11 -16 January 2003 Sydney - Canberra.

A note from the Travelling Duo

Hello all. We have been out of touch for a while now, but that is not to say that all has been quiet on our front. We have had some really wicked viruses on our computer, which then closed it down and made it unusable. In fact it is still out of action and I am sending this report on a loaned machine.

Firstly I really want to thank everyone who has sent greetings, Emails etc to us over the last 5 weeks since the accident. It was really encouraging to hear from you all and both Tom and I were really spurred on by your enthusiasm.

Secondly of course I must report on the car. We were unable to work on the car for the first three weeks because we had to wait for the insurance assessors to make a decision on it. One look at it told the story. It would cost far more to repair than the value that they placed on it and so it was declared a write off for their purposes. Of course, as all car enthusiasts know, we value things a little differently and the lads from the New South Wales Citroen Car Club, South Coast Chapter leapt into action. With a core team of Gerry Freed, Elliot Luffingham, Keith Cornford and Tom they set to work. But that was not all, as different members had a day off they came and lent a hand. Craig Keller, Gus Robinson, Joe Schembri all pitched on a number of days. In fact one day Keith even brought his daughter’s partner Todd, who is by trade a panel beater, to help for the day. Meanwhile Yo Freed, our hostess, aided by Sandra, has produced wonderful and exotic food in huge quantities to feed all the workers and all manner of interested parties. The stove has been in almost constant use and thank goodness for the dishwasher. Without that we would all have had dishpan hands.

With so much goodwill how could we fail and surprisingly enough the car now actually looks like a car again. A very bruised and battered version of a car but a car none the less and one that is once again recognisable as a boat tail Citroen 5CV. It is however true to say that when we arrive back in Perth she will require a face-lift of significant proportions.

But what exactly has been happening in these past three weeks. The engine has been dismantled and re-housed in a new crank case, the chassis has been straightened, the body has been straightened and refitted to the chassis and we have another back axle (or sort of anyway) and spare wheel. To explain what I mean by that; our back axle was broken beyond repair in the accident so our wonderful supporters in WA located another back axle (and some other bits and pieces) and crated them up and sent them to us by truck. We (being the universal term for the men working on the car) started pulling apart and cleaning the parts of the new axle when they discovered that the torque tube in the new axle was shorter than the old one. What to do? No options at this stage, so they took the torque tube from the old axle which looked reasonable and placed it into the new axle. Sounds okay in principal but, as they were to discover the main pinion shaft was bent and was wobbling in a dreadful arc within the tube. What to do? Again no option but to try to straighten it and is exactly what they did. I think the word to describe the manner in which this particular task was undertaken would be gingerly. But it worked. We have a working back axle so it speaks volumes for the ingenuity of these guys.

Sandra has mended the hood and so we have protection from the sun again. I’m sure there are loads of more technical things happening, but mercifully I am spared the details.

Thirdly ourselves. Given the reports we hear of the accident from eyewitnesses (one of whom told Shayne, our webmaster, that the car had rolled six times) we have come off very well. Apart from my no longer being eligible to enter the Miss Swimsuit competition due to the scaring I have only a few patches of broken skin, the ribs are healing slowly, as is the shoulder, leaving only the ankle of possible long term concern. It is a wait and see game but at least I am now able to walk for short distances. Tom is also repairing slowly. His ribs are causing little problem now although on our return to the West he will be having his shoulder and back checked out properly.

And the state of play is; ready….. set…. one moment please!

We are farwelling all of the wonderful people who have helped us so much during this six weeks.

Yesterday we traveled to ATECO, the Citroen distributor in Sydney for our ‘official launch.’ ATECO, on hearing of our accident offered us accommodation (which due to the generosity of the Schembri and Freed families was not required) and the use of a brand new Citroen Xsara, which was a real lifesaver. Consequently Tom and I felt that it was a fitting place to officially start again. Today we visit the Vintage Motor Museum in Wollongong and say farewell to people who have sourced all manner of bits and pieces for us (including the flashing yellow light which is just waiting to be mounted on the rear of the car). I wish I could report that we were going to drive off to Canberra at that point, but there are a few small adjustment which need to be made before Matilda is quite herself again, and so we are coming back to Wollongong. When we have made said adjustments and we will be off. Hopefully that will be in the next day or two.

