Cheers Roy
regards
Dave
regards
Dave
Le Mans Classic 2008 11-12-13th July 2008
- Thread starter roy snook
- Start date
Roy,
just came back from Namibia but will send my entry form on monday.
pls put me on the list.
Tx
Rgds
fred
just came back from Namibia but will send my entry form on monday.
pls put me on the list.
Tx
Rgds
fred
Roy,
Done I cannot miss it for the third time...
Fred
Done I cannot miss it for the third time...
Fred
Steve--hopefully you're aware that Charlie McCall (American expat living in Spain and owner of the very first Pantera GT5-S) is organizing a multi-national De Tomaso campout in Maison Blanche? So far, we have confirmed Pantera owners from the USA, France, Belgium, Spain, England, Norway and Sweden, with possibly more countries represented soon! We will have as many as a dozen Panteras camped together, perhaps even more?
We will actually begin on the Sunday prior to Le Mans and spend the week touring the Loire Valley region, flitting about between chateau and winery and fine restaurant and quaint, private lodging, ending up at Maison Blanche.
Hope you'll join us!
Thanks Mike
Yes I am aware of Charlie's plans and his effort in organising this group. Maison Blanche is now sold out however, and how do you guys who travel there in a Pantera(or 40 for that matter) bring what you need to camp???????????
I do hope to meet up with you, will I be able to access the camp site as a visitor?
I also intend to meet up during the previous week for the Loire tour, I usually arrive from ireland on the previous Tuesday anyway, its a 20hour overnite sailing for me.
Yes I am aware of Charlie's plans and his effort in organising this group. Maison Blanche is now sold out however, and how do you guys who travel there in a Pantera(or 40 for that matter) bring what you need to camp???????????
I do hope to meet up with you, will I be able to access the camp site as a visitor?
I also intend to meet up during the previous week for the Loire tour, I usually arrive from ireland on the previous Tuesday anyway, its a 20hour overnite sailing for me.
Roy,
Can I fax the document to you (faxnumber?) ?
Otherwise I send by mail
Rgds
Fred
Can I fax the document to you (faxnumber?) ?
Otherwise I send by mail
Rgds
Fred
Fred, you have a PM
The ACO is sold out at Maison Blanche; however that's because Just Tickets purchased the lot! So you can buy camping passes from them; I believe they require you to buy two general entry tickets for each camping ticket. And then after marking all the tickets up 25-30 percent, they put a whacking great 30 GPB 'shipping fee' on top of that! No fools, them....
The Pantera has enormous boot space, considering the type of car it is. Charlie is especially talented in packing; besides the usual kit needed for such a journey, he brings a folding picnic table that seats four, full cooking gear and etc. and so forth--and his wife and all her gear!
I hope you're in direct contact with Charlie re the Loire tour, to make lodging arrangements etc.?
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Yep Mike
I am in touch via email with Charlie, Roger is also interested in doing a few days tour. Getting a close look at some 40's is one of the main interests for me though, I am getting very little support or encouragement on them from most of my motoring friends, they seem very dubious!
Steve
I am in touch via email with Charlie, Roger is also interested in doing a few days tour. Getting a close look at some 40's is one of the main interests for me though, I am getting very little support or encouragement on them from most of my motoring friends, they seem very dubious!
Steve
Aloha!
It sounds like some of you might be flying or shipping your cars from the U.S. to the Continent. If so, I'd be most appreciative if you would share your transport details with me. I've been communicating with Cosdel and the dimension of our cars may preclude us from transporting via the belly of the 747 and require use of the top deck which doubles the cost. Another alternative is ocean shipping the car which I've been told may take about a month from the West Coast.
Any information and thoughts are both welcome and appreciated.
