Fixing Broken Cars in the Alps -The Carmudgeon Show with Cammisa and Derek from ISSIMI Ep. 69
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- Опубліковано 24 сер 2024
- On this episode of The Carmudgeon Show, Jason and Derek (and their traveling circus) venture to Europe to make memories of a lifetime taking two old German cars on an incredible 2,000 mile journey through Germany, Italy, and Switzerland via the wonderfully twisty roads of the Alps…or so they thought.
Derek’s journey begins with the purchase of a W201 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 in Italy, a car whose brakes, in fact, break very quickly after taking delivery. Continuing along, the trip becomes decorated in a chain of breakdowns of slightly assorted mechanical origin and severity, as well as a visit with the Carabinieri where Derek finds out that he may have purchased a “gypsy car”.
Jason borrows a similarly charming E30 BMW 320i from Sreten of M539 Restorations ( / m539restorations , a car while very well sorted by its owner has some minor quibbles of its own along the way. Despite the small issues however, the 40 year old BMW fulfills a promise of completing its journey and doing a skid or two along the way.
And what’s more, the spectacular scenery makes the gremlins slightly less hateful. Between the most rewarding of driving roads and the great friends made along the way, it’s a case for all enthusiasts to go find mechanical delight in faraway places.
After all, it’s all about finding bliss in the breakdown.
All this and more, brought to you by the Hagerty Podcast Network.
Nice.
Nice.
@@emiliorescigno Nice.
Nice.
Nice
You guys are a bunch of goofballs
Finally, the greatest automotive journalist in the world and a guy whose name is Spanish for shirt.
This episode is a secret love letter to a certain BMW 220i convertible.
And to sixth 😂😂
69th like. Nice.
Sreten is a God. I am really happy that you are helping him get more exposure!
Same! Every guy I know in the BMW community knows who he is. Now that’s saying something!
It was surreal meeting you guys on the top of Stelvio (I was in the red Mustang) and I really enjoyed this whole story behind the trip. Thanks again for letting us be groupies asking for photos 😅
Jason, you shouldn’t get a ticket for 83 in an 80 zone in Switzerland.
There’s normally a four km/h buffer at that speed to account for the tolerance range of the Blitzgerät before the cantonal government writes you a love letter.
Even if Sreten’s wide wheels were larger in diameter than the speedo was calibrated for, the fine will likely run about 40.- CHF.
Keine Sorge!
I was looking for what happened after I saw you driving off with Sreten's 1983 BMW E30 320i 5-speed - Project Marbais!
I'm not even a BMW fan, at all, but I watch every episode that Sreten makes, because he's meticulous and insists on OEM restorations!
I'm glad it made it through, because he's so very good at his restorations!
He sent you off FULLY PREPARED, and that's so cool !
I hope you do get to do that collab with him again next year!
I've been watching Sreten and Jason's content for years now.
And extremely happy that you two become friends.
To add to the 43:03 point.
Old Mercs are not necessary gipsy cars but more of a Albanian/Turkish immigrant car. Its a stereotype that they rather drive 30 year old Eclass's with 400k KM/250k Miles that a newer car for the same price. And If you have a chance to go to Albania you will be in awe by how many mercs you will see - supposably 40% of ALL cars in Albania are Mercs (most 25yo+ and very likly stolen at some point). TopGear made a special about it
insert joke about how they're all stolen
That would make a damn good Top Gear special.
What you were talking about at the end there, the "sit-itis"... that's what we in the Aston Martin community call garage rot. It's why I drive my Vantage often and why you should avoid any exotic sports car with very low miles. Garage queens break by sitting, and they're expensive to fix.
Kudos to you all and especially Derek who responded to me in IG when I kept asking him "What's wrong now?" LOL. Be Well
Ty for making our Monday mornings a little more bearable.
Hope it gets better for you bro
The ep number in the title is still 68😂. Come on, just embrace the nice number!
Ha I thought I was going crazy
Do unto others while they do unto you.....
Man...every time I see there's a new episode, it makes me jump with joy! ❤️
20 mins in and the 2.3-16 is a classic Carmudgeon love story already 😆😆
Sreten is a legend
Funny enough, I bought my E30, fixed it up a bit, then drove 1,200 miles home. On the way, on of the shifter clips fell off. When I went to shift into 3rd, the shift rod came out of the transmission. I had enough speed to pull into a stand alone ER. I convinced the receptionist to give me paperclip. I reinstalled the shift rod and wrapped the paperclip around back of the rod. It got me home. 😄
This is just amazing. Lovely to know this less glamourous side of roadtriping!
