Blog : Operation drive back, day two

Keith Adams

 

Andrew negotiates in Hungarian (using Google translate), to sort out the car...!
Andrew negotiates in Hungarian (using Google translate), to sort out the car…!

Well, to say that day two was eventful is something of an understatement. After leaving the hotel in the morning, I decided it would be good to fall down a manhole through a defective cover. That would have put a dampener on the day had Romania not been stunningly beautiful. As it was I sat in the passenger seat most of the day and let the Elphick take the strain through disarmingly charming countryside with villages straight out of the 18th century. Of course there were potholes. Big potholes. Potholes big enough to have us driving on the south side of the Ukrainian border at well under 20mph. But it all added to the fun. Well, when it wasn’t jarring my dislocated shoulder and broken foot…

After the best part of a day, we made it to Hungary – and glorious, glorious Euro-standard motorway.

By the time we made it to Budapest, I was aching, the car was hot, and guess what happened…? Yes, it broke down in the city centre. Right next to an empty parking space and an Ibis hotel. Phew.

And this morning when we returned to the car, it failed to start. Yup – it’s probably the distributor. A quick flick on the Internet found us an MG Rover specialist in Budapest. And I’m now typing this in the owner’s garden while we arrange a recovery and replacement distributor. The irony is that I have one in my garage. Yup. But Although I am in bloody agony, I’m loving the interaction with the locals, and the feeling that we’re going to be on our way again soon. And if not, well, the 216 will soon be in the hands of a new owner.

Operation drive back, day two
Operation drive back, day two

 

Keith Adams

17 Comments

  1. Oh Keith – you have my sympathies! I hope you and the Rover get fixed up soon – keep up the hard work typing with one arm, on one knee! Budapest is a lovely city – which side are you? Buda or Pest?

  2. I hope you have time to pop into the Frankfurt show on your way back and get some news about the Land Rover DC100 Sport etc. – AR’s views on the matter would be of great interest.

    Finding out that an old Rover 200 is unreliable is a more, erm, specialised interest!

  3. If you can’t find a Budapest distributor, can you get anyone to air-courier your dizzy out from your garage?

    Challenge – if the 216 stays put, find an alternative Brit car to get you back over the Channel. Preferably BL iron, of course.

    Alternatively, you could work as a drains inspector to earn your airfare back home 😉

  4. Keith I lived there for 10 years and ran a Range Rover 3.5. The guy you want is Roland – local number 0620-911-1951,
    or +3620 911-1951 if it a UK phone. I’ll Email you this info.. What a laugh!

  5. Ah, I see from LinkedIn that your in Kettering General, and you will be out in 5 days or so. Sorry to hear that Keith. All the best to you.. Keep Roland’s number handy for next year 🙂

  6. update… We made it back. The car was fixed, we drove to Nuremburg, where we picked up the Montego team, who scrapped their car. And they drove us back to the uk in one hit. I got home, and checked into Kettering A&E. They reset my dislocated shoulder, and I am now waiting to go into theatre to have my broken foot pinned. What an adventure! I’ll write it up properly when I get home in a few days…

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