GT40 gathering of enthusiasts, in Melbourne Australia

[ChrisL]

It really was a great day. There are so many ways to enjoy these cars and this is definitely one of my favorite. Colleen enjoyed it immensely too. Hey, how about we all try and convince our better halves to come along next time You don’t need to be a petrol-head to enjoy a country drive to a scenic lookout, followed by a pub meal with a group of friends.

[Bill Hara]

Our planned gathering at the All Ford Day in February has been cancelled:

"THE KIWANIS ALL FORD DAY CAR SHOW DUE TO BE HELD ON SUNDAY 18th FEBRUARY 2007 AT DEAKIN UNIVERSITY WAURN PONDS, HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO SUNDAY 17th FEBRUARY 2008.
Due to the current drought conditions and stage 4 water restrictions in the Geelong Region, Deakin University has reluctantly closed its sports grounds to all events. There have been several meetings to explore the possibility of supplying water to maintain the sports grounds, or to relocate to another suitable venue in the region, but unfortunately, we have had to make the hard decision to defer the event until 2008, when we will have a suitable venue.

We sincerely apologize for having to take this decision, but we feel it is the only responsible course open to us in the current circumstances. To hold the event on a dry, dusty venue would be unfair to show car owners who have put so much effort into the presentation of their vehicles.

....We can assure you that the Kiwanis Club of Geelong Inc will do it’s very best to organize an event for 2008 that will be able to be conducted regardless of weather conditions. This is the first time in 17 years that the annual Kiwanis All Ford Day car show has had to be postponed.

Again, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, however it is due solely to matters over which we have no control...."



So my question now is what to substitute this for in our GT40 events calander???

Regards

Bill

[Bill Hara]

Hi All,

There are some events that may be of interest to the Melbourne and Geelong GT40 enthusiasts coming up in the coming weeks.
In particular there is:


Chris L is currently putting together the route for the second running of the Hepburn Springs / Daylesford drive day on the 9th of December and it promises to be even better than last year’s run. We need numbers to be confirmed so that reservations can be made for lunch – please get back to me with your confirmed interest, there is no charge but you do have to pay for your own lunch once we get to Daylesford.

At the moment, these people have confirmed:

- Andrew E
- Bob L
- Bill H
- Chris L
- John K
- Peter H
- Steve H

We are hoping to have at least 10 cars on the run this year, but more would be even better!

There is also the return of the All Ford Day in Geelong on the 17th of February.
There are I believe 10 GT40 display spots available however they are running out fast. Final numbers must be in before the end of the month so first in best dressed. Names so far:

- Andrew E
- Peter H
- Ross F
- Bill H
- Chris L
- Steve H

Hope to post the route map as soon as Chris has it sorted....

Cheers

Bill.

[JackW]

Hi Bill

Once again I can't come along for the day even as a support car but I would love to know where you are kicking off from so I can come along and chat to a few of the guys. Also to hopefully finally see your recently registered bad boy in the flesh would be nice.

Let me know and I will see you next Sunday morning.

Cheers

Jack

[Bill Hara]

Hi Jack

That is a real pity... I feel that I will be needing a support vehicle as I have yet to do any kilometres in my car (I can see this ending in tears..)


This year we will be kicking off stage 1 from the Todd Rd service station at the base of the Westgate Bridge at 9.30am, so we will probably roll up at about 8.30 or 9.00am to allow any re-fueling or jigging around with cars (that will probably be me!!!)
At the moment, these people have confirmed their participation:

- Andrew E (will be joining us in Bacchus Marsh)
- Eddie E (will be joining us in Bacchus Marsh)
- Bob L
- Bill H
- Chris L
- John K (will be joining us in Bacchus Marsh)
- Peter H
- Norman F
- Steve H

From Todd Rd we head to the township of Bacchus Marsh to meet at about 10.00am in Main Street. From here, Chris L will hand out the route maps so we anticipate departure from Bacchus Marsh at about 10.45am and arrival at Daylesford at around 12.30 or 1.00pm, depending on Chris' route and my reliability....

Cheers

Bill

[JackW]

Thanks Bill,

You still have a few days to go for a few drives to iron out a few of the kinks. I might have to see if I can make it to B-Marsh to say Hi to Andrew and see eddie's finished car. I have a wedding later in the day so i think i should still be able to get back in time from there. Looing forward to Sunday already.

