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As Adrian already wrote a few times, we are planning to participate in the rallye Dresden-Dakar-Banjul in November this year. In preparation Adrian had planned a first meeting of the insane daring Africa travellers for last Friday night. Since we are gonna split up into two teams and I still had to find a co-driver, Adrian’s friend Antje stepped up to join. So this was our first opportunity to get to know each other a bit. Obviously I didn’t leave such a bad impression that it would stop Antje from taking part in the rallye.

We also discussed some organizational issues. Besides from the important question of how much it would cost us, we had a talk about such minor points like vaccinations, visas, acquisition of sponsors or team names. At the end of the evening we finally registered our teams at the organizers’ website. By now we are listed as team #195 and #196. The big, unanswered question of the night is still existing though: What’s the meaning of our team name? We really don’t know!

Tonight I met my old friend Oliver who beat us to the draw and took part in this February’s rallye challenge with his team “Steinheim goes Afrika”. He had some quite good hints for us and tried insitently to hold me off from going to Gambia in a Mazda 121 DB. In fact this encourages me even more to do so. I think…

His main arguments against using a 121 were it’s missing all-wheel-drive, the tiny space it offers as well as it’s low clearance resulting in lesser fun going off-road. Nothing you can’t countervail with some improvisation paired with a good load of momentum, I guess.

After about four weeks the repair manual for my Pacer arrived from the USA yesterday. Now I only have to pick it up in Bellenberg to finally immerse myself into the subject. In particular the somewhat opinionated braking characteristics are preventing a registration of the car currently. Already low brake pressure is enough to block the front left wheel. I discovered this when I was about 500 meters away from the seller’s house while approaching the first red light. That raised my stress level for the rest of the transfer fairly which is why I’d like to tackle this problem as fast as possible.

Just in time for the literature supply a package of spare parts from Austria is on its way to me. It took a bit longer than I expected at first, but the important thing is I can start soon. All this great weather lately got me more and more nervous and I can hardly wait anymore to go for a cruise in the evening.

I have to confess, I was quite proud when I visited carsablanca.de today and discovered an AMC Pacer being the current “favorite of the week“. With it’s dark two-tone paintjob it’s even pretty similar to mine. And it’s equipped with the fancy CB radio as well.

Accompanied by Adrian, his girlfriend Nici and my father, i drove to Mülheim an der Ruhr today and finally picked up my car. So three long weeks of waiting have come to an end now. As a reward everything – except for being a bit late – worked out fine: The car has been ready for pick-up, streets were dry, even the sun took a peek through the clouds every once in a while and the transfer came off without difficulty.

And because the gagging order doesn’t apply any more now, I’m gonna end the guessing game and disclose the secret. It’s a 1979 AMC Pacer D/L:

“Party on, Wayne!“

That I would buy a small car one day, noone might have expected – me included until three weeks ago! But when I stood in front of the car back then, it was plain sailing. Good condition, low quantity still existing (even in the US, I’ve read), geek factor and fancy design were a clear basis for decision-making.

And now some bare figures:

So true by earthdog (found on Flickr)

Would it be justifiable, to put stickers onto a car – this would be on top of my list. (No, Adrian, Phantasialand stickers are out too!)

As a reading for lunch break I recommend “Die letzte Ölung – Besuch beim Abwracker” at Carsablanca. Just to sing from the same hymn sheet as lately and to point out the madness of the German junking-bonus.

After arriving in Mülheim at the Ruhr, the son of the seller welcomed us. They had some of these models, he said and asked, if we would be interested in taking a look at his current project. Well, of course we had. He led us down to a garage in the basement and we figured out, we weren’t dealing with another offspring of Laberbacke’s breed. A black car stood there properly jacked up, a long row of shelves at the wall behind it holding lots of spare parts. A yellow E-Type was standing in the front area of the garage. With some intermissions they had been working for ten years at the black car now, he told us.

We drove to the storage, where we met his dad, who had already taken care of the car which is for sale. The storage packed a punch. Seven classic cars of American and British brands stood there orderly side by side. After some introducing words Adrian and I inspected the car of our interest – and what can I say? We were stunned. Despite it’s age of thirty years, the car is in excellent condition. Everything is original and perfectly maintained. Low mileage, no rust, fantastic paint. When the seller told me, he had to replace the gear gaiter by a new one made of black leather, it became clear to me, on which level we found ourselves. Even the rare radio is still in place and fully functional.

We took a look, but did find a few minor flaws at best, which you would not mention at most used cars from this millennium. I had quite some difficulties to control my euphoria until we were back in our car and heading home.

Sunday morning I called the seller, negotiated a price and sent him a purchase covenant by fax. Now he is going to exchange the petrol filter and clean the carburetor, afterwards the car is ready for handover.

Again we have been on an inspection tour last weekend, looking for classic cars. This time we drove to Emmerich, where North Rhine-Westphalia adjoins the Netherlands. There is a yellow/black 1973 Ford Mustang Mach I for sale at the US car dealer RD Classics. Like usual the pictures on the net are showing a vehicle in putative dreamlike state and the ad’s text says the car would be in “outstanding condition”.

