Our very own 96 club
TWO ISSUES of Octane ago, I wrote a ‘How To’ on organising your own classic car run. It has now happened, the weather gods smiled warmly and it all proved a great success. However, two cars weren’t quite as portrayed in the preview. The MGB V8 had sprayed brake fluid around its engine bay during an aborted attempt to fix its clutch master cylinder, so it was left in disgrace while a Porsche 911 2.7 RS Carrera had the fun instead.
The other stay-at-home was my own Sunbeam Stiletto, off games with a noisy universal joint, a dying water pump, a whining alternator and an incontinent gearbox, so we took my faithful Saab 96 two-stroke. Mrs S was delighted, not least because the Saab is a lot quieter.
Much of our mid-Wales run involved mountains, so for 50% of the time the Saab would be just as rapid as its more potent companions. It goes very well downhill, and very quietly thanks to the freewheel. That means it relies heavily on its drum brakes, but not once did they give cause for fright. It helps that it weighs just 800kg.
Also joining us were the 1965 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa of Octane contributor Richard Bremner, two other Porsches (a 964 and a 996 GT3), and a Jaguar XK120 freshly and beautifully restored by a talented chap who works at Jaguar specialist CMC by day.
We all rendezvoused at the Old Rectory Hotel in Llangattock, near Crickhowell, ready for our sinuous run north and back by a different route the following day. Only a couple of times would we deviate from the route we’d marked out with highlighter pen on a road atlas, thanks, it must be said, to Mrs S’s stupendous navigational skills. Some of the others tried to do it by sat-nav and waypoints; not surprisingly, we all got a bit scattered at times.
The mountain road down into Llanidloes and our coffee stop was a particular highlight, with a perfect surface, no traffic and fabulous views. The road onwards to Machynlleth was similarly spectacular, with the nearby Centre for Alternative Technology proving an interesting if meat-free lunch halt. Two-stroke exhaust smoke doesn’t quite fit with the ethos, nor do five fast and/or old cars with six-cylinder engines, but no-one seemed to mind too much.
Seeing a now very valuable 2.7 RS covered with mud from a stonestrewn mountain road with grass growing in the middle was a sight to warm the heart, but sadly we had lost the Jaguar by then to a small malfunction in a rear damper bush and a fast-developing oil thirst. Owner Tim diverted straight back to CMC, which has since attended to the glitches with admirable concern and efficiency.
Then there was the road around the Elan Valley reservoirs, scene of many a motoring magazine photoshoot, and on to our finish at the Brecon Castle hotel. Both hotels were great value and their restaurants did us proud. It was all so much more convivial than some vast, faceless conference hotel.
As for the Saab, it proved that power isn’t everything, that good roadholding is a great leveller and that three forward gears are plenty. It didn’t miss a beat during the three days, and I didn’t even open its bonnet. In all the many events and trips I’ve done with this car since 2001, that’s a first.