Anyone Know of a good 1 Litre offroader?

jhcabs

Hi

I've got my place secure for next years Mongol Rally 2009. Its a Banger Rally were you drive a 1 litre car from London to Mongolia. Its around 10,000 miles in 4 weeks and you drive through deserts, mountain ranges, and all kinds of horrible terrain all in the name of your chosen Charity.

Does Anyone have any suggestions for a good car? Oh and they have just brought in a new rule. The car has to be 10 years old or younger. So 99 and up is all i can work with and you have to buy cheap. Thats another rule.

Possible cars so far... Pajero Junior, Suz Jimmy, Mitz Space Star,
(Dat Hijet -Impossible to find in Ireland)

Guy:Incognito

jhcabs wrote: »

Possible cars so far... Pajero Junior, Suz Jimmy, Mitz Space Star,
(Dat Hijet -Impossible to find in Ireland)

Is the space star not an MPV type car? Wont be any better than a normal car for offroading.

Anan1

Why does it have to be 1.0?

scab-e

Panda 4x4 climbing?
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Fiat/Panda/4X4-CLIMBING/1123270/

Mitch Connor

Clearly you want one of these:

Best option

jhcabs

It has to be a 1 litre because, the adventure is meant to be as difficult as possible. They brought the rule in during the first year in 2003 (i think) The more slip ups, like digging your car out of the sand or break downs in the middle of nowhere, the more fun its meant to be. If you check out the website you'll see loads of great adventure stories.

stekelly - your probably right about the mitz space star. Someone suggested it to me the other day but haven't had time to look into it more.

jhcabs

Tauren - I'd love to take one of them but there probably not under ten years old. Shame though about this new rule, its kinda ruining it a bit. The rally organiser have said because of the new rule, they may allow max 1.2l but has to be 99 and up.

The Panda is a great choice, would love to have a 4x4 like that but for €7k plus, it would kinda drawf our Charity donation.

Loving the responses though. Thanks lads

Anan1

There was an older Panda 4x4, but I think it was pre-99.

jhcabs

In other years, the panda has been pretty popular. The and the Jimmy but i think the post 99 Jimmy is 1.3. I hate this new rule. I really wanted to take a classic

L1011

You *might* be able to get one of the old Panda 4x4's with the 850cc Fiat engine in it from Poland - they were made until 2003 there.

The new one says 1.3 on that ad, but its actually a 1.2 (1242) and you can probably argue a LOT off the price as Panda's depreciate horribly in this country.

jhcabs

MYOB wrote: »

You *might* be able to get one of the old Panda 4x4's with the 850cc Fiat engine in it from Poland - they were made until 2003 there.

The new one says 1.3 on that ad, but its actually a 1.2 (1242) and you can probably argue a LOT off the price as Panda's depreciate horribly in this country.

Sounds like a good idea. How would i go about getting that in from Poland? Would it cost much?

jhcabs

I'm really liking the Panda idea but can't seem to find any on the cheap.

Anan1

jhcabs wrote: »

I'm really liking the Panda idea but can't seem to find any on the cheap.

Have a look at this. It's not that cheap, and the seller admits to having been drunk when he wrote the description, but it does look like what you're looking for...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1989-FIAT-PANDA-SISLEY-4X4-METALLIC-RED-42000-MILES_W0QQitemZ250294866799QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250294866799&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A4%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

S.I.R

subaru justyy was a great 1.0 and 1.2 turbo 4wd...


subaru vivo, suzuki alto diahatsu midget, all 4x4 micro cares which do pretty well off road imvho...

Anan1 wrote: »

Have a look at this. It's not that cheap, and the seller admits to having been drunk when he wrote the description, but it does look like what you're looking for...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1989-FIAT-PANDA-SISLEY-4X4-METALLIC-RED-42000-MILES_W0QQitemZ250294866799QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250294866799&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A4%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

he describers that panda as a golf, deffo steer clear ^^

Biro

Anan1 wrote: »

Have a look at this. It's not that cheap, and the seller admits to having been drunk when he wrote the description, but it does look like what you're looking for...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1989-FIAT-PANDA-SISLEY-4X4-METALLIC-RED-42000-MILES_W0QQitemZ250294866799QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250294866799&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A4%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

10 years too old though.
OP you're kind of stung. 1.3 would be a better figure to work with.
You might be better off with some old starlet and raise the suspension, put off road tyres on it and reverse up hills!

jhcabs

Anan1 wrote: »

Have a look at this. It's not that cheap, and the seller admits to having been drunk when he wrote the description, but it does look like what you're looking for...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1989-FIAT-PANDA-SISLEY-4X4-METALLIC-RED-42000-MILES_W0QQitemZ250294866799QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250294866799&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A4%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

That car looks like great fun to drive and would be perfect for last years rally but with the new rule its just too old (18 years). Car has to be 10 years or younger or it won't get over the mongolian border.

