Nahh , I still had the Authorised bigraphy open

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Two little questions:

if the biography is "authorised", which one are you talking about?

If you are talking about Gillian Bardley's book, who authorised it? Not Sir Alec, that's for sure!

I actually haven't read Bardsley's book, but won't go into the details here.

Watto.

Sorry , my mistake , it's the "official" not "Authorised" Biography ...Is there something about it we need to have a chat about over a few drinks watto ?

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It was an all-aluminium engined V8 sports car with rubber suspension by Moulton but I don't know the model designation. He also did a 4cyl version. Did either make it into production?
KB

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Watto and the Byron brothers seem to be leading the charge in Ausmini's version of Millionaire Mini seat.

The rubber thing was something I read in one of your books at your place KB - it was either read a book or stare transfixed at Barney the Dinosaur on the boob tube

Mike

Closeish KB , close enough for this argument though



As well as experimenting with rubber suspension the TA/350 at one stage featured a "rubber banana" suspension which used water filled rubber tubes that were mechanically interconnected (forerunner to the hydrolastic suspension in theory anyway) . Neither made it into production and Issigonis was taken back to BMC for the mini project .

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Ah, an interesting choice of words. Again, it has to asked it is official from whom. BMIHT I would think, but what makes them think they are the custodians of anything official about Issigonis?

Just being picky, I know.




No, not really. Nothing I'd like to go into here anyway.



There you go. I didn't know that.




Well, being picky again. Actually he was invited back to BMC to work on a range of family cars. It was always planned that there would be three models - small, medium and large - but work began on the larger two models. These were shelved temporarily when Issi was given the order to "come up with a real miniature car to drive these bloody bubble cars off the road" (or words to that effect). They were later developed into the 1100 and 1800 after the Mini project was more or less complete.

Cheers,
Watto.[/quote]

Nothing to apologize for. It's not your fault we're not all men and women of leisure, or morning people, or... I won't go on.

Didn't know that one - great thread, keep it coming...

Who crashed his Australian moke in a tunnel in Iran while trying to cross into Turkey on the overland route in the early 1970's and what caused the accident ?

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Albert Laing (note unusual spelling).

He crashed into the back of a truck that was parked in a tunnel with its lights off!

Come on Ian, you can do better than that.

I know , but I've got to make it challenging while still obtainable . There are probably only a dozen people on here who have read (or heard of) "Eurasian Moke" and half of them can't remember the truck in the tunnel

Tomorrow it will be a question to stump even you Watto

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If it's any consolation I wouldn't have got that one. My guess was Hans Tholstrup in the London to Sydney but that was 1977, so not early seventies.

Mike, Gina, and Brendan just called into my place on their way through to an audition for Brendan in Sydney, so he probably won't have seen it either. Catching up for dinner tonight.
KB

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Actually, I think it was late 60s (1969 perhaps).

Albert had done a similar trip a couple of years earlier, which is recounted in a couple of the old BMC Rosettes I can't recall exactly when. That trip went off without a major problem with the Moke, but took about 8 months because of health problems.

On his return to Australia, BMCA stripped the car down to evaluate how it had fared and completely rebuilt it, so it was virtually a new Moke when it left the second time.

What made the second trip worthy of a book was all the problems, particularly the crash in the tunnel, which made the trip last for 6 months.

I interviewed Albert back in 2005 (see Issue 3 of TME), and what an interesting character.

Cheers,
Watto. [/i]

Yeah , I couldn't find the date in the book , the book is copyrighted 1975 and was a few years after so I guessed it was still 1970's ....

He drove to Australia in the Moke earlier (when it was 10" wheels , just remembered the question was slightly inaccurate , it wasn't an Australian moke but a UK one on it's way back to the UK) and the trip in Eurasian Moke was driving back to the UK . Where was he when you interviewed him Watto (UK or Aus ?) ?

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I had to find the Rosette article to check.

The Moke was an Aussie-made one, and one of the earliest, and brand new - bought only two weeks before the first trip in 1966.

Slight error on my part, the first trip took six months, not eight months.

Anyway, the Moke was shipped back to Australia, where BMCA pulled it apart to check it over (that part is in the book).

Albert was still living in Sydney when I interviewed him., and what an amazing life he has had. He has trecked or mountain climbed on every continent except the Antarctic - including climbing K2 in Nepal (World's second tallest mountain).

Eurasion Moke is the only book he has written, but I suggested he do an autobiography. He was in his 70s then (sorry, it was 2003, not 2005) so I hope he is still around.

(You made me work by digging up all this material again)

Cheers,
Watto.