The not quite everyday rally car
01/07/2013
The new classic car season kicked off at the weekend with the Planai Classic. One participant stood out in particular.
Normally a Mini Cooper, Lancia Fulvia or Ford Escort (dog bone) is used to start a winter rally, a station wagon is the exception rather than the rule.
But hardly anyone tries it with an American "giant estate" with 390 hp engine power. The eight-seater (two additional rows of seats can be folded up in the trunk if required) with a wheelbase the size of two Mini-Coopers and a total weight of three more Cooper-Ss is certainly not the ideal winter car. Nevertheless, after some personal discussions with the organizers, the team was allowed to switch from the originally named Porsche 911 to the 1968 Ford Country Sedan.
The show was on their side. The entire starting field admired the team's courage. Everyone agreed that this action would come to an early end somewhere in the snow. But they held on bravely.
Everything went like clockwork until snow chains were needed for the Dachstein mountain stage. They were in the car, but the car had to be lifted to fit the chains between the mudguard and the wheel. Where is the jack, is there even one? The car was meticulously searched. The spare wheel was there, but where was the jack? Only the owner's manual showed that the spare wheel holder can also be used as a jack. The chains were then fitted in a short time and we were able to continue.
Unfortunately, the journey didn't last too much longer, and then the brave American drivers finally broke down. It wasn't the snow that spelled the end for the giant station wagon, no, the "heavy duty" transmission of the automatic gearbox gave up the ghost with a lot of smoke. Thus ended the last great rally adventure on the hook of the towing service.