L1011

Step 1: Get that 4x4
Step 2: Get a crashed 1999+ Polski Fiat Panda for a few quid in a breakers in Warsaw
Step 3: Swap the VIN plates

Not quite legal, but this is how Mini's were imported to the US for years...

Anan1

Sorry, forgot about the post-99 thing!

jhcabs

Biro wrote: »

10 years too old though.
OP you're kind of stung. 1.3 would be a better figure to work with.
You might be better off with some old starlet and raise the suspension, put off road tyres on it and reverse up hills!

Ha ha like the thinking on that one. I put a call into the rally organisers just there about the new rule and they have said that inlight of the new rule they may allow up to max 1.2 so maybe that would give me more choice? would it?

jhcabs

S.I.R wrote: »

subaru justyy was a great 1.0 and 1.2 turbo 4wd...

subaru vivo, suzuki alto diahatsu midget, all 4x4 micro cares which do pretty well off road imvho... ^^

Can you get these post 99? I've seen a 4x4 Micro for sale which was post 99 but it looked so small, but i can't have my cake and eat it too. Maybe having the extra .2 will help a bit

jhcabs

MYOB wrote: »

Step 1: Get that 4x4
Step 2: Get a crashed 1999+ Polski Fiat Panda for a few quid in a breakers in Warsaw
Step 3: Swap the VIN plates

Not quite legal, but this is how Mini's were imported to the US for years...

I wonder could i just buy the car in Poland, bring it back to Ireland to get it ready and then bring it to the Start point in London. Sure when the Car reaches Mongolia its going to be Auctioned off for Charity anyway. (Thats if it makes it) Its just, i'll have so many border crossings along the way. Might look a bit dodgey with an Irish Passport and a Polish Car.

Mailman

wasn't there a Subaru Justy 4x4 based on a suzuki swift?

ronnie3585

From a reading of the rules the 1 litre rule is a little unclear;

From the Official Website
3. The 1 Litre Rule:

You can only use a car with an engine of 1 litre or less. If you want to go on a motorbike (ideally a scooter) they are limited to under 125cc. We're an amicable bunch though, so if you're desperate to use something bigger you can be accommodated, but you will be fined £100 for every 0.1 litre above the limit, payable straight to the charities

Does the £100 fine for every 0.1 litre apply only to motorbikes?

jhcabs

ronnie3585 wrote: »

From a reading of the rules the 1 litre rule is a little unclear;



Does the £100 fine for every 0.1 litre apply only to motorbikes?

No, the 100 fine is for both cars and motorbikes. I know its not much to pay but even having to pay any fine is frowned upon be the organizers. Besides i'd like to see if i can stick to the 1.2 max. It addeds to the adventure making it more difficult.

I know the rule is a bit unclear but that's only because the mongolian Goverment decided that they probably had enough old cars coming in and wanted a few new ones. I only heard about the rule last month and i've wanted to do this rally for nearly 2 years

They'll probably auction off for more being newer adding to the total raised which would be really good too.

jhcabs

Mailman wrote: »

wasn't there a Subaru Justy 4x4 based on a suzuki swift?

yeah the justy is available for 1996 - 2002 in 4x4 but its 1.3. Its another good one that i never heard of though so thanks dude. Its good to have these options so keep them coming. Cheers

Vegeta

jhcabs wrote: »

yeah the justy is available for 1996 - 2002 in 4x4 but its 1.3. Its another good one that i never heard of though so thanks dude. Its good to have these options so keep them coming. Cheers

Suzuki Jimny and take the 100 euro fine is what I'd do

Are engine transplants etc allowed?

jhcabs

Vegeta wrote: »

Suzuki Jimny and take the 100 euro fine is what I'd do

Are engine transplants etc allowed?

I don't know if they are allowed. I was wondering that about that one myself, but would that not just end up costing me a lot more. I'm not a Machanic so i have no idea where to start.

