Hans F. Reinhardt, a Neurosurgeon in Basel, Switzerland purchased his P20 Special Deluxe 4-Door Sedan in early 2004 and has great plans for it. This car spent most of its life-time in Lubbock, Texas, was imported in 1998 and was partially restored in Germany. In 2000, Dr. Reinhardt and his wife Annick made the London-to-Peking Rally organized by the 'Classic Rally Organization' founded by Stirling Moss/GB. They drove a 1949 Willys-Overland Model 77 Station Wagon which, in spite of its weak 4-cyl. engine, mastered those very hard 10,000 miles along the Silk Road without major trouble. The Willys is now again in museum-condition. Dr. Reinhardt has already restored several cars, including the Willys and a 1929 Peugeot. He is not only a car enthusiast, but also a clockmaker. Some people get all the talent! THIS YEAR (2007) HANS AND ANNICK WILL BE DRIVING HIS 1950 SPECIAL DELUXE 4-DOOR SEDAN IN YET ANOTHER PEKING TO PARIS RUN, THE "PEKING TO PARIS BORGHESE MEMORIAL” ORGANIZED BY A GROUP OF SWISS FRIENDS, DEPARTING PEKING, CHINA ON JUNE 10 AND ARRIVING IN PARIS ON AUGUST 10. The route will more closely follow the original 1907 route of Prince Borghese and his companion Barzani and includes Peking - Great Wall of China - Inner Mongolia - Gobi Desert - Outer Mongolia - Ulaan Baatar - Steppes of Asia - Siberia - Russia - Moscow - St Petersburg - Estonia - Latvia - Lithuania - Poland - Czech Republic - Germany - and finally Paris (Place de la Concorde). Hans has been kind enough to share some photos of his Borg-Warner R-10 overdrive transmission and they can be found on the "Overdrive" page. Click here to see some photos of Hans' overdrive installation.

	Above - Hans' car as it was when he purchased it in 2004 - after it was imported from Lubbock, Texas and partially restored. Upper Left - This photo was taken during the full body-off restoration after Dr. Reinhardt purchased it. Left - The finished product.

How's that for YELLOW? This was an actual factory color for the taxis made by Plymouth.

I wonder how this beautiful interior will look after the 10,000 mile Peking-to-Paris run? The seats are a beige Alcantara/brownish artificial leather.

The engine was built in France with parts purchased from Kanter. Other parts were purchased from Roberts. A 6 volt alternator from Fifth Avenue (Randy Rundle) and 6v/152Ah battery were also installed. Hans has to consider many things on this 10,000 mile endurance run. He will have to carry spare tires plus just about any other spare parts that he can fit into or on top of the car. Variances in the quality, octane (as low as 71 octane) and lead content will be wide as he travels through many countries along the ancient "Silk Road". This will provide quite a test for the old flathead. A rebuilt transmission with overdrive from George Asche will complete the running gear. Incidentally, other modifications to the car will include: an extra mounted fuel tank, roof rack, and a 6v electric ventilator.

Old Plymouth owners everywhere will be cheering Hans on. MAKE US PROUD!!!

Hans was able to find a brand new "Allstate" evaporative cooler - still in the box. These old "swamp coolers" use the principal of evaporation to cool air passing over a moist porous surface and are quite effective in hot dry climates (Mongolia, perhaps?). (Note: These were an absolute necessity for crossing western US deserts in the 40s & 50s prior to the advent of "factory refrigerated air conditioning".) He probably won't use it much in Switzerland.

To visit the official website of the Peking-to-Paris Borghese Memorial, retracing the original 1907 route of Borghese & Barzani, click on the logo above. It is in German without translation to any other languages but very interesting nevertheless for those of us who are "linguistically challenged". Below is a rough idea of the route.

(3/22/07) - The photo at top left shows Hans' roof rack with the first of the luggage and supplies loaded. Top Right shows the first of the luggage (24 T-shirts stamped with the Plymouth logo for each etc.)loaded into the trunk. Note the 10 gallon auxiliary gas tank in the wheel well. The spare tire will be carried in the roof rack. For communication Hans has built a ‘black box’ incorporating a remote controlled radio/CD unit (much Beethoven, Bach, Schubert, Elgar [pomp-and-circumstances for the arrival!] etc.) and on top the Motorola 5W transmitter, both fed by a 6/12 V converter. It’s painted black in order to be almost invisible on the floor. For the run, the car will be decorated with flags (China/ Switzerland) and Plymouth Owners Club stickers. It was/will be shipped on April 14, 2007 from the Rhine River harbor of Basel.

