The Italian Job minus the Mini
Over the last few months my boyfriend, Champion motoring guru David Simister, has planned a Mini event to take place in Parbold.
The idea was to get the Mini SOD club members and other Mini clubs in the area to meet at the Mini SOD's pub of choice Scotch Piper in Lydiate, and then drive in convoy to Parbold. There, the old Minis and Mini Coopers would be displayed in the parking lot of the Parbold Village Hall for an hour, before the 1969 original of The Italian Job with Michael Caine would be shown on the big screen inside.
A brilliant plan, and a rare chance to see the movie in a cinema setting, and lots of people were really excited by it. So was David, planning it, corresponding with the organisers at the Village Hall, advertising it on his blog and on the radio during Martin Hovden's show on Dune FM on Fridays. I was appointed photographer.
Today was the day. The Mini Run took place. So we dressed up in our club t-shirts, washed David's 1983 Mini Mayfair, polished it, cleaned the windows and chrome, filled her up with fuel and went on our way.
The idea was to get the Mini SOD club members and other Mini clubs in the area to meet at the Mini SOD's pub of choice Scotch Piper in Lydiate, and then drive in convoy to Parbold. There, the old Minis and Mini Coopers would be displayed in the parking lot of the Parbold Village Hall for an hour, before the 1969 original of The Italian Job with Michael Caine would be shown on the big screen inside.
A brilliant plan, and a rare chance to see the movie in a cinema setting, and lots of people were really excited by it. So was David, planning it, corresponding with the organisers at the Village Hall, advertising it on his blog and on the radio during Martin Hovden's show on Dune FM on Fridays. I was appointed photographer.
Today was the day. The Mini Run took place. So we dressed up in our club t-shirts, washed David's 1983 Mini Mayfair, polished it, cleaned the windows and chrome, filled her up with fuel and went on our way.
With four people in the car, we didn't want to take the bumpy road over the Moss, so we decided to detour through Formby to Lydiate. As he was the organiser, David insisted on leaving early so we'd be there when everyone arrived. Lucky we left early, because as soon as we turned off the dual carriageway and onto the country road behind the Tesco in Formby, something happened.
While doing 40mph down the country lane, over potholes and round bends, all of a sudden, we heard a bang and the front left wheel gave in. At first we thought it was a blowout, as we skidded to a stop. We were right before a blind bend and luckily had not yet started to turn. But as soon as we got out, we saw what had really happened. The entire tyre had caved in, and was now stuck at an angle underneath the wheel arch. There was no way we could have driven it any further, infact the Mini had to be lifted onto the footpath not even steering it worked. So we called a recovery truck and waited... after 45 mins, a mechanic in a transit van shows up, looks at the car, looks at us and goes "that needs recovering"... you don't say! Another 45 mins later, and the truck finally arrives. By that point, we have missed the set off of the convoy.
While doing 40mph down the country lane, over potholes and round bends, all of a sudden, we heard a bang and the front left wheel gave in. At first we thought it was a blowout, as we skidded to a stop. We were right before a blind bend and luckily had not yet started to turn. But as soon as we got out, we saw what had really happened. The entire tyre had caved in, and was now stuck at an angle underneath the wheel arch. There was no way we could have driven it any further, infact the Mini had to be lifted onto the footpath not even steering it worked. So we called a recovery truck and waited... after 45 mins, a mechanic in a transit van shows up, looks at the car, looks at us and goes "that needs recovering"... you don't say! Another 45 mins later, and the truck finally arrives. By that point, we have missed the set off of the convoy.
A friend and fellow Mini club member took over organising at the pub and coordinating how much space would be allocated to the car display. The truck driver was kind and agreed to drop our Mini off home and drop the keys in the letterbox, so that we could hitch a ride and still make it to the show.
We got there with 10 mins to spare before the film started, exhausted, sunburnt and slightly disappointed that after all the lovely treatment, the car decided to break down today out of all days. In the end, we had eight Minis on display and the screening of The Italian Job was a success. Just a shame that the car we travelled in was not roadworthy anymore. I'm not into cars, nor could I point out all the parts, bolts or anything else attached to it (excluding the engine, lights and windscreen wipers) but I am told it was the driveshaft that gave up and knocked out a swivel joint.
If you go "huh?" at the moment, don't worry I'm not quite sure what that means either, however, I can show you what it looks like:
For all those who can never quite remember how to calculate braking distances, head out towards and past the Formby Tesco, and look for the tyre marks on the road. Measure it, and you'll know how long it takes to go from 40 to 0 in a Mini within a second... We're just glad it happened where it happened, and not on the dual carriageway or in a bend... it would have thrown us right off course and we could have ended up in a ditch or even worse, in oncoming traffic. The car is fixable, I'm told, and we're all in one piece, but that car sure has a way of showing its appreciation...
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