Once in a while i do something a bit silly.  Once in a while, i do something for charity. Never before have i done something silly... for charity

How about buying a car for £100 (€126, $186 or DKK946 to name a few currencies) then driving it over 1500 miles from the UK to Valencia via France, Italy and Monaco in order to raise money for the NSPCC ? Together with Gordon Harker, owner of Bang & Olufsen of Swindon and two more equally mad passengers, i will be competing in the 2008 Ramshackle Rally Valencia - setting off from Calais this Friday morning!!

Well, that sounds silly, but not silly enough. So.. let's make it even sillier and cover the car top to bottom in fur, then coat every interior panel and the wheel trims in newspaper. "Furry things that collect newspaper?" i hear you wonder...

Gentlemen, i give you TEAM WOMBLE !!!  It's a great cause, the car will look ridiculous, and along with 110 other vehicles we should create quite a spectacle when we parade through the centre of Monaco amongst the Ferrari's and Porsches!  Think Gumball Rally, then think the exact opposite. That's the spirit of the Ramshackle!! Apparently, there will be television film crews following the rally too - so best we keep the fur neat and tidy!

We are a little concerned that our Womble mobile may get a little warm inside especially when it is covered nose to tail in fur and we have no aircon – but we could all do with losing a few pounds anyway.. We are also taking our mobile phones and plenty of repair tape, hoses and if it really gets bad, some bus fare to get home.

In the meantime - here is a shot of what we will be doing the rally in. It will be covered in fur on Wednesday, so forgive its 'nakedness' !! I present our chosen chariot - a 1997 Ford Mondeo GLX Estate. 100,000 miles on the clock, a clutch that rides a little too high for my liking, and both front and rear bumbers held on with self-tapping screws. Nice...
 

 

So, all that remains is to ask you all to sponsor me to help raise funds for the NSPCC, a charity that leads the way in the prevention of cruelty to children and one that i have supported whole-heartedly ever since i can remember.

You can do this by visiting our sponsorship page HERE where you can make an online donation.

Please, give as much or as little as you can, it's a great cause - and you don't often find me doing anything this daft so make the most of it...  

For those who don't remember Wombles, or aren't sure what they are.. This is what our trusty Ford Mondeo is going to try and look like.. 

Finally, Gordon has set up a 'MySpace' account for our journey and we will attempt to update it on route. You can follow our progression as we nurse our banger to Valencia HERE.

We will start by adding images on Wednesday as we are dressing up the car - should be fun!  

All that remains is to thank you all for reading this, and thank you in advance for your generosity in helping us raise money for a very worthy cause. For those that missed the Link, here it is again.

Sponsor 9 LEE to drive a £100 banger through Europe!

Thanks Guys!

Lee

 

This is fantastic! Very good cause

Thank you for your kind donations so far - keep them coming, it's all for a very worthy charity!

Lee 

A wonderful idea and a very worthy cause.

My donation is in and I hope many others follow suit.
I hope you have a great time and take loads of photographs (That's a point, don't you need a photographer?)
Don't worry about breaking down in the fog on top of a desolate, forrested mountain, miles from civilization and where there's no signal, it's all part of the fun.

Jandyt:

My donation is in and I hope many others follow suit.
I hope you have a great time and take loads of photographs (That's a point, don't you need a photographer?)
Don't worry about breaking down in the fog on top of a desolate, forrested mountain, miles from civilization and where there's no signal, it's all part of the fun.

............ and, as it will be almost certainly lashing with rain and lightening when this happens, please, please ignore the example set by just about every movie you've ever seen by not knocking on the front door of the rather decrepit looking house just down the road

 

That car looks just fine, the ford mondeo has been the standard car for the Danish police until recently, actually the dog petrols use the estate version in just that colour... so I suppose you could have done worse :). Does it smell of German Sheppard?

You might consider bringing with you a Haynes manual for the mondeo any way... always handy... I use mine alot for my 1984 VW Polo...

best regards and happy driving

Christian

Be very aware of men in beards!

Thanks for the advice. However, sitting in a broken down Mondeo with three men that have wind problems is a walk in the park compared with being locked in a psychopaths damp cellar...

Lee 

9 LEE:

Thanks for the advice. However, sitting in a broken down Mondeo with three men that have wind problems is a walk in the park compared with being locked in a psychopaths damp cellar...

Lee 

Well.. here's the story of "Uncle Bulgaria" the Ford Mondeo..

Today is "dressing up day" and the fur suit is being fitted ready for the start of our journey tomorrow.

First up, i used sandpaper to 'key up' the paintwork.  I am not joking when i reveal that someone actually walked into the workshop and seriously said 'blimey, did you use the wrong polish or something?' 

People....

Anyway - here is the car after a good sanding and a spirit wipe, ready for the glue. 

Next job - measure the fur !!

We needed 14 metres, and like a plank i ordered... 14 metres.

No margin for error, so every cm counts!!  This is going to take a long time, i can tell...

Let's do the biggest panel first..

Do we cover up the sunroof, or do we cut a hole and neaten the edges?

Southern Europe in July with no AirCon..  Okay, lets make a hole for the sunroof..  

First panel on the side of the car.

The front wing looks easy, and the wing mirror looks a doddle. Time for some motivational tactics !!  We're off  

I seem to remember Dumb & Dumber had a furry car (van) - say no more!

A proper photo'-thread!!!
This is what we want Lee, keep it up mate.

Getting the hang of it now, and i've fitted the Womble 'nose' to the bonnet with the tan coloured fur, and i'm merrily fitting up the grey stuff.  I had to keep changing my trimming blades every panel for some reason.. the fur must be metal based!! 

Note the childrens mini basketball in the foreground too - it will be coming into play later.  

Jandyt:

A proper photo'-thread!!!
This is what we want Lee, keep it up mate.

Andy, i am going to be as fast as possible with this as it's Wednesday - and there's a thread in them thar hills !!!

I'm going tomorrow, and this is my only chance to do the start of the thread - sorry guys

Lee 

Flash, bang, wallop !!

9 LEE:

Jandyt:

A proper photo'-thread!!!
This is what we want Lee, keep it up mate.

Andy, i am going to be as fast as possible with this as it's Wednesday - and there's a thread in them thar hills !!!

I'm going tomorrow, and this is my only chance to do the start of the thread - sorry guys

Lee 

Carry on please - we need to be sure you look a full muppet Womble before you set off!

You know i said to look out for the mini basketball?

Well, the poor thing got hacked in half and cable tied over the 'Ford' badge. Voila - a nose for the Womble !!!  

We're going to 'colour in' the silver stripes in the morning  

Okay - we're getting 'furry near' completion now..

The passenger side is done, and all that's left to do is the fiddly bits and the tailgate.  By this time, it's 6 hours after i started and i'm getting (shall we say) fatigued.. 

My only concern is that it is looking too proffeshneall - aren't your mates Heath and Robinson helping??

Then again it could just be the lighting and angle of the camera