Hans reported that since 1950s vintage cars are relatively unknown in his part of the world. US techniques and maintenance procedures are not nearly as well known as European procedures for Citroens, Peugeots, Mercedes, etc. Case in point - Old Plymouths use heavy grease in their steering boxes while Plymouths require SAE 80 gear oil. Learning that cost a cleanout of the grease and a refill with the gear oil.

AND HERE WE GO!!! - Cars for this rally were shipped, two to a container, from Rotterdam, NL on April 14, 2007. It was quite a party, even attended by Swiss television. Cars ranged from a 1913 Rolls to a 1965 Land Rover.

A late addition to the run is a 1907 Spyker. A similar open tourer participated in the 1907 rally, but arrived much later than Prince Borghese with his Itala. So there will have a second pre-WW1 car without (front)brakes etc. ... Hans says that he will keep some distance from this car, just for safety. One of the more interesting entries in this rally is the 1913 Rolls Royce shown below. Although top speeds of 60 mph are possible for this wondercar, the top must be put down at 30 mph to keep it from blowing off. Rear (only) brakes are inadequate, particularly in the rain. Nevertheless, this car is expected to complete the journey.

And here are our intrepid adventurers! Annick and Hans are shown below at the farewell party for the cars as the containers were hoisted onto the ship for the long voyage to China.

And here, at the right, is their panda, one of the two mascots that will accompany the Reinhardts on their journey. Look carefully and you can make out the Plymouth Owners Club decal in the window.
	Never one to have idle time on his hands, Hans dug up another project to keep him occupied between the time the Plymouth was shipped on a "slow boat to China" and the time he and Annick fly to the beginning of the rally. Shown at the left is his little Velorex, an odd looking 3-wheeled vehicle from Czechoslovakia - (speedy: 50 mph and more), which he hopes to get running soon.

And here's Jack, an 8" tall bear, proudly wearing his Plymouth Owners Club T-shirt - ready to accompany Hans & Annick on their long journey. He is sitting on the steering wheel of Hans' 1928 Peugeot 190S, hidden in a barn since WW2 and restored in 2004.	Here's Jack sitting on the fender of "Old Lady Willys", who has already made the Peking to Paris run back in 2000. The small inset photo, taken in Turpan, China, shows a small boy sitting in the same spot while on that journey.

TRIP LOG: April 7, 2007 - ship car June 6 - fly to Beijing via Air China

6/8/07 - We arrived well at the harbor of Peking, Tianjin. It’s an important port with 1.700.000 containers /pa After a turn around Africa, the Plymouth started well after a few seconds, discharging a black cloud. Now it drives smoothly and we filled some gas with 93 octane, probably the best we’ll have along all the trip. All is marked in Chinese, the food is Chinese (my best substitute is Coca Cola), people speak Chinese only, no English, French or German. Jacky (Annick calls him so) arrived well, too. I send you a photograph from the customs, surrounded by a Volvo and a splendid 1913 brass-era Rolls. In front of us is an ‘37 Alvis and in the back an afterwar Mercedes. Tomorrow we will start in Peking. Greetings from Tianjin

6/12/07 After some 200 miles from Tianjin to Peking we went to the Great Wall (cf. photo with Jacky). The temperature was 104° F inside and outside the car. This was hard for us, but the engine didn't overheat, thanks to the 6 V electric fan (from Randy Rundle / Fifth Ave) which started twice - I think this was a good investment. During the opening ceremony someone sat on the front fender, tearing away the headlight bezel including the screw (already oversize) that didn't catch anymore. Using a threaded washer from a molding this problem was finally fixed. Tomorrow we'll go to the Inner Mongolia. Greetings from Bejing, Hans

6/18/07 "We did the first 2000 miles. The car works like a Swiss watch, until now we had no problems. Gas consumption was at 12-14 liters per 100 km (to you to calculate mpg) and almost no oil or water lost. The only inconvenience is the freewheeling of the overdrive (which, nonetheless on the good Chinese roads is very, very useful). Braking at higher speeds (>55 mph) is hazardous, but in front of us are cars from 1913 - 1947 that have poor brakes, too." Greetings from Northern China Annick and Hans

