16th July, 2007
Well, the new Team Tom car is a veritable machine! It drives a lot less like a tank than the previous vehicle, and only has a minor oil leak to be sorted (only needs a gasket, will be sorted shortly!) We have re-painted the Union Flag on the roof, sorted out the stereo, and a very novel internally mounted FM antennae.Today we managed to sort out a 12v Power Inverter so we can run our camera chargers, Ipods, 2 way radios and the like off the cigarette lighter, sorted out some foreign money, even bought a Russian phrasebook!
The Rally starts in just 5 days, and its all getting a bit rushed and panicked now, but thigns are beginning to fall into place - sponsorship stands at around £1,600 of our minimum aim of £2,000 - many thanks to all of those that have donated and supported us so far!
12th July, 2007
A further bit of news...Suddenly realised the picture of our route was no where to be found! Expect many wrong turns and detours 500miles or so off course but its all part of the adventure!
12th July, 2007
NIGHTMARE
The 'Team Tom' Mongol Machine had a fairly terminal break down last night, only managing 48 miles of the 74 mile drive from Tommy T's house to Aberystwyth! It was towed into Aber behind the veritable All Terrain Rover 414 (Saloon Injection) of Mr Dangerous Dave, and was declared dead at the Uni Boathouse. It seems the oil somehow exploded out of the side of the engine, resulting in a very rapid self-destruction.
A panicked post on The Mongol Rally entrant's forum yielded a couple of options for replacement cars - and we were very quickly pointed in the direction of team "24 The Road" (www.24theroad.com). 24 The Road were originally going to be entering the Rally in a D reg VW Polo, which they have superseded with a veritable Micra. As such they have been very helpful in supporting our quest for a new car, and with a bit of luck, Tommy O will be picking up the car tomorrow, ready for a week's hard work to bring the car up to Rally standards, and to cannibalise the old Mongol Machine for spares.
On another positive note, Stormriders of Aberystwyth, have supplied us with some very groovy T-Shirts and Hoodies sporting our team name, so we now look a little less rabble-like!
More soon, with info on our new and improved Mongol Machine!
June, 2007
No updates again for a while, but it has been a busy month. Both cars have been extensively tested, despite the 'Team Tom' chariot breaking down once or twice, involving small issues left over from our engine change, such as sump plugs falling out, we are now well under way. The Team Tom machine has had snazzy push buttons installed for starting the engine, and most importantly, a funky radio, which can be plugged straight into an IPOD.
Roof racks have been dug out of attics, and fitted, and we are part way through compiling our collection of spares. We have yet to receive our passports and visas back from the Mongol Rally people, but are hopeful that we shall be allowed into the relevant countries!!!!
On a happy note, we have all been doing various bits of work, so now have a few more quid to our names, and can quickly spend all our hard work on car-ness!
24th May, 2007
There has been no update for a while, due to us being a bit idle with the website, HOWEVER!
"Team Organ" have bought their car - a 1988 VW Polo for £160, which after an epic two day roadtrip, they picked up from the East Coast!
This car has a mere 105,000 miles on the clock, and is an fine machine! We have painted the Mongolian Flag on the roof, to match the Union Flag on the roof of Team Tom's car, denoting our start and finish points.
Team Tom's car suffered a minor setback, when the clutch broke whilst driving, and required a new one to be installed.
After two days of sweat and toil, the engine was successfully removed, split, the clutch replaced, engine rebuilt, and lowered back into the car. We are now awaiting delivery of a new clutch cable (VW stopped making them a while back!!), and then we should be back on the road after the Bank Holiday!
More photos from our toils can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23373&l=7d42d&id=504760084
6th May, 2007
The "Team Tom" car now sports a brand new air horn, held in with bits of coke can, and a mighty fine Union Flag on the roof - video of yesterday's work is below!
2nd May, 2007
After a busy week of post dissertation partying, we are now settling down and are back on the Mongol Front!
"Team Tom" have now got their car - a 1983 VW Polo, with a mere 62,000 on the clock, for a whopping £180 - The only things wrong with it so far, are that the key doesn't work in the passenger door, the driver's seat won't go forwards to let people into the back - and the ignition has to be started with a screwdriver, not a key!!
Here is the beast, with Tom and Tom already disagreeing on the best route to take to Mongolia!
More to follow shortly.
17th April, 2007
Tom Onion and Mark deane have had full page interviews in their local papers Click here for newspapers
Hugo and Tommy T are on BBC Radio Wales this evening to spread the word about the adventures!
Our jerry cans have arrived, we managed to get five of them for the WHOPPING price of £26 inc delivery!
Also in donations news: We have rasied about £400 so far. Thank you very much for all of those who have donated so far please keep it coming! Watch out for a fundraising initiative near you soon!
12th April, 2007
Tom Onion made team mongol beavers first media appearance today with an interview on the breakfast show for BBC radio Derby in the early hours of this morning.
With university soon to be over and the oppertunities to make the world aware of our upcoming adventure we have decided to step up our media campaign a bit and have started to contact our respective local press people.
11th April, 2007
No updates for a while as we are currently in work hell - with two of our number trogging through dissertations, due in on the 26th of this month, after that work can begin in earnest.
On the fundraising front, we have so far managed to raise just shy of £400 by asking friends to donate a few quid where they can - proper fundraising will take place after dissertation time, with some cunning schemes on the way!
We have now confirmed our route - Which is UK - France - Belgium - Germany - Czech Republic - Slovakia - Ukraine - Russia - Kazahkstan - Russia - Mongolia
Visas have now all been applied for, after much confusion from the forms!
Finally, we now have a Facebook.com group set up where we will also be posting schpeel about how we are getting on - feel free to join! Click Here
3rd April, 2007
Not so long after purchasing the beast that was the VW Polo (albeit a rather timid beast) the sale has fallen through due to some mis communication. Not to worry we have found plenty more and should make an announcment soon as to which car will be taking us to Mongolia!
22nd March, 2007
The first car has now been bought!! A 1992 VW Polo, with a mere 25,000 on the clock, for the whopping price of £65! - It does however need a wee bit of work to get through its MOT, but a trip will be made to Manchester shortly to pick up the beast!!
We are therefore now looking for our second, and final steed, and are scouring eBay almost hourly to find our matching pair!
Routewise - we have narrowed our route down to one of the two southern routes, either through Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijain, ferry to Turkmenistan, and on - or the route through the Ukraine, Russia, and into Kazakhstan - we are just investigating the cost of visas and the like before making our final decision.
13th March, 2007
WE'RE ALL GOING TO MONGOLIA!
After a nervous weekend of wondering if we are all going to make it to Mongolia, Team Tom are also booked onto the rally!
We also have a domain sorted. www.mongolbeavers.co.uk is live as per last night!
We're all off to the pub now to celebrate the first hurdle!
9th March, 2007
Well, today at 1900, 100 places went online, and were all gone inside 22 seconds. Team 'Organ' got a place but Team Tom are now on tenterhooks waiting for Monday to try and secure their place!
7th March, 2007
Well, today was supposed to be the day we were going to book our place on the rally, and pay the entry fee, however due to the fickle nature of computers, the Mongol Rally website crashed, and we are now waiting until Friday 9th to hopefully guarantee our place on the rally.
February, 2007
Tommy T: Onion, how do you feel about driving to Mongolia?
Tommy O: Sod off
Tommy T: Do it, it'll be a laugh
Tommy O: <Sigh> Why do I listen to you? Ok.
The idea of competing in this year's rally was born, and preparations began!