Scirocco 2 Morocco 10 years on. Scarlett Mk3...The new chapter begins :-)

Obviously anyone who has been following my blog over the last 10 years must be aware of the disaster which befell my Mk2 Scirocco Scala "Scarlett".

After my brilliant car was fatally damaged by a 42 ton lorry on the A17 in 2014 I was left, after a messy and financially crippling court case, with not only no car, but with a £2000 legal bill and permanent Tinnitus. The other driver had a much better legal team than me and on the day the judge decided to award fault to both parties....although the 3 versions of the other drivers statement should have made him question what ACTUALLY happened on that cold February morning !!

Anyway. I digress.

This post is to let you know that I AM BACK !

Gone is the Ford Focus ST which i owned for around 2 and a half years primarily due to my long term good friend David who, Observing my predicament and being a very kind fella, offered to sell me the ST for a bargain price......a very welcome and generous gesture being as i had spent the last 2 years feeling incredibly stressed and ultimately humiliated and financially ruined by a system that appears to hold such things as the truth as being incidental to the facts !.....i'm off   again aren't I lol :-)

So. Ladies and Gentlemen. Can i now then present to you Scarlett Mk3 (She's a Mk3 Scirocco so hence the label!)

This cracking motor is an October 2008 Scirocco 2.0ltr TSI GT which is finished in Salsa Red, which is not such a dissimilar colour to my previous Mk2 (Paprika Red)....which is a nod to the old girl of course :-)

Of course this year (September) marks 10 years since I and my excellent friend Glen Place set off on our Scirocco 2 Morocco adventure.....and on our return to the UK we were invited to attend the launch of the New Scirocco Mk3 at Heron VW in Newark upon Trent. If i remember correctly Glen was unable to make it up to my neck of the woods but myself and my son attended with Scarlett and her half Roc trailer.....so the fact i now own a Scirocco from that particular moment in time seems somehow fitting as a continuation of my love of these cars.


So....here she is.

Scarlett Mk3......

Of course the Registration is quite poignant as this is actually my 6th Scirocco (S6) (6 and a half if you count the trailer!) and its a Volks Wagen Scirocco (VWS)... nice :-)

So far the car has been fantastic, and i hope to be showing her at the Scirocco Register National Meeting in August 2018.....alongside Glens newly refurbished 1988 Scala.....should be EPIC :-)

So. How is MY Leukaemia doing these days ?

Well I am glad to report that so far it is behaving itself ! :-). August 15th  this year marks 11 years since my CLL diagnosis at Grantham Hospital during what i had believed to be a "routine" appointment!!

In the last 11 years I have gone from blood tests and prods every 3 moths to blood tests and check-ups every 12 months. As an added bonus I am now under the excellent care of Mr Tim Moorby,of the resident Haematology Consultants at the hospital I have worked at now for almost 21 years....so getting to my appointments is a relatively straight forward affair :-).

In the old days a decade or so ago I had to make my way to Grantham to see a random consultant {never quite sure who I would be seen by!) and the blood results would take between 7 to 10 days before they arrived at my GP surgery.....awaiting the results was a very stressful situation believe me !

So. I will be 51 in May, diagnosed in 2006 aged 40....now 11 years on...hopefully this little resume will give a bit of encouragement to anyone who is newly diagnosed.....i wish i could have read something like this early on in my journey because fear (and insomnia) had to be the worst aspects in the early years.

As my good friend (Sadly now departed ) Geoff Brocklebank told me in the dark weeks after my shock discovery..." You are more likely to die with CLL than from it".....that simple sentence was like an epiphany to me...and gave me the strength and drive to get my head in order...and to get involved in things such as this Blog. Thanks Geoff....you are sadly missed my friend, but you gave me the inspiration to get off my sorry ass and do something useful with my (new, post CLL) life  :-)

Until next time.

Andy

1/18 scale Scarlett and half Rocco trailer model (98261358022322056074)

In May this year I celebrated my 50th birthday.

After a crushing result in court in February relating to the loss of my amazing Scirocco "Scarlett" in an accident in 2014 I was feeling pretty low having lost the vehicle, the compensation and now suffering from chronic Tinnitus, things were not so rosy for celebrating my 5 decades of life.......but the amazing hard work, skill and dedication of one amazing chap named Glen Place provided me with an epic ,mind-blowing gift that can only really be appreciated by seeing it in the flesh ( or cast perhaps?).

