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Rotary Retro Automobile Fellowship

Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 3:47 pm
by RobHomewood
I am so pleased to report that we have just returned from our very first trip abroad in our 39 Rover 14 DHC and by far our longest trip - nigh on 1000 miles in a week of trouble free motoring apart from the throttle sticking open on the motorway early on (quick adaptation at the roadside) and a bit of a shimmy on the front end at times (possibly down to the massive weight of tools "in case" in the boot or the increased tyre pressures) The rally was very well organised and enjoyable when we got to the base hotel in Pont L'Eveque in Normandy with plenty of excellent visits and meals as well as the driving. But there was only one other Rover out of 40 vehicles which was a V8 3500 P6.
I am writing to let people know that not all the participants were Rotary members and others were certainly made very welcome. Please look at the RRAF website http://www.rraf.co.uk/ for details of the next rallies- some in the UK and some in Europe.
A selection of photos below
Rob
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Re: Rotary Retro Automobile Fellowship

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2018 12:24 pm
by dhbuchanan
A good selection of cars there, Rob, with your Tickford looking very smart with those chromed wheel discs.
Your 14 has vents on the bonnet side-panels. I may well be wrong about this, but I understood that these were a feature of the 16 and 20 models only on account of the larger engines' tendency to fuel vaporisation. I've seen at least one 14 DHC without them. Perhaps they were optional.

Re: Rotary Retro Automobile Fellowship

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2018 7:41 pm
by RobHomewood
Ah I did wonder whether anyone would notice the vented engine panels. You are correct that the 14 did not have them but I decided that because my DHC actually has a 16 engine in there I would find & refurbish some16 engine panels to get extra ventilation for the long hot journey to Normandy etc. It seemed to work too as the temperature stayed rock solid even in queues and didn't zoom up until we parked. I have the original 14 panels hanging in the garage for high days and holidays
Rob

Re: Rotary Retro Automobile Fellowship

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2018 10:12 pm
by dhbuchanan
A wise move in view of the higher burning temperature of unleaded, methanol-rich fuel: depending on the weather, you could have been in trouble without the vents. During our foray into the continent for the 10th anniversary of the Belgian Rover Club in 1991, the weather was so hot I was forced to remove the side-panels of the 20 altogether and tie the bonnet down in order to avoid boiling while running. Not long afterwards, the rad. was given the recore it clearly needed. Another memory of that trip was the diabolical condition of the dual carriageway linking Zeebrugge with Antwerp. I had always assumed that roads in western Europe were better than ours, but ended up driving most of the way on the hard shoulder on account of tramlining in the deep ruts. The advent of radials in our sizes has since solved that problem here at home, albeit at a price....