Left - Example of a Mongolian road near the hotel in Ulan Bator. Right - A new definition of "roughing it" in Gobi desert - note the deluxe accomodations between the Reinhardt's Plymouth and the 1913 Rolls-Royce. That night, there was a severe dust storm - and then it rained. Some of the tents collapsed. 6/29/07 "We are now in Ulan Bator in Mongolia. The "roads" in the Gobi and Mongolian deserts were very hard and the Plymouth suffered much. Twice we have perforated the oil pan with total oil loss and repairs (gluing and welding, respectively) in the middle of the desert. Also the points were used after only 2500 miles due to the fine sand which is everywhere. Yesterday we could fix all the problems in a well equipped Nissan-Garage and the car runs fine again. The nights in the tent with thunder- and sand storms were not comfortable at all, but now we are in an excellent hotel." (See photos above - Bill) "My good friend Sebi Schroeder has completed his homepage, you can see his photographs under www.pekingparis.ch"

7/1/07 - (North of Ulanbator) (The group has replaced the tour director because of poor planning and performance.) "...The planned daily trips (were to be)of 200 miles and more. In fact, during the first day in the Gobi we were able to perform (only) 7 miles, on the 2nd day 10 miles, etc. All the old cars had major problems, especially of the suspension, the exhaust system and the ignition, whereas the tires resisted surprisingly well. My Plym suffered, too. But the oil pan is welded and remained tight and the silencer is only noisy. The points were replaced, two further tune up kits ..... are on the way to Irkutsk (Russia).... Until now, Annick and I are well, but we are happy to leave Mongolia as soon as possible. This banana republic is hard to live, the majority of people are very poor, but I've never seen so many Japanese 4x4, Hummers and even Maybachs. In 2000, I drove through the '-stans' (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan etc.), but Mongolian roads are - if existent - unimaginably worse, even in Ulanbator, the capital." More then from Irkutsk or one of the other great Russian towns.

18 July 2007 After 6000 miles we arrived in Ekatarinenburgh (Russia). Mongolia was hard for the cars, only sand and stones. And in Northern Siberia the roads - damaged by the extremely hard winters - were a torture. Now in central Russia (still in Asia) the roads are getting better and better, but are not comparable with the streets and highways in Europe or the USA. We always had very hot temperatures; today it's the first rainy day with much mud. I have just washed the car for tomorrows exposition on the main street of the city. Many of our cars were severely damaged. Until now, nine cars (from 29) are out. On a pre-WW-1 Rolls Royce, the frame broke on one side. On a very busy road in the northern Mongolia the car suddenly made a U turn. The driver and navigator weren't injured but the car couldn't be safely repaired. On a 1937 Ford, the gearbox had blocked and broke; they wait for a replacement. Two Alvis, two Willys and an Alfa Romeo had major engine crashes. A further Rolls had an collision near Irkutsk and was unable to continue on its own. It is now on a truck and will - hopefully - be repaired in a huge repair center for trucks and trains in Kazan, near Moscow. Its sturdy, distorted frame couldn't be straightened in a normal car shop. One further car (an MG) was abandoned. The Plymouth performs well; it was much too soft on the bad paths in the Mongolia and Siberia, but now it's very comfortable (e.g. on the 450 miles yesterday). We changed the shocks (not only leaking, but broken) and made some minor repairs. But the engine, the gearbox (including the overdrive), the suspension and the tires are still in a fairly good shape. As on all other cars, the exhaust system is burnt out and very noisy. The yellow body is photographed daily many, many times. The Russian like this type of older car. More recent cars, even from the sixties (Volvos, Mercedes etc.) are for them 'normally old, obsolete' cars, as are the few surviving Soviet Gaz, Moskvitch, Lada and Zil limousines that are mainly in a poor, rusty condition. The people here haven't still developed a culture of 'Classic Cars' as in the States and Europe. Most of the (many!) cars here are very recent, generally Japanese. Annick and I are well and we hope to arrive in Paris on August 10, as planned. Greetings from Russia, Hans and Annick

