Project Annie - Making an A2 Sicily Proof

timmus said:
I made an attempt to reach the summit of Etna in October 2010, but had to turn back due to unexpected blizzard conditions (ultra-prominent mountains often create their own weather, which can be difficult to predict). It is, so far, the only major mountain that I’ve attempted to climb and not succeeded in reaching the summit. It’s on my list of ‘must climb’ mountains, so I’ll have to return to Sicily one day and attempt it again ...and again ...until I stand on its highest point (which moves around due to eruptions).

Whilst left unattended at its base, a criminal attempted to force the locks of the VW Polo that I was driving. Upon return to the car, I found that the edges of the doors were all bent outwards where a long screwdriver (or similar) had been used to try to open them.
Thankfully, they failed to gain entry to the car, so I didn’t lose my transport or all my stuff.

Cheers,

Tom
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You can always combine it with a visit to our house :) I might also be making use of your skills whilst you are there.

Not only the weather, Lady Etna likes to huff and puff from time to time (currently she quite active with a summit eruption every 36 to 48 hours) In fact, the South-East crater is on it's way to become the mountain's hightest point, if the eruptions keep going.
 
gangitano85 said:
You can always combine it with a visit to our house :) I might also be making use of your skills whilst you are there.

Not only the weather, Lady Etna likes to huff and puff from time to time (currently she quite active with a summit eruption every 36 to 48 hours) In fact, the South-East crater is on it's way to become the mountain's hightest point, if the eruptions keep going.
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I truly hope you will have a sheltered garage for your A2 ?
 
That would be excellent. It's always nice to see A2 owners whilst I'm on my travels.

Indeed, there are more variables to consider when climbing Etna compared to other mountains. On my attempt in 2010, there was plenty of evidence of lava flows from recent years, but I had no cause to be concerned. The mountain wasn't smoking at all, and all indications suggested it was a safe window of opportunity. A few years later, in 2013, I think, there was a major eruption, and Etna doesn't seem to have fully calmed down since then. Minor and major eruptions seem to happen with regularity, so I have focused my mountaineering efforts elsewhere for now. It's difficult to advance plan a holiday to Sicily with the intention of climbing Etna when you may find that you spend the whole holiday waiting for both the weather and the magma to cooperate!

In 2010, having shelved my ambitions to climb Etna, I switched my attentions to Stromboli. It was great fun, but only 28% of Etna's height, so a comparatively easy challenge. In order to see nature's own fireworks display against the night sky, I timed my climb to arrive at the summit at midnight. By 2am, I'd pitched my tent in a lava shelter, just below the summit. I slept terribly that night. Every 25 minutes, the ground would shake a bit before Stromboli released a load of pressure by ejecting more molten rock, lighting up the night sky. However, it was worth it! :)

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We have the Madonie mountain range about 45min drive from our place. Highest point in Pizzo Carbonara at just under 2000m. Not really that impressive, but the views our stunning. The Tyrrhenian Sea and the Aeolian Islands on one side, the Sicilian inland and mount Etna on the other. Also nice for camping and star gazing. Weather can also be unpredictable, earlier this week a late winter offensive dropped about 70cm of snow on the mountains.

Picture taken a minute ago...

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This is also Sicily
 
gangitano85 said:
We have the Madonie mountain range about 45min drive from our place. Highest point in Pizzo Carbonara at just under 2000m. Not really that impressive, but the views our stunning. The Tyrrhenian Sea and the Aeolian Islands on one side, the Sicilian inland and mount Etna on the other. Also nice for camping and star gazing. Weather can also be unpredictable, earlier this week a late winter offensive dropped about 70cm of snow on the mountains.

Picture taken a minute ago...

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This is also Sicily
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Amazing landscape :)
 
Little update: installed a set of Stabilus boot struts, so that's one thing to take off the 'bad list' - it sure is an improvement over the old ones, but I cannot compare it to the feel of the original Audi ones as the boot was an issue from when I bought the car.

All in all, I'm happy knowing that the chances of the tailgate falling on my head have exponentially been decreased.
 
A job well done.

I worked on an A2 earlier this week with lazy boot struts. I hit my head on the boot catch, which was followed by 30 seconds of staggering about, holding my head.
 
timmus said:
A job well done.

I worked on an A2 earlier this week with lazy boot struts. I hit my head on the boot catch, which was followed by 30 seconds of staggering about, holding my head.
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I know it's quite unprofessional and according to some even dangerous, but since the tailgate is quite light, I actually could rest it on my head whilst one the struts was out :)
 
Today I may have sorted out the leak in the OSS. After having removed the duct tape, I cleaned the drains using an old credit card. I poured water on the roof and... Oh no, water on the rear seats... Turns out I didn't close the OSS properly and the water came right through. The usual patch of the head lining to be wet wasn't however. So, once the OSS was properly closed by hand, I pour some more water on the roof, still not leaking through. I'll keep checking, but so far so good.
 
hi gancitano
good job on your nice a2.
OSS..so envious!:D
ganci is a beutiful small village.
i remember some enjoable motorbike trip on the madonie curvy road.wow!
i'm live in marsala.blue sea .... at short distance some wonderful place....erice...selinunte..agrigento.segesta(photo).

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antobit73 said:
hi gancitano
good job on your nice a2.
OSS..so envious!:D
ganci is a beutiful small village.
i remember some enjoable motorbike trip on the madonie curvy road.wow!
i'm live in marsala.blue sea .... at short distance some wonderful place....erice...selinunte..agrigento.segesta(photo).

View attachment 78353
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Grazie caro mio? Non vediamo l'ora di tornare in Sicilia.

We've already been to Selinunte, Agrigento and Segesta, but yet to visit the West Coast of the island. Hopefully we will be able to see it soon.

OSS is nice, if only it would be working. Hoping to sort it out with @Kleynie before we leave. Would be nice to have it in Sicily.

Buona Pasqua a tutti voi
 
gangitano85 said:
Today I may have sorted out the leak in the OSS. After having removed the duct tape, I cleaned the drains using an old credit card. I poured water on the roof and... Oh no, water on the rear seats... Turns out I didn't close the OSS properly and the water came right through. The usual patch of the head lining to be wet wasn't however. So, once the OSS was properly closed by hand, I pour some more water on the roof, still not leaking through. I'll keep checking, but so far so good.
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Update: after the steady rain we had here all day yesterday in the South East, it seems that no water is coming through the roof and the headliner. Still too early to be popping a bottle of champagne, but it looks promising. In any case, I am glad the horrible duct tape is no longer on the car, but the freaking glue is so hard to get off now... Little tip, don't use tape as a long term solution for a leaking OSS :(
 
Sorry that it has been a while, but I finally got round fitting the false boot floor into Project Annie. I took three days out (this bank holiday weekend), but I had already finished by lunchtime yesterday. All I can say is that if you can source all the bits, it's a relatively easy job to do, highly recommended.

I used this as a guide, you can't go wrong. No special tools were required. It looks bad when all the trim is out, but it's more than worth it. I only broke off one of those plastic clips, but it's not an issue.

I have some bits for sale now, which I will put on the Market soon.

Some before and after shots :)
 

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Nice work Thomas! Were all the critical bits present and undamaged when you unpacked it?
 
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