LEJOG 2004 – PREVIEW OF THE VAUXHALL MAGNUM ENTRY
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Simon’s overview:
The Drivers/Navigators
Simon Foote is an IT Project Leader for the publishing company
John Wiley and Sons Ltd in Chichester, West Sussex.
Tim Scott, Sales and Service Director JS Humidifiers in
Littlehampton, West Sussex.
Magnum 1800 and Vauxhall Memories
I bought the 1974 Vauxhall Magnum 1800 about 18 months ago in
order to go on classic car tours and road rallies which often
require the year of manufacture to be 1974 or earlier. The year was
right and the price was right (£600), and I liked the look of the
Magnum’s four-headlight arrangement.
My first Vauxhall experiences came when learning to drive and using
my Mum’s white Vauxhall Viva, and then came a succession of family
Chevette hatchbacks, a silver one with the recessed front lights
which filled up with snow every winter (!) and then a metallic green
1300 which my father still owns. My brother has in the past owned a
Mark 1, Astra 1800 ohc in two-tone bronze and brown (about time two-
tone paint came back perhaps!). I often wish I had bought a Mark 1
Astra GTE, which is a great looking car.
Having bought the Vauxhall Magnum I needed some parts and technical
backup so I joined the Viva Owners Club and the ‘Droop Snoot Group’
both of which produce good quarterly members magazines, have great
parts departments and are very helpful. I must have picked the right
time to get into classic Vauxhalls as Vauxhall Heritage are now up
on the Web and provide similarly great services.
I spent a few months sorting out leaking hoses, tracing and fixing
minor oil leaks and generally giving the car a good service and
clean. Once I was sure the car was reliable I asked my friend Tim
Scott to come on a ‘trial’ road rally from Hampton Court in
London, to ‘HMS Victory’ in Portsmouth which was the first leg
of the ‘2002 London to Lisbon ‘ road rally organised by the ‘Historic
Endurance Rallying Organisation’ (HERO). It was great fun as we
didn’t have a clue what to expect and we were given ‘tulip’
rally charts to follow, with some timed sections in various woodland
stretches on the route. I thought I knew this part of the country
reasonably well but this type of rally proves otherwise and
therefore keeps it interesting. These road rallies are a great way
to drive through some lovely countryside you would never normally
get to see.
Tim Scott also has some Vauxhall experience as he currently drives
an Omega Estate, and at ‘JS
Humidifiers’ he oversees a team of ten service engineers all of
whom drive Astra vans.
Tim was not available when I wanted to do the 2003 London to
Brighton run so another friend stepped in for the trip. We went from
the Brooklands Motor Circuit, flagged off by Sir Stirling Moss, to
Brighton boulevard beachfront, where all the classic cars were lined
up and looked great. The rally is run every year by Greenwood
Exhibitions and uses similar ‘tulip’ navigation charts to those
I had used previously so there was no panic this time. The weather
was a perfect sunny day and the Magnum’s engine torque proved to
be useful for powering up the steep Ditchling Beacon Hill on the
South Downs before descending into Brighton.
LEJOG
I had seen details about the ‘Lands End to John o’Groats’
(LEJOG) Rally and Road Tour on the HERO website and in the motoring
press back in 2002 and thought it would be a great adventure. We had
intended to do more road rallies before the event but as anyone with
a family knows things don’t always work out the way you plan them.
So now here we are with just a few weeks to go and still quite a bit
of hectic preparation to do on the car as well as getting the driver
and navigator roles sorted out. It will be quite a tough schedule,
as we depart Lands End on the morning of 6 December and arrive in
John o’Groats early on the morning of 9 December.
Here’s how HERO describes the Touring Trial:
In just three days and nights, between 8.00am on the first Saturday
in December and 8:00am the following Tuesday, participants on the
Touring Trial will have to cover about 1,400 miles through some of
Britain's most scenic terrain. Along the way, they have to visit all
24 major controls on LEJOG (during the times the controls are open)
and follow night navigation sections in Wales, the Pennines or Lake
District, and Scotland. It's not a high-speed race, but the event is
relentless; a true endurance rally for vintage and classic cars and
their crews.
The Touring Trial: Our Provisional Programme
Saturday 6 December, 8.00am first car leaves Land's End. Daytime
run through Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. Night run through Wales to
night halt in Chester.
Sunday 7 December, run through Lancashire, the Yorkshire Dales and
the Pennines to night halt in Carlisle.
Monday 8 December, daytime run through the Borders and Southern
Highlands to a supper stop; then a final night run through remote
Northern Scotland to John o'Groats.
Tuesday 9 December: 8.00am first car due at John o'Groats.
Evening: LE JOG prize-giving dinner with Scottish entertainment in
Wick.
This is the 10th year LEJOG has been running, often described as the
longest and toughest rally in Britain, exactly the sort of challenge
Vauxhall liked to attempt in the past. Hopefully next year we’ll
see more than just one Vauxhall car taking up the challenge of LEJOG.
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