No words now, just pictures to document the amazing thing that Glen has done for me in completing this incredible project

Scarlett and trailer in 1/18 scale....

13 months later. and STILL no settlement for the accident !!

So. It appears that AVIVA have decided to continue this ongoing  farce in trying to defend the HGV driver that ran into the rear of me and wrote off my beloved Scirocco last April!

After providing diagrams, statements, photographs and even video's of the crash scene i still have to wait for ANY evidence to be submitted in the others drivers defence......yet they are seemingly prepared to go as far as at least agreeing to go to court in their attempts to "out wait" me ,perhaps hoping that i will fold at some point and accept their claim that I was somehow 50% responsible for their clients apparent inability to judge distances and control his 40 tons of wheeled destruction on that fateful day!

Dear AVIVA:

Go to Hell! Stop wasting my time and court time in your pathetic time wasting efforts. You WILL lose, and if /when we do go to court i will relish in the chance to show how you have made something out of nothing and made yourselves look stupid and incompetent by your actions.

Arctic Blast- Making Tracks 2015. Picture travelogue of the Greer brothers journey so far :-)

Ok. So tomorrow (8th March) , the Greer brothers are aiming to arrive at Nordkapp, after an amazing 2500 mile, 7 day drive from the UK :-)

Here then are a selection of pictures i have "borrowed" from their Facebook page...hope they don't mind too much :-p

Arctic Blast 2015...Another Scirocco adventure soon to be underway :-)

I heard some great news today that another pair of brave souls are planning on setting off on an epic adventure a la Scirocco on the 1st March this year :-)

Here are a few details from their facebook "About" page:

• In March brothers Tony and Paul Greer will undertake a daunting driving challenge. Having bought a car for under £1000 they will attempt to drive in a 5000 mile round trip to Nordkapp, the most northerly point in Europe it's possible to reach by car. Nordkapp is 2500 miles away from London on the northern tip of Norway, 700 miles inside the Arctic Circle. The brothers want to raise money and awareness of two charities that have personal importance to them. These are Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and the Antony Nolan charities who special in blood diseases and manage the national bone marrow register.
  
  You can follow their preparations including a frantic hunt to find a suitable car (This was recently confirmed to be a Mk2 Scirocco!) and get everything organised before departing on Sunday 1st March.
• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  Making Tracks - Arctic Blast has been supported by sponsors helping the brothers achieve their goal. You can help to by donating on our Justgiving Team page.
• Website

  https://www.justgiving.com/teams/makingtracksarcticblast

Their facebook page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/ArcticBlast2015/info?tab=page_info

Scarlett the VW Scirocco now on Forza for Xbox One :-)

"Scarlett" the 1987 VW Scirocco was utilised many times to promote the work of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and was expected to be doing so for many more years.

Sadly, as mentioned in previous posts, in April this year my poor car was written off by a rather large HGV which rear ended it causing significant and sadly, unrepairable damage.

Luckily, my brilliant friend Glen Place, has resurrected the old girl into a virtual life in the Forza Motorsport game on the Xbox One console 

And here she is 

Greeting to my Spanish Scirocco owner friends :-)

Yesterday I received my Club Scirocco window graphics and today I fitted them to the car .

I think they look Awesome !! :-)

Scirocco Register National Meet.RAF Cosford 10th August 2013. See you there :-)

Hi Folks.

Well, after an eventful few weeks in which Scarlett has had to be fitted with a new radiator,battery and clutch cable (which was due to breakage and an eventful 21 mile drive home minus clutch facility!), we are now on the verge of attending the umpeenth Scirocco register meet at RAF Cosford (yaaaaaay!!)

Did not attend last year due to numerous obstacles and events, the worst of which was the passing of my lovely mum Jill after her valiant and inspirational 7 year fight against Ataxia (Dementia).Love ya mum :-)

This year, against a backdrop of numerous other setbacks and obstacles it looks like we may just make it to the gathering :-)

Tomorrow sees the car being valeted by Matt who has done me a very good deal for both car and trailer (saves my back and head...which i am always banging whilst hoovering the interior!).

Hopefully, (notice how positive my attitude is!) i will begin the drive down to the White pump farm campsite sometime after 2pm to meet up with many old, and some new friends.

I will post a report ...sorry, that sounds far to grand!...a roundup of the proceedings and post a few pictures to boot.

By the way. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL! to my eldest daughter who will turn 19 whilst i am away at the meet on Saturday.

