Thanks AROCA Qld

[Mr Frog]

I was recently driving between Melbourne and Cairns and ran into difficulties. I.E. my dear old 105 stopped running. After some temporary roadside repairs by NRMA in Forbes and Dubbo, I got it going and made a mad dash for Brisbane and hopefully a more permanent fix.

AROCA Qld committee members with mobile numbers listd were quick to point me to some repairers, and I managed to book myself into Avanti Spares within five minutes.

Many thanks to those committee members for their help and especially to Richard at Avanti for going out of his way to help a stranded stranger.

The fault - the bushes/bearings on the shaft of my aftermarket distributor no more than 18 months old had completely collapsed.

A second-hand Marelli has done the trick.

Mark Davis, Cairns.

[Pete Y]

Happy ending thankfully.

Brings back memories of being stuck on the Hume 90 mins out of Melbourne in pouring rain in a broken down Alfasud Sprint at 2am. Luckily just a loose HT lead and some moisture in my case and I was on my way.

Still, congrats for making the journey in a 105.

[Craig_m67]

I agree, Melbourne to Cairns is an impressive trip, any pics ??

[17fitty]

If you need any help on the sunshine coast or a coffee let me know--enjoy your adventure--any photos?

[Mr Frog]

Please find attached some photos - after I washed off the stupendous amount of grime and slime after five days' driving. I didn't take any while I was driving - minimum 10 hours a day is getting a bit tough on the driver these days.

Covered 4286 miles and used 601 litres of fuel (I think - my notes are a bit vague).

Car was way out of tune on way down, and a bit of a handful to drive owing to rubbish tyres and pre-existing suspension issues. Got a lot of pre-planned work done in Melbourne, and a bit more than that in the end.

Prior to running into the dissy problem at Forbes, the old bus was going like a steam train. Normal service returned after the side-trip to Brisbane.

Drives like these (I have done this trip eight times, three in the Alfa) a a good reminder what terrific little cars these are (the  car on the other five trips was a  Peugeot 505 - a top machine and sadly missed).

The rough central Queensland roads - especially  the Gregory Developmental Road between Emerald and Charters Towers - took a toll.

When I arrived home there was a bit of an occasional squeal from the rear under braking, sounding like brake pads on the way out. But when I took off the wheel yesterday morning, the culprit was the bump stop assembly swinging in the breeze and rubbing against the inside of the wheel.

I recall bottoming out twice, and a it appears the alloy plate at the top had broken and the steel support plate had bent, allowing one of the phillips head bolts  holding the assembly in place to work its way out.

Sigh. Another on the list of bits and pieces still to do. But what do you expect from a 1969 car?

[hammer]

Mark,

Great effort! Thanks for the pics and the update.

Apologies I missed your initial phone call. Glad you made it home safe and almost sound. What a mammoth drive in the old 105.

I haven't done the drive to Cairns for a long time. Have done plenty of trips to Mackay, Rocky etc, but haven't done the full run to Cairns since a classic adventure in 1990, packed in 15-seater Hiace with 5 other blokes and all our band gear - on the road supporting INXS.

Cheers,

Brent

[Cupcake]

Maybe a run to Cairns and back is an idea for a future run. Do it over two weeks. In a bunch of Alfas, it would be a great adventure.

[AikenDrum105]

Those bump stops are normally a terror to get out  - I'd class this as a win

[Mr Frog]

Unfortunately it's like a glass half full - one bump stop screw has fallen out (and I've replaced it with a bolt) but the other one is half in and seized solid, probably with serious thread damage.

Cupcake, it's a top drive. The longest leg is emerald to charters towers, which a 105 can just make. It's also pretty rough in places if the Wet has been bad (don't even think about it in the Wet).

I'd be happy to organise a bbq/whatever in Cairns, and help out as I can if you ever did decide to do it.

There is at least one other 105 here (the owner introduced himself a while back but being an absent-minded dill I didn't get his phone/address details. I believe there is another one owned by a chinese guy, but that's all I know. There is an older bloke (and that's saying something, who a few years back had a magnificent, pristine Giulia Super.