Road to Rotary: Japan to France in an RX7

It's a cool idea. If it was a YouTube series I'd definitely be interested in watching it unfold.

Worth remembering that your bank card likely won't work in Russia. If you're carrying cash, keep 2 wallets on you: one with the real money in, and one with only bribe money and no more. Then if you get pulled over you can show the policeman your otherwise empty wallet (minus the bribe) and hope he goes away.

I suppose to get from Japan to Europe on land you have to go though at least one trash country whatever direction you choose, so Russia is probably the least worst choice of the crap countries in fairness.
 
mccarf said:
It's a cool idea. If it was a YouTube series I'd definitely be interested in watching it unfold.

Worth remembering that your bank card likely won't work in Russia. If you're carrying cash, keep 2 wallets on you: one with the real money in, and one with only bribe money and no more. Then if you get pulled over you can show the policeman your otherwise empty wallet (minus the bribe) and hope he goes away.

I suppose to get from Japan to Europe on land you have to go though at least one trash country whatever direction you choose, so Russia is probably the least worst choice of the crap countries in fairness.
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Yep Russia is going to be an issue, but there is no safe alternative going that way around the world these days.

Could try going the other direction, across Alaska and Canada. Cold and much more shipping time, but at least your unlikely to get murdered.
 
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Sanchez said:
I saw something very similar to this on Instagram the other week. Something along the lines of RX7s are £40k, or you can pick one up cheap in Japan and drive it back. It sounds amazing. Best of luck with the 'project'. I'll be keeping an eye on it.
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That was my video :cry:


mccarf said:
It's a cool idea. If it was a YouTube series I'd definitely be interested in watching it unfold.
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It for sure will be!

mccarf said:
Worth remembering that your bank card likely won't work in Russia. If you're carrying cash, keep 2 wallets on you: one with the real money in, and one with only bribe money and no more. Then if you get pulled over you can show the policeman your otherwise empty wallet (minus the bribe) and hope he goes away.
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Ill have to check revolut and see what works, otherwise I'll have rubels or whatever they take to get me by! I heard a lot about having some cash aside for russia is generally a good shout.
mccarf said:
I suppose to get from Japan to Europe on land you have to go though at least one trash country whatever direction you choose, so Russia is probably the least worst choice of the crap countries in fairness.
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Yea, can't avoid it and I think it'll be OK! I am quite looking forward to seeing what the reality is tbf! See if it's as it's portrayed...
 
I just met with Top Rank over here. He's writing up the contract, I'm paying a 5k deposit and we're on! The search is starting.
They're going to source the car, keep the car and do work on the car for me. They said they'd waive the storage fees for me to be a part of the project, which is nice. That's 3.5k saved lol :D

They also said that there is an event they hold in Jan at Fuji raceway with a super small guest list (which includes a ton of the people I watch online, which is so ******* mad) and they'd like to get me along to that in Jan if I plan one of my trips over there inline with that.

The whole thing is mental really. In like 6 weeks it's gone from posting a video randomly online to being supported by arguably the biggest name in japanese car exports and one of the biggest Japanese car part companies in HKS, and being invited to events where insanely huge creators I've watched for years are... and then me?!

It's a bit surreal to be honest but I'm just rolling with it and look forward to how much more crazy things are going to get.

The search has begun!
 
Wait...June 2025? It's going to take 13 months to find a car and plan this road trip? You can't wet our appetites with such lush content and then deliver such time frames man come on!
 
jaybee said:
Wait...June 2025? It's going to take 13 months to find a car and plan this road trip? You can't wet our appetites with such lush content and then deliver such time frames man come on!
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With the way it has to be to be able to make it possible legally, it's what I have to work with. I'll be going to Japan a couple of times between now and then, but finding the car and doing the rebuild will take 5-6 months alone.