Watch this space :-)

UPDATE:

Had a short but enjoyable National show and met many of my old Scirocco mad mates again...and a few new ones to boot :-)

Took the opportunity to do a little fund raising for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research on the day (it would be rude not to...especially when your car has their name on it!) and managed to collect a very respectable total of £132.75...brilliant !!

Thanks to all my fellow owners who made contributions, and a special thanks to my best friend from Holland Sander who bought the framed limited edition print of my Scirocco, signed by Sir Ian Botham, for a very generous £50! Top bloke :-)


Andy

My Leukaemia story has been published on the LLR Website :-)

Hi Folks.Hope you are all well and 2013 is being good to you so far!.

Just a quick heads up that a story that I submitted to the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research website has, much to my surprise!, been published :-0 !! lol.

If you haven't already seen it, here is the link:

http://leukaemialymphomaresearch.org.uk/people-personal-stories/patient-stories/andy-ward%E2%80%99s-story

Please tell me what you think. I appreciate the feedback :-)

Cheers.Andy

Scirocco 50LLR on Top Gear...at last!

.

Well it was a well kept secret, but now it's official. The Scirocco 50LLR has at last been asked to appear on Top Gear. Show TV dates to be published soon :-)

( This is of course a dream...but you never know...perhaps one day! :-) )

Any rich people out there who want to save a Scirocco ?

.


I guess that it's not a surprising fact that due to increases in the cost of...well everything really !I have had to take the decision to retire the old Scirocco to the driveway whilst I consider my options.

Running 3 cars in the UK is not a very good way of saving money, and sadly there is no real recognition for some bloke who runs a car to promote a charity......not being an MP I can't claim "expenses" for such an extravagance! :-)

Insuring the Golf TD has just cost me £500. The wife's Skoda Roomster cost almost £300 and the Scirocco (limited to 3000 miles per year) cost £150 .So having to choose which car I was going to use as my daily came down not to preference, but economy, so the Golf TD which returns a good 55mpg has now stepped into the Scirocco's shoes as my daily commuting vehicle (the Scirocco was costing me £13 per day in fuel as it could ,at best,manage approx 35-37 per gallon.

To add insult to injury I now have the Scirocco on the drive without MOT or Road Tax as they both expired in December. And to add injury to insult and injury...she has developed something of a swimming pool in her rear footwell's which has resulted in me having to remove the seats and strip back the carpets!.....and the battery keeps going flat!.......

If anyone reading this post fancies helping me keep the old girl (25 in March) on the road to continue her work with Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, please make yourself known :-)

In my experience an unused car is so much more likely to have a major breakdown than a daily drive, and i would hate that to happen to a car that has become something of a minor celebrity in the VW world.

Now.....when is the lottery being drawn again?

.

Merry Christmas to all :-)

.

I have not been posting quite so often as I once did on the old S2M blog. These days I just don't seem to have the time to spend on it. I have considered closing it down as, after almost 4 years, it has served it's purpose to promote the trip that myself and Glen did back in 2008, and more recently to spread the word in relation to Leukaemia and Lymphoma news from around the world.

I am not sure that there will ever be an opportunity to undertake a Scirocco2Morocco2 (the sequel) in the future,that would depend a lot on my health, Glens health and the health of my bank balance (it's not a cheap undertaking!). Lets just say that I would love to have another go at getting Scarlett into Africa, just to be able to  close the book on that ambition :-).

Can I just now take a second to wish all of my readers a very merry Christmas and a peaceful and happy new year. Lets hope its a good one, without any fear......hang on.....was I just slipping into a John Lennon song?

Anyway folks, please keep sending your comments in to this blog, it's always nice to know that my ramblings get read at least a few times!.

Ho,ho ho......MERRY CHRISTMAS :-)

Andy

.

Nasty Scirocco Crash caught on video

.

You know how it is, you are just going for a nice drive in your Scirocco when all of a sudden........

OUCH!

Moy Park syndicate win £3 Million Lottery Jackpot.

.

I read in the local paper the other day that a syndicate from the Moy Park Poultry Factory in Anwick (pronounced Anick!) had won £3 million quid on the national lottery.

In a slightly sad twist to the tale it appears that several of the members had only recently pulled out from the group, shortly before their big win. It is also reported that one of the remaining members then "bought up" their stakes in the syndicate, meaning that they will get the lions share of the cash...nice.