Cheers,
Kelvin
It sounds like some of you might be flying or shipping your cars from the U.S. to the Continent. If so, I'd be most appreciative if you would share your transport details with me. I've been communicating with Cosdel and the dimension of our cars may preclude us from transporting via the belly of the 747 and require use of the top deck which doubles the cost. Another alternative is ocean shipping the car which I've been told may take about a month from the West Coast.
Any information and thoughts are both welcome and appreciated.
Cheers,
Kelvin
Kelvin,
I don't know of anybody currently planning to ship their cars from the USA? The Americans I was referring to above will be in rental cars, or sharing De Tomasos with European owners.
I did ship a Shelby GT350 to England and kept it there as a holiday car for several years, then shipped it back, so I got pretty smart on the whole process. It is relatively easy to do (at least through England), and it wasn't nearly as expensive as I thought to get it over there. However, I learned that shipping a car to Europe is much like climbing aboard a camel at the Egyptian pyramids--they tell you the cost to get on, but once you're on board, you find out the cost to get off! In my case, with all taxes, fees etc. I think it cost me about $1700 to ship my Shelby from Long Beach, CA to Bristol Port, UK, and something like $3300 to ship it back from Southampton Docks to Detroit, via Baltimore (so about $800 of that was for internal, overland trucking).
The beauty of shipping the car to the UK is that they have provisions for temporary importation, which enables you to maintain your USA plates, and avoid the extensive expense and hassles of registering your car in a European nation. (In a nation where traffic enforcement is almost exclusively performed by speed cameras, having a number plate that they can't trace is a very nice thing indeed!!!!)
Insurance is another thorny issue--I was able to get UK insurance via AON, but I believe they no longer offer this to non-UK residents.
You can go here:
Auto Transport DIRECTORY for Car Shipping, Car Moving
which is a website dedicated to moving cars within the USA, and also from the USA to overseas locations. It lists many/most of the companies who are involved in this work. After much research I learned that those companies are all simply brokers, booking passage on the same ships. I got a dozen different quotes for space on the same ship sailing on the same day; the rates varied widely. I ultimately chose Seabridge and was quite happy with both the cost and the excellent service.
Contact me offline if you want more info.
Cheers!
I don't know of anybody currently planning to ship their cars from the USA? The Americans I was referring to above will be in rental cars, or sharing De Tomasos with European owners.
I did ship a Shelby GT350 to England and kept it there as a holiday car for several years, then shipped it back, so I got pretty smart on the whole process. It is relatively easy to do (at least through England), and it wasn't nearly as expensive as I thought to get it over there. However, I learned that shipping a car to Europe is much like climbing aboard a camel at the Egyptian pyramids--they tell you the cost to get on, but once you're on board, you find out the cost to get off! In my case, with all taxes, fees etc. I think it cost me about $1700 to ship my Shelby from Long Beach, CA to Bristol Port, UK, and something like $3300 to ship it back from Southampton Docks to Detroit, via Baltimore (so about $800 of that was for internal, overland trucking).
The beauty of shipping the car to the UK is that they have provisions for temporary importation, which enables you to maintain your USA plates, and avoid the extensive expense and hassles of registering your car in a European nation. (In a nation where traffic enforcement is almost exclusively performed by speed cameras, having a number plate that they can't trace is a very nice thing indeed!!!!)
Insurance is another thorny issue--I was able to get UK insurance via AON, but I believe they no longer offer this to non-UK residents.
You can go here:
Auto Transport DIRECTORY for Car Shipping, Car Moving
which is a website dedicated to moving cars within the USA, and also from the USA to overseas locations. It lists many/most of the companies who are involved in this work. After much research I learned that those companies are all simply brokers, booking passage on the same ships. I got a dozen different quotes for space on the same ship sailing on the same day; the rates varied widely. I ultimately chose Seabridge and was quite happy with both the cost and the excellent service.
Contact me offline if you want more info.
Cheers!
