T Minus One

24 hours until the start of the rally. The day was occupied with trying to optimize our packing strategy and figuring out why our dash USB ports don’t have power. It turns out that for the receptacles to have power, they actually have to be wired into the electrical system. Ours are nicely mounted in the dash but unencumbered by any electrical connections. After neatening up the wiring under the dash, we decided it was too big a project to undertake in the parking lot to pull new wiring from the fuse terminals, through the ‘frunk’, through the bulkhead and under the dash. We will rely on portable power banks should the need arise. Our car, fully packed, is quite crowded but still comfortable. We continue to get positive feedback on the design and quality of construction.

The Marietta Celica crew was not so fortunate. The sweeps team (rally mechanics) offered to help determine the source of a strong gasoline smell in the car. During the rerouting of the vent tube from the gas tank, they noted excessive play in one of the junctions in the exhaust system with the risk of rotating into a brake line or some other misadventure. The solution: a trip with the Chinese ‘fixer’ to a garage some 20 miles away to have the exhaust pipe welded. Harry undertook this, only to have his Chinese companion leave shortly after arriving at the garage. At the completion of the welding, the Celica then experienced a malfunction of the clutch. Fortunately, the fault lay in a mechanical coupling that was a straightforward repair. Harry then had the pleasure of navigating rush hour Beijing traffic while using Google maps on a phone with rapidly dwindling charge. He made it back to the hotel at ~6:30 pm. Many of the cars moved to an underground garage because of the threat of hail. We elected to park under the cover of some trees in the parking lot, taking advantage of the many empty spaces.

We are off to the Great Wall at ~5:30 am tomorrow for the official starting ceremony. Scheduled for a long day with scheduled hotel arrival at ~5:30 pm. Fingers crossed.