Now, as I have never won more than 10 quid on the lottery since the first draw way back when (many years ago!) I can't imagine what it must be like to win such a huge sum of cash, but If (by any miracle) one of the members of the syndicate reads this post can I just suggest one thing.

Give the people who left the group something. Please!

Why? Well Just for one moment think how you would feel if the shoe where on the other foot. I would guess you would be pretty gutted. Now, think of how you would feel in that situation, if one of the winners (or perhaps a small donation by all?) where to bung you a few grand to cheer you up!. Get the idea?

Giving is ALWAYS better than receiving, and the respect you would get for such a generous act would be worth more that al the money in the world :-)

Oh, and if you have a few quid left over I know a bloke in Sleaford with a Scirocco that needs some overdue repairs and is a bit brassed at the mo!...just a thought :-)

.

As Fuel Prices increase, I need my fuel bill to go way down!

.

Using a classic car as a daily driver is great fun but my 1987 VW Scirocco cannot be described as being the most frugal car on the road!.

I decided recently that I should make an attempt to optimize the MPG for the old girl by implementing a series of measures aimed at making her 24 year old 1.8 Litre Carb engine as economical as is reasonably possible.

My first action was to replace all of the "consumable" ignition and filtration parts, so I replaced the following items:

4 new Bosch Spark Plugs

full set of ignition leads (including coil lead)

Air and fuel filters

A new rotor arm and distributor cap

After these items where replaced I then made a call to a chap named Lester who owns a mobile Crypton tuning business in Mansfield. Lester came over the the Hospital on Wednesday morning and spent around 1 and a half hours "tweeking" the idle speed,the mixture and the timing. Afterwards there was a noticeable increase in power, the engine started more easily and the idle speed was set down to approx 900 RPM, down from it's original 1200 RPM which it had run at previously.

Once Lester had done his stuff I then unloaded any unnecessary "cargo" from the boot/car and checked the tyre pressures to ensure the correct inflation pressure was present.

The next action was that from now on I will only fill the fuel tank up to 1/4 full. This is to avoid carrying around any "dead weight" in the form of excess petrol which yet again would effect the overall MPG figures.

Just to give you an idea of the effect carrying a full fuel load has upon the cars "all up weight", let me explain the figures.

My Scirocco has a 12 gallon fuel tank.

Each Gallon of fuel weighs approx 3KG

If I fuel up with 1/4 tank of unleaded (3 gallons) it weighs approx 9KG.

If I fill up the fuel tank that is 12 x 3 which equals 36KG.

My journey to work in Mansfield (which has a petrol station close by) is 86 miles

The Scirocco will (before the tune up!) do approx 33-35 MPG which is 33+ x 3 (gallons) = 100+ mile range so I have a 13+ mile "emergency" reserve of fuel.

If I fill up the fuel tank on Monday I will be carrying 27KG of "dead" fuel for that first return trip! The second day I will be carrying 18KG of "dead" fuel.......you get the idea?

Just so you can "visualize" how much weight that is, next time you go to the supermarket stick 27 bags of sugar in your trolley and notice how much effort you need to then push it!.

It's a tried and tested principle that pilots use to maximise their flying range.They calculate the amount of fuel they require for the flight + a little extra for "unforeseen" diversions. I imagine though that they would have a larger margin of "reserve" fuel in their calculations as they can't just pop into the local Texaco if they run out!.

I will let you know how I get on over the next few weeks :-)

.

Car failed MOT today......

.

Sadly Scarlett failed her MOT today due to several problems being found :-(

Loose headlights, a blowing exhaust union,worn suspension mounts and a spot of welding is required on the rear suspension mounting point, oh and both rear wheel bearings require replacement.

As usual this all comes at a bad time,just before Christmas, and only a few weeks after shelling out nearly £500 on "other" repairs.

Still, for a (almost) 24 year old car that does on average between 16-18'000 miles per year it has not cost me a fortune to run, and until now has never needed much more than a regular service.

The parts arrive tomorrow and with a little luck she will be back in service by Wednesday...just the small matter of "how much" still to ponder.....we will see!

.

Car Sorted...just need to put interior back in now!

.

At long last it appears that Scarlett's clutch woes have finally been resolved after she spent a weekend away at my local Pitstop Garage in Sleaford.

The problem with a VERY heavy clutch has been plaguing the car for a few months now after a clutch cable snapped in September, but, after a lot of work being carried out including:

New clutch 3 part assembly (Cover,pressure plate and bearing)

New Clutch Cables (x3)

Bulkhead reinforcing plate welded on

New rear Brake shoes

New front Brake pads

New front shock absorbers

New rocker cover gasket

the problem appears to now be sorted out.

