Greek Vikings in a Swedish Kingswood

Hi Everyone

Viv and I are doing the Mystery box rally.

Its been 10 years since Viv was diagnosed with breast cancer and we (ok maybe just me) couldn't think of a better way to celebrate life 10 years after the diagnosis than by participating in the mystery box rally and driving a 25 year old car through the bush!

Photo below is me picking the car up from the Paterson Hotel near Dungog last Saturday 2/2/2020. $600 who knows what problems we will uncover but upon inspection it needed a good bath, general service and tune, front suspension, hole in the exhaust, PCV system service, battery, air con gas (maybe more), heater core, probably some tyres and that is just my observations before I get it to a mechanic!

Still it managed to get from Paterson to Sydney without overheating on a 44 degree day!

It's heading to the mechanic on Monday for a full assessment before we start the 'healing process'.

In August Viv and I will be starting in Rockhampton and taking part in the Mystery Box Rally. First challenge will be to get the car the 25 yr old Volvo 850 GLT to Rockhampton!

The conditions are a 2WD car that is over 25yrs old,l start and Rockhampton and enter a 4 day rally (destination advised on the morning of each day!) that finishes in Rockhampton!

We are trying to raise the minimum of $3,500 which is a condition of entering the rally but hoping to raise $5,000 which will go towards cancer support and research.

You can donate, participate in a corporate sponsorship or just send your message of support and spread the word.

I will keep you informed of the progress with the car and fundraising along the way.

A big thanks to my mate Rhyan who drove me up to Dungog to pick up this $#itbox! I would still be looking a round for one otherwise.

A shout out to Andrew Jones (Jonesy) one of Australia's biggest socceroo fans who recently passed away from cancer.

Looking forward to this awesome journey!

Cheers,

Ang & Viv

PS - Photo below is me collecting the car from the owners granddaughter at the Paterson hotel! At 44 degrees the beers at the pub were some welcome relief before heading back to Sydney!

Hi Everyone

Thanks to everyone for their donations and getting us off to a great start with the fundraising.

A couple of updates this week.

Most importantly a name change. After buying a Volvo we decided that we couldnt really stick with the name 'Trashy Taxi'. So we have changed it to something more appropriate being 'Greek Vikings in a Swedish Kingswood'.

The inspiration for 'Swedish Kingswood' coming from the Flute and the Salami in recognition of Volvo being as popular as the Holden Kingswood was in Australia!

The car has also been to MH Autocare in Hornsby (European car specialist) who undertook an assessment of the Volvo. Turns out that its not so bad and apart from the things I have identified already it should be capable of getting us through the rally and back to Sydney without requiring any major work.

Next few weeks will be undertaking some TLC to the Volvo and then start thinking about some decorations.

With the name change there is a new link to our fundraising page. For those who have donated already your donations automatically transfer over for anyone else there is a new link.

Hopefully this weekend is drier than the last one.

For anyone interested in participating in a company sponsorship please get in contact with me or Viv and we can give you the details.

Cheers,

Ang & Viv

Hi Everyone

As many of you know 2020 put a stop to the mystery box rally and it has been postponed until July 31 2021 so as long as there is no lockout of Australian Citizens to Queensland we should be going ahead.

What has this meant for the Greek Vikings in the Swedish Kingswood....

For starters the Swedish Kingswood has completed many more kms in the last year than expected as it became the daily driver. This has resulted in the need for some investment in mechanical repairs so that we can get to Rockhampton compete in the rally and get back to Sydney. The getting back to Sydney is optional for the Volvo!

So it was back to MH Autocare for some preventative maintenance and the start of the slippery slope of mechanical repairs on an old clunker which has included new tyres and brake pads, transmission fluid, spark plugs, oil & filter, drive belt and I spent a weekend changing many suspension components out.

There has also been an increase to the minimum amount of funds we need to raise which is now increased to $5,000 so we are back on the fundraising path again to reach this revised target and help raise money for cancer research.

A big thank you to two businesses who have sponsored us being John Bull Removals in Mona Vale (thanks to Brian and Marty) and also to Peter from Alliance Building Group in the ACT.

If anyone is interested in sponsoring our team please let me know. Given this is now my daily driver it gets good exposure and provides many laughs to the citizens of Sydney on my drive between Beacon Hill and Sydney Airport.

Keep your eye out for some upcoming fund raising events/competitions over the next few months.

For those who have already donated thank you.

Cheers,

Angelo & Vivien