26 July 2007 "After more than 7,500 miles we arrived yesterday in Moscow. The Plymouth runs well, the roads are getting better and better. The overdrive is still very useful, as we constantly drive at speeds of 55-60 mph and more. Near Etatarinenburgh (still in Asia) a 1947 Ford lost his left rear wheel, after the very bad roads in Siberia many engines are repaired now (mainly heavy break downs!) and the cars are on the road again. Today we were on the Red Square, I join a photograph of the Plymouth with Jack on top. I don’t think that many Plymouths or other old American cars were on this politically still sensible square. Traffic in Moscow is chaotic, however the huge city (by size and importance comparable with New York or Peking) is culturally extremely rich with many influences from the numerous countries of the great Russian empire. Our ‘Cosmos’ hotel, built in the Breshnev era and inaugurated in 1979 by General Charles de Gaulle, has up to 2700 rooms. This evening we will visit the famous Metro stations in the center of Moscow. Tomorrow we will leave for St. Petersburg and the Baltic republics.

.

PARIS - AT LAST!!

16 August 2007 "August 10th we arrived well in Paris. I send you some pictures from Ermenonville near Paris, a beautiful 18th century castle, and from Paris, where we arrived on Place Vendōme. As I know them from Soviet era, St. Petersburg and the Baltic states were interesting to see again. They recover rapidly from the Communism and are now booming. The last kilometers (all in all 15.600 km / 10.000 miles) through Poland, Germany and France were pretty hard with daily routes of more than 400 miles, many trucks and much rain. Furthermore the 6V wiper motor crashed (new, from a Ford-A supply with weak Delrin wheels). Fortunately we had ClearView and well marked interstates. Although the electric wiper motor was more comfortable than the vacuum device, I’ll install the old one again after refurbishing it. (A new oil pan will be installed also.) It is hard to believe, but all we changed or added broke: the wiper, the roof rack, the spotlights etc., whereas all the original MOPAR parts remained undamaged. As you know from the reports from Sebastian Schroeder (www.pekingparis.ch), many cars had much trouble: three (from 30) resigned, 12 were severely damaged (brakes, bearings, pistons, valves, gaskets, gearbox, electric system), requiring daylong repairs and hard to get spare parts. A 1947 Ford and an MG lost a wheel in the middle of busy, dangerous Russian roads. Near the Lake Baikal the frame of a 1907 Rolls Royce broke suddenly … and our Plymouth ran without a hitch. Twice we replaced the shocks: first with some spares from Kanter, the last from a Russian UAZ (back) and a FIAT (front). As – by accident – we slit the oil pan in the Gobi desert, all was welded and reinforced and we couldn’t perform a correct oil change. So we only controlled the levels, filled up and drove… Average gas consumption was 12.5 l /100 km (to you to calculate!), a small amount of oil and almost no water. The 15” Bridgestone tires are still in a good shape in spite of the really bad roads. The suspension parts must be controlled and probably partially replaced. The doors are loose and noisy, but all this can be repaired. The painting is well and the yellow is still shiny. I was afraid of this bold color, but everyone liked it. The interior is always sunny, even in the worst rain. Driving the Plymouth was a pleasure, Annick enjoyed it, too. She drove half of the way. We had one of the most spacious, softest and noiseless cars, even with a burnt-out silencer (muffler). The overdrive was extremely useful, the engine generally turned at quiet 1500-2000 rpm. Anton Mosimann, the London based Swiss *****cook and his wife Catherine were less comfortably installed in their open, bone-hard Triumph TR5 with their face at the level of the black exhaust pipes of the heavy diesel trucks Nonetheless, if I had to choose again a car for this marathon, I would prefer my 1949/50 Willys-Overland Station Wagon (well-tried on the Silk Road in 2000) or a vintage Toyota Land-Cruiser. The Plymouth was too soft, jumping and rolling on these disastrous paths and roads in the Mongolia and eastern Siberia. These cars are too beautiful to be damaged this way. But we drove it as cautiously as possible and all will be repaired ‘as new’. I have sold my tedious BMW-7 stuffed with electronics and for everyday use - mainly in the city - Annick and I drive two (old, original) Mini’s. So, I hope to drive the Plymouth on Sundays and on longer distances for many years to come."

THUS ENDS OUR FABULOUS ADVENTURE!

 

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