Mrs 164's Mini

A place for us to discuss the cars we are currently testing before the road test comes out !

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164 coupe
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Mrs 164's Mini

Post by 164 coupe » Sun Aug 14, 2016 11:13 am

We are off to do the North Coast 500 route next week. Leaving on Tuesday morning, back on Thursday night.
Roy Allan
F31 D3 Biturbo #066
D3 BT Coupe #164 (sold)
Suzuki SV 650s

jamesa
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Post by jamesa » Sun Aug 14, 2016 3:20 pm

Hope that the weather is kind to you, enjoy ...

A preview for the next Alpina `meet` no doubt :wink: :lol:
Ex. B10 V8 Touring #160 Alpina Blue : Current M2 DCT (OG)

Chas
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Post by Chas » Sun Aug 14, 2016 8:23 pm

Looks like being the best week of the year. Well jell!

I did it 25 years ago and it was fantastic. :dance

164 coupe
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Post by 164 coupe » Mon Aug 15, 2016 12:35 am

Thanks Andrew and Chas.
We had hoped to do it last year but didn't quite fit it in. Midweek should be less busy, both for roads and accommodation which we have booked the Tongue Hotel for Tuesday night, and the Torridon Inn for Wednesday night. Hoping to take in some of the sights on the way, in particular a couple of the stunning beaches and possibly a small gin distillery!
Roy Allan
F31 D3 Biturbo #066
D3 BT Coupe #164 (sold)
Suzuki SV 650s

jamesa
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Post by jamesa » Mon Aug 15, 2016 3:32 pm

Look forward to your report Roy and thus prompted I see that clockwise is the preferred route ... ?
Ex. B10 V8 Touring #160 Alpina Blue : Current M2 DCT (OG)

Deeg
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Post by Deeg » Mon Aug 15, 2016 4:54 pm

Get your report in quick, as we discussed I'm away to do it over this coming weekend! Hope the weather holds out for us.

Enjoy!
D3 - MT 2006 #207 - SOLD
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Broch
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Post by Broch » Mon Aug 15, 2016 5:10 pm

I didn't manage to do the NC500 this time home Roy (as spoken about in another forum), was in Glasgow for 2 weeks, and too much rain my first week home.
Can't wait for your report and pics........... 8)


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164 coupe
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Post by 164 coupe » Mon Aug 15, 2016 11:13 pm

So no pressure for the report then! :shock:
I'll see what I can do!

We thought about doing it clockwise but decided that because the west seems more picturesque we would get the east done first, then finish on a high.
Roy Allan
F31 D3 Biturbo #066
D3 BT Coupe #164 (sold)
Suzuki SV 650s

164 coupe
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Post by 164 coupe » Fri Aug 19, 2016 2:41 pm

Got back home last night from our 3 day jaunt on th NC 500. A great trip, which we luckily timed well with the spell of excepionally warm weather!

Day 1 - Aberdeen to Tongue - 305 miles
With the 100+ mile slog up to Inverness out of the way, we hit the road to John O' Groats. Some good stretches of road here, in particular the Berriedale Braes, complete with 'run-off lanes'! Not much to see in John O' Groats, apart from the obligitory photo at the sign! Going along the north noast, some spectacular scenery especially around Bettyhill area. The roads here can change from single carriageway to single track with no warning. The gin distillery we were hoping to visit was closed that day for an audit!

Day 2 - Tongue to Torridon - 211 miles
Leaving Tongue heading for Durness the road skirts round the water's edge, then back along the other side. Again some stunning scenery here and most of it is single track. We stopped off at Smoos Cave, which is worth seeing. At Durness we branched off to Balnakeil Beach - golden sands and crystal-clear water further enhanced by the glorious sunshine. Just after crossing the kylesku Bridge, the route takes you onto the B869 to Lochinver. This is single track all the way, about 23 miles. Very narrow, winding and hilly but well worth it. On this road there are several more stunning beaches - Achmelvich, Clachtoll to name just two.The majority of the remainder of the roads are back to single carriageway, except the Kinlochewe to Torridon stretch which is single track.

Day 3 - Torridon to Aberdeen - 289 miles
From Torridon, we took the road to Shieldaig, then turned off onto the coastal route to Applecross, which is 24 miles. Watch out for the sheep everywhere at Shieldaig! Then it was the infamous Bealach na Ba! Fantastic road, with its steep inclines and hairpin turns, all single track of course! A real highlight of the trip. Onto Lochcarron where we deviated from the 'official' North Coast route to take in Plockton, Kyle of Lochalsh and the Skye Bridge. back onto the route, the A890 to Achnasheem begins as single trck from Strathcarron, but then opens up to a sweeping single carriageway road where you can make some real progress, but watch out for the camera vans / patrol cars. From there, its plain sailing all the way to Inverness again. NC 500 done!