Once Jason mentioned he couldn't find a good tire for the Grand ScareMeVan, I looked on TireRack and found that Michelin makes the SUV version of the Pilot Sport 4 on the stock 17 inch size. Looking forward to seeing how much G Forces Cammisa can pull with the van after the 18's and the PSAS4's though.
You guys should document your next European adventure, like make an episode out of it. Film everything, good or bad, it would such good content!
I love that they saw five _and a half_ Lotus Cortinas in Cortina 😂
I had a similar no-brakes experience in my W124, which had a brake line that popped off shortly after a suspension repair in which the mechanic had hit the brake line apparently without noticing. Found a puddle of brake fluid near the wheel well when parked at the airport and had felt brake pedal going soft right after a speed bump when i got there. Had to drive home using engine braking and the foot-handbrake(!) in traffic. Poop-in-pants moment for sure!
Been watching Sreten for years and he has the biggest attention to detail that I’ve ever seen. His channel is a must watch.
Also for the future, you guys might want to know that the term “Gypsy” is considered by many to be a derogatory term with a lot of negative, borderline racist, connotations towards Romani people. Just a friendly fyi 👍🏽
@@user-io4sr7vg1v You probably just ruined my productivity for the next week lol, thanks.
You guys secretly loved the car drama. Most things we do are for two reasons; the experience and/or the stories. This trip turned out to be for the stories. And Sreten is a freaking gem.
re: The carbinari, they are notorious for stopping older rough looking cars to site people for not paying registration. They don't care about speeding or red light running or passing on double yellow or anything, but registration is a big $$ maker and thats why they stopped. Your experience was EXACTLY what happened to my family in italy.
It's not a secret. I loved it. (This is Jason.) Derek might not have actually liked it tho!
Definitely had me laughing good on this one. The story with the kids and the screaming Merc was teh best.
No way about the international driver’s license!! I had this issue earlier this year in Romania. Long story short, it was a total mess. To anyone traveling into Europe planning to drive, make sure you have one. It takes 30 min and 15 dollars to make at a AAA office.
Lol
Calling it before watching: Sreten's e30 broke less.
Sounds like an great adventure to me. Top gear specials couldn’t make this stuff up!
Nice to see you also like m539 restorations also, great bloke and great channel. Oh, and yours is awsome too..
Next year could we get a top gear inspired road trip video? 😁
😂 I would be a great “significant other” in this situation. Love the adventure and experience.
Because of this episode I watched the entirety of Sreten's videos, and now I'm experiencing withdrawal. Thanks, I guess ;-)
im a simpler man. i see Carmudgeon, i hit like
Beautiful Switzerland 🇨🇭
STORY TIME!:
I’ve had the same issue with grabbing brakes on my 1995 Honda legend, also doing a road trip during holiday season. My solution was to crack the bleed nipple on the abs unit and let the pressure leak out. I did have my brakes smoking at one point and was also pulled over by the police for a registration check, stopping with an auto and foot handbrake only is interesting.
Fixing it I did the same things mentioned, removed abs unit, changed brake booster, changed master cylinder, bleed system many times. Ended being the booster push rod was adjusted too long (by me…) and needed adjusting back to factory clearance. What a waste of time and money! Ah but the memories…..
Great episode guy’s.
Man I wish this was all recorded on video would be an awesome special
Derek cussing quietly is funny. Great episode, my favorite perhaps.
Please bring Anthony Esposito with you next year so we can watch you guys having fun in old cars :)
If you go around Nice next year and need assistance I have the perfect spot for you guys :)
If you do a road trip with Sreten, maybe hauling ass down to Balkans would be fitting. Shout at us if you plan on passing through Slovenia; we can point you at some nice roads and (hopefully) help out in case of breakdowns. :)
A w201 is a certified gitano club member, that’s not even a discussion
I bought an E30 in 2020 that had sat in closed storage since 2002. It got some minor work, and then I drove it home 1915 miles. It had a stalling problem on startup and a garbage shifter, but she made it without much fuss. Got to love old BMW build quality.