When entering the the storage/salesroom Adrian and I recognized this wasn’t a dealer of selected top cars. A 1955 or 1956 Imperial in quite poor condition welcomed us at the entry. Further back in the storeroom the Mustang was waiting. Coming closer it became clear to us that the dealer’s understanding of the adjective “outstanding” isn’t realistic at all. The paint job showed the same cracks we saw on the Firebird and doesn’t quite live up to European demands for a good paint work. Windows seals had been painted over or had visible marks of spray. The engine compartment was covered with a thick layer of anti-rust primer, clearly reminding me of the outdoor coating of ferry boats. At least the interior withstood a sketchy survey, which might be owed to the spreading disappointment.

Aside from all this I was especially annoyed by the fact that the car wasn’t ready to drive although I had asked the dealer up front. He said, test drives would only be possible if the customer had clear intention to purchase. There would be simply too many requests for it. Accepted. I can understand this. But after I had asked this beforehand, got a positive reply and spent a day of driving about 500 km to have a look at the car, I was considerably pissed off finding the radiator dust-dry and not even a battery in the car.

Because we could not reconcile the extremely self-confident pricing policy with the Mustang’s condition we rather took a look at some C3 Corvettes which are for sale as well. Of the six offered cars on the net there would be only three left, the others had been sold during the week, the dealer said. Later we found us asking ourselves who could be willing to pay such high prices for restoration objects like these because the similar priced Corvettes in the storage would require another five-figure for restoration, we cautiously estimated. Missing and hardened seals, clearance that makes you wondered if both parts are still belonging to the same car, large quantities of silicone used as window seals, worn out or horribly replaced interiors and – of course – the classic: damaged thermoplast paint. It got me thinking that I could find such little rust.

Quite frustrated we started driving homeward soon. But first I called a private seller in the Ruhr Area with whom I had set up an appointment basically because it was en route anyway and I wanted to use the opportunity. My hopes weren’t too high as the seller already told the car wouldn’t be ready to drive when I called him in the morning. The car hadn’t run in a few weeks and there wouldn’t be a battery installed at the moment. That didn’t sound all that well to my ears. But we had set up the appointment and it would be a detour of just a few kilometers anyway.

To find out what had been waiting for us in Mülheim at the Ruhr read on tomorrow…

Last week we had to find out, that it’s more difficult to buy a car than the common driver of a leased TDI might think. First we had to postpone Unternehmen Seehund and on Friday sobering followed during the survey of a car I had arranged. A week before I already had taken a look at the 1969 Pontiac Firebird which is for sale. But my first encounter with the car took place in a dark and narrow garage, so I arranged this second appointment with the seller in order to examine the car at daylight and take it for a test drive.

I also took Adrain and my father with me as (more) neutral experts. Six eyes do see more than two. Moreover one of us could take care of the extremely talkative seller while the other two could have a look at the car in detail. Thereby it showed what wasn’t visible in the dim garage: The paint was damaged or faulty all around. In a later chat the seller told us, there had been a new paint job a few years ago which had been applied on top of the subjacent thermoplast paint. It became obvious for us that these damages would only be the beginning and soon a new paint job would be necessary. This again would require the cumbersome depainting of the whole body. Such an extensive restoration isn’t what I’m looking for when buying my first classic car. Besides that the price did not fit anymore against this background and so it was clear to me: The Firebird and me wouldn’t ride drive into the sunset together.

Anyhow I decided to take the car for a spin in order to get a basis for comparison when test-driving another one. Adrian took some photos of the Firebird and a video of the test drive. Thanks for that!

Adrian gave it away already: For some months I’ve been looking for a suitable place to store one or even better a few cars. Accident came to my aid in December. Parking spaces would be for rent in the underground garage of the hotel next door, our caretaker told me. Apart from affordable rates this underground garage’s advantage is a connecting door to the basement of the house I live in. So I crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s this week, signed a contract and rented four spaces. Definitely planned for increment. One of the spaces is reserved for Adrian. One is occupied by my daily driver, the Volvo 740. Leaves two to be filled. Right after signing the contract I started thinking about how to expand our vehicle fleet. A coupé would be nice. Or a gran turismo. In any case something rear-wheel driven with more displacement than half a supermarket parking lot full of compact cars.

In the course of my quest I drove to a local Polish backyard car dealer this morning, who advertises a car on mobile.de which would meet these demands. Unfortunately the rest of it does not quite fit my idea of the car I’m looking for: A mediocre paint job at best, in a color which does not fit the original one, rusting fender tips and water ingress into the interior caused by ramshackled rubber gaskets dampened my first enthusiasm. While the dealer answered my questions quite honestly and openly, I already thought about whether the effort of a major restoration wouldn’t pay off. Barring the moisture the interior is in somewhat good shape at first glance. Technically the car which was imported from Oregon would be in good condition too, the dealer assured me. So the basis does not look too bad. However an extensive restoration would exceed the primarily set financial bounds by far. I had to slow myself down a bit and asked for a test drive at the next weekend. This should give me some time to think about it and the rest of the family might get the opportunity to take a look at the car as well.