I was thinking about the Jimny, never actually drove one myself but i've heard really bad things about them realiablity wise. Is that true, like would it make it all the way to Ulan Baatar without falling apart. Space wise it looks very small too. There will be three of us but we plan to travel light, (Very Light)

colm_mcm

S.I.R wrote: »

subaru vivo, suzuki alto diahatsu midget, all 4x4 micro cares which do pretty well off road imvho...

Would have to disagree, city cars won't cope well offroad, thet don't have the suspension travel to cope with rough roads and off roading.

I'd suggest a:

Mitsubishi Pajero Junior (1094cc) or Pajero Mini (699cc)

Suzuki SJ410 (999cc)

Pajero junior is prob the only one you'll get under 10 years old.

ronnie3585

I don't mean to drag this thread off topic but does anyone know if you can still get a place on the Mongol Rally 2009? I've had my name on the list for a while to get a spot in London but I haven't heard anything. Does anyone know if the waiting list actually moves at all. I applied with only half a notion of doing it but now it looks like I can swing the time off work so I'm mad to go!

Jonty

subaru justy??

Niloc

yeh, im doing the rally this year too, team nano madness

we're looking at either a mitsubishi junour/mini, a suzuki jimny or a dihatsu terrios. the latter two are both 1.3s but we can strech to this if we cant find a suitable mitsubishi.

to Ronnie3585, yeh i was on the waiting list for a while and then i got my spot, but that was two months ago. i'd doubt if any more places will come up at this stage, but my car isnt full so if you want in on a team i cud possibly sort you out

jhcabs

Hi Niloc. Its good to finally meet a fellow Rallier. Are you going to the Meeting Next week in Bristol and will you be going to the Christmas Party next Month. Our team is based down in Wexford/Gorey. I'm Originally from Dublin and Moved down here 3 years ago. I've wanted to do this rally since i heard about it then.

Cars wise, we're looking at the Jimmy aswell and i'm really hoping out for a Dihatsu Hijet if its possible to find one 99+ in Ireland??? I haven't really done much so far. I've been driving Dan in the Adventurist Office Mad with Questions though. Have you guys organised Much.

To Ronnie3585, i'm sorry i only saw your message now. I have three on the team at the moment but we're still trying to decide if we should take one more. If your still interested i could speak to the others? If not i could say it to others at the team meets and see if i can find any recruiting teams. Its a dam shame man cause i actually had a second place for 24 hours about a month ago.

Ferris

I'm really jealous lads, I want to do this trip someday.

Personaly i'd go for a Jimny, they're Jap reliable and great offroad. Not great on the road but thats not too much of a problem for what you guys will be doing. I would also think about fitting a sump guard that goes as far back as the centre diff, I remember reading some of the diaries and a couple of teams running SJ410's ripped open their centre diffs on rocks.

pf85

Hi,

I am interested in this type of event but it is fully booked for 2009. Does anyone know of any other rallies similar to this one? Cheers

jhcabs

PF85 - Well there's the Mongolian Charity Rally http://www.charityrallies.org/en/listings
I don't know much about these guys. They're not as well know, but my opinion is it doesn't matter. we're all going in the same direction. Their Website this year is a lot better than what they had before.

Ferris - Thanks for the advise, on getting a Sump Guard. My level of Auto knowledge is seriously limited, low, completely non existing but i'm enjoying learning. Another thing that was mentioned to me was taking the exhaust off the standard bracket that it was secured too and drilling two small holes to attached metal wiring too. Its meant to give it more flex stopping it from snapping under pressure. Is this true or do you think i'm just giving the dessert a head start? Any other Modifications come to mind?

kazul

Ferris wrote: »

I'm really jealous lads, I want to do this trip someday.

Personaly i'd go for a Jimny, they're Jap reliable and great offroad. Not great on the road but thats not too much of a problem for what you guys will be doing. I would also think about fitting a sump guard that goes as far back as the centre diff, I remember reading some of the diaries and a couple of teams running SJ410's ripped open their centre diffs on rocks.

Or you could flip the axles, i.e. put the axles under the chassis rails to increase ground clearance. I think there's a youtube video of Mike Brewer and Ed China doing this on Wheeler Dealers.

Ferris

jhcabs wrote: »

Another thing that was mentioned to me was taking the exhaust off the standard bracket that it was secured too and drilling two small holes to attached metal wiring too. Its meant to give it more flex stopping it from snapping under pressure. Is this true or do you think i'm just giving the dessert a head start? Any other Modifications come to mind?