Brian Magee
Supporter
Hi Malcolm
I have used the St. Malo route. It is definately the best as long as you keep off the autoroutes. The trip down to Le Mans via Antriain, Fougeres, Ernee, Mayenne is ideal for a '40, straight roads, not too much traffic and lots of towns to stop to eat. The only problem is the 8 hour crossing to St. Malo. Last time we did Poole to Cherbourg and then cut down to Mayenne to pick up the other route. A bit twisty, more driving time but if you have got the time and a sat-nav, again a nice drive.
See you out there,
Brian.
I have used the St. Malo route. It is definately the best as long as you keep off the autoroutes. The trip down to Le Mans via Antriain, Fougeres, Ernee, Mayenne is ideal for a '40, straight roads, not too much traffic and lots of towns to stop to eat. The only problem is the 8 hour crossing to St. Malo. Last time we did Poole to Cherbourg and then cut down to Mayenne to pick up the other route. A bit twisty, more driving time but if you have got the time and a sat-nav, again a nice drive.
See you out there,
Brian.
I've managed to convince the lady wife that there is enough room in a GT 40 for a week's luggage for two, although we may not share the same understanding of what "travelling light" actually means. We'll be there for our first trip to Le Mans.
Keep it up Roy, and thanks for all your hard work. Regards, Alan Snelson.
Tornado TS 40, Ford 302, Renault box.
Keep it up Roy, and thanks for all your hard work. Regards, Alan Snelson.
Tornado TS 40, Ford 302, Renault box.
Although I have done the Dover-Calais thing, my friends who are regulars swear that the Portsmouth/Le Havre crossing offers the best ambiance, in the sense that the ratio of sports cars/collector cars to daily drivers/sheds is the highest. It is also the shortest overland route from a port directly to Le Mans. I've done it a couple of times both in my own Shelby GT350 clone, and in various Panteras and other cars with friends. Le Havre and the area immediately around it is rather lacking in charisma, however, and one year I did Portsmouth/Cherbourg.
This had the advantage of not only being longer, but also much less crowded. It yielded a fantastic drive along deserted D-roads, and by the time I arrived at my campsite in Le Mans you couldn't beat the grin off my face with a stick!
This year I'll be flying into Paris and driving a rental car, unfortunately.
This had the advantage of not only being longer, but also much less crowded. It yielded a fantastic drive along deserted D-roads, and by the time I arrived at my campsite in Le Mans you couldn't beat the grin off my face with a stick!
This year I'll be flying into Paris and driving a rental car, unfortunately.
and one year I did Portsmouth/Cherbourg.
This had the advantage of not only being longer, but also much less crowded. It yielded a fantastic drive along deserted D-roads, and by the time I arrived at my campsite in Le Mans you couldn't beat the grin off my face with a stick!
QUOTE]
I have only done the Poole-Cherbourg crossing (as I only live a few miles from Poole), but have certainly enjoyed the journey from Cherbourg down to Le Mans both times I've been. That's despite the fact that last time it took me about 12 hours from Cherbourg as the car was having fuel problems (now sorted) and sometimes cut out! Worked my way down (on my own) through lots of smaller towns & villages, seeing lots of countryside that I may not have seen otherwise.
Even more fun as my English credit/debit cards would not work in the (unattended) petrol pumps in these small places - had to convince a non-English (+my French is very, very basic) speaking woman to take some of my cash Euros & use her card.
One time was a storm came over, and visibility went to nothing - 'fortunately' the car had just cut out & I had cruised to a convenient stopping place so I just sat & waited for the storm to clear.
I was still happy when I arrived at the campsite & found someone had already put up my tent (despite being half inside out!). I took it as just another adventure I have had with the car - there have been a few!
I will be taking the Cherbourg route again, but hopefully this time will be less eventful (or would that be too boring?).
Max
I would like to suggest the folks that are attending the LM Classic 2008 event to plan on starting a thread upon your return to discribe the "events" that they experienced on the way to the track. So far, reading your guys past stories and tales....would make a good start on a book!
