Month: August 2010

DRIVING TO AUCKLAND

After another great night at Hotel So and their bar What …I know you are thinking SO WHAT, but the place is fabulous! An early morning start at McGregor Motorsport to complete final checks, gasoline and be entertained by our youngest passenger on his booster seat with ear protection. [I would too in the MACH 7V8]


A group of fellow 7 owners decided to farewell us from Christchurch so we all assembled at Stephen’s house to convey out of town.


The plan included lunch at the Mud House Winery – it seems my MACH SR7 is just doomed to spend time on such excursions. No objections’ on my part or from co-driver bother Grant.


After the inevitable inquisitive collection of people asking about the cars, taking photo’s and having a chance to sit inside the cockpit we said our farewells and began the first part of our drive home with a planned overnight stopover in Picton. This part of the journey is stunning, driving north has a kaleidoscope of vista’s equal to any I have seen in my global travels.

UPHOLSTERY

Again, due to me rushing the car away from Christchurch we never had time to fine tune the new wet weather designed kit. I was adamant that I did not want a domed pinned attachment to the windscreen and in typical innovative Christchurch style a reasonable idea became excellent with thoughtful modifications. It is the attention to detail that makes things really work, little did we know that in two days time we would spend 9 hours in extremely wet conditions fully testing the wet weather designs…100% success with no wet bums at all! The work was all completed by Brendon Marshall of Canterbury Upholstery; this even included some custom carry bags that tucked into those crevices each side of the gas tank. Brendon realized my wine habits and made the bags zipped and padded…perfect for a bottle of picnic wine!


Credit must also be given to the seating and cockpit design of the MACH SR7 as the rather long drive from Auckland to Christchurch was extremely comfortable! So many people have asked was I tired, sore back, cramped and all received the same answer – NO! In fact it was better than many everyday cars I have driven over considerably shorter distances!

CHRISTCHURCH AGAIN
It was time to once again fly to Christchurch to collect my MACH SR7; this time I had a co-driver to share not only the drive back to Auckland, but the incredible Christchurch car culture! So with our best feet forward, and a window landscape, we were on our way.