The old garage has gone! Yesterday, along with a few friends I dismantled the old wooden garage to make space for the new garage. I think it actually took longer to clear out the garage than it did to demolish it! There’s now just a lodge pile of wood at the bottom of the garden, so the next job is to get a skip (now that there’s space for one!) to get rid of wood etc.
Author Archives: Lewis
Garage build – before
In a bit of a change from my normal subjects of cars and travel, I’m going be posting about my garage build project. As some of you may know Jen and I have been renovating our house – aka the 119 Project for a few years, but now we have got to the really interesting bit, for me anyway – the garage build! There will be plenty of photographs going up on my 119 Project Flickr album, but I’m also going to add some word on here for the garage build part.
The plan is to replace the old wooden garage, which isn’t wide enough for a modern car, with a large single brick build garage, where I can relax and work on my MR2/whatever car I have. This will not be a garage just for storing junk, we will have a shed for that!
The old garage is being demolished tomorrow, so watch this space for updates!
Morgan Factory Tour
When Pistonheads announced that they would be holding a Sunday Service at the Morgan factory in Malvern I knew I had to go! I like the values of Morgan, that it is still owned by the Morgan family and that a few years ago their then CEO Charles Morgan tested their new 3 wheeler by entering it in the Gumball 3000 rally and driving it across the USA – if only more motor company bosses had that much passion for their cars! Through my day job I have spent a lot of time – possibly too much – in modern car factories, so getting to see how a more traditional factory worked was an opportunity I wasn’t going to miss. Even Jen was excited about it and she doesn’t usually come to car things with me.
The lead up to the event didn’t go too well, the day before I’d had a tyre let go on my MR2 at motorway speed – not fun. This meant that we had to take Jen’s Fiat 500, not as fun for a cross country hoon early on a sunny Sunday morning. The beauty of the Pistonheads Sunday Service events is that they are all including, so it doesn’t matter if you turn up in a Fiat 500, you still go into the same car park as the Porsches and Lamborghinis. As usual the car park was filled with all manner of interesting cars, including a Mercedes SL “Pagoda”, a modified/restored Morris Minor which we both liked, the usual array of Porsches and Loti and even a few Arbath 500s – although Jen’s was the only standard “cute” 500.
By far the highlight of the morning was the tour around the factory – Morgan had even got their employees to come to work on a Sunday morning, just so we could see the factory working and laid on guides for a shortened version of their normal tour (30 minutes, rather than 90, due to the number of people they had to get round). The tour started with a explanation of their current line up, with a handily parked line up of Morgans. Then it was on to a museum room, pictured above, housing some important cars from their history, such as the Aero 8 which competed in the Le Mans 24 hour race.
Next it was in to the assembly workshop, where the newer cars get their BMW engine mounted to their aluminium chassis; and the traditional cars get their steel chassis built up and attached to the wooden frame. This part of the factory wasn’t too dissimilar from other car factories I’ve been to, you could see the line of cars, each one more complete than the previous and the “just in time” parts supply next to the line – but there weren’t any robots or conveyor belts in sight – the cars were resting on wooden trestles. Adjacent to the assembly workshop was the body workshop, where the aluminium bodies are shaped by hand, using traditional methods, I was in awe watching the skilled craftsmen shape sheets of metal into car parts, seemingly just by hitting it with a hammer! The woodshop was next and I’m sure this is pretty unique in vehicle manufacturing these days; the room smelt off sawdust, just what I was expecting from the Morgan factory, the workshop was in two parts, the first which we didn’t really get to see was where the wood got turned into the various parts for the frame, then in the second half, they are fitted together, then glued and screwed to form the frame, which I’m sure is harder than it sounds.
In the opposite shed building was the trim shop, where the cars go after they have been painted, now they really started to look like complete cars, the guide explained the myriad of options available and it was good to be able to see a lot of them being built. After the trim shop we went back across the yard to another workshop where the new 3 wheeler is built, what really amazed me is that the 4 wheeled cars had various workshops, yet the 3 wheelers were made in just one – 15 at a time, each car assembled by one man – that has got to be a really satisfying job!
Jen and I both enjoyed the tour, and I’ve vowed to go back for the full 90 minute tour with my Dad – hopefully tagged onto a drive of a 3 wheeler through the Malvern hills!
Hopefully Soichiro Honda’s prediction that “in the future there would be just half a dozen car companies – and Morgan” rings true and craftsmen continue to hand build cars from a small factory in Malvern because the automotive landscape would be duller without them!
