Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => General Discussion => Topic started by: JamesL on May 25, 2017, 12:16:28
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As you may have gathered, she is taking "her" car on the Rallye des Princesses this coming week. They have a facebook page
Starting on Sunday with 370km from the centre of Paris to St Aignan
Monday - St Aignan to Vichy (341km)
Tuesday -Vichy to Alpe D'Huez (430km)
Wednesday - Alpe - mandelieu (350km)
Thursday - Mandelieu to St Tropez (260km)
(so more than a tank of fuel per day, which might be fun with a less than reliable fuel gauge ;) and regularity test times to meet). They are likely to be going an average of 45kmh!
All starting tomorrow with the drive to Paris and it seems that the best way in is around the Arc de Triomphe and down Champs Elysees to Place Vendome :o for scrutineering on Saturday and the sunday start. I am driving to Paris, getting the train home Sunday and leaving Tamara and Jennifer (navigatrix) to get to St Tropez. I fly to Nice on Thursday and drive the car home Friday/Saturday while they take the train. Weather forecast is damn-hot
Our very own Colin has replaced my saggy springs and suspension mounts and put a rabbits foot in the engine bay ;). I shall post updates in here if anyone is interested. I think there are 5 Pagodas doing the rallye so I will take photos of them Sat/Sun
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Keep the updates and photos flowing
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Good luck and keep us posted!
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Sounds like a super journey. Drive safely and enjoy the wonderful views, as mentioned above, keep us up-to-date with photos and commentary notes :) time permitting.
Dieter
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Hey, I'm not going
It's girls only, but I will ask for occasional pics...
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I fly to Nice on Thursday and drive the car home Friday/Saturday while they take the train. Weather forecast is damn-hot
. I shall post updates in here if anyone is interested. I think there are 5 Pagodas doing the rallye so I will take photos of them Sat/Sun
I was thinking about this when I posted ... so don't forget your camera or smart phone :)
Dieter
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A taster, from 2 years ago...
(http://i68.tinypic.com/153xm54.jpg)
And...
(http://i57.tinypic.com/2h5mavn.jpg)
And
(http://i67.tinypic.com/15mjsqb.jpg)
Night-time over icy alpine passes to Monaco, this is not...
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Brilliant, drive safely, take it all in and most of all, enjoy. But then they have done it all before so they will know exactly what to do.
Any photos from any one will always be appreciated by many !
Ray
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Best of luck to the ladies! Do Keep us posted.
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Well, that was fun, if a little hot. And the first big obstacle of the week overcome. No, not the English Channel, or the Autoroute but this...
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Damn iPhone...
So the car is super smooth on its Stickandrudderman suspension: standard MB springs, new rubbers and some new rear shocks. Management noticed very quickly how smooth it was running. And purring sweetly, even at 5000rpm+, which may or may not have resulted in a speed in excess of the speed limit ;D
I mentioned that the fuel gauge was "off": from showing empty to showing full takes 40litres. So the advice I gave was.... fill up and reset the odo, when you've done 150miles, you should be showing empty but you still have a third of a tank left, another 50-70 odd miles. Great advice. As long as the odometer doesn't pack up on the autoroute ::. I fear they'll be doing lots of 40litre top-ups
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Well, that was fun, if a little hot. And the first big obstacle of the week overcome. No, not the English Channel, or the Autoroute but this...
James,
Driving around l'Arc de Triomphe is exhilarating, provided that you drive a wrecked car.
I was just wondering whether the cars got a permit to drive through Paris, otherwise forbidden to older cars, vintage or not?
On another topic: the distances you mentioned to drive on one tank seem a bit short. Aren't you mistaking km with miles? On my tank (80l) and driving outside the city I usually make around 550-600 km. The engine burns around 13-14l/100km, which I was told is a bit over what the other Pagodas around burn. I was told that my IP may need fixing...
BTW: I am sure that you will feel like a Prince on the way back!
However: if you keep exposed the shield of the Rallye des Princesses, I recommend that you avoid driving in the vicinity of La Porte d"Auteuil ;D
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My wife spotted a Pagoda being unloaded off a carrier at Place de la Concorde. It's a minutes drive to Place Vendome from there. Looks like two ladies names scribed on the side.
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Yum
Though v hot
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Oh
And I just ran the car round the car park under place Vendome. The odometer started working again!!! :P
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And they're off... Wacky Races style ;D
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Fingers crossed, this is the last I will see of the car until Thursday in St Tropez
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James,
at least the Princesses travel in a very colourful style :)
What the white circle sticker on the front side is meant for? Some add-on future advertising?
