In May 2000, US-based British car enthusiast Chuck Heleker bought a 1968 Wolseley 1000 during a trip to South Africa. While there, he covered nearly 2000 miles in the car, before arranging for it to be shipped back to America. But that's just the start of the story...
he real adventure began when Chuck's car was landed at Port of Miami, Florida, in August 2000. Over the next three-and-a-half weeks, he drove it the well-planned, 6000-plus miles home to Seattle in Washington, visiting as many Mini owners as possible en route. Throughout the trip Chuck recorded his progress with regular postings to the MiniMania bulletin board, but as time permitted, he also wrote a series of engrossing articles about the journey, which were duly posted on the MiniMania website. Below, you can find an index of Chuck's entertaining and informative "Wolseley Across America" articles, with links to each instalment. They include some great photographs of the people, cars and sights he encountered along the way, and some excellent details on the history of the places he visited. The dates stated below are those on which the articles were posted, but for the record, the car arrived in Florida on Friday 11 August, and reached its destination in Washington on Monday 4 September.
1: What's this all about?, 15 August 2000 Here, in the first instalment of his travelogue, Chuck sets the scene, describing the initial route plan and his objectives, and providing some background information about South African Minis. |
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2: Florida, 18 August 2000 Chuck arrives in the Sunshine State. He seeks out several other Mini owners while awaiting the arrival of his Wolseley 1000, and we find out why the car is called "EG"... |
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3: More Wolseley 1000 details, 21 August 2000 A brief report, but full of interesting information about the production of the Wolseley 1000 and some of the other South African Minis. |
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4: More Florida, 21 August 2000 Chuck gets to play tourist while waiting for his car to arrive in Port of Miami. Then it's on with a roof rack and off to meet another Mini owner... |
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5: And even more Florida, 21 August 2000 More encounters with other Minis, including a Clubman estate and a Danish Mini Mascot, both of which are rather a long way from home. |
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6: And still more Florida, 21 August 2000 A potted history of Florida, followed by encounters with another Mascot(!), a Blower Bentley and a chop-top special called the MiniSota, amongst others. |
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7: Georgia, 21 August 2000 Chuck finally crosses from Florida into Georgia on the second day of his journey. A little history of the region, followed by visits to Fort McAllister and Savannah... |
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8: South Carolina and Charleston, 24 August 2000 After a friendly welcome to another new state, EG meets a scary cow, and Chuck soaks up Charleston's distinctive and picturesque architecture, finding that he really doesn't want to leave... |
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9: Route and EG's performance, 28 August 2000 Chuck takes time out to review his route, and gives a very comprehensive run-down of the how the Wolseley has been performing so far. |
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10: Into North Carolina, 28 August 2000 Leaving Charleston behind with some regret, a wrong turn leads to a potentially crushing experience. Moving on, it's not long before EG is crossing water once more... |
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11: North Carolina to Virginia Beach, Virginia, 31 August 2000 A sense of déjà vu, as EG takes another ferry ride and meets another vehicle capable of crushing her. This leg of the journey also takes in the site of the Wright Brothers' first flight. |
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12: More Virginia, 1 September 2000 A wet start to the day marking the end of Chuck's first week on the road. Spirits not dampened, he meets up with the owner of Mini specialists Seven Enterprises, and later with the owner of a famous racing Mini. |
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13: Still more Virginia & back into North Carolina, 5 September 2000 Virginia's Blue Ridge Parkway provides a specatcular backdrop for this leg of the trip. Later, having ventured back into North Carolina, EG is making great progress with almost 2000 miles under her belt. |
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14: More North Carolina & Tennessee, 7 September 2000 EG misses out on making her big-screen debut, but makes up for it by seeing some spectacular scenery and meeting up with fellow-Mini "Blue", whose owner has a liking for subtly subversive license plates... |
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15: More Tennessee, 11 September 2000 Chuck and EG find themselves in Moke heaven, just before seeing a pink elephant. Later, after going out of his way in search of fuel, Chuck recalls the joys of trying to find an open petrol station in the North of England... |
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16: Into the land of the MADMEN, 12 September 2000 Chuck and EG cross from Kentucky into Illinois. In St Louis they meet up with a great bunch of Mini enthusiasts, and EG gets a well-deserved service as she nears the halfway point. |
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17: Across Missouri, 13 September 2000 The intrepid pair get their kicks on Route 66, before crossing the Missouri River. Then it's on to meet another Mini owner, who hasn't quite got his hands on his two remarkable cars just yet... |
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18: Omaha, 14 September 2000 As Chuck nears the end of his second week on the road, he draws some comparisons with the historic Corp of Discovery expedition, as he follows the course of the Missouri to visit the owners of an early 997cc Cooper. |
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19: To South Dakota, 15 September 2000 So why do sunflowers all face east? Charles finds time to ponder such questions as he snakes his way from Nebraska into South Dakota. |
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20: SD, ND, and on to Montana, 20 September 2000 EG's fetching roof-top tarpaulin is beginning to look the worse for wear, and EG herself seems to be coming out in sympathy. Finding a new tarp would prove to be rather more problematic than fixing EG... |
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21: More Montana, 25 September 2000 Chuck has to carry out some more roadside maintenance on EG, suspecting spiked fuel to be the culprit. EG responds well to his simple but effective treatment... |
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22: And even more Montana, 27 September 2000 Well, it's a BIG place! Chuck finds that many of the state's most scenic locations have been closed-off due to a serious risk of fire. Instead, he winds up in "the ugliest spot on Earth that is populated"... |
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23: Out of Montana, 29 September 2000 Could this sign (right) have inspired a certain Lennon-McCartney song? Who knows, but it put a grin on EG's face. Washington beckons, as Chuck and EG near the end of their adventure. |
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24: Portland and towards the All British Field Meet, 3 October 2000 Chuck takes in some more breathtaking scenery en route to Portland, Oregon, where he is joined by his wife Dorothea for that weekend's car show, and the remainder of the journey home. |
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25: Portland All British Field Meet, 4 October 2000 Chuck, Dorothea and EG join over 70 other Minis of various types – including a Radford DeVille – plus a wide variety of other British cars. And no-one minded that EG wasn't really British at all... |
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26: Home, the final chapter, 16 October 2000 All good things must come to end. The trio finally reach their destination in Seattle, where EG gets to meet Chuck's other British classics and tell them all about her trek across America... |
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27: Trip statistics, 16 October 2000 The final reckoning: Chuck takes stock of the places he visited, the guidebooks he used for reference and EG's performance along the way. |
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