May I bring your attention to this web site www.austinsinamericas.co.uk

A small group are to travel John Coleman's route from Buenos Aires to New York. The planned start date is February 15th 2013. The three cars will be leaving on a ship in early January and there will be information posted to the above site as we go, If you would like to follow progress.

Location: Oxford Town in the Afternoon

Brilliant, cannot wait!

Cant seem to open the link to the site - is it up and running yet?

Location: Farnham

Location: South Norfolk - Near Suffolk

Yes up, running and awaiting your visit. I will spell the address in caps to help

WWW.AUSTINSINAMERICAS.CO.UK

Please note the plurals " Austins in Americas"

Thank you for your interest

Location: Oxford Town in the Afternoon

http://austinsinamericas.co.uk/

Thanks R, should have learnt how to do that by now.

Location: Oxford Town in the wet afternoon

Got it now. Great site and a fantastic trip.

Location: Farnham

Thanks, R for the link & Thanks also to Jack for the initial advice. It's an interesting set of tales before they even start out! Good Luck to all. Cheers, Bill

Location: Mount Eliza, (not a mountain but hilly, overlooking the Bay) Australia

Terrific! Good luck to all. One day, one day...

Location: Windblown Hertfordshire

Wishing you plenty of good luck on an amazing journey. Many thanks for organising a site where we can follw your progress. I have just finished reading Colemans's Drive for the umpteenth time as I wanted to check again the route that Guy and Eunice are about to embark on through Mexico and Central America. They were at Puebla this week having started off in Baltimore and travelled via Alaska!
For those who are missing out on their big American adventure, have look at www.bespk.com

Ron Hayhurst

Location: Thornbury, South Glos

Is easy to make things links.

Just add [url] before then [/url] after whatever you want to link.

Like this:

[url]www.google.com[/url]

Which will display like this:

www.google.com

To remember if the slash in the last [/url] is a back or a forward slash I just remember I am forwarding the link to someone so use a forward slash.

Simon

Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Location: Fed up hosing mud off the dogs.

Simon, thanks for the tip. So my next question would be - how do you replace the actual link with the word "here", (or any other word for that matter)

Location: Farnham

Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Thanks Simon

Location: Farnham

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Looking at their latest posting for 9th Feb. I did a similar ply platform on the back seat area for the much less stressful etc., Jogle last year. I also screwed a couple of blue (mushroom) trays onto the 'seat' ply which left enough room between them for the plastic petrol can and the gallon can of oil. The blue crates could be stacked too, though I only went up one level.

I had the impression I had a complete car somewhere behind the drivers seat in spares.

Location: Near Lands End

I understand that later today, if all all happens as intended, Guy and Eunice Butcher traveling South in their Austin Seven from Baltimore via Alaska to the Southern tip of Argentina (some 25000 miles) will meet with Oxford Jack, and friends, in three Austin Sevens retracing John Coleman's Journey North from Buenos Aires to New York.

The furthest travelled informal "meeting" of Bristol Austin Seven Club members ever!

Bravo to all involved in this unique event!


http://austinsinamericas.co.uk/

http://www.bespk.com/

It just did, happen that is! What a re the chances of that, as you say R the furthest, smallest BA7C meeting ever I suspect.

This is a sprawling bustling mining town, surrounded by tens of thousands of square miles of nothing very much accept tawny coloured hills and sandy soil with little but scrawny vegetation to adorn it. It is about 34 deg here this afternoon and having traveled 240 miles today we are a bit hot and tired, but the cars have behaved magnificently, more so than the occupants, although what happens on tour stays on tour as you all know!

I shall post a fresh blog page later today, perhaps after you are all tucked up, but we are going to celebrate with pisco sours shortly and the world will seem a rosier place afterwards.

Thanks for reading

Regards Jack et al

Location: Copiapo, Chile, the southern Atacama desert

Brilliant, well done to all, wish I was there

Guy Butcher has just posted the following on his Facebook page:

"Been a bit quiet on the South American front!
We were making good time after leaving Copiapo, we had stopped overnight by the ocean. Very beautiful, peaceful and a wonderful place to stay. We left and after 150 miles the sound of a death rattle came upon the mighty Austin. A big end; or what?
Serendipity takes many forms; today the man in a pick up stops, asks what is the problem. We start the car to let him hear that its serious. 'I'll tow you to my town, we'll load the car into the pick-up and I'll take you to Los Andes. The deal was made and so we made our way to our destination for the day; at about 11.00 pm.
Yesterday I spent the day taking the engine out of the car. My is it dirty! The contents of the Atacama Desert are stuck to everbit of the car.
Sump off, nothing much to see; all beautifully clean. The knock is at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock. Big end caps off nothing to see.
Today the timing chest cover is removed to reveal 2 teeth off the main timing gear and part of one on the cam shaft gear.
Why?
I have no idea!
We are just off to Daniels place(he who met John Coleman as a 10 year old. Who I mistakenly called David in a previous post).
There we are going to strip down another engine to get the bits to effect a repair. Should be all of a piece by the end of the week.
Hopefully we can catch up some time after having reassured our selves that all is good.
We'll see!"


Copiapo is here:


View Larger Map

Guy has fitted gears donated from a mag engine and they are on their way again.

News from Jack:

"Hi R,

WE crossed into Peru yesterday and had an unscheduled stop due to poor/
non running on the chummy. Fortunately we were within 100 metres of a
very comfy hotel where we spent the night and although unable to fix
the problem, this morning after a few minutes it is up and running
sweetly.

