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General Murphio's Meanderings

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General Murphio's Meanderings

fiat500 said:
I'm working on the possibility of making it to the Revival but (don't tell my brother ;) ) having been involved with two Goodwood events already I'm slightly bemused by what people find so attractive about it. I feel it's a bit overpriced and over-hyped The event we participated in was fun because of our own company and a great achievement but it was under-attended and under-resourced by Goodwood. Not only did we not get anything physical or as a gratuity to signify our attendance, there wasn't even any mention, ceremony or reception at the end....damp squib was my impression. Sorry to be negative. ;)
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Hmmm.....It does sound as though the experience hasn’t been quite all it could have been which is a great shame with all the effort, and cost, that you’ve put in. Maybe if you’d been driving in a multi million pound Ferrari (other multi million pound cars are available :D) they might have looked after you better and made more fuss about the event. For the achievement you and Murf should be, quite rightly, very proud (y)
 
IanEmery said:
Maybe if you’d been driving in a multi million pound Ferrari
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On the final day when we all gathered in a small convoy from Swindon, the majority of the vehicles were Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Maserati etc, fresh out of the box......booooooooring!:D

Scotland (mainly The Borders) was excellent as always. The best part of England was the Yorkshire Dales.

FER_3860 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

FER_3850 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

The Yorkshire/ Derbyshire border was good, most parts of the Midlands a waste of time (sorry :rolleyes:) and the rest of the South, just too darn big and busy.

This is my brother's car in full flow; to film this, obviously I had beaten him to the top of the hill and down to the bottom again.:D...not a Fiat unfortunately.

[ame]https://youtu.be/ikm1UBKuE3Q[/ame]

FER_3855 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

Final update on true and accurate petrol consumption over 1513 miles (we actually went about a hundred further than that) is 60.7 mpg. :)
 
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Harking back to the "engine idle speed" comments---modern fuel (even 'Super') has an Ethanol content, which on lower grade fuels is quite high. Ethanol enriched fuel does not burn as well as the old 'leaded' fuel which I do think affects idle speed running. I have had to turn the idle speed up on my car to prevent stalling after a bit of a run. I have also noticed that even though the idle settings are such that the engine will idle perfectly happy for a considerable time (e.g. in traffic jams) occasionally when returning to idle the engine will run a bit coarsely briefly before it settles to a nice idle.
I WILL be at this years "Revival"--all 3 days. If you do get down to the meet it would be great to meet up with you. My mobile number (if I can hear it in all the noise) is:--07748-360670. Alternatively, we will be eating in the "White Hart" at South Harting every evening, including Sunday (not going home until Monday morning---misses all the traffic).
 
I think that one of the changes that might be attributable to the 123 distributor was the very stable tickover in all circumstances. If the company that makes the unit was more forthcoming with information there is one setting which is specifically designed for fuel with an even greater proportion of ethanol than current standards in the UK. There are even a couple of settings which include "idle-control"; again, no explanation what this means.
As for The Revival;. I'm giving it a swerve. I have a very inexpensive plane ticket for Sunday and TBH, I don't fancy that whole retro thing that Goodwood is based on. Nice to think there could be several Fiat 500s crossing paths across the south of England though. :)
 
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fiat500 said:
Nice to think there could be several Fiat 500s crossing paths ‘slowly’ across the south of England though. :)
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Edited for you!

I must admit I am not a great fan of most car meets nowadays. They have gone way too commercial and are aimed mainly at making money from non car related ‘attractions’.

They good old days of car clubs running meets purely to cover costs seem to be long gone. I miss all the classic auto jumbles etc. For me they were the most interesting bits.
 
Vitesse said:
Edited for you!

I must admit I am not a great fan of most car meets nowadays. They have gone way too commercial and are aimed mainly at making money from non car related ‘attractions’.

They good old days of car clubs running meets purely to cover costs seem to be long gone. I miss all the classic auto jumbles etc. For me they were the most interesting bits.
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You're absolutely right if (as I assume) you're referring to the lethargic traffic speeds south of The Border rather than the sedate but fairly swift progress of a Fiat 500 in fine-fettle.:D
I've never been to the car-fest of The Revival, but the simple fact that everyone is expected to wear clothing that is notionally of the style of an earlier decade is sufficient to deter me. Add to that my recent brief encounter with the marketing hype of Goodwood and I'm put off for life. I agree; I used to go to shows where you got paid money and were given worthwhile mementoes for your effort in turning up. There were genuine bargains to be had at the autojumbles and the whole thing was less gentrified and commercialised.
I prefer my own little one-man, one-car, perpetual-rolling-motorshow.:D
 
fiat500 said:
the simple fact that everyone is expected to wear clothing that is notionally of the style of an earlier decade is sufficient to deter me................
I prefer my own little one-man, one-car, perpetual-rolling-motorshow.:D
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But from what I hear you would be appropriately dressed every day...:):):)


Autojumbles have been killed by the Internet (fleabay), rare to find a garage clearance, more likely cheap imported tools or cleaning products...


I remember seeing a guy being told he had to pay to display his car at a show, his reply being "If it wasn't for people like me driving 120 miles you would not have a show..." ££££££ is what it is all about....
 
There is a place near me that does a classic car meet once a month in the summer in the evening. The major attraction is its held at winery/brewery and they serve a very posh curry from a local place. Now that is my kind of car meet:D No alcohol is consumed btw but I do tend to pick up a few takeways(y)
 
Murphio’s return tomorrow isn’t it?