One last thing to close with; do you remember Till, Gerlinder, and The Camel of Booraloola fame? Well they have now ventured down into this part of the world and are currently part of the team that is working on Matilda. Aren’t friends wonderful?

On the road again.

The day has finally come. With a number of false starts behind us we finally managed to get on the road. We left Wollongong with an escort of a beautiful blue Sunbeam, a modern Citroen and a Holden Berlina. The sky was blue and we were feeling pretty happy about everything.

We had not left the city boundaries when the fun began. The car began to lose power and we were having more and more difficulty in getting up even the smallest hills and rising up in front of us was the majestic Mount Keira. No way we were ever going to get up that!!! We just managed to pass a bike rider going up a little hill on the early slopes but it was touch and go as to who was going to win the race. Finally admitting that we had a problem we pulled over. A quick check of the brakes soon told us (that’s the royal us by the way and really means Tom) what the problem was. For some reason the brakes were binding, just a little, but it was enough to slow us down and cause an enormous problem. A quick tweek of the appropriate bits and we were off again.

We didn’t set any speed records but we did manage to climb the mountain and set sail for the highway. This part of the drive was reasonably uneventful apart from needing to pull over fairly regularly to let the traffic by (it would be very frustrating to sit behind a 5CV going 45-50km/hr for any length of time). Finally we pulled onto the highway at approximately the same place that we had left it so ignominiously some 43 days before. I felt quite churned up as we drove along and even Tom admitted to feeling very emotional at that point. This mood did not last long because just 7 kilometres up the road, waiting at the service station for us, was a group of some 20 odd Vintage, Veteran and Classic cars from the Razorback Car Club come to farewell us. What a timely lift to our spirits. How could a person feel miserable or upset with that many people offering their support?

We enjoyed a cup of tea and a chat and after receiving their more formal best wishes and thanking them in return, we again set off towards Goulburn for lunch. The car ran well and we have it from a reliable source (Wendy in the blue Sunbeam) that we even touched 40 miles per hour (briefly anyway). We enjoyed our last meal with Gerry and YO, Keith and Marion, from the South Coast Chapter of the NSW Citroen Car Club and with Ray and Wendy from the Wollongong Motoriing Museum all of whom have been stalwarts in the rebuild of the car, and set off for Canberra.

The car ran beautifully to Canberra with just a couple of very short stops to release that sticky brake. The scenery was very relaxing and we were thrilled to pass over the great dividing range.

Driving into Canberra we had arranged to meet Mike Neil from the Canberra Citroen Club and so in a rest area known as the Hughie Edwards VC Rest Area we drove in to a group of about 15 Vintage, Veteran, and Classic cars, the press and the television. It was pretty exciting and once again was a terrific boost to our flagging spirits. It also proved to be valuable in another way as my niece, Vanessa (whom I didn’t realize had come back to Canberra whilst we have been away from home), saw the news coverage, contacted me and we were able to catch up with each other.

In a short while we climbed into the cars and with Matilda behind a Classic Citroen D, the procession drove into the city and to the local Citroen dealer. There we had tea, coffee, biscuits and another radio interview. Everyone seems to be excited that we have recommenced our trip and the support we have been receiving has been fantastic.

Six o’clock and we were off to my dear friends Rae and Vernie’s home. I have been friends with Rae for nearly forty years and so it has been wonderful to catch up with her, Vernie and their children. Today, Wednesday has been spent quietly catching up with Tom fixing the car. Tomorrow we are being escorted by the Canberra car club all the way from Canberra to Goulburn. If that’s not dedication I don’t know what is.

Chat to you again when we get to Melbourne.

Regards

Lois and Tom