2020 Club Motori Italia Lufra Cryptic Drive

Where - or maybe the question is how - was there a clue alluding to camel dung contained in November's CMI Lufra cryptic drive? We contestants obviously missed it but it was no doubt there. You may have set the bar a bit too high this time, Graham!

Camel poop aside, the drive - held on Sunday the 8th of November - was a great day out, combining glorious weather, some delightfully twisty country roads, lovely scenery and a couple of dozen or so competitors in a mainly Italian fleet pitting their wits against the devious mind of crypto-meister Graham Mitchell. The only certainties of the day were its starting and finishing points, Salamanca's Retro Cafe and the beloved Lufra Hotel at Eaglehawk Neck.

In true cryptic style, Graham set some observational, botanical and biological tasks, requiring participants to describe certain features en route and to collect specimens of eucalypts, hawthorn blossoms, feathers and sea shells, with extra points awarded for the quality and / or novelty of the latter. It seems that she who sees sea shells upon the seashore may have been at an advantage, with the closely-fought contest partially being determined on that basis.

After a staggered-start (I'd like to suggest we Le Mans' style next time 😁), competitors found themselves chasing long-extinct carnivorous marsupials and horse-drawn conveyances on the Queen's Domain, before heading over the Tasman Bridge and acquainting themselves with various tradies' residences and some quite monumental gate posts, to name but a few of the challenges set on the way to Richmond, Sorell and beyond.

From Sorell, Graham had us head into Dodges Ferry and Carlton Beach, still collecting clues, before following the Carlton River through Connellys Marsh and Dunalley. Apparently there were some Leyland P76s, definitely a couple of MTT buses that probably haven't seen action since the days of paper tickets, plus a rather flimsy-looking tractor at Murdunna, before the highlight of the day - a camel train, complete with an Akubra-wearing bushie and his cattle dog - happily sharing the Cubed Coffee car park and Pirates Bay lookout with quite a crowd of bemused onlookers. I don't know how Graham organised this but I'm very pleased that he did!

It's probably fair to say that we have all missed our annual dose of the Lufra this year, CMI's hill climb that kicks off from, and centres around, the hotel having fallen victim to the C-word. It was therefore great to be able to end the cryptic drive in their light-filled dining room and to reacquaint ourselves with the wonderful staff.

The Lufra team did a fabulous job, serving up some really tasty dishes, complemented by not too many local wines and beers. They also kindly made allowances for the slackers amongst us - me, actually - who hadn't preordered.

It seems that the Roberts family - Tristan, Emily, Jasper and Stella - are crypto-wizards, taking out first place with 22 points (Tristan and Jasper having come second in the Bothwell event?), while Steve and his tribe - Rosie, Millie, Eve and Gerrard - came in second on a score of 19, beating out the Watsons in third, equal on 19 points, but featuring sub-par sea shells. Tim and Felix Morgan (4th), and Stewart and Linda Peacock (5th) made it to the outer-podium, each ending up with a creditable 18 points, but with the former's shells being deemed to be superior.

Thanks go to Graham and anyone else that may have assisted him on the day (David Button certainly arranged the catering side of things), the crew at the Retro and last, but not least, the staff of the Lufra. We miss you and hope to be back in 2021!

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

Photos by JJW & AGW.

EJ or EH Holden? (Up-dated December, 2022)

EJ or the later EH? Several years ago, I posed the question: Can somebody please explain the difference between an EJ and an EH Holden ute or van? The response at the time wasn't overwhelming, so I did a bit of Googling and ferreting through my photos and came up with my own rough guide to EJ and EH identification. Sedans and wagons are easy to tell apart ; the EH's vertical rectangular tail lights are a dead give-away. However, the workhorse versions of both models share the rear-end treatment of the earlier EJ, making it harder to identify one from the other. No super obvious hints here. Or here ... . It turns out that the main clues are in the placement of the front H O L D E N lettering and GMH lion emblems, the style of the radiator grille and the width of the vents in front of the windscreen, with all EJs - sedans, wagons, utes and vans - having one combination and the EH line-up having their own . So what exactly are those diffe

Vick Auto Prima Fiat X1/9 Brakes: An Owner’s Assessment

At the end of 2022, I fitted a set of Vick Autosport Prima front brakes to my mildly worked 1.5 litre Series 1 Fiat X1/9 . I was fortunate, having picked them up at a very, very reasonable price, brand new but surplus to the needs of a fellow X1/9 Australia member who had imported them from the US. The kit included: New single pot callipers , new vented rotors (standard X1/9 front rotors are smaller, non-vented items), DOT approved stainless steel brake hoses, and all the necessary mounting hardware. They are a value proposition, being particularly well priced compared to other manufacturers’ packages - even at RRP - with everyone I’ve spoken to saying they’re made to a high standard, too. Here's a link to a piece that I wrote about them at that time, including some costings: https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-x19-gets-prima-brake-upgrade.html . Initial Assessment: I was a little underwhelmed by the brakes' performance, finding that although they had a tiny

Random # 301: Nanna-Spec KE36 Corolla

Once upon a time - six or seven years ago, actually - there was a lovely pale yellow GC Galant station wagon getting around Hobart. It was totally nanna-spec; its paint was umarked, the chrome work and hubcaps were immaculate, and its very original interior was pristine. Then someone stuck feathers in its dashboard. Next, the windows were adorned with Tibetan prayer flags. And a hubcap went missing. And the the rear bumper was pushed in, mangling the bodywork behind it. And a mudguard got dented. And rust set in. I fear for this sweet, innocent KE36 Corolla. Somebody please save it before it's too late. Nanna needs you to do it. U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Photos by GlamRock.

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