Ford Meteor Adelaide to Cairns through the desert in one week, would you do it?

[Without a paddle]

Hi all,

Quick intro, names Marty, I have a few XE and ED falcons, nice to meet you all.

I wasn't sure where to leave this, so I'll leave it here, admin feel free to move or delete.

Would you drive a $600 1986 Ford Meteor from Adelaide to Cairns, via Lake Eyre, Alice and Normanton, avoiding as many main and bitumen roads as possible, in one week?

My girlfriend and I said, "hell yes", and now we're going on the Sh tbox Rally in May this year to raise money for the Cancer Council. We got our car with a blown headgasket and shuddery brakes, otherwise its a nice car, ex RACV and then owned by the same bloke up until we bought it off his family after he passed.

You might be asking what is the ****box Rally? Well in short its a 3500km challenge on mostly dirt (or worse), in $1000 or less cars (no 4x4s), which has raised over $10 million in the last 7 years for the Cancer Council.

We are looking for some parts so I'll head over that way now and make another post.

Anyhow if anyone's interested (or has some cash they need to give away...or spend on our brewery tours :b ) head over to

https://www.facebook.com/Withoutapaddle2017 (the Meteors Facebook)


http://www.****boxrally.com.au

(Last year we took a parts car ED Falcon from Mackay to Hobart on the same rally, and ran the heater the whole way to stop the LPG converter freezing, nice in Tassie but hell in Qld/NSW, and a team in our buddy group brought an 80's suzuki carry that overheated the whole way (the two kegs in the back didnt help, but we helped them out with that, haha!)

[Junkyard-Dog]

Hey Marty, Welcome to Ford Forums. I'm sure you will fit in here, given your exquisite taste in Automobiles

I learned to drive manual in a Meteor exactly like that one in your attached pics. Now that brings up some memories... best wishes on your trip! It should be one hell of an adventure.

[chookaradley]

Great to see the old girl. Im a mechanic at the RACV and back in the late 80s early 90s they used to do Outback tours. Meteors and Laser Wagons would go along as support vehicles for the mainly Toyota troopies. It was a few years before I started, but lots of guys still comment to this day how good the Meteors would do, and often hold there own. Ya never know OP. Your car might've been off the beaten track before 😉

[XR6WGN]

I reckon I would do it - good luck and I'll have a look at your links next time I'm on BookFace.

[Adamz Ghia]

We drove through the desert in a 1982 Laser, so I'd do this in a heartbeat!

[malazn mafia]

Wow I haven't seen a Ford meteor since the late 90s, let alone in good condition... seems to be one of those once common cars that just dropped off the edge of the planet after 2000, like Mitsubishi Smegma, Mitsubishi Scorpion, Ford Escort, Ford Telstar, Holden Gemini, Datsuns and Nissan Bluebirds..

[.:4:.]

Maybe some extra water in the boot and a pack of stop leak tablets (just in case of a stone hole) the thing iif it's un reasonable shape mechanically wise shouldn't have an issue. People did the same thing to cars back in the 80's.

[frankie86]

i'd do that in a heartbeat! once in a life time trip mate so go for it! love the meteors especially when they are painted in stack hat yellow. all the best for the trip!

[Kryton]

I had an 84 Meteor at one point.
Paid $150 for it from the wreckers - it was traded in at the car yards by an old lady and driven straight to the wreckers once they traded it.
Was straight, clean and looked after, just too old for the caryard to sell.
Was an awesome fun car - Im sure yours will do just fine!

[Without a paddle]

Learning Manual in a Meteor wouldve been fun, if its like ours big long stick like a van! (When I was little (8 or 10?) I was allowed to sit in the middle seat in our Mazda van and move the gearstick when we drove somewhere. Fun fun.
So if the RACV used them on outback tours its going to be easy, right? :b. Thats really cool, I did not know that they RACV to do outback tours.

Its not in too bad a shape our Meteor, I was surprised it has independent rear suspension, we have an old racv diamond sunvisor light we are going to put on and we will re make the light bar somehow. And we are definetly buying it back at the end of the rally, because we love it allready, and hey, any excuse to raise our fundraising tally.. :b

malazn mafia, there was at least 3 of those cars on the rally last year, one was an early Escort panelvan, and im pretty sure there was a sigma and a scorpion too. There must be a black hole somewhere eating all them cars up which is a shame. And I think there is a Gemini coming this year, one of the factory diesel versions, yes I had too look it up cos I didnt think they existed powered by diesel.

And yes will be packing water this year. Last year before the rally started blew a heater hose in the middle of nowhere, at around 10pm. (I drove solo Melb to Mackay to start the rally). Bypassed the massive hole, and had to filter puddle water with a sock into a bottle to refill the radiator before I could get to the next town, because I had none spare. That was a fun night! And I didnt have a torch either so thats why my Ipod now has grease and dirt in all the seams. And the next night the alternator died and the spare was different! But thats a story for another time.

