GK Garages

Hi Club Triumph Members! It's Reece here, the better looking half of the GK Garages team! As the title of this post alludes to, GK Garages (another chap called Ross, and I) have just signed up to take part in the absolute epic that is the 2023 Mongol Rally! This is an adventure that will take us from home in Bristol, over 10,000 miles through Europe (around the Nurburgring), down through Turkey, through Iran, and up into the 'Stans' before we hit Mongolia... and then we're going to drive back again! A 20,000 mile adventure that most people undertake by firmly sticking to the only two rules imposed by the organisers... Paying les than £1000 for your car, and having an engine smaller than 1000cc. The other aspect of this journey alongside the driving, is the fact we're raising money for charity! We've set ourselves the challenge or raising a minimum of £2000 to be split between our 3 charities: Cool Earth, Mind, and the RSPCA! Here at GK Garages we're a little bold stupid, and so have taken it upon ourselves to do this challenge in a 1967 Triumph 1300 that we've aptly named Stanley, as we're going to go and show him off in a bunch of the 'Stans'! The eagle eyed amongst you will know that a 1300 fwd is a 1296cc engine - however we've been given special dispensation by the event organisers due to the fact the car is older than both of our ages combined, and is currently 80% structural rust. So why are we here? Ross and I have quickly realised that as much as we love cars, and have worked on a fair few already - we need to source the knowledge of Triumph experts with regards to what we can do to firstly restore, and secondly modify our car so that it will not only survive the 20,000 miles - but thrive, and fly the British flag proudly across multiple continents and over 20 countries! Whilst we don't want to absolutely destroy our car, we are incredibly keen on turning him into an absolute classic rally monster with switches and dials, and all the other rally naughtiness inside! So I'm starting this thread to help collect the absolute wealth of knowledge and experience that the members of Club Triumph must have on our little 1300. We want to know absolutely everything! Strengths, weaknesses, what we should change, what we should modify, how we can raise the ground clearance, what parts are shared with other cars, what parts we might need custom made etc. etc. We want to know it all! We'll keep you updated with our progress with a few posts on the thread, but also on a blog which we've incorporated into our website here: GK Garages 2023 Mongol Rally and also on our Instagram page here: GK Garages Instagram If you have a nose around that website link, you will find more info on the two of us, the route we're taking, and the charities that we're going to be raising money for! Whilst we're here first and foremost to gather information so that we will actually make the 20,000 mile journey - we'd be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn't kindly remind you that this is all for charity, any any support that you can offer us will be greatly appreciated! Whether it be donations to the charities, donations to our fuel fund, or donations of spare parts or knowledge - any way you can help us will be greatly appreciated! As a little bonus, if you do end up donating - we're going to be stickering the life out of our little car so are thinking of adding names/faces/logos of those that have helped us along the way!! Also, at some point we're going to be going on decent shakedown drives across the UK to make sure all our resto-modding is going to plan - which would be a great excuse to come and meet some of you at events and get togethers! Something to work towards for sure! I look forward to hearing all of your ideas regarding how we can bullet proof and fully rally spec our little Triumph 1300!! Poor Stanley doesn't know what he's in for just yet! Cheers, Reece