I can’t wait to see how far Jason mods the Caravan. R/T self leveling sport suspension next?
Hey Jason ,next time you can take my E30 , a 318i touring ,it's slow as a snail but it will not break down .It's been my daily for 6 years and my mom's daily for the last year ,"never" had an issue .Next month i'm taking it back and she's getting the E34 .Ps: greatest episode ever ,i laughed with tears! These are the best kind of road tips ,there is always a great story to tell.
You two should do the gambler 500 in old german cars(or anything really). My friends and I do it every year and drive our cars up from the bay area which makes it ~2000 mile trip. More fun than can be described in a comment. Keep up the great content
I enjoy really enjoy carmudgeon episodes, this one especially since I live in europe and plan similar trips in future. If you need more tips on les known european locations for driving, interesting car for loan, lemme know, I'll gladly be another Sreten :D
Love these stories and makes me miss my trips in Europe I haven't been there since 2005.
EP. 69. Nice
Jesus Christ! What a hilarious clusterfuck of a road trip! I'm glad Jason could enjoy it because I certainly couldn't have! 😂
When we made a road trip trough California I just had to sign a little thingi from your AAA and got covered (in case) because I am in German ADAC. Maybe that works the other way around on your next trip? Adac is perfect as a backup network and you have similar services in most European countries.
It didn't sound like you told the whole story. What about the red porsche?
The hills are alive with the sound of... squeeEEEEEEEEeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllll
Episode 68.2 😃 Great story
Just flew to Japan and did about 1000km's of thrashing/stress testing a ST-205 GT Four I bought blind off the internet there.
Got a laundry list of shit that needs fixing and isn't quite right, but was bloody great vibe rocking up and playing with a 20+ yr old toy that has great potential with a little love.
What a professional start..! 😯
I had a similar issue on my VFR800 it turns out the master cylinder pin hole was clogged with old brake fluid. it would just build up pressure until they started dragging. Went through a full brake rebuild and a lot of brake kleen to figure it out.
I'm a simple man, i refresh YT until this ep comes up and I hit LIKE, THEN, PLAY
Amazing episode!!!
I had to do basically the same thing with my daily driver 2000 oldsmobile that you did with your merc, drove 250 miles back to my house from my girlfriends with a bad master cylinder after a shop down there had it 3 separate times for the brakes being bad. Fun times lol
I‘m a simple man. I see a w201, I hit like.
I'm from Austria. We all have our Italian pass breakdown stories haha
Amazing episode. Next euro trip Derek can sample an Alfa 147 GTA or Clio RS (former will deliver as many smiles as breakdown angst) while Jason films it all from his Caravan with sticky tires. Ok ok, maybe he can finagle an A110S press car ;)
normally I don't comment in you tube but ..... bravo!!!
My takeaway... Never listen to Jason's transportation recommendations when planning a trip! ... And definitely rent a car!!
Is he wearing a Fugazi shirt!? EVERY BODY MOVE IT! EVERYBODY MOVE IT, MOVE IT MOVE IT MOOOVE IT!
Ducati, I think
Ducati shirt but fugazi is pretty good
Derek, I guess getting pulled over by the Carabinieri on my first day was a good feat! He looked angry, but his English was as bad as my Italian, so he angrily sent me on my way.
sounds like the mounting for the caliper or bracket might be slightly misaligned due age/condition
1:01:30 - I believe he did a proper "shakedown" ending up in the tree ^^
I will hit like once I've listened to it all... But it always is enjoyable.
I’m a simple man. I see an e30, I hit like.
Bring da ruckus, DTS!
It's the funny number!
Nice
I live halfway between Milano and Cortina and my local undertaker has a 190 E 2.5-16 (along with a R107 and a G 500)
Did we ever figure out what the exact diagnosis was on the 190e's brake system?
40:46 they drive Renegades these days
Thank you for the entertaining content. Can you please record your show / podcast at a higher volume level?
