Zurich Taxi

[p.p.]

I was picked up at the airport by Peter in Rhowina and driven through the spring countryside for 2 hours admiring the colourful meadows. The smell of the hot oil created by Peter's exhuberant driving was obscured by that emanating from the local wildlife that create the Swiss cheese.

The promise of a sundowner was the reward for climbing a tower to view Arbon in the sunset. This was a 40 year old port for Peter anda local apfel cider for me. We were joined by Ruth walking the dog and then back to the falt and Peter's workplace.

Must go, awaiting cheese and wine.

[Keith Clements]

A relaxing morning was spent reading the Journey Across Africa followed by some route planning for our trip to Wales. Lunch in brilliant sunshine of rosti and St Galen wurst was washed down by beer from the restaurant's brewery. Two different varieties were tried - a light and a dark, but both had second fermentation to give it a yeast taste.
This afternoon Rhowina will be on a lift for an inspection. I suspect we will find a layrub requiring attention.

[Keith Clements]

A couple of days have passed since the last bulletin, but all is well. We found a few issues with Rhowina - lack of gearbox and diff oil, diff oil seal, broken spare wheel carrier, play in rear prop shaft, and a loose lower suspension bolt. We are now packed and ready to go. We are travelling via Rhein Falls and Mulhouse to visit the Schlumpf museum. then a leisurely drive avoiding main roads to Calais.

I have tasted various schnapps, ciders, wines and beers, had a great private tour of the Arbon castle museum and visited the Saurer museum, sat in the glorious sunshine, watched Peter doing some competition shooting in the mountains, and been fed well. Wherever we stop there seems to be some friends of Peter and Ruth turning up. Today it was a couple in a Bentley. The Pfister Hotel is close to 5 stars, Peter cooking some wild boar last night which was shot by another friend.

See you in Wales.

[Forumadmin]

Rhowina has made it to Kings Langley, allbeit grumbling a lot from the front suspension. We left Arbon with odometer reading 630miles.

We had a good tour of the Schlumpf museum on Sunday afternoon, having arrived early via the Rhein Falls. This put us half a day ahead of schedule so we wanted to find a small hotel on the way to have a relaxing evening. The first one we tried which was in a picturesque village was full. So we ventured up the hillside and along very narrow roads over the mountain. The roads were not on the map , the satnav was not convincing trying to send us down forest tracks; but good young Google gave me some confidence that we were going to get to Munster eventually. I am fairly sure we did these roads in the snow on a Monte. Rhowina overheated a bit, but soon cooled down. In Munster all the hotels were full and we discovered why. It was a holiday weekend!

Rather than venture over the pass we desended into Colmar, a large town with 30 hotels. We chose a large one in the centre but this was full and the receptionist kindly phoned six others, all full, and gave me the full list of hotes to continue phoning. Some french visitors were chatting to the Pfister's on my return and said they knew a hotrel that might have a room. We followed them, but Rhowina sufered from a vapour lock in the petrol line and we had four people pushing to get the car started. We tried six other hotels and then stopped at another on the outskirts of the town, still following the french visitors. At this hotel they phoned a hotel that had the last beds available in the area. The french visitors lead us to the hotel which we would have had great difficulty finding. Anyhow the restuarant was closed so we went back into Colmar for dinner. Having completed 200 miles that day we had a good rest. The car had used half a litre of oil and no water and 25.7 liters of fuel and no gearbox oil.

The next day i rerouted us through a tunel rather than straining the car over a pass. The rattle from the front suspension was getting worse and more noticeable as we went along 'C' or white roads along the champagne trail. Now in search of a hotel for the evening after 280 miles we stopped in a village square (Fere) whilst Ruth looked for a hotel on foot and we took the front wheel off to find a shock absorber attached by no rubber bushes. Although noisy, Peter was relieved as the problem was not dangerous. The only hotel was a castle with 29 very expensive rooms. But we settled down to a fabulous evening looking at the castle ruins sipping champagne followed by a delicious meal befitting a 4 star restaurant.

Next day we aimed for the coast to have lunch in Berk where we found Peter's request of whelks and prawns eaten with a baguette in the town square as all the restaurants were closed! This was after a paddle in the sea just before a sea mist descended. 460 miles had consumed another 66.6 litres and quarter of litre of oil and no water or gearbox oil.

We made it to Calais at 17:10, managed to get a ticket and were sailing at 17:55. We arrived in Kings Langley at 20:42 to find Jack and Amy working on the SA.

Yesterday we fixed the front suspension which had been badly modified from mechanical to rubber, cured the rattle from the spare wheel tray by actually putting 4 bolts in the clamp addng two rubber stops that Peter made from a piece of tube, tightened up the boot lid, put rubber pipe on the rear brake rod and the panhard rod that both caused rattles and put a little water in rad and oil in the gearbox. The diff required no oil. Total so far from Arbon is 734 miles.

We used the UK Jowett taxi, Benjamin, to pick up Amy from the station and go to the local Italian.

Jack has taken the SA, Josephine, to work today and reported no problems having checked water temp with a digital thermometer.
Amy is taken the SC, Napoleon, later today to join Jack on the way to Birmingham.
Chris is joining us tomorrow.
Now packing for JAW. See you soon.

[Drummond Black]

A good story. Reminds me of a certain trip thru France in the SA, with Keith, on the way back from a Pirelli Marathon.
Anyway we have just arrived in Shrewsbury, both tired, so an early night and plan to set off early for Llan.........whats its name...

See you all then.

D & R

[Jack]

Have we got photos of the Javelin on the rotisserie uploaded yet? Quite a sight, the car on its side ready for the hot work to get going!

Peter, you'll have to trust us when we say that your car can almost rotate 180 degrees before it hits the garage roof

Jack.

[Keith Clements]

It may seem a long time since there was a post in this thread; but work has been progressing. There was the issue reported on JowettTalk with the early front brakes, and with the rear shock absorber mounting, found after the car was rotated on the rotisserie. Lots of pictures have been taken as the engine was taken out and the old wiring removed.The trim and floor is now removed ready for Chris to start getting the lower door mountings properly aligned. All the instructions for body alignment are recorded on the panels in special shorthand. Hopefully, Chris will explain these in words and pictures, because I have little idea what they mean.

[p.p.]

please DONT make a fire under "Rhowina"......
a javelin washing maschine....
please take care of the poor girl *Rhowina*
peter
will check at 26.12. will bring a bull wipp with me

[Keith Clements]

The front and rear side light that Peter ordered have arrived .

Type 461 for the rear are available here http://www.retroclassiccarparts.com/ind ... Itemid=211
but Peter got his for a lot less from http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/24671spurs (Victorai Fisher, Ely, Cambs)

The front side lights Peter obtained from http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Historic-Car-Parts in Macclesfield Cheshire

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Historic-Car-P ... d=68459836

[Chris Spencer]

Ok - Can we please stop posting any restoration related items for Peter's car under 'Zurich Taxi' - I am in throws of setting up a new thread to cover the restoration under the Javelin section - Keith once established can you transfer the odd bits in the taxi thread to the restoration thread so that it all starts to make sense - reason for this is that I want to link the restoration thread to a couple of other forums - hence raising the JCC profile etc

Many thanks

Chris

[Keith Clements]

Posts can be moved, but not rearranged easily.