Holiday fun

[druid]

Went on a short holiday in the amazon, 2 tents - 3 adults - stove - food the whole lot - 300 mile round trip on around 50 litres of fuel.
we spent a few days around Avebury and Silbury hill, some of the finest neolithic landscapes in the world - 30 miles from stonehenge. major crop circle area, loads to see, been twice and still only scratched the surface.

I'm well chuffed ,150 miles of motorway @ 60/65 mph used no oil or water - and thats with a slow drip cos the bottom hose solder has gone on the rad!
Had to stop twice in the rain cos the road vanished! NOT the wipers but thunderstorms
A great test for my screen cos i just resealed it - used to get wet legs in rainy driving ......... if you have a leaky screen get ALL the old sealant out first then put loads of it, push the nozzle in as far as you can 'till it squeezes out the sides smooth it all out and job done!


been anywhere nice in yours? love to here about it

[amazondean]

We have been to scarborough, Mablethorpe and castleton in derbyshire in the caravan. I need more power, any ideas?

[druid]

some would say that your mad using an old car to tow a van
i don't want to tow with mine but she sure as hell could, the power is there and lets face it - its part of the reason volvo = carvan in the UK.

Like the estate, would love one, you must get some odd/sarky coments from people though?

[wellshj]

Just back from hols myself, took a '67 131 on a 3,500km trip from London up to Newcastle, then Bergen up into the mountains, down to Oslo then Gothenburg, Copenhagen finishing in Eindhoven before heading home. Camped most of the time, so quite a bit of kit. The car didn't miss a beat aside from a slight, but persistent, exhaust blow at a joint (stainless exhaust...) and wear in the tie bar ball joints developing. I've got a few photos and hope to do a small piece in the club mag soon to encourage a few more of you to make the trip, perhaps for next year's celbrations? Fab weather made the sunroof very relevant and she returned 35mpg (thank the 50 mph speed limits in Norway) and little oil consumption.

As always, no need for a modern!

[Badger-Bob]

Blooming heck these amazon estates hold there price well.I love the shape and thought about getting one but at that price they are way out of my league.Still I have my 740 to play with.Bob

[222s]

Harvey - glad to hear that the trip went well & looking forward to reading the article. A trip there next year sounds good, if I can convince swmbo! I'd also like to go in 11 years time, for my car's 50th

Badger-Bob, if you ever are looking at ones to buy, let me know as I can advise on where to look for rot..... Cheap ones are available, and although normally in need of a lot of work to make them nice, they can usually still keep going for a long time.

druid - I find that they make good tow cars, although I suspect that having a B20 helps! That lot in my sig weighs almost as much as the Amazon itself, as the trailer is 600kg and the Sprite 650kg..... It would still manage to cruise at the relevant legal speeds and with just the trailer (despite it's weight) would have cruised comfortably at a lot more than 60 if given the chance. However, for heavy trailers, I wouldn't recommend using a saloon without o/d as the higher back axle ratio will make hill starts much harder. When towing was also the only time I wished my car had a servo!

Dean - it's great to see such an immaculate one still being used properly! How well does it cope with the caravan on the back?

[TomTom]

I'm just back from a London-Brittany-Loire Valley trip. In previous years we've been down to the south of france etc. Slight problem this ti,e (see next message from me).

[amazondean]

Paul. I think. The amazon does struggle a bit. I might try to get myself a good 2litre unit and a twin down pipe for next year. My engine seems slow at the best of times and although it's on twin carbs I am running on a single downpipe exhaust.

[222s]

Originally Posted by amazondean

Paul. I think. The amazon does struggle a bit. I might try to get myself a good 2litre unit and a twin down pipe for next year. My engine seems slow at the best of times and although it's on twin carbs I am running on a single downpipe exhaust.

Hi Dean,

If this is any help, my engine spec is a B20 with twin SUs (HS6 1 3/4" I think!!), D cam, twin downpipe (cast not tubular manifold) & a Simons big bore exhaust. With the trailer loaded (as per my sig), it wasn't 100% happy as it's a bit huge (designed to take a Transit van or a Rolls-Royce) but once up to speed it was fine on a decent road surface. On a heavily cambered / bumpy road, it did feel slightly twitchy above 50 but I suspect that this was due to the length (& therefore leverage) rather than just the weight. With the trailer unladen (still a load of 600kg & associated drag) the performance was respectable but there was plenty of overtaking power left for motorways / dual carriageways.

As a guage of performance (without a trailer!!), I find that it will pull o/d smoothly at 25mph (but with minimal acceleration), and at 70mph (again in o/d), still have loads of acceleration in reserve for motorway hills

Hope this helps!

Paul

[amazondean]

Sounds just what I need. My 1800s has a rebuilt 2 litre with K camshaft tubular manifold and a custom made 2 1/4" stainless exhaust with twin 1 3/4" SU's. With a think TR needles. That will do 110 mph and pulls like a train. I will have to keep my eyes open for a good engine. I have trouble parting with money.

Dean