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There's a very nice Citroen DS decapotable (convertible )
Like all DS' its famous for its pneumatic spheres
You know how they say owners start to look like their dogs? Well, it might be true for cars, too😜
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Stan
It's a sticker for MeliMelo, which is run by some friends of ours
I did tell them that the colour needed to be strong /bold but you know, "brand" ::)
I debated taking it off this morning but we promised ...
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And Garry will appreciate this:
A small moving space
Though this is a small lightweight racing space, with no soundproofing & plexiglass (non-opening) windows. It's 30+degrees today...
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54th after first regularity stage
The dropped and managed to reset the stopwatch :'(
http://www.jbtimeconcept.be/live/rp2017/#!/stage/1
The very hot small racing space is last/dropped out?
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2nd stage less good: apparently, being late is bad, being lost enough to miss two checkpoints is worse. (oops)
Late > Early > Missed checks
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James, Both Tom Collit and I can definitely remember a hot small moving space, not comfortable. Girls are having a good time, hope they are still friends at the finish!!!!
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Hahahaha
Got a call this morning.... "the battery is flat" ;D
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Sorry, no Pagoda content in one of these
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How very very true
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Someone did say to keep the photos coming
This was out on the road yesterday. They just did the 6th regularity at the Circuit La Chatre
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4274/34121785924_94157cacf1_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/TZe5aS)bordr_170528_181104_princesses17.535x0-is-1 (https://flic.kr/p/TZe5aS) by dunlin1900 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/18194044@N02/), on Flickr
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1t4mS8GxHE
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Weird, James. Whenever I participate in rallies, we make it a rule for the driver and navigator to never wear matching outfits... Here it seems obligatory.
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That's because you don't rock hot pink very well. ;)
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They had another 10 hours in the car today: 430km from Vichy to Alpe D'Huez
They got word at the penultimate regularity that the last one had been cancelled due to roadworks so they had a relaxing sunny drive following the roadbook through the foothills of the Alps from west/south of Grenoble up to Alpe. They had a great time and hopefully there'll be some pictures somewhere! No stuff ups on the regularities today so up the rankings a bit more. 59th!
At the top of the rankings, a ferrari 328 and a Porsche Carrera3.o are 2 points apart. 156/158. Wife has (2900) more. Places 3-5 are Triumphs: TR5, TR6 and TR4!
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(http://www.zaniroli.com/site/assets/files/1414/bordr_170530_18742_princesses.602x0-is.jpg)
(http://www.zaniroli.com/site/assets/files/1414/bordr_170530_18328_princesses.602x0-is.jpg)
;D
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A Pagoda-roofed E-type
Yes, there is an E-type in this picture
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Shes's a better navigator than cameraman...
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4201/34884538461_39892a3688_m.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V9CnVF)IMG_4216 (https://flic.kr/p/V9CnVF) by dunlin1900 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/18194044@N02/), on Flickr
AC/DC (for Mr Ferns!)
They think they've just worked out that a time/speed/distance event means you have to be at a certain distance at a certain time in a regularity section, and just because the roadbook suggests there's a church, the time isn't taken at the church if the church is not at the distance in the roadbook. So if it says 1.3km/44 seconds, be at 1.3km in 44 secs not at the church on the diagram in 44 secs :o. So they are hitting their times by luck as much as judgement. Which can be limiting... ;D
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It took them one rallye (last year) and 4 days to figure this out ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regularity_rally
Perhaps an app will help them? https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tsd-rally/id348150412?mt=8
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It didn't improve their scores greatly! though it seems there's a computerised arms race going on... gadgets which on the fly tell you what speed to go given the elapsed time/distance traveled/to go. Much entering of data every morning from the road book and they think that makes for great times but does take the fun out of it. Also the whole thing was a lot more competitive than last time... lots of cars/teams do a lot of rallies.
But I digress...
Yes, that IS a Louis Vuitton tonneau cover on that Healey...
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Or a very nice watch, poking out of a very nice 356,
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A few pics from the end
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Last for now
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Or a very nice watch, poking out of a very nice 356,
In other words, a very convenient place for a vanity fair.... but nevertheless:nice hats and even coordinated watches, such a nice touch indeed ;)
As the Rallye is over, your time comes up: have a great trip back!
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Photoshop may have been involved in the production of this photo
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4236/35033391086_3ba5439698_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VnMhCf)IMG_4231 (https://flic.kr/p/VnMhCf) by dunlin1900 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/18194044@N02/), on Flickr
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James,
are you talking about moving the speed needle? ;D
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Fake news, Stan. fake news. I would never abuse my engine like that. Though I am sure Mr Ferns' work is up to it...
