I'd like to hear from any vette owners in the UK, especially in the Suffolk Norfolk area. I grew up there as a kid and will be there this June and July.

It would be great to meet anyone with a vette, of any era. I contacted the Corvette Club UK and the American Car Club 4 weeks ago and have had no reply so thought I'd try on the forum.

www.myvette.20m.com has info on me and my 1988 vette - love to hear from anyone in the UK. The only contact I have is with Britvette and he is a bit too far away from where we are staying in Ipswich.

S'nut

 

Hi Rob,

I live in Kent which is around 80 miles to the south of Ipswich. Is that close enough?

Paul

 

Hi,
Surprised that you got nothing from the CCCUK? I'm a fair way away from that part of the country but I can think of one person who's up there who posts here occasionally. There's also a decent Vette specialist in Norfolk (Corvette Kingdom http://www.corvetteuk.com/ ) who should definitely be able to put you in touch with the local Vette owners. You're in luck though, the CCCUK has its Nationals on 25/26 June (the Sunday is by far the busiest day) & probably has the most Vettes in one place that you'll ever see in this country. It's held at Knebworth which isn't too far from where you'll be. Definitely worth a visit Knebworth is close to Stevenage & you could drive straight there or drive down to the M25 & meet up with the convoy going up from this part of the country. Best thing to do is try to hook up with the locals, so I'll post on the CCCUK website & try to wake somebody up for you. Hope the weather's good for your stay

 

hi,
I live just outside Ipswich,Woodbridge,and have a 69 bb conv if interested.
Marc.

 

Hi Rob
I am about 10 miles south of Norwich and hope to have my vette on the road by the end of May so maybe able to meet up some time.
Hello Paul I suppose you were refering to me, thanks for the email and I will call you tomorrow, sorry I did not get back to you today but it is 11.50pm and I have just finished a 16 hour day, but have added a few more pennies to the "save my vette fund"

 

wow, quick replies here in the C3 forum!!! thanks everyone.

My tag of 'Stingraynut' is because C3's are my favourite - I agonised for a very long time over my choice of C3 or C4 - as it had to be my daily driver, I eventually choose the C4 and after 2+ years know that it was the right choice - I hope one day to have a C3 as well, but maintaining a vette as a daily driver is enough responsibility for the moment!

I belong to the American Car Club of Cairns and get to see many 60's Mustangs, Cameros etc and up to 15 Stingrays - I am the lone C4 and they think I have a 'new' car!! I have more C4 friends in Brisbane (1000 miles away) than in Cairns.

chevy-dave and bbvette69 you're both very close - we have arranged a house and car swap with a couple in Trimley, Felixstowe. I'll send you an IM or email

Thanks for the info on the CCCUK nationals at Knebworth, that should be great.

Thanks too, Pauld, we have quite a few things to do while in UK so I'll keep your contact info handy in case we are down your way.

S'nut

 

Not very far from Felixstowe is Vettedreams. That shop is owned by Rick Bufton who is the president of the CCCUK. If you make it into the South East London area you can find Claremont corvette owned by Tom Falconer who wrote half of your corvette books and on the south side is Dart Corvette. The motorway drive to any of the shops is pretty quick and they all offer you a cuppa when you get there.

Bill

 

Hi texaswilkins, I did a search by google for vettedreams but only found a US web site - do you have a link you can give me ?

thanks

S'nut

 

I don't know if Vette Dreams has a website but his business phone is 01255 831539.

You can find out about Claremont at www.corvette.co.uk, Tom has by far my favorite shop in the world. If you go down there you have to ask him if you can look through his upstairs parts room. I thought it was worth the trip from Norwich just to look.

Tell them both I sent you.

Bill

 

S,nut
Had an excellent holiday a year ago driving from Cairns to Brisbane. Only saw one Vette on the road (yellow C4 nr Brisbane) but did stop off at a Vette Specialists somewhere near Brisbane (my mates were well impressed!). Any possibility that you'll be going to the Nationals?
I don't envy you the flights
David,
Wheels are on their way at this very moment Hope you like them & good luck with the paint.

 

I am due to move over to the UK, it keeps getting postponed due to work, but its coming. The wife is already there. We'll be living outside of Edinburgh, just bought a house. Wow, the prices.....

Anyhow I am pretty sure that I will be bringing my 71 LS-5. Its mostly stock, pretty straight and a good runner. Don't see any reason to part with the old girl.

carbster

Its ORANGE so it should go down well with the locals...maybe not.

 

Thanks TW for vette dreams phone no and comments on Claremont - a friend here has also said good things about them.

UKPaul, I'm guessing your Cairns to Brisbane drive was not in a vette!