Its probably to stop the longer sections of the exhaust from snapping due to vibration from bad roads. I'd say its best to take advice from people who have gone on that trip before. From reading it before snapped suspension springs seems to be a common failure.

peasant

If you ARE going with a Jimny and absolutely INSIST on modyfing it (which I don't think is necessary), then these are the guys to go to:
http://www.kapsuzuki4x4.co.uk/jimny.html

Fit bigger tyres (195/80/15 instead of the standard 205/70/15) and you'll be alright.

Just don't do anything stupid off-road and always use your head and use the least difficult/damaging option.

The aim is to get there, not get stuck (and you will get stuck even with the best 4x4 if you're over-confident)

Ferris

peasant wrote: »

If you ARE going with a Jimny and absolutely INSIST on modyfing it (which I don't think is necessary), then these are the guys to go to:
http://www.kapsuzuki4x4.co.uk/jimny.html

Fit bigger tyres (195/80/15 instead of the standard 205/70/15) and you'll be alright.

Just don't do anything stupid off-road and always use your head and use the least difficult/damaging option.

The aim is to get there, not get stuck (and you will get stuck even with the best 4x4 if you're over-confident)

Good link.

This will work with the standard front bumper however



http://n4-offroad.com/Ski_aluminium_uk.htm

Loos to be the business

Rovi

Ferris wrote: »

I would also think about fitting a sump guard that goes as far back as the centre diff, I remember reading some of the diaries and a couple of teams running SJ410's ripped open their centre diffs on rocks.

SJs don't have centre differentials, are you thinking of the transfer gearbox by any chance?
Or the axle differentials?

Either way, a sump guard won't do much to protect either.

Ferris

Rovi wrote: »

SJs don't have centre differentials, are you thinking of the transfer gearbox by any chance?
Or the axle differentials?

Either way, a sump guard won't do much to protect either.

The transfer box then - it was a while ago I read it - either way the teams were left with 2wd after hitting it.

Both sites peasant and I posted have Transfer box protection available for the Jimny.

Niloc

jhcabs wrote: »

Hi Niloc. Its good to finally meet a fellow Rallier. Are you going to the Meeting Next week in Bristol and will you be going to the Christmas Party next Month. Our team is based down in Wexford/Gorey. I'm Originally from Dublin and Moved down here 3 years ago. I've wanted to do this rally since i heard about it then.

yeh, we'r based in Dun Laoghaire. wont be going next week but im thinking about going for the christmas party, flights with ryanair for only €50 return.

here's a load of info that a guy who did it a year or so ago;

Car
Most of the cars on the Mongol Rally will suffer from being heavily loaded up (relative to what they were designed for) on bad roads in hot weather. This means problems with suspension and overheating. I’m not sure what your level of mechanical knowledge is so I’ll err on the basic side of things - please excuse me if any of this is blindingly obvious for you!

Engine Overheating
Chances are this will be a problem and you’ll probably find that your car’s temperature dial is the most important instrument on the dashboard. If the engine overheats you run a decent chance of blowing your head gasket which is serious but not necessarily terminal. Your mechanic friend can explain this in more detail if necessary. There’s a couple things you can do to the car to reduce overheating and a few things you can do to your driving style. The times you’re most likely to overheat are just after slowing down from cruising on a motorway and idling in traffic so make sure to keep an eye on the temperature at those times.

Personally, I prefer temporary modifications to the car because you’ll also encounter some very cold weather along the way. Your car probably has an electric fan that’s triggered by a temperature sensor. If you bypass this switch and set the fan permanently on then this makes a big difference. Sounds complicated but all you need to do is replace the fan relay with a 3 inch piece of wire with female blade terminals on each end. A mechanic can show you how to do this – it takes about 10 seconds to do or undo. In my opinion this is much better than the more common solution of cutting and splicing wires to leave the fan always on.

The next thing that can be done is removing the thermostat. This keeps the cooling water inside the engine block while it warms up and then opens so it can pass through the radiator once things need to be cooled. It also slows down the flow a bit so removing it gives better flow of the coolant water and therefore better cooling. We didn’t need to do this but it’s not usually all that hard to do, ask your mechanic to show you where it is and how to remove it. Personally I’d leave it in unless I was really having problems.

