They Made it to Ulaan Bataar

"COME hell or high water" said globe-trotting Oxford father and son back in July, "we are determined to drive 10,000 miles to Mongolia in a clapped-out car bought off eBay".

And on Sunday 17th August at 4am Steve Merrow-Smith and son Will limped into Ulaan Bataar in their Seat Marbella after four broken rear springs leaving their comrades with their broken cars littered across Mongolia, finally meeting up with them all at the finish line outside the Mongolian State Department Store slap in the middle of the city.



They have spent the last few months fixing up their 16-year-old 903cc Seat Marbella ready for the ride of their lives.
The pair left London for Ulaan Bataar in the hope of raising more than £10,000 for the Mercy Corps Mongolia, and The Christina Noble Children's Foundation.



Every year more than 6,000 people apply for 300 starting places in the Mongol Rally and the lucky ones set off in a convoy of jalopies from London's Hyde Park on Saturday, July 19 ready for the big adventure.
The quest could take anything from three weeks to three months to conquer and Will only has a month off work from the Oxford University Press where he works in the subscriptions department.

Steve who works as a gardener handyman as well as struggling to be an artist said "We bought the car off eBay for £150 six months ago and have been testing the car's off road capabilities. It has cart springs at the back which although rugged make for a bouncy ride. It turns out that Lada springs fit too as we managed to snap four, as we were carrying such a large load of 100ltrs of fuel and four spare wheels as well as all the camping gear!"
Will has yet to pass his driving test but now has the necessary skills after his mammoth 30 day 8,000 mile driving lesson.
"Dad used to drive big HGV's on the night shift so when we got behind on our schedule, we'd split the driving and I did the day shift.
"The biggest problem was the state of the roads. Mongolia & Kazakhstan are both the size of Europe but tarmac is a rare sight. It's no surprise that only 60 per cent of cars normally ever finish the rally.
"There's no route, no support crew, no map there were a few scarey moments but it is amazing how people are prepared to lend a hand and save the day."

"We didn't quite make it to the big end-of-rally celebration at Dave's Bar in Ulaan Baatar on Saturday, August 16, but they will did manage to complete their route that included Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Ukraine.
From there they drove through Russia, Kazakhstan, back into Russia and finally Mongolia.

Though they have already raised about £1,500 and every penny donated via their "Just Giving" and "Will we make it?" links on their website go directly to their chosen charities.


Visit the Widget Gallery

Steve and Will Merrow-Smith's Charity Appeal

We have nominated two Mongolian Charities and need to raise a minimum £500 for Mercy Corps so please click the logo. Thank you to all who have given towards our handsome £1195 total for Christina Noble Children's Foundation. The question is...Will We Make It to Ulaan Bataar in a 1992 Seat Marbella?

Wednesday, 28 May 2008

A new Hat and set of Boots for Bella

A visit today to Billy Bridges, the best set up scrap yard... ahem!
Auto-recyclers in the South of England. I spotted a full sized 6 foot extended roof rack on an Escort van and prised it off with a car jack to fit on our SEAT Marbella.




View Larger Map">

I hoiked the roof rack along to the cashier, passing the dedicated wheel and tyre bay, alternator shed, flush toilet with heater, fully fitted tea bar to ask for a price.. £10 bargain.
I took Bella into the tyre shed and matched up our steel Fiat Uno wheels @ £6 each and 135/80 13 tyres @ £8.50 each plus balancing.
I pondered about balancing but went for it as the prospect of finding a decent bit of road in Khazakhstan with vibrating steering wheel wasn't worth the saving of £4.50 a wheel.
Total spend today £86.

New Hat & set of boots
Originally uploaded by les_mongauloises

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We test our scaffold pole flipflop lorry strap spring

The Rules

These are the rules of the rally which the boys and the other teams have to follow!

1. The On Your Own Rule:
You are entirely responsible for yourself. If something goes wrong or you get yourself in a right old pickle, you have to get yourself out of it - there is absolutely no support or back-up once you hit the road. When you sign up you will have to sign our team entry agreement so you can't sue our arses when you die!

2. The Charity Money Rule:
You need to raise a minimum of £1000 per team for the official rally charities by whatever means you see fit. The Mongol Rally is going to raise shedloads of cash for awesome charities, which is good.

1. The 1 litre Rule:
You can only use a car with an engine of 1 litre or less that is generally considered to be crap. If you want to go on a motorbike (ideally a scooter) they are limited to under 125cc. We're an amicable bunch though, so if you're desperate to use something bigger you can be accommodated, but you will be fined £100 for every 0.1 litre above the limit, payable straight to the charities.

You should be careful not to limit your own fun though. The rally is absolutely not about making sure you reach the end but the fun you have trying. If you get there with no major balls-up you might as well have stayed at home. Exceptions to this rule may be considered for vehicles of notable unusualness with high comedy value (get in touch with us with your ideas if you think your stead qualifies).

Other than these rules you are free to sneak, bribe, cheat, connive and generally out-wit the world to get yourselves to the end. In fact you will probably have to. If you get to the finish line without some good stories to tell, then the Mongol Rally has failed its mission. Which it won't.

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