Once again, many thanks to the boys at Pitstop garage in Sleaford for a quick and efficient bit of work which has helped to keep the Rocco on the road for a bit longer....well until December when her MOT is due to be renewed!

Today I will be refitting the trays and covers from underneath the dashboard which have been left off for several weeks now so that I could keep an eye on, and fiddle with, the clutch cable as required.

I must say that the car feels so much easier to drive now that I don't have to stand on the clutch to change gear!. I have noticed though that due to the extra force required to press the pedal, my left leg appears much larger than my right! Does that mean I will have to press the accelerator down harder to balance things up?.......Not sure if Mr Plod would accept that excuse if he catches me going a bit quick though! "Sorry officer, I am just trying to build up the muscles in my right leg to match those in my left one, I need the exercise....honest!"

Have a nice day :-)

.

Oh no.Yet more repairs needed to the Scirocco :-(

.

Its been a really bad couple of months now for the Scirocco and the list of repairs seems to just keep growing.

2 months ago the bulkhead had to be welded after it cracked. The clutch cable had to be replaced twice due to the unnoticed bulkhead problem damaging the replacement cable also!. Then the rocker cover gasket failed causing oil to leak onto the exhaust manifold and thus cause rather noxious fumes in the cabin when I was sat in traffic "cough"!.

The rear brake shoes wore out and seized on which required them to be replaced. The front brake pads are getting close to limits and the front shock absorbers are now in dire need of replacement.

Yesterday (after still suffering from a VERY stiff clutch pedal problem) I concluded that it is probably due to the pressure plate or the thrust bearing in the clutch assembly being worn out, this will require a whole new clutch to be fitted.

I also have an MOT which expires on the 7th December and,more worryingly,an appointment to tow Santa Clause in Mansfield on the 4th December......and to make life even more interesting things are not what you would call "flush" in relation to finances :-(.

Estimates for the work (including MOT) are between £500-£600 and of course Christmas is only 46 days away and I have already had provisional "wish lists" from my 3 children.......this is going to be an interesting month for me!

People often say I am mad to drive such an old car 86 miles a day 4 days a week to work and back. They ask why I don't sell the Scirocco and buy a "sensible" car?Why drive a car that,at the best,will only do 39 MPG as apposed to a modern diesel which could get me 60+ MPG? The answer is simple but complex (does that make sense?).

I LOVE driving my Mk2 Scirocco, it is FUN!

In order to buy and insure another car I would have to sell my Scirocco, and that ain't gonna happen!

I don't want to be bored to death and blend in with the countless others driving "clone" cars every day....i like to be different :-)

I guess you could say that in my case the heart definitely rules the head :-)

I guess that running a 23 year old car as a "daily driver" has it's drawbacks. Most cars of this age are tucked up in a garage and only come out to play at special occasions,weekends and bank holidays, still, can't complain about the clutch really, 23 years and 145'000 miles ain't bad is it?

Note to Volkswagen UK. I you talk to me really nicely I MAY consider letting you replace My Mk2 for a modern Mk3 Scirocco, but it MUST be red, it MUST have a tow bar fitted, and I MUST be allowed to keep my current Rocco, even though I am sure you would probably like to stick her in your museum !

Right, now I just need to sit down and figure out how to make £500 in the next 7 days!

.

Got a Scirocco? Then make sure you make a date for the UK National Meet in July 2010!

Yes folks, this year the Scirocco Register meet will be held in the (hopefully!) warmer month of July and the venue will once again be the air museum at RAF Cosford.

Anyone is welcome and the normal arrangements are that camping/hotels (for the softies!) will be available on the Friday and Saturday nights for those who fancy the chance to relax and unwind with others who will probably chew your ear off with constant banter about a certain type of car!. Seriously though, the last 2 events have been great, and if,like me,you have a family, then they to are more than welcome to attend.

It's not all about cars though, and once you have paid your £3.00 for parking you can go around the museum and have a good look at their amazing collection of exhibits for free !.

If you are a James May (Top Gear) fan you will probably already know that the life size plasic model Spitfire he made on on of his shows also lives at RAF Cosford....got to be worth a look at that !

There is also food available on site and a gift shop should you fancy splashing a few quid out on some gift.

The date has been set as the 24th July 2010 and you can see more details by clicking on this link HERE.
.