Finally, there’s actually 2 radiators in your car! The second one is the heater matrix and it’s what provides the hot air from the heater one those cold winter mornings. So putting on the heat makes a major difference to engine temperature and is a great way of cooling down the engine if it’s running hot. It doesn’t sound fun and frankly it’s not but this kept us going through Turkey, Iran and Turkmenistan. Above about 50 kph it’s bearable with the windows open.

As for your driving style, the heat generated by the engine is directly proportional to the power it’s generating. So if you accelerate hard there’s a lot more heat to dissipate. Therefore driving gently makes a big difference and you’ll probably find there’s a max speed that you can comfortably drive at in hot weather of around 90-110 kph.

Suspension
This will take a beating. It will take much more of a beating if you’re going through western Mongolia so if you decide against that route then this isn’t as much of an issue but we still wrecked our rear shocks by Kazakhstan. Overall we broke 3 springs, ruined 2 shocks and utterly destroyed the other 2. If you’re taking spares these should be top of the list. Springs are more important than shocks because you can actually drive on busted shocks, but it isn’t pretty and be careful about going fast because it can be a bit dangerous. Replacing the rear springs and/or shocks isn’t very hard once you have some basic tools and I’d definitely suggest having someone show you how to do this before you leave. There’s a funny little tool you need to hold the top of the shock (a 6mm spanner might also work but a pliers of vice grip won’t) so don’t leave home without it. The front ones are a bit harder to get off and putting a new spring in requires a spring compressor so I’d leave that to a garage unless you’re into mechanics.

If you’re considering Western Mongolia then definitely fit a sump guard, anyone who got through without one was simply lucky – I saw several busted sumps and gearbox cases and our sump guard saved the day a few times. A quick tip on sump guards, DON’T weld it on! This is easier until the welds crack and you end up dragging your sump guard along the ground. Bolt it on. This also makes engine repairs easier.

If you want to go a step further, consider replacing the shocks and springs with heavier duty ones before you leave. Since there’s 3 of you in the car I’d seriously consider doing at least the rear suspension. You might be able to simply swap the existing springs and shocks for ones from a larger car that you buy (or get donated) from a scrap yard.

I also did another road trip through West Africa over Christmas so based on that on the Mongol Rally, the other things your mechanic should do are:
Change the timing belt (if it goes you’re screwed, cost is mostly labour so you might get it done for free)
Change oil & oil filter
Change spark plugs
Change air filter and know how to take it out to check for dust
Change brake fluid and clutch fluid (if your clutch is hydraulic) – this isn’t strictly necessary but the older fluid might mask a small leak which could catch up with you later. This cost me a day in Burkina Faso when I had to find a new master cylinder.
Change fuel filter – On the Rally I only got bad fuel twice (Turkey) and it was still driveable. Needed a full carburettor rebuild and the fuel tank cleaned from some stuff I got in Africa though!
Check brake pads
Change points in distributor – cheap and fairly easy
Replace condenser (electrical thingy on distributor – very cheap & very easy)
Check rubber seals such as CV boots and steering arm boots. (I has 4 go on me over the 2 trips mainly because they were old and brittle)
Replace alternator belt and bring the old one as a spare
Check rear wheel bearings
I got the clutch replaced for free which was great peace of mind but not strictly necessary – lots of labour costs here
Spot lights are really useful – I had some but had mounted them on the front of the roofrack with the result that they shone through the front window and destroyed my night vision as well as lighting up the road. Better to put them near the front bumper (but don’t block your radiator) and install a separate switch for them instead of wiring them into the high beams. Got these donated from a motor accessory shop and fitted them myself.
Put clear tape over your headlights to stop a stone shattering them. This happened to lots of teams. I never got any hassle about not having the little black stickers to redirect my headlights for Europe.

You’ll need to do a service along the way so bring spare oil, oil filter, air filter and spark plugs. It’s cheap to get this done in a garage but also easy to do yourself if you can find somewhere to put the used oil. Garages can be great experiences and I had a lot of fun getting repairs done even though I could have probably done them myself. The experiences were more than worth the cost (usually very reasonable - €10-20). The only time I got ‘ripped off’ was for a 9 hour job that involved 3 mechanics replacing my entire front suspension, driving all around the town to find replacement shocks and springs and modifying them to fit (since they came from another make of car). His friends were visibly embarrassed at the price he asked for parts and labour- $100.

Tools and Spares
This is a tough one because you need to balance up money and weight against being caught out. We found car accessory shops and local hardware stores great so we actually didn’t have to pay for a single tool. There’s no absolute answer to what to bring so I’ll do a quick list of what was definitely useful, what was nice and what we never used.

