The following is copied from the Rally report pages. The Hillman Hunter
leads the classic class through 61 of 80 days and needs a wheel bearing.
Can anyone near Duluth MN help? Can someone post this to the Hillman list.
http://www.carnetnews.co.uk/results/reports/story134.html
Rob Carpenter
Seattle
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Report from Duluth - Minnesota, USA - Day 61
Tappet Chatter: Day 61, Around the World - Syd Stelvio
Streuth! Duluth!
Rally leader Freddie Giles has been choking back the tears this evening has
he struggles with a problem which has stunned his fellow competitors. The
problem is now so real it looks as though a so-called Rest Day with all of
the cars in one hotel garage could none the less shake up the top of the
leaderboard without a single mile of competition. The Hillman Hunter is in
deep trouble.
We have heard that during a routine check, Peter Banham commented that there
was some wear in a rear wheelbearing. The car was up on jacks. This is an
observation you could make of any car in the event... we have traveled
further than the 1908 Peking to Paris, we have driven more competitive timed
miles than several World Championship Rallies put together.... and not one
car has its own Service Crew, it's been a case of make-do-and-mend for the
past 60 days.
So, Freddie takes the advice to heart, well, wouldn't you if you held a
slender lead with a Mercedes SL and a Ford Mustang breathing down your neck.
He drives out of the Holiday Inn hotel here in Duluth to a downtown repair
shop. A mechanic looks at the worn wheel bearing and decides the best way to
pull it off is just smash it with a big hammer... with the bearing in pieces,
we are told only then does he go off and check out the shelf with the
spares... where he discovered that he doesn't have a wheel bearing for a
Hillman Hunter after all.
The car can not run, and these words are being sent out over the satellites
with Freddie and Jan Giles distraught. They have struggled against the odds
in an underpowered car to put in a remarkable performance, day after day with
a model of consistency and careful pacing, coping at the same time with the
kind of pressures only those who have held the lead of a long distance
marathon can fully appreciate.
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