Wish me luck!!

[40 scout]

Ingrid my Mrs is booking me and Jake ,my 14 year old lad, on the overnight ferry from sunny Southsea to Caen - then were driving down to South of France (Narbonne way) to meet up with Ing and my other lad Joe (their flying) to visit my mum and dad who are staying on the canal du Midi.

Short notice tho - were leaving Monday - better give the car a once over!

Just printed off your touring list Mike (UUL442) - thanks.

No GPS - 6 volt - so it'll be maps all the way.

No real plans other than going thro Le Mans and over that big bridge - anyone else got any recommendations??

Wish me luck!!

Steve

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35984440@N06/3781489941/

[Helen]

Have a great trip.


BTW we used our TOMTOM in our 356a (6V) no problems. as long as the unit is fully charged each night then the 6V system is just anough to keep it happy all day. (although i was unplugging it when we had pitstops) the main problem we had was there is nowhere to put the unit as the widscreen is too curved, so the passanger had to have the unit in his lap

[louis356]

keep us updated with pictures

[40 scout]

Cheers for the tip Helen - Just tried our Blaupunkt sat nav in the 6 volt 356 fag lighter and it works!

Now if only I could find the leads and the disc for france

Will take a few pics and post links

Steve

[speedsterboy]

took my speedster from london to provence in a day once. then after a week in provence went on to Monaco then lake Garda ,across to Switzerland staying by various lakes,on to the black forest and then back across France ! Loved every minute and the car ran like a train the whole way.
best fun Ive had in my car.cant recommend it enough...

[40 scout]

Cars all packed - everything on mikes list and then some - plus loads of tools.

Can't wait - looks like a Sunday morning drive compared to speedsterboys trip!

Leave tomorrow eve - will post pics if poss

Steve

[cubist]

One more item: a thick binbag for the gearbox internals that become externals! Good luck

[40 scout]

Cheers!!!

I'll try not to be heavy handed (fixed yours yet???)

[nickT]

Bon voyage, all the best, have a great trip. Nick.

[40 scout]

Left Pompey on a wet monday evening after work for the overnight crossimg to Caen - arrived 6am in Caen to an equally wet overcast morning

Treated myself to a Garmin GPS, from Amazon, - just the basic one with a small screen - fitted great onto the 356 dash and worked fine on the 6 volt system.

Set the GPS for Capestang,(South of France, almost at the Med) the little village where my parents were on their canal boat, and went for it.

Car running well, opened the rear quarterlights at at about 200 miles at last warming up a bit.

Front quarters at about 300 miles, weather looking good, wound the windows down at 400 - beautiful warm weather now - ready for our Millau Viaduct crossing -



Car running like a top - stopped for fuel, coffee (lots) and topped up with oil (didnt need a lot but filled it up to the top of the dipstick every time to be on the safe side).

We went via the toll roads all the way down, cost about £50 but enabled us to sit at a steady 80 mph (3650 rpm) the whole way - worth it if you want to get South quickly.

Pulled up in Capestang at about 4.30pm to a beautiful warm day - great to see the weather and landscape changing through the course of the day.

The car ran like a (slightly noisy) dream, must fit that carpet kit sometime, the whole way which was 606 miles - not bad for a days driving in a 47 year old car.

Dad in the background with his boat!

Had a few well deserved beers that evening then left the boys on the boat and took off with Ingrid my mrs for a few days of touring in the South of France.
August is a busy month on the coast but we managed to find hotels without to much difficulty, believe it or not but the hotel option on the GPS actually worked!

The best driving though was away from the coast in the mountains, superb twisty, quiet roads - 356 heaven


Beautiful sunny days, those roads - Matt Munro, (On Days Like These), playing - happy days! (Got a bit nervous driving into the tunnels in case of hidden JCB's at the exit!!)


Four days away from the boat and another 400 + miles car still running great!



Returned back to the boat to rejoin the crew and managed to find a lovely little flat in the village centre for the last two nights - £50.00 a night with garaging! (Have details if anyone is interested)



Had a great couple of days in the sun then made out for the return journey - another superb 600 + mile trip in a day hardly dropping below 80 mph - only really needed to stop for fuel - the roads and conditions were superb.

Total mileage for the week long trip 1648 -
breakdowns nil!
(Despite taking a HUGE amount of tools and spares)

The car ran superbly - great at motorway speeds and even better in the mountains!!

To anyone thinking of a trip - pack up your tools and parts and do it - your car will love you for it!


Steve

(pleased to report the gearbox internals remained internals throught the journey, despite gloomy predictions !!)

[Ian Gunney]

fantastic - just what the cars are meant for.

I'm a firm believer in packing lots of tools with a view to not needing them!

[cubist]

Lucky bugger! So envious... now planning a trip next summer to properly christen the new 912 lump when it's finally in and leak free

[Gary71]

Great road trip

[john fletcher]

What a great drive! Well done.
That's what we all want to do. I went to the S of France 3 years ago in a Citroen DS I'd restored and I know the feeling when you've done such a big trip in a forty-odd year old car.

John

PS Not wishing to be boring but what mpg did you get?

[58A - 71E]

What a great trip that looked - the family and I have done something similar for the last 3 years running in the 911 (going through that area in fact) but next year I hope to do it in the 356 for the first time - definitely good inspiration