Chester – Via North Wales
Since our trip to North Wales last year, I had wanted to drive my MR2 on the Welsh Mountain roads, so as we were heading up to Chester for the weekend I thought a detour would be in order! This photo was taken at the top of the Horseshoe pass, where we stopped for a picnic, before continuing towards Ruthin and eventually Chester. The MR2 was perfect on the Welsh mountain roads, with the roof down in the spring sunshine I was a very happy Lewis.
We spent the afternoon in Chester doing touristy things, walking along the walls, checking out the shops etc, before meeting some friends at Hickory’s BBQ restaurant – which is one of my favourite restaurants anywhere. My aim for the year is to learn how to cook pulled pork on the BBQ, if mine is anywhere near as nice as Hickory’s I will be very proud of myself.
We stayed overnight at the Village Hotel, just over the Welsh border at St Davids, and called in at Cheshire Ice Cream Farm on the way back home the next morning. I’d heard good things about it and wasn’t disappointed, it was just a shame we couldn’t take any home with us!
In all it was a great weekend, combining three of my favourite things, BBQ’d meat, ice cream and road tripping!
Tokyo Mega Web – Toyota Museum
Last week’s Toyota TS040 Hybrid launch prompted me to post the above picture of their TS030 2013 LMP1 car, which I took at Tokyo Mega Web last time I was in Japan. Tokyo Mega Web is Toyota’s brand showcase/museum building, located on Odaiba, across the Rainbow Bridge from the main areas of Tokyo, I had a few hours spare, so went to check it out.
The first thing I saw when I walked through the door was the TS030 World Endurance Championship LMP1 car, I instantly knew I’d like this place! I had previously seen the car at Tokyo Motorshow – that’s another blog post on the list, but it was a great opportunity to get up close to one of the top endurance racing cars of last year without the crowds. I spent a while looking all around the car and getting excited for Le Mans this year, where the new TS040 will be taking on Audi and Porsche.
The top floor of Tokyo Mega Web is split into two sections, motorsport and technology, I checked out the technology section first, starting with the Star Safety System (traction control, ABS, stability control etc) simulator. The simulator set up was good, with hydraulic rams for pitch, roll and bumps, but the message was lost on me, as they had made the vehicle impossible to drive with the systems turned off – I have driven plenty of cars without stability control etc and don’t crash each time I try to turn a corner.
Next was a gesture based system, used to explain new driver assist systems Toyota are introducing to their cars, such as car to car communications, despite working in the car technology industry I think a lot of it is trying to solve problems that don’t exist, along with making drivers complacent and lazier – you don’t need a radar to tell you a kid is running out in front of you – that’s what your eyes are for!
Rather than continuing to get wound up by pointless technology I went to look at the motorsport section, which alongside the LMP1 car had some TRD tuned cars – IQs (almost as pointless as Aston Martin Cygnets?) and GT86s, which looked good and were available for virtual test drives around Suzuka on their Gran Turismo 6 set up. Next to the TRD area was a section dedicated to Gazoo Racing and their success in the Nurburgbring 24 hour races, with Toyota and Lexus.
Downstairs from the technology and motorsport section was more like a large Toyota showroom, showcasing their current Japanese range, I had heard that test drives were available on their track, but apparently my UK driving license doesn’t qualify me to drive their cars. So, I decided to go to their “History garage”, which is located about 5 minutes away, the other side of a shopping mall.
The downstairs section of the history garage housed a model shop – where you could buy a model of seemingly every car, except an MR2, an ex-Allan McNish Toyota F1 car and their workshop; where they were restoring a Cadillac and a Delorean. The restoration work looked very thorough and the restored Jaguar E-type looked stunning. I was most impressed by the 1983 Toyota Levin, better known by its chassis code AE86 – a lightweight RWD hatchback, made iconic in the Initial D drifting cartoon. Most of the cars were to be found upstairs. Despite being a Toyota museum, the first car I saw was a FIAT 500, as they had a European car section decked out like a market place, with Italian, French, German and British cars, including a very nice Lotus Elan. Next up was a selection of American cars, before the Japanese cars, including the Sports 800 – an ancestor of my MR2 along with original Supras, Skyline GTRs and a lovely Mazda Cosmo – Mazda’s first rotary engined sports car.
Wall of sake
This morning I took a trip down to Harachuku, I didn’t see any Harachuku girls, but I did visit the Meiji Jingu shrine where is wall of sake barrels had been left as an offering to the deities. Opposite them there were also offerings of French wine, as Emperor Meiji brought western clothing, food and drink to the Japanese.
