to our Brisbane and Gold Coast offices in my 147 JTD. Nice drive but as you know with all the rain recently you have little time to enjoy lest you get swallowed up by a pothole of biblical proportions. I have found that potholes + low profile tyres = a teeth grinding thump !

Anyway. welcome to the forum, I'm sure they'll find another zillion barrels of oil under Iran that the Iranians will let the west have really cheap !

Geoff Cotton · January 21, 2008, 10:13:00 PM

Quote from: Anthony Miller on January 17, 2008, 10:25:13 AM
I vaguely remember hearing a story about rolling up a bath towel and wedging it between you and the seatbelt latch. Apparently this was the prefered method of touring car drivers of the sixties & seventies

Thanks Anthony, neat and inexpensive idea, I'll try it out locally first - would that make it into a Dickies seat?
Cheers
Geoff

Geoff Cotton · January 21, 2008, 10:18:32 PM

Quote from: mikz on January 19, 2008, 08:52:48 AM
Nice drive but as you know with all the rain recently you have little time to enjoy lest you get swallowed up by a pothole of biblical proportions. I have found that potholes + low profile tyres = a teeth grinding thump !

Hi Mikz, yep, hope the roadworks happen soon and properly - my worry is that they'll leave the temporary fixes in place for the next 10 years. Some of these roads are bumpy enough at the best of times. I've got old Pirelli Cinturatos on the Sprint and don't fancy splitting them on the edge of some of those holes.
Cheers
Geoff

mikz · March 27, 2008, 06:49:13 PM

yes well you were right, they have put temporary patches across the potholes but trucks have all but destroyed them again. I also hate the way NSW councils fix these potholes, dump a blob of bitumen into the hole followed by a few shovelfuls of crushed blue metal and let the road users tyres tamp it down. Result is a spray of stones into your wheel well and bits of bitumen covered stones inside the rims and a shower of stones as the local yokels come around the corners in their holden utes towards you.