I am chuffed to announce that we made it to Cairns and our final tally is $7,377.60 raised for Cancer research.
We had a fantastic adventure on the journey and saw country we never dreamed of. We saw fantastic comeraderie. We got used to the taste of dust and the smell of road-kill. We witnessed the joys of cars ressurected from the dead and shared the low points with mates who had cars that did not make it.
The little Fiat everyone though we were mad to take turned out to be a good choice.
Damage report:
- Carburettor and fuel tank pickup choked up with dust from dirty fuel. (You haven't lived until you have dismanted a Weber in the desert on a 40 degree C day 250km from the nearest town!)
- The RH handbrake cable came off and was cable-tied to the suspension arm.
- An exhaust hanger broke and was replaced with coathanger wire.
- The LH steering arm was damaged.
- The rear universal joint became noisy.
- The brakes were completely worn out at the end.
- A small dent in the sump.
The Fiat had astonishingly good handling on dirt and was very comfortable in the rough stuff.
Unfortunately the cost of repatriating the Fiat a few thousand km to Melbourne and repairing the problems far exceeded it's value. We bought it back from the Auction for $60, used it for transport for a couple of days and then dropped it off at a wreckers. The numberplates and some of the badges were kept as souvenirs.
Rest in peace noble little Fiat.
I will do the rally again next year. Not sure who with and what vehicle yet though.