Shibuya
I’m back in Japan for a business trip again and having 24 hours in Tokyo before I head up to the office. One of my favourite places to go in Tokyo is Shibuya, not only is there the iconic crossing, but lots of little shops and restaurants off the side streets.
I spent a couple of hours there this afternoon, first in Starbucks (it has the best view of the crossing, and 22 hours since leaving home I needed some caffeine) then by Hachikō, the dog statue, which is meant to be the most famous meeting place in Tokyo. As well as people to watch, there were cars – S2000s with the roof down, making the most of the winter sun, Jaguars, Porsches, a Lotus Esprit but the one that woke me up was the Ferrari Enzo – the sound of the 6l V12 bouncing off the talk buildings was spectacular!
Autosport International 2014
Autosport International at the NEC in Birmingham is traditionally the first event on the British motorsport calendar, a chance to get up close to the upcoming seasons cars and generally break up the boring off season. For 2014 there was the added bonus of a Pistonheads Sunday Service event before the doors to the show opened, and free indoor parking!
As always, the standard of cars at the Sunday Service was high, with everything from my MR2 to a Porsche GT2. Some people had even braved the freezing temperatures to arrive in Caterham 7s. However, my star of the PHSS was the yellow Nissan 350Z GT4 special edition, shown in the picture above – now a serious contender for my next car.
After a bacon and egg roll at the cafe the NEC had opened just for the Pistonheads event, it was time to go through to the show. The layout was pretty much the same as it has been since the ’90s when I went as a child, but the Performance Car Show part of it seems to have got bigger, with a lot of manufacturer presence. Tucked away in the corner between the Performance Car Show and the motorsport stands was an iterating display of cars and bikes raced by John Surtees. The F1 cars of the late ’60s are to me the most exciting despite their simplicity – I would have loved to see them racing in their day. Nearby the 2013 field of F1 cars were on display, I found it interesting to look at the details of the Red Bull F1 car, especially the rear, somehow it all looked a lot neater than the other cars, neat must equal quick (although I still prefer the earlier cars).
I felt that the Live Action Arena had too much talking and not enough live action, but once again I was impressed by the Autograss racers, as I didn’t already have a new years resolution I have made it my resolution to go to some of their meetings this year and picked up their calendar.
I had an interesting chat with an engineer from Caterham about the digital dash screens they are developing for their cars, this is of particular interest to me as infotainment screens in cars is my day day job and Caterham are one of the last companies I would expect to be developing screens. The car which grabbed my attention the most was the Zenos E10, a small track day car, built by a company based over the road from Lotus. The attention to detail on the E10 was really impressive, the car seems to have been designed by petrol heads, for petrol heads without too much interference from marketing or money men – a refreshing change and I wish them good luck.
2014
Happy new year!
My 2014 has started off quietly, with bacon sandwiches, a wet drive out in the MR2 to Stratford, homemade Tartes Flambees and the new episode of Sherlock. Even though I had my camera with me most of the day, the rainy selfie above is the only picture I took – here’s hoping for better weather the rest of the year!
The rest of 2014 is already looking really busy, especially with work on the 119 project, before September we need to finish the living room, build my dream garage and completely refurbish the dining room. If you are interested,the best place to see how it is progressing is on my 119 project set on Flickr.
Aside from DIY I’ve got some exciting projects at work, but even more exciting that that Jen and I have got a two week European roadtrip planned, well, we know we’ll include the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, but have got a lot more work to do before we set of in May! As if one European roadtrip isn’t enough I will also be taking the MR2 to Le Mans in June for the 24 hour race with my Dad. Maybe I should have bought a more sensible car last year… In its defence, the MR2 should be perfect for my other 2014 goal – getting back into track days, although I think I will have to wait until the second half of the year for that.
My resolution for 2014 is to try to blog more, I’ve got plenty of photos left to sort out from 2013 and amongst all the work and DIY I’m sure I will manage to fit in some adventures, a guy has to prioritise, right?
A look back at 2013
2013 has been another great year, at times it has been very full on trying to fit in work, holidays, house stuff and keeping some time for me, but I seemed to find a balance and have really enjoyed 2013. Aside from all the DIY skills I’ve picked up the new skill I’ve learnt is smoking on the BBQ, I’ve cooked some awesome ribs and am looking forward to trying pulled pork next summer. 2013 was also the year I got into watches, it started fairly innocently with a Casio GShock to replace my old watch which had broken, but ended up with buying an Oris Swiss automatic watch as a 30th birthday present to myself. Ooops.