Regards

Jack

[Bill Hara]

some shots from todays run. Another great day was had by all. The only mishap was a problem idler pulley for Eddie, which we thought we had licked after some outback engineering on the roadside. That bought us an extra 10kms before the problem resurfaced...
Thanks to Graeme for being support vehicle and roadside mechanic!!!

[Gary Kadrmas]

Bill,

Thanks for posting the information and pictures. Although one GT40 had a issue, it looks like the get together went on well. I would love to be able to have a GT40 and to be able to participate in such a gathering.

Since I am partial to RED GT40s, I would be interested in finding out who has the Red GT40 in this group. All GTs were looking good, but Red for me is THE color, so if you have any information on the Red car, I would appreciate it.

Thanks again for your time and assistance,

[Andrew E]

Hi Bill,

Great photos, where's the photo of the baby in the nostril?

Everyone had a terrific day (maybe except Eddie) thanks to Chris L for planning the route and to Bill for communicating to get the gathering together. Bill I was really looking forward to seeing your car on the road. It was great to see a nuimber of wives joining the tour, and the meal at the Hepburn Springs Pub was exceptional as usual.

Gary, the red car belongs to fellow forum member Norman Falkiner, supporting recent upgrades to 17"" BRMS and AP racing brakes. A wonderful sight to see a number 40's on the road at the same time.

Andrew

[Bill Hara]

Andrew

I was posting these at 1.00am this morning, cropping and resizing so I didn't get a chance to do them all.... Milli (Andrwe's 8 month old daughter) sitting in the nostril panel of Eddie's car is a great photo and I'll post that up tonight!

I was so hoping that my exhaust would be complete in time for the run - however hoping wasn't enough so it was still in the shop yesterday. I was ribbed by the guys, they think I have a cardboard cutout of a car that I take photos of..... My secret is out

Norman's car was looking terrific yesterday, sits real low and looks and sounds great. Norman is one of these guys that drives his car very regularly and enjoys it more than any other car he has owned. He has upgraded it quite a bit in the 4-5 years he had it, upgraded it to a 6 speed unit, upgraded suspension, AP brakes and new BRM wheels. I'm not sure if he has done any more work on his 5.0l engine but it does sound mean.

The Gulf car was on its first major outing as was the Viper blue (Eddie's) that had some misfortune and kept throwing it's belt due to a faulty idler pulley. It was a great team effort to get it going again but ultimately Andrew and Eddie got it back to a workshop and fixed and Eddie was home by 9.20pm

As a bystander in a "normal" car following the procession, it was amazing to see the reaction to these cars on busy roads, stopped at lights and even in quiet country pubs. There were passing cars pulling up and out would jump an amatuer photographer and take snaps. Amazing...

Overall a great day

Bill

[Ross Nicol]

Lookin good, sorry I couldn't make it, had a big PA system out at Pakenham. Love the pics of the cars outside the pub.

Ross

[Andrew E]

Bill,
Photos of the road side repair crew at work. I am holding the idler Eddie E with sunglasses Graame H and Bill H with his back to the camera. The idler pulley was retained between the bearings with C clips which let go. After much discussion the road side repair was done with stainless tie wire taken from the spinners off my car to replace the lost C clip though this fix only lasted 10km. After which the car was parked while we caught up to the rest of the group for lunch to work on a solution to get the car home. The plan was to drive back to Bacchus Marsh and borrow my cousins flat bed trailer and tow the car home to Barwon Heads however my cousin suggested it would be easier to take the idler off the car and make a spacer and tig weld the end of the shaft to prevent bearing movement which is what we ended up doing, With the back and forth trips to get the idler and then take it back to Bacchus Marsh and repair the end result was over 500kms in my 40 for the day. It was an interesting trip home (just on dusk). I was trailing Eddie a kangaroo jumped right out at his car and from my view it sure looked as if his car was doomed, I dont know how it some how missed him really scarey stuff. An 60kg Roo could make a real mess of a 40 travelling at 100kph. End result was both cars home safley although a tad later than we had planned.
Amdrew

[Bill Hara]

That photo Andrew was the moment I stabbed myself in the thumb with the screwdriver.... Master bush mechanic at work

[Bill Hara]

Here's Milli in the nostril panel and back home my car was not quite ready

[Andrew E]

Bill,
Is that why there's 3 guys smiling and one not facing the camera
Andrew

[JackW]

Bill you could have driven the red formula 1 looking machine sitting behind your lifesize GT40 carboard cutout.

Cheers

Jack