So in the meantime I'll go back and forth and enjoy what I can out there, too.
 
randomshenans said:
I'm now chatting to my man at HKS about how they can support the series! Madness.
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Spoke to them today and they were so nice and really excited about the series. Said they'd be honored to work with me on the project and I was like seriously WTF is happening? I was there, little old me going, it's a dream to be able to buy an RX7 these days, it's also a dream to drive it back and have this adventure and now it's serious madness to even consider having a company like HKS sponsoring the whole thing.

They said that to have two japanese cars in an RX7 and Kei truck driving across continents would be an amazing things to see and to be a part of, so yea, looks like I'll be having HKS stickers slapped down the side of my car for this one.

I'm going to be visiting their factory in Jan when I head over there, they want to show me around and introduce me to everyone. They were super friendly about everything.

They're providing me with the HKS Hipermax R coilover setup and we're discussing whether they can wangle an intercooler and a GTIII-4R single turbo setup for cooling and reliability. Will see how I get on with that :cry:

It's so mad though to see all these huge names with HKS on their cars and then some total bell from England is going to have the same. All a bit mind blowing really.

Can't wait to see where this all goes!
 
kaiowas said:
Couple of guys I know did a trip in the other direction a few years back - Drove a Yaris from the UK to Japan

www.facebook.com

Dan & Dave - Chatteris To Tokyo

Dan & Dave - Chatteris To Tokyo. 2,268 likes. A road trip of a lifetime! 2 guys, Dan & Dave, driving 12,500 miles from the UK to Japan to raise money for Children In Need 2018.
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
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Surely there were easier ways to return the vehicle to the manufacturer?

@randomshenans sounds like it will be an epic adventure mate
 
Imagine making it all that way (unlikely you'll even get in to Russia) and then being turned back at the Georgian border, or is there an assumption Putin will be gone before next summer and Russia will be in the hands of a western friendly democrat?
 
CapitalOne said:
Imagine making it all that way (unlikely you'll even get in to Russia) and then being turned back at the Georgian border, or is there an assumption Putin will be gone before next summer and Russia will be in the hands of a western friendly democrat?
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I'm glad you have done so much research into this trip and not just sat listening to the news.
ountravela.com

Georgia border crossings | Border checkpoints and permits

Travel with confidence across Georgia border crossings by following our detailed guide on border checkpoints, including Kazbegi and Vladikavkaz.
ountravela.com ountravela.com

You never know, you might even be able to think for yourself at one point.
 
I think it would be considerably more enjoyable to do a Western Europe tour, i cant see driving through Russia being a fun time in current world events.
 
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randomshenans said:
I'm glad you have done so much research into this trip and not just sat listening to the news.
ountravela.com

Georgia border crossings | Border checkpoints and permits

Travel with confidence across Georgia border crossings by following our detailed guide on border checkpoints, including Kazbegi and Vladikavkaz.
ountravela.com ountravela.com

You never know, you might even be able to think for yourself at one point.
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Handbags!

The Georgian border, in fact any Russian border situation will remain fluid whilst the "SMO" is happening and/or Putin is in power.

www.gov.uk

Russia travel advice

FCDO travel advice for Russia. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
www.gov.uk

Georgia travel advice

FCDO travel advice for Georgia. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

My point is, good luck, I think you would need it to complete a trip like that.

I fully hope if you manage to do it you have a great time.
 
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CapitalOne said:
Handbags!

The Georgian border, in fact any Russian border situation will remain fluid whilst the "SMO" is happening and/or Putin is in power.

www.gov.uk

Russia travel advice

FCDO travel advice for Russia. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
www.gov.uk

Georgia travel advice

FCDO travel advice for Georgia. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

My point is, good luck, I think you would need it to complete a trip like that.

I fully hope if you manage to do it you have a great time.
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Thanks man, appreciate it!
 
Plot twist circa mid 2025...

...in a quest to go incognito Randomshenans does a running gear swap of the RX-7 into the shell of a 1997 Lada Riva. He'd have got away with it too if it wasn't for the tell tale brap-brap-brap of a bridge ported rotary :p
 
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