Having friends round to see in 2013 meant that plans had been made to keep us busy over the next few months, the first thing we had arranged was a trip to the Autosport Show, which was a great way to fill the winter motorsport void. While I was there I had a few viewings on my flat – one of which lead to the sale, but more on that later! I also managed to break one of my wisdom teeth, which was probably the low point of my year, especially as I had to fly to Germany the next day. Fortunately after a few weeks of painkillers and soft food I was able to get the tooth removed and could get on with fun things again. Like travelling to Paris, this had been another of the new year plans I’d made with Partho, although we hadn’t planned on staying an extra day, which due to the bad weather we ended up having to do.
After Paris, the next few months were taken up with the biggest change of the year, selling my flat in Rugby and buying Jen’s granddad’s house (aka the 119 project) in Coventry (with Jen). Both the sale and purchase seemed to drag on, which gave us plenty of time to carry on with the renovations. The peak of the stress was the run up to easter weekend, when we had been told that we would be completing/moving, so we were juggling painting, fitting skirting boards, packing up my flat and dealing with carpet fitters, removal men and solicitors, only to find out the day before we were due to complete, that we wouldn’t. After the panic to get the house just about habitable, we decided that we would move anyway. It was sad leaving my flat, I’d lived there for five years and had many happy memories. We had a few weeks where we technically squatting, but eventually it all worked out. I lost a lot of money of my flat in the time I’d owned it, but it is great living in the house with Jen, we’ve now got off-street parking for both cars, can have BBQs in the garden and being able to walk to work means I’ve got more free time.
As I was walking to work my MX-5 wasn’t really getting much use, until the end of June/beginning of July, where we had back to back roadtrips planned. The first was to Scotland, for my wee brother’s graduation and a bit of exploring in the highlands, followed almost immediately with a trip to Devon, with a day trip to Cornwall thrown in too. That was almost 1,800 miles in about 10 days and the MX-5 had been faultless and fun to drive; the reality sunk in that I would only have the car for another 8 weeks – time to go car shopping!
The MK-5 was going to be a difficult car to replace, especially given my lowish budget, even though I’d said I didn’t want another MX-5, I was seriously tempted by a mk3, as my current car had been so good. They were just a little bit over budget for a good one, as were the Nissan 350z or the Lotus Elise I really wanted. While I was searching for a car, my criteria was that it would be suitable for travelling to Monaco, but I also wanted something fun, as the car would mainly be for fun drives out at the weekends. After looking at everything from Subaru Imprezas to old Mercedes SLs, I kept coming back to the mk3 MR2, despite the meagre luggage space it seemed to be the best car for what I wanted. After viewing a couple I eventually found a nice grey one locally, and for most of August I had two sports cars (the picture are the top of this post). Actually for the bank holiday weekend I had the choice of 3 sports cars, as I had a test car from work, which I took to North Wales, which was possibly my highlight of the year.
It was sad to see the MX-5 go back to the lease company, it was to be auctioned at Bruntingthorpe, so whoever bought OV11 EBO has got themselves a brilliant little car. Having said that, the MR2 is great, being mid-engined, it is snappier than the MX-5, but feels faster. One of its first trips out was to the PistonHeads Sunday Service at Silverstone, which for some reason I didn’t blog about, but included driving a few laps of the Grand Prix circuit, which was thoroughly enjoyable! Shortly after I bought my MR2, Evo magazine ran an article about which car to buy for £4k and the MR2 fared well. In the next issue they published a short write up of my 2012 trip to the Outer Hebrides in the MX-5, I was extremely proud to have my words and pictures in my favourite magazine.
In November things really cranked up a notch, I had another business trip to Germany, another business trip to Japan, including the Tokyo Motorshow, which I haven’t yet had a chance to blog about – or even look at my photos from. Then, after a day back home it was off to New York to celebrate my 30th birthday with Jen! We had an amazing time, ate lots of lovely food and saw the sights. We haven’t really stopped since, with work on the house, exciting projects at work, Christmas celebrations with colleagues, friends and my family before Christmas, then we spent Jen’s 30th and a lovely Christmas day with her family. The usual void between Christmas and New Year has been filled with decorating our front room and all of a sudden it is New Years Eve and I’m sat here writing this with an Edradour single malt (bought from the distillery earlier in the year) seeing the new year in with Jen & her best friend!