I've done the trip twice with my 88 and it brings out the best in the C4. Comfortable seats, fast, etc

Last year I returned from the Corvette classic in Brisbane - over 1000miles of driving that took 16 hours (over 2 days) That's an average of 110kph !!! pretty good eh? and no nasty pics of me exceeding the 100kph speedlimit. I had a ball - 500watt stereo system and car running well.

I took no notice of fuel usage and was WOT nearly every time I overtook - fuel economy on the computer showed 9.8 litres per 100 kms -that's the sort of economy a small car gets !!!!! wow. The big overdrive gear and fuel injection really made a difference. I was hoping to go again this year but our trip to UK is at the same time - I made lots of friends at the Corvette Convention at Southbank -

Here's me -
http://www.users.bigpond.com/mpheale...Meandvette.jpg

and my new friends - http://www.users.bigpond.com/mphealey/Corvette/85.jpg


S'nut

 

I hope my experiences are unusual, but every single time I've been to Scotland it's rained. A lot! Maybe Graeme (VetteG, owner of a nice C3 soon to be prowling the roads in Sotland) will post & put me straight on that

Unfortunately not At the time I was thinking that it'd be a brilliant place to drive the Vette, but we were in a Toyota with a boat behind us, 4 adults, a kid, scuba gear, skis, assorted junk..... and piles of those excellent curry steak pies sold all over the place
I'm not envious at all! We want to do a long trip in the C3 ('81 with comfy seats) & would love to go to the west coast of Scotland in it as the scenery is stunning & the roads excellent. But it always rains when I go anywhere near the place! We'll probably end up going to Spain or Portugal, where fuel is a more sensible price, & get rained on there instead.
110kph = about 75mph? That's not bad considering the amount of speed traps we saw. What surprised me with Aussie was the rigid enforcement of the speed limits. I thought it was getting bad here with masses of speed cameras appearing like a bad case of acne, but it's far worse in Aussie. We took a couple of weeks to do the journey, as we stopped off at several places, but the roads were great. I just didn't like the oncoming cop cars with cameras clocking our speed Where's the sense of fair play in that?!
Fitting an OD trans was THE best thing I ever did to my Vette. I can almost afford to drive it now You won't like the fuel prices here. An orange car won't stand out (a Vette will though) as there's a plague of brightly coloured cars appearing on the roads.
I'll look out for you at the Nats. Those girls get about, we had a couple of evenings out with them in Airlee

 

UKPaul, I'm a big fan of the curry pies too!

So you have a 700R4 trans fiitted ? That's a good move, the OD is an amzing gear isn't it?

The police speed cameras are a huge revenue raiser here and as you say, there are car mounted camera's so it pays to be careful everytime a white car is approaching

The blanket speed limit of 100kph ( 62.5mph) is crazy. Before it was introduced, many years ago, 120kph ( 75mph) felt like a comfortable cruising speed - now, late model cars make 130-140kph (80+mph) feel about the same, so it's very hard to stay down to 100kph. My average of 110kph for the Brisbane Cairns trip included passing through towns at 60kph and other speedlimits. I managed to get a move on it places but they take your license away if you are more than 30kph over the limit - takes all the fun out of it!

Ha ha, I'll expect to see them and you at the nats!

S'nut

 

If those curry pies were sold here I'd have to buy a Mopar as I wouldn't fit in the Vette! They're to moreish.

I've got the 200-4r as it was an easier fit, better spread on the gears & apparently weighs less & guzzles less hp than the 700. The OD gear is fantastic. I thought all the praise on the Bowtie website was a bit OTT (words like "wonderfull" spread liberally around), but they don't go far enough, it's brilliant I still go blasting down our motorways with it stuck in "3" & the engine revving away, the exhausts bellowing, the fuel gauge sinking & still enjoy listening to the rpm drop when I shift into OD (another advantage is the amount of tailgaters who back off when they realise that I've got an extra gear ). BEST mod by far that I've done, how did I ever do long trips without it? Oh, now I remember, I took out a bank loan for the fuel before setting off