If the cars are properly serviced and maintained even if they sit in the garage for most of the year they should not break down in a journey. My fathers Alfa Romeo, bought new 1976, did 12 of these cross Europe trips throughout summer vacations throughout the years, and it only had a fault whilst on the journey the 4th time with a slave master cylinder, but other than that, in a combination of high speed highway driving and mountain and city driving in the three week stints each vacation the car never broke down at all, but these older Alfa mechanics are very strong and dependable
Yeh thats the problematic part of old cars roadtrips;-) I had so much preventative maintanance on my 2002 e46 M3 convertible and it sill finds stuff to go wrong;-) I travel everywhere with BMW diagnostics and tool set:-D Wish I have spent that money on 15 year younger slightly used M4 convertible:-D
Coming in a couple of months late... Could you guys post/send me the route Derek planned for this trip? I's love to go this coming spring in an Alfa!
Jason, if those wheels fall through I have some takeoffs from a 2013 wrangler. 18x7.5, 5x5 bolt pattern, 71.6 bore spacing, +44.45 offset. I drive around the bay area a lot for work so I can deliver wherever you want, and I'll beat whatever honest price you can find
They did fit - but thank you thank you!
Episode what now?
nice.
"On today's episode of Roadkill..."
Or "On today's episode of the W124 vs E30 show"
Are these tales of breakdown and roadside self-servicing of two premium German marques once again vindication as to why Miata is always the answer? Was just wondering of the likelihood of two early NA6 MX-5's suffering from anything like what was described here.
I just returned last week to the UK from a self drive France/Belgium/Germany 1800m return trip to the Spa 6 Hr & the Stuttgart Museums in my 944 Turbo. I'd had the car on a borrowed hoist the week before, checked all key fluids, brakes, wheel nuts (knew I'd be doing the Autobahn's), packed a basic tool-kit, oil & coolant and hit the road. Thankfully nothing mechanical broke over 10 days but with a 30+ years old car, even when you weekly drive it, there's always going to be something. I got away with just a partially delaminating drivers wiper blade that thankfully wasn't gouging glass but also wasn't clearing properly at Euro 120-130km/h averages. That and a seatbelt buckle casing that separated along with the internal components (springs that go "boing") leaving just the stalk - all readily sorted. But yes, I wouldn't have swapped doing this bonding exercise in my own car for a rental in which miles would have passed but lasting memories wouldn't have been made.
just Imagine to drive a 2nd gen 86/BRZ for those amazing roads.
actually, it isn't because the guys took the 'scenic' routes. if you want to really drive, there are other quieter roads; also, if you want to really drive and not kill cyclists and motorcyclists, best to do it before June or from early October. Doing it in the summer season...well..it is kind of to very crowded; from the damn caravan-ists to all kind of different tour guys(porsches, lambos, ferraris, etc-etc + old cars like those cortinas and so on)..and then there are the motorcyclists...which some even get to Swiss with their bike on a trailer behind some awful diesel SUV...and, after you managed to stay away from all those guys...the final level in hell arrives...the effin roadies!, they are the plague of the swiss roads. I am a cyclist myself and, even though I once used to own a road bike, for years now, I confine myself to off-pavement, from gravel to real dh trails, and keep and enjoy the roads with motor vehicles...so, even for me, the damn roadies are a pain in the a$$ and I would effin throw them off a cliff or something.
So, to avoid all that, just stay out of swiss heaven land from mid June to the end of September. Also, try to stay away from the "commercial" passes as they are the magnet for tourists and so, they are overcrowded af.
#69 is the best number
Who s Beatrice
it's not that all old MBs are driven by gypsies, it's that gypsies only drive old MBs
Uhg don’t get me started on SixT! Do your self a favor and rent from literally ANYONE else when in Europe
Gypsy folks drive cadillac and old chevy pickup trucks in the us.
Yall should be forced to go on bi-weekly adventures in shitboxes the stories literal are gold.
Jason and Hyphens very bad no good Euro ralley
A "perfect" car with squirrelly gear ratios and a knackerd fuel pump? What is "imperfect" like?
Ok, no one else seems inclined to say it...
Roma. Please don't say gypsy. We are in the 21st century, and these particular people have said "gypsy" is offensive. The stereotyping verges on racist European tropes, too. All I ask is to recognize you have a public forum with some reach now. It may not always be a good idea to just go with the local vernacular.
Otherwise, I genuinely love your podcast, guys. It's first rate.
Hyphen's insta followers know which one broke down more
Loved the episode
Had a good time laughing 😁
Looking forward to view the fixing on it on @M539Restorations 😁
Nice