Definitely Useful
2 tonne Hydraulic Jack – infinitely better that the wind up jack that comes with your car. The envy of all other teams we met!
Half decent socket set (8mm – 22mm) – due to some last minute confusion we had 2 but the cheaper one broke
‘Breaker bar’ – this is a long handle for the sockets to help get off tight bolts. Very, very useful but can shatter the very cheap sockets. Also great for taking off the wheels.
Spanners (6mm – 19mm)
Little tool for holding the bolt on the top of the rear shocks
Big flat head screw driver – great as a lever as well!
Normal Philips head screw driver (but NOT the posi-drive head)
Glue: rubber glue, super glue, chemical metal, araldite. All fantastically useful and we used every bit we had
Wide selection of cable ties. Cheap and great, especially the very big ones
Duct tape & electrical tape
Pliers
A few electrical terminals and some bits of wire
Haynes manual for the car
Tow rope
1 x 20 litre jerry can and funnel
A few bits of 2” x 1” wood, maybe 6 inches long
Spare oil and coolant
Hose clips – metal bands that you screw tight around rubber hoses. Fixed a radiator leak, fuel tank leak and rear suspension with these babies on a range of other Rally cars. Get lots in various sizes. About 35mm diameter probably the most useful.
Camping stove
Small calculator for converting prices

Nice to have
Vice grips
Spare bolts and screws
Hand wipes
Second jerry can – good for peace of mind but never actually needed it
Spare brake fluid
Hammer
Axle stands

Never Used
Allen keys
Torque wrench
Radiator weld (others needed it though)
Octane booster

We had 2 spare tyres and were lucky enough to have only 1 puncture. Doing it again I’d still bring 2 spares but no more, some people had 4 which are just extra weight. Bring a few spare bulbs. Since you’ve been to Mongolia you’ll probably know how cold it can be. One team never thought much about it and were wearing all of their clothes and still shivering in western Mongolia! My sleeping bag was crap and I froze some of the nights.

We regretted not having a big map on the car showing our route and where Ireland was. Some cheap token souvenirs of Ireland would also have been great fun to have had to give away.

You can pretty much ignore anything the organisers threaten that might involve work for them such as fining you for removing the rear seats or taking GPS. Their main use is avoiding the import taxes in Mongolia and the visa information document.

Countries and visas
One of the few genuinely good things the organisers produce is the visa document. This is very useful, I met lots of people while travelling who had visa problems but on closer examination they simply didn’t read the forms properly. It’s tedious but you’re dealing with very bureaucratic people so the details are quite important. Cross check the dates when you collect them, one guy only realised his Turkmenistan visa was 5 days too early when he was in Istanbul!

Turkey – visa on arrival and you need a green card for car insurance. Istanbul is a great place for a day off, there’s good accommodation in the backpacker area beside the Blue Mosque and we parked our car safely on the street here for 2 nights. Great roads apart from some road works in the east but huge distances, we underestimated this and had 2 days of 14 hours driving to get across in time.

Iran – very easy, online application and then drop in to pick up the stamp in the Dublin embassy about 2 weeks later. Only €50 for us Irish! Girls need to be wearing headscarves in the photos. At the time we were in Iran there was fuel rationing. To get around this we needed to obtain a fuel card and the tourist office in Tabriz helped us with this but it took about half a day. Without this card it’s impossible to buy fuel normally and we even had difficulty buying any on the black market so I’d strongly recommend filling up your tank before you leave Turkey so that you’re not under immediate pressure. Actually, this is a good rule to follow with any border and any savings from cheaper fuel can rapidly be outweighed by running out before you can find a garage or change money. Driving in Iran is crazy, much more so than any other country on the trip. I got into it and quite enjoyed it by the end but make sure someone fairly confident is driving into the country and the rest can decide if they feel up to it once they arrive. And, despite all the scaremongering you’ll come up against, the Iranian people are some of the nicest, friendliest we’ve ever met and our major regret on the Rally was that we didn’t have more time in Iran. Roads are good.