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4218/34229384624_1e8d113c9d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/U9JxvS)DSCF7155-165 (https://flic.kr/p/U9JxvS) by dunlin1900 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/18194044@N02/), on Flickr
So much nicer without the stickers all over it.
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Peter
It seems that some folk had a stopwatch/phone and the car odometer right through to laptops and connected Blunik and gps tripmeters. So not a level laying field.
What happens in you ralllies as regards what's allowed and what's not? The Blunik unit takes the entered TSD data and constantly recalculates it for the driver who "simply" drives the speed set by the computer. Which surely removes a level of skill required by the team. Not sour grapes but I'd be interested how other organisers are dealing with this technology
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(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4216/34229377234_fe42c431f0_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/U9Jvjs)DSCF7167-174 (https://flic.kr/p/U9Jvjs)
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James,
great you had the opportunity to drive on this circuit. I gather it is the one near Reims?
Sad however that it is in this pitifyll state.
Is it difficult to get in?
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Stan. It's a public road - the D27 - in Gueux just west of Reims. I think the circuit was always a road circuit, like so many back in the day. The long straight is (now) part of the N31 which heads north west (to south east as it was a clockwise circuit)
Very cool spot and one I've long wanted to visit, more for the photo opportunity than anything. There was an Alfa rally coming through, I saw several Alfa-holics heading to/from there
Which has planted a seed in my mind...
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Great photographs! The Louis Vuitton tonneau cover on the Healey is fantastic, but it might have looked even better on the DS decapotable. Coincidentally, in this weekend's Wall Street Journal magazine there is an article about the LV atelier and the custom work that they do, but no mention of tonneau covers. Un peu cher, no doubt.
I drove through the Reims circuit in a weezy French rental about 20 years ago and it was in about the same condition then.
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Peter
It seems that some folk had a stopwatch/phone and the car odometer right through to laptops and connected Blunik and gps tripmeters. So not a level laying field.
What happens in you ralllies as regards what's allowed and what's not? The Blunik unit takes the entered TSD data and constantly recalculates it for the driver who "simply" drives the speed set by the computer. Which surely removes a level of skill required by the team. Not sour grapes but I'd be interested how other organisers are dealing with this technology
James,
in the classic car rallies I participate in any kind of electronic trickery is disallowed: GPS, phones, Google Maps, regularity computers, all forbidden. The only thing allowed is a mechanical trip counter (such as a GTI Rally Twin (http://www.gtirallytwin.nl/indexgroot.html) or a Halda Tripmaster (http://www.donbarrow.co.uk/halda_haldas_tripmeters.html). Amazingly these are much more expensive than electronic versions). When we do regularities we both need to solve navigation puzzles (rather than using tulip diagrams), as well as use tables and arithmetic calculations to run precisely on the second. Because of the navigation puzzles (e.g. construct the shortest route between points on the map) which are handed to the navigator as your time starts running, first priority is driving the right route (otherwise timing becomes a non-issue), second is the time. As a results, average speed computers are not all that useful in classic car regularity rallies.
In these rallies, to prevent cheating, every day there is a hidden check point (which you cannot see in advance -- favourite trick: just out of a tunnel) where they check every car for disallowed maps, phones, average speed computers etc. Spotted once, 500 penalty points (like missing 5 controls), spotted 2x, you are disqualified.
In TSD (time-speed-distance) rallies in the US, they typically have different classes:
- R01 Equipped - Those equipped with all navigational and time / distance computers (average speed computers)
- R02 Navigational- The equipment permitted for the unequipped plus class (R03) is allowed plus maps, prepared tables, mechanical slide rules, non-programmable, single memory calculators and navigational/GPS systems.
- R03 Unequipped Plus - The equipment permitted for the unequipped class (R04) is allowed plus factory built-in computers that can read out average speed. Navigational/GPS systems are not allowed in this class.
- R04 Unequipped - The only rally aids permitted within the rally automobile will be simple time pieces including stop watches, pens/pencils, paper, clipboard or any device for holding the route instructions, and the original equipment speedometer/odometer, trip odometer in its original location in the automobile. (Prepared tables of any kind are not allowed in the unequipped class.) Navigational/GPS systems are not allowed in this class.
Then winners are allocated by class. Clearly participating in class R04 is the most challenging.
Peter
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I'm glad they are enjoying the performance restoration work James! (I nearly said "enhancements" but that would have implied that I have offered some improvement over original, which is not the case, I have merely restored her to "as new" performance!)
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http://www.worth.com/road-royalty/
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Hope there's no salt on that road!
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4284/34640791014_13b0fa9b6d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/UM67iu)PRIN 17 10019 (https://flic.kr/p/UM67iu)