The max speed limits here are generally 60mph on single carraigeways & 70mph on dual & motorways. There's a big call to up the limit to 80mph on motorways as the cops generally ignore people at that speed (unless conditions are bad, or they're driving like idiots) & modern cars have far better handling & brakes than the cars of old (but lots are still driven by myopic morons). Most traffic seems to do about 80 - 90mph on the local motorways & sitting between 80 - 85mph in the Vette has been "safe" so far. I could go faster & stick with the traffic that passes me (especially now I've got OD!) but the exhausts start coming on song at 90mph & are a big attraction for every cop withing 5 miles (apart from that, 80mph is a nice speed). Even when I'm cruising at 90mph I still regularly get passed by little old ladies driving little 1000cc cars with no optional extras whatsoever! Traffic will generally be travellin at up to a ton as anything over 100mph is an instant ban for us "normal people". Speed cameras have started appearing on motorways & they'll nick you whether you were driving safely or like a complete loon. We all know that they're there to generate revenue & that safety is a secondary consideration (cameras don't nick people driving dangerously, just those driving 1mph over the set limit).
The traffic speed in Aussie was a total shock to me (at 1st I thought my mates husband was a nervous driver as he was going so slow, but then I realised that everybody else was crawling along at 60mph. Then I saw all the cop cars with cameras & remembered the big grin on his face while he was driving "enthusiastically" when he was here!). I have a lot of friends in Aussie but never asked about speed limits as you've got some nice cars out there (really liked the SS Ute) & I saw Mad Max years ago, so thought that speed limits were just "advisory" (which'd make a great excuse if pulled by an Aussie cop for speeding ).

 

Thanks for the info on UK speeds, that will be very handy.

It seems the posted limit is way off the accepted norm, which is crazy -and as you say, if a speed camera gets you it won't help to say everyone else was doing the same speed!!

I checked the pic of your vette on your profile - very nice. Your house behind it looks good too...... he he he

I have the quietest exhaust system of any vette's I know. That's not to say it's quiet just quieter than others - it stays fairly reserved at low throttle but sounds like it means business with the foot planted.

I fitted a 500 watt amp to the CD system with four 6x9, 3 way speakers and it's a toss up whether I listen to the exhaust or the music!

While on the subject of UK rulz and regs - a few people are telling me there's no random breathtesting for alcohol and so forth. I doubt that's correct because they were doing that when I left in 1972. Not that I plan to drink-drive, but what is the blood alcohol limit and what is accepted practice?

In Aus we have random breathtesting anywhere anytime and the limit is .05 which is about 2 cans of beer. I generally have a zero alcohol policy when driving, it just seems easier - either have a few beers or drive a Corvette!

S'nut

 

Hi,
Sorry about the delay, I've been in California
Drinking & driving in the UK is a bad idea. The limit is higher than other countries & some people reckon it's about 2 pints of weak beer (like the stuff sold in California as British beer ). A pint of decent beer will be a safe amount & I've been tested after a pint of good beer & was under the limit. Something to watch out for is the morning after going on a bender. Quite often people are still over the limit & don't realise it, but the cops do! We all know of people that have copped a 12 month driving ban going to work on a monday morning after a seriously heavy saturday night - something to be aware of. Random testing does occur although it may/may not be allowed. The cops can pull you over for a faulty light, driving suspiciously, looking dodgy, a document check, anything at all, and if they smell alcohol on your breath then you'll be tested.

 

Hi Paul,

How was the holiday, did you manage to find that steering wheel?

 

Hi Paul et al,
Coming in a bit late on this, but noting that Carbster is moving to just outside Edinburgh, thought I had better come in.

Paul, are you going to the Barbie on Saturday night at the Nats, if so what kind of ale is available? Or do we bring our owne?

Carbster, I should have my vette back on the road in September and I am based in Edinburgh. Drop me an email when you get over and we can hook up. Where abouts is your house exactly? You can see what we have done and the latest progress on my website at www.GraemeInglis.com and there is a contact email there as well.
I work in Russia so I am only home for about 10 days a month, but we should be able to hook up at some point.

S'nut, Edinburgh is a long way from the south coast but we may be able to hook up at the Nationals. If you get to Corvette Kingdom they are in the final stages of the rebuild on my car and Scott I'm sure will be more than happy to show you round. There is also a place round the back of his shop that rebuilds Spitfires and I dont mean the Triumph car! Ask Scott about that as well.

Cheers

Graeme

 

UK Paul - Hi, I'm guessing you're PAUL81 on the UK forum? if so, I've just replied to you there - http://www.corvetteclub.org.uk/viewt...hp?p=8600#8600

Thanks for info on drink driving - it's best to know the rules in advance- firstly - your blood alcohol limit is .08 - ours is stricter at .05 , I have a zero alcohol policy in the vette - either drive or drink! (both are fun)

We have random tests, no reason necessary.

I know the Aussies and the Poms are famous drinkers, but I think you're really stretching the cred here Being caught the morning after is well known, but being caught the morning after the morning after!!! ( assuming Sunday was an alcohol free day?) that's serious drinking. I'm not very well if I go that far.


Graemeinvette - where is Corvette Kindgom ?

I've posted on the UK website to see if anyone is going to the summer Nats at Knebworth from my area - I can only go on the Sunday. I hope someone is going just for the day. I'm willing to drive over and meet then up to say 80 miles from me - I'd much rather go as a passenger in a vette, any year, tha drive on my own in a shopping car!

S'nut