Turkmenistan - visa is slow, impossible to speed up and difficult to get along the way. Make this a priority in your visa plans. You’ll need Iran and Uzbekistan beforehand but if necessary you can get Kazakhstan along the way and Russia can be done in a few hours in the Dublin embassy. We got a 5 day transit visa which is tons of time. We left London on the 21 July and had the Turkmenistan visa for 4 – 8 Aug which put us under more pressure than we wanted in Iran and Turkey and we had to skip out on some places we wanted to visit but it is achievable on a fairly direct run. You need a route outlined, dates and type of transport even though these aren’t asked for in the application. Going from Iran the route is Ashgabat – Mary - Turkmenabat. Ashgabat is weird, cool and definitely worth half a day’s walk around but I didn’t find the rest of the country all that interesting to be honest and only stayed 2 nights in Turkmenistan overall. Pretty good roads. There’s a lot of paperwork at the border and it cost us about $140 (in US Dollars) in fees but it was all very official and we got a receipt for everything.


Uzbeksitan – we needed a letter of invitation and got it through a guy called Airat (found him in the lonely planet) – can’t remember the company but can dig it up if necessary. Bukhara is a great little town for a rest day, a little touristy but not overwhelming and very picturesque.

Kazakhstan – Pretty straightforward visa and several people we met had to pick up this visa on the road because the organisers messed up. Big distances and good roads until a few hundred km north of Almaty where there’s a bad stretch. We took a rest day in Almaty which was of some interest nothing too remarkable. There are some lovely landscapes and keep an eye out for their local horse polo – we saw a match in the middle of nowhere and it was fantastic! Hotels will generally offer a big discount (40-50%) if you offer to check out before 7 or 8am.

Russia – you can get the visa in 2 weeks (€60), 1 week (€80) or a few hours (€100). However, there is usually a big queue so plan on an hour or two at the embassy just to drop in the application. This is one of the few borders I’ve been to that had no money changers (maybe we arrived at an odd time?) and we nearly ran out of fuel before getting money. Great roads, and stunning scenery in Siberia.

Mongolia – well you’ve been here so there’s not too much I’ll add. Terrible roads but we found it an amazing adventure. We spent 8 days crossing from Tsaganuur to UB via the southern route. About a day and a half was lost to wrong turns and a day to car repair but otherwise we drove from sunrise to sunset. I absolutely loved it but it was hard work at the time. Bring food from Russia and a camping stove. Visa is easy.

China - We went home via the Trans Siberian Express to Beijing and decided to pick up our Chinese visa in UB. Embassy only opens every other day from 9.30 to 12. We got there at 8.45 and were one of the last to get visas on that day – it’s absolute chaos! You can get it fairly easily in Dublin if necessary.

Other paperwork
You need a carnet for Iran which we got through the RAC. We managed to agree a value of £200 so needed a £1000 bond and £150 fee. You’ll also need a green card for insurance in at least Turkey and Serbia – otherwise you might have to pay in the region of €100 for local insurance on the border. Green card cost me €10 from FBD so was money well spent. I had an international drivers licence, never specifically needed it but it’s nice to have a licence that can be confiscated without leaving me stuck.

Several countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and a few others) need motorway vignettes which are little stickers you put on the windscreen instead of paying tolls. There’s not too expensive and I’d have gotten caught several times if I didn’t have them.

I had a pre-’93 ownership document for our car (the old brown card things) which caused a little trouble but nothing insurmountable. You could ask for a proper Carte Grisse (which is the modern one) from the Vehicle Reg office if you wanted.
Police & Bribes
Don’t worry too much about this. I’ve gotten stopped for a variety of real and imaginary traffic offences in counties out of the west and have managed to not pay a single fine or bribe. My tack is to know how to say hello in the local language, be very polite and admit that I was wrong straight away. This works nearly all the time. If they’re looking for a bribe then I just stall by pretending not to understand and trying ‘earnestly’ to figure it our while talking about how nice their country is. Eventually they get bored. With one complete gangster in Mali I spent 15 minutes asking for detailed directions back to the police station in broken French (I didn’t use an indicator on a barren piece of road in the middle on nowhere) and offering him Kola nuts when he asked for money for Coca Cola etc. It took over half an hour but he eventually gave up. Usually they’re just curious and are quite friendly.

Being Irish always helps (if they know the country exists) and interestingly we found the most widely known Irishman is Roy Keane!


hope this stuff helps

Garfieldus

pf85 wrote: »

Hi,

I am interested in this type of event but it is fully booked for 2009. Does anyone know of any other rallies similar to this one? Cheers

i did this this time last year to timbuktu. you need to book early.

http://www.plymouth-banjul.co.uk/