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by Without a paddle

malazn mafia, there was at least 3 of those cars on the rally last year, one was an early Escort panelvan, and im pretty sure there was a sigma and a scorpion too. There must be a black hole somewhere eating all them cars up which is a shame. And I think there is a Gemini coming this year, one of the factory diesel versions, yes I had too look it up cos I didnt think they existed powered by diesel.

Wow, that's a nice lineup of cars. Those cars used to be pedestrian, boring vehicles, but now there is something very cool and nostalgic about seeing those vehicles out and about once again.

Some more cars that seemed to have been forgotten:

- 1980s Mitsubishi Colt
- Nissan Urvan
- 1980s Toyota Celica
- 1980s Toyota Celica Supra
- ST141 Toyota Corona
- Holden Camira
- Holden Statesman Devil
- 1980s Pulsar/Holden Vector
- First Gen Boxcar Magna
- Corolla 4x4 Wagon

Any of these joining the rally?

[Without a paddle]

Yeah there were some real interesting rides, there was a 70's and an 80's toyota crown, a triumph stag that sounded like it had straight out pipes, suzuki carry, hillman minx, pug 404, all types of 80's corollas, an early laser (ke?), an example or two of allmost every falcon generation from xc right through to ba (including a factory manual el xr8), heaps of commodores, a supra, it goes on and on. In wildly differing conditions too, the pug 404 was mint, but there was some totally crap examples too.

I think there will be a few of those on the list of entrants, there was a colt last year, it was awesome. Theres a list on the teams page, but I havent been through it recently.

[BENT_8]

This is nuts, I love it.
You say no 4x4, what about AWD?

Just picked up a 94 Subaru Liberty AWD wagon for $180 that just needs the exhaust fixed to be roadworthy, would be prefect if AWD is an option.

[Mechan1k]

Remember seeing a doco on this not that long ago .... such a great cause ... and looks like great fun ... and great comradery between all the entrants as well.

[MNTL.XD]

Originally Posted by Without a paddle

Hi all,

Quick intro, names Marty, I have a few XE and ED falcons, nice to meet you all.

I wasn't sure where to leave this, so I'll leave it here, admin feel free to move or delete.

Would you drive a $600 1986 Ford Meteor from Adelaide to Cairns, via Lake Eyre, Alice and Normanton, avoiding as many main and bitumen roads as possible, in one week?

My girlfriend and I said, "hell yes", and now we're going on the Sh tbox Rally in May this year to raise money for the Cancer Council. We got our car with a blown headgasket and shuddery brakes, otherwise its a nice car, ex RACV and then owned by the same bloke up until we bought it off his family after he passed.

You might be asking what is the ****box Rally? Well in short its a 3500km challenge on mostly dirt (or worse), in $1000 or less cars (no 4x4s), which has raised over $10 million in the last 7 years for the Cancer Council.

We are looking for some parts so I'll head over that way now and make another post.

Anyhow if anyone's interested (or has some cash they need to give away...or spend on our brewery tours :b ) head over to

https://www.facebook.com/Withoutapaddle2017 (the Meteors Facebook)


http://www.****boxrally.com.au

(Last year we took a parts car ED Falcon from Mackay to Hobart on the same rally, and ran the heater the whole way to stop the LPG converter freezing, nice in Tassie but hell in Qld/NSW, and a team in our buddy group brought an 80's suzuki carry that overheated the whole way (the two kegs in the back didnt help, but we helped them out with that, haha!)

There's a meteor heading toward Cairns?! Hopefully somebody will kill it with a Laser or something! Hahaha plop.

Sounds like a pretty cool trip though, i'd love to do something like that. My sister just drove a Territory up to Darwin, it nearly made it without dying (went into limp mode with 60kms left) i'm sure a Meteor will be fine. Drive it back and keep it until you get too old to drive and pass it down to your kids.
Good luck.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[Junkyard-Dog]

Originally Posted by Without a paddle

Learning Manual in a Meteor wouldve been fun, if its like ours big long stick like a van! (When I was little (8 or 10?) I was allowed to sit in the middle seat in our Mazda van and move the gearstick when we drove somewhere. Fun fun.

Yeah, it was actually very forgiving and generally very easy to drive. If my memory serves me correctly, they drive well for what they are.

[last fairlane]

Done that trip back in 72 with an XL wagon crossed the Johnson river had to take off the fan belt and cover up the dizzy open the doors and off you go
back to Darwin and down to Adelaide there was 600 miles of dirt back the sometimes it was mud dit all that on one set of tyres without a flat
and got 33 MPG are the good ol days