In 2019 and 2020 we already combined a family visit in Northern Germany with the Bremerhaven Cuxland Classic Rallye. Last year the event was cancelled due to a lack of starters – but this year 34 cars were back at it again.
As some might have noticed due to the lack of updates – work, family life and a bad cold kept me occupied the last couple weeks. I have recovered now and it was time to do the spring service on Maggie. After retorquing the cylinder head (required on the basic cooper head gaskets that I am using right now), the valve clearance was slightly off again this time – ranging from 0.10 to 0.19 thou – 0.14 or 0.035mm is the correct setting on Maggie. It is 900km since the new head gasket came it – so maybe not unusual that the clearance is off. I checked the
Greasing the front suspension revealed that a few of the rubber bushes and parts that came in new 5 years start to show cracks. It will be OK for the summer but clearly needs attention soon. Last year Maggie did not have a single drop of oil on the engine – this time there were some minor streaks. I could not identify were this was coming from – so I cleaned it as good as I could.
We headed the right way last week – because we had hardly any traffic. On the lanes heading south it was crowded and we saw a couple of accidents – but we managed to do the trip to Cuxhaven in just under 4 hours for 445km with just one stop of 7min – resulting in an average speed just shy of 114km/h. The GPS recorded top speed was 155km/h – average fuel consumption (recorded with Spritmonitor) was 11,15l (49,94liter for 448km)
When we arrived, I noticed that the accelerator pedal was not returning to idle position correctly anymore. With the help of a friend in Cuxhaven this was fixed by adding an additional spring brought from a Porsche 911 carb to my Weber 45 DCOE and adjusting the linkage.
The event was well organized as always. The technical check started at 7:30 am, followed by the driver briefing an hour later. With the assigned start number 16 – we got our roadbook at 9:16 am- 30 min ahead for our starting time. In category B about half (maybe 2/5th) of the 150km total trip distance is done with tulips – with are rather easy. That is – if you catch that sometimes they are not in order. The Brantz International Pro is the essential tool for this – but our wheel sensor was not working correctly anymore.
We had to stop a few minutes after the start and fortunately I was able to find the wiring issue (caused by a recent repair) within a few minutes. But due to this I lost focus and just after 4.21km out first “Required Time Test” (SZP – Sollzeitprüfung) came up. As navigator I completely screwed up this first the map. It is a “line-dot-line” arrangement including three regularities. I gave wrong instructions on the first turn – therefore we missed all 3 time-checks – resulting in 3x 4.9 negative points.
Some of the maps that followed were better – some I just could not figure out correctly. My wife did a superb job of staying calm (which I cannot claim about myself for the entire day) and excellent driving – even over some really rough roads. Overall, it was an enjoyable day and great tour. As mentioned, the event is well organized – kudos to all the friendly people that invest their spare time for this. Compared to 2020 we improved a bit – but still collected too many points.
Maggie performed flawlessly and my wife insisted on driving half of the way back to Bonn. There was hardly any traffic and as soon as we got onto the Autobahn A29 and later A1 (both without speed limit restrictions) – our average speed went up quite a bit. GPS recorded a top speed of 188km/h. Including an 8min break we got home in 3:47h – which translates into an average speed of almost 122km/h. Fuel consumption went up to 12,29l per 100km (54,95l for 447km)
The bad roads left their marks on Maggie – and I spent an entire evening this week thoroughly cleaning the car. The entire inside of the rear bumper was filled with mud – so were the inner wheel arches, The wire wheels need some more cleaning – not sure when I will be able to do this. During the trip someone forgot to release the handbrake at some point while driving. And I will check valve clearance and timing again before I am heading the the Highland Games in Lünen next weekend.
What else happened?
Miffi (my Mini) is back from repairs (after somebody drove into the right rear corner). The rear right wheel arch is still missing. She is still on winter tyres. The original 12 inch Mini-Lite wheel just have been sandblasted and powered coated. New 165/60R12 Yokohama A539 should arrive soon, and I will do a minor service in a few days.
The interior of Moggi (C6622 – the Morgan) is finally being done. Below is a picture I got today. I expect that the majority will be finished next week. After this I still need to complete a few minor bits and pieces. The last mile on a restauration project is sometimes the longest. In June I plan to visit my son in the UK with the Morgan… (Teaser: and maybe drop off an MGB rear axle in Chicester – which will be a transport challenge…)
There is still no progress on Mildred’s bodyshell. The biggest news is that my wife said – it should be painted in Midnight Blue, and she would prefer leather in cognac color (below a picture of a Frontline car that comes close)…. If my time allows it, the engine test as well as a test fit of the wiring harness will be done next.
Fixing C6622 
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