4. WHY NOT A FORD!!!

We spent much time in the States trying to decide on a vehicle to drive in the rally.  First it was SUVs.  We had hoped to sleep in whatever we drove.  Everything but the big stuff wasn't long enough in the back for me.  Than there was the problem and expense of shipping a vehicle over from the States. I found the blog for Brian and his team "Baatar Hero" from the U.S. among the blogs for the larger rally in 2010.  Brian was invaluable in giving advice from his team's experiences last year.  Brian is a world traveler and he and his wife have done many such events and world journeys. Based on his vehicle shopping experience in the U.S., it was decided to purchase a vehicle in the UK for the journey as he had (actually he purchased two). 

I first spoke with my Ferrari mechanic John and asked him if he knew of someone in the U.K. since he does work for people all over the world.  To my surprise, John asked the principal of Noble Motor Cars in the U.K. John is the builder of the engines for their new M600 sports car (650 HP).  Peter was eager to help us.  So much time then passed after our first discussions with Peter.  When we decided on what we wanted to purchase (an ambulance), Noble was starting first builds on the M600.  Although Peter still wanted to help us find and prepare a vehicle, Robert and I decided it was now too much to ask of the Noble team given their busy schedule with the M600.

BACK TO BRIAN

One advantage of purchasing a vehicle in the UK is the availability of diesel powered, manual transmission SUVs  and vans (normally called transit vans in the UK).  In addition to better fuel economy, a diesel would be better suited for low speed travel on bad roads and no roads at all.  A low mileage, 2000 model year Ford ambulance was located and purchased.  It had been with the Royal Air Force all these years and had only 10,000 plus miles on the odometer.

Now we had the problem of finding someone to service and store the vehicle in the UK.  Brian, the leader of the "Baatar Hero" team had mentioned a higher end car dealer in Marple, UK that he had purchased a car from the previous year.  Brian spoke highly of him. We contacted the owner of the dealership. Steve was very positive and eager to help us.  He had the ambulance driven to Marple after taking legal possession of it for us.  The vehicle was inspected by Steve and Chris. Chris is the owner of a nearby repair garage.  Notes were compared with our "wants" list.  Parts and spares were ordered in preparation for the servicing of the Ford ambulance.