I have had head problems, changing the head gasket twice in the
Atacama, but managed to get it skimmed and now seems ok. You would
love the facilities here, I was picked up on a truck, driven 15 miles
and dropped at our lodgings, the truck driver offered to wait while I
pulled the head, drove me to a friends workshop, where within 90
minutes had skimmed the head by 0.8mm. The total cost including the
pick and lift to machine shop, engineering and return by taxi, about
£65 and all done in less than four hours from breakdown to running
again.

So I am running ok, borrowing tools and shall get through, but thanks
again for the offer. Best wishes to your family, the grumpy one and
the fragrant one of course!

From the extravagant heat of Peru


Regards Jack"

Ruiaridh, can you put the names to the faces round the table? Nice to visualise who you are reading about. Also, that statue would make a great radiator mascot, though maybe a little smaller

Location: Cool but sunny Cheshire

Nick,

I'll use the photo below because everyone is photographed and it has the cars in it as well:



L to R = Guy Butcher and Eunice Kratky, Diana Garside and River Dukes, Stan Price, Jack Peppiatt and Amanda

Thanks Ruairidh, makes sense now. Regards Nick

Location: Cold but sunny Cheshire

Dear All,

Thank you for your interest and concern. It is wonderful to have the support and encouragement of friends and acquaintances, we have been blessed on both accounts.

Currently my '33 box saloon is on its way to Lima on a truck. I experienced a loss of power and much smoke in the cabin, it seems as if the crankcase is pressurising, but it is not burning oil, just blowing it out of the breather and oil filler cap. Compression testing gives 100 psi on each except 3 which is on 70.

The engine was rebuilt 5,000 miles back and has an oil and air filter.

I suspect rings or piston, but it would still climb in 2&3 just not in4th.

I will get to Lima on Monday afternoon and intend to run the engine with 3 plug out and see if it smokes as much. If not then it it may be a tapper or valve, if not then its engine out and see what's up

Suggestions on a postcard would be gratefully received.

New post on our website tonight

Regards Jack

Regards from
Peru

Location: Next to the Nasca lines in Peru

Guy has suggested that they may reach their finishing point, very soon, possibly tomorrow.

Amazing journey.

Hopefully when all is done and dusted down, they might be able to do a book of the journey.

I found Vince's 'Austins Across the Andes' book an enjoyable read, thus the joys, adventures and tribulations on this journey in a book format I would buy and read too.

It would also be a lasting tribute to all those people they met on the journey...

Location: On the very edge of Europe (West).

My thoughts too Sandy. They have a good starting point for a book with all their amazing reports on Facebook (I'm pleased to say I have managed to read these without getting enmeshed with all the would be "Friends" that Facebook tries to offer!!). They are amazing; and what an amazing car! I hope the sponsorship money continues to flow in.
Ron

Location: Thornbury South Glos

I'm confused, I thought Jack and the team were still in Chile!

Location: Near Bicester and nowhere near Europe

I think you will find that Jack's party are in Peru.Guy andEunice however are in Argentina approaching their terminus at Cape Horn.(spokes permitting).What an extraordinary feat!

Location: Where ever my mobile phone happens to be just now.

Thanks Ian,

I'm just a bumbling old fool, I hadn't spotted that both trips were combined on the same thread...NURSE!

Location: Near Bicester and nowhere near Europe

Guy and Eunice have completed their drive! Well done!

Good luck to those travelling north!

Jack and Co have reached Texas!

as someone who after 6 years of Austin Seven ownership has yet to travel further than about 50 miles from home I have nothing but complete admiration for these adventurers. bravo.
Andy B

Location: Norf Essex

They've done it!!

Arrived in Times Square, 06:30 today! Congratulations to all involved!

Jack's blogs have been a great read over the weeks. Thank you Jack, there were obviously times when you could have done without the chore of writing on top of some fraught days.

Well done to all involved.

Location: South-east Surrey

Fantastic! Well done!

Location: Hertfordshire

Location: SW France - summer at last

CONGRATULATIONS from Bristol Austin Seven Club.

Location: Sunny Somerset

Now THAT was an adventure! John Coleman dined out for a lifetime on that experience, I expect you will do the same. I shall miss the Blog, cheers Russell

Location: OZ

60 miles yesterday, and I'm nearly a basket case today
Mind boggles at theirs and all similar journeys done by others, including those by 'our' Vince.
Just thinking about it makes me want to lay down for a rest.
Have been meaning to read their blog, but WILL be doing so now.
Having read Coleman's Journey, the comparison should be very interesting indeed.
Cannot add much to what has already been said except:

Well done to all concerned and you deserve all the accolades thrown in your direction.

Geoff - Feeling even more whacked now

Location: South Norfolk - Near Suffolk

Well done everyone. Just goes to show that good engineering and british fighting spirit will overcome any challange. Well done.

Location: Findon West Sussex

Happy to report that we are expecting the three cars at Beaulieu for the National Austin 7 Rally on July 7th. Their appearance will depend on when the ship carrying them docks but there is a good chance they will make it. AND...

We have just got confirmation that we can 'borrow' John Coleman's Chummy from Gaydon for the event. This will be a superb tribute to our modern-day adventurers and of course to John himself.

We will be interviewing our adventurers on the day and finding out more about their amazing 11,000+ mile journey.

Don't miss it!

Location: Hertfordshire