All in all a fantastic road trip. For anybody thinking of doing it, stop thinking and just do it! Like Andrew said, the preferred option seems to be doing this clockwise. Having done it anti-clockwise, I can see why this is. There were times we were stopping to look back at the best of the scenery. This didn't detract from our trip, just gave us a reason to do it all again in reverse - in the ALPINA or the bike? Tough call to make!

The Mini performed faultlessly throughout and returned a surprising 46.5 mpg according to the trip computer.

Some pics to follow.
Last edited by 164 coupe on Fri Aug 19, 2016 11:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Roy Allan
F31 D3 Biturbo #066
D3 BT Coupe #164 (sold)
Suzuki SV 650s

jamesa
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Post by jamesa » Fri Aug 19, 2016 6:10 pm

Great news ... thank you !
Ex. B10 V8 Touring #160 Alpina Blue : Current M2 DCT (OG)

Chas
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Post by Chas » Wed Aug 24, 2016 12:49 pm

Did someone say bike? Now there's an idea for next year...

Back in the day I went up the middle of Sutherland and Caithness via Lairg to Tongue, which is a fantastic road with great scenery. I'd already driven the coast road to Wick a few times and had no appetite to do it again. There's nothing in John o' Groats anyway, besides the selfie with a signpost.

A few photos of the trip would be good, Roy :wink:

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Post by Deeg » Wed Aug 24, 2016 4:52 pm

Sounds like you had a blast.

unfortunately I didnt complete the NC500 this weekend.

We went to complete it clockwise, so starting at Inverness we didnt take the official start but headed out over the Kessock Bridge, then on to the Dingwall route then out to Loch Carron, stopping there for a quick stretch of the legs and a breather before the pass to Applecross. Slightly disappointed with the Blach Na Ba pass, although the potential for a fantastic road, when we did it on Saturday it was full of motor homes that meant we were having to stop at almost every passing place.

After we got to Applecross, we took the costal rout to Shieldaig, then through Torridon and on to Kinlochewe.

this is where my trip came to an abrupt stop at 16:30 on Saturday afternoon / evening when I suffered a blow out of the rear passengers tyre... upon closer inspection I found that both my rear tyres inside rim had worn away through to the braiding and my drivers tyre was close to blow out also. Turns out my rear alignment has been out since June when I had rear toe control arm bushes changed and the alignment wasn't performed.

So I was left with no option but to call out greenflag and I ended up being towed back to Inverness for the good lads at Kwikfit to get me back on the road again on sunday lunch time.

Lesson learnt, when having the bushes replaced, do not take the mechanics word that the alignment is fine, and request an actual print out of the set up!
D3 - MT 2006 #207 - SOLD
E46 - M3 - 2002 - current
D3 BT e91 2011 #277 - current

jamesa
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Post by jamesa » Wed Aug 24, 2016 5:33 pm

Ouch ... that`s some serious wear in three months !

I had my last alignment done by Clark Motorsport, at 30% of the quote from John Clark !

They have since moved from Kintore to a more rural site, to the SW.
Ex. B10 V8 Touring #160 Alpina Blue : Current M2 DCT (OG)

164 coupe
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Post by 164 coupe » Wed Aug 24, 2016 11:19 pm

Really sorry to hear your woes Deeg. As Andrew said, that is major wear in 3 months. Any chance of some comeback from the garage who did your bushes?

Chas, someone DID say bike! Definitely A nice one for next year!
As for my photos, they don't seem to upload to the forum using the computer so I'll try with the iPad when I get a chance.
Roy Allan
F31 D3 Biturbo #066
D3 BT Coupe #164 (sold)
Suzuki SV 650s

Deeg
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Post by Deeg » Fri Aug 26, 2016 8:48 am

164 coupe wrote:Really sorry to hear your woes Deeg. As Andrew said, that is major wear in 3 months. Any chance of some comeback from the garage who did your bushes?
I was down there on monday morning battling my case. Nope no chance, they are standing their ground, I've learnt my lesson and will not be repeating it.

I'll be back again to do it next year, it was part of a charity run Cannonbawz. raising funds for the Marfan Association.

Here's a couple pics of #207 when she became #4 for the weekend...

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Image
D3 - MT 2006 #207 - SOLD
E46 - M3 - 2002 - current
D3 BT e91 2011 #277 - current

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