What’s the plan how many days is the return journey scheduled to take?
 
Vitesse said:
Murphio’s return tomorrow isn’t it?

What’s the plan how many days is the return journey scheduled to take?
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It's like our own private messenger service this. :)
Yes I've just arrived at Chichester to be greeted at the railway station by a crowd who looked straight from the 1940's.....Goodwooders going home. I must ask Tom for a selfie in his own vintage gear. :)
I've patted Murf on the head and dug out his keys, so first thing tomorrow we're off out for breakfast, then I'm motoring cross-country to near Ipswich to see the friend from college who unwittingly sowed the seeds of old car fanaticism in my head 40 years ago....will we recognise each other? I might take a massive diversion (why not?) to see an irresistibly rusty 500L Italian import which I believe I could extract very cheaply. ;)
Then a huge diagonal route takes me back through Holmfirth towards Preston...my ancestral home. ;)
After that, with decent weather I would tackle the central mountain passes in The Lake District...but not in the rain.
Then a diagonal from Carlisle towards Edinburgh and I'm nearly home......
All told, probably another 1,000 miles and 4 to 5 days motoring. Today, by car plane, train, bus and Shank's pony I was here in 5 hours.
 
Look who I bumped into on Sunday!

I have to say I was mightily impressed by Murphio’s turn of speed and Peter is a top geezer, as we say darn sarf!!!!!!!
 

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Vitesse said:
Look who I bumped into on Sunday!

I have to say I was mightily impressed by Murphio’s turn of speed and Peter is a top geezer, as we say darn sarf!!!!!!!
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Co-incidentally, I also bumped into Tony which confirmed for me that he is as meticulous in his mechanical preparation and presentation as I expected. I also found him to be every bit the decent and witty person in real life as he appears to be on these pages.
Flattery-fest concluded, In the "flesh", Little Luigi surpasses the quality of appearance that I had seen in many detailed images Tony has posted and is easily the best restored 500 I have seen. Although the car looks brand new, because of the care put into its restoration it retains its authenticity.
It's a shame we couldn't photograph the two of them together but I fear that Murf would have gone into a huff and demanded a respray, new seats and for a lot of metal to be buffed before moving further. ;)
As it happens he has since transported me another 400 miles to Ipswich and then to Preston where I'm staying for two nights. We have avoided all motorways or breakdowns and. I'm loving my second grand tour. [emoji3]
 
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I have to add Murphio is covering these miles at some rate of knots! There is no hanging around by Peter. I think he has proven my long held opinion that to get the best out of a 500 it needs to be driven on a regular basis. To have no breakdowns or problems (apart from a puncture) in the latest adventure, which must be approaching 2000 miles now? Is pretty impressive for a 50+ car.
 
Hi Peter;
Just returned from 'Goodwood'---will try and send you a photo (if my friends took one--don't do selfies!!) of me in my "ABARTH" overalls. Did you call in at the "Oil Can Cafe" at the Holmfirth "Carding Shed" on the way home? I have payed for a ticket to be shown around "I.K. Classic's" workshop (complete with full English breakfast) at the end of September. I have been to the cafe before---great place to visit and have a 'cuppa and biccy'.
 
I ended up not meeting my friend in Holmfirth so just motored on through, not being aware of that cafe. :(
I did overtake two buses at the traffic lights which I thought were stationary at the bus stop. I'm sure it looked a very calculated and arrogant move as I sailed past them, lights changing to green, but a complete accident bringing the Fiat 500 into disrepute. ;)
 
We made it back home yesterday evening after a long slog over 400 miles with a massive detour through The Lake District; it's just about miles for me :D and the additional 900 miles since last Sunday brings our grand total to over 2,500 miles away from base and without any tinkering with engine or other settings..

FER_4506 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

Yesterday's challenge was to repeat the crossing of the Hardnott and Wrynose passes in The Lakes which I did previously, many years ago, in one of my former 500s, my Austin 10 and once even by bicycle (aged 16)!!! What a co-incidence that a member of the Fiat 500 Club was holidaying in his modern car and encountered me in Langdale when I was inspecting the drive-shaft where a small stone had become trapped. It's such a small world because of the Internet and it's very odd when a stranger addresses you by your name in the middle of nowhere.:eek:

FER_4511 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

I have to say that Hardnott is more challenging than the worst of my Scottish ascents in its steepness, rough surface and twisting hairpins. However, Murf obviously wondered what the fuss was about and we just got frustrated with the nervous drivers of modern hulks. See it far in the distance.

FER_4523 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

FER_4517 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

I was going to take an extra day to get back but instead we jumped on the motorway and hurtled back driving the final 200+ miles in the dark. So that's the charging and lighting system thoroughly checked.

I think Murf now deserves a thorough servicing although there are no signs of needing it. having burned and replaced about 1 + 1/2 litres of engine oil it seems a shame to drain it....it's certainly not black. But I'll be checking brake shoes, changing brake fluid, greasing wheel-bearings and drive-shafts and generally maintaining that amazing reliability. :):):)

I know I'm getting boring with this message but if you have the endurance, as regards its ability and reliability the 500 is just a slightly slower than average, normal car.(y) Get out there please.(y)
 
Just got back from the spray shop that painted my 500. He said I saw your 500 in Westerham on Sunday morning. I explained it wasn’t me and told him about your epic trip. It’s amazing how these little cars can stand out in a crowd.

That’s one hell of last leg to finish the trip off(y)
 
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