It has been quiet on here

The last post on here dates back to the middle of June. Sounds rather quiet, and that indeed it was from a Triumph point of view. Unfortunately, a lot of free time goes into working, and the pretty hot weather didn’t help either to drive my only road going TR7, or work on the cars. The rising fuel prices (caused by the most stupid POTUS ever) didn’t help either …

But despite these problems I have been using ‘t Kreng on a fairly regular basis, slowly but surely clocking up the miles. And so far the coolant issues seem to have been solved. But on our way for a tour through the neighbouring province of Noord-Brabant. The low coolant level light came on suddenly while driving on the motorway. Going up or down the inclines for bridges would switch it off at first. But a few miles on it stayed on. So looked indeed like a low coolant level. The temperature gauge didn’t move from it’s normal position, so I decided to carry on to the start of the tour were the engine could cool of a but for an inspection. And after lunch at the start location I had a look at the coolant level in the header tank. And it was spot on. So probably one of the electrical gremlins caused by a hidden lightly corroded connector. And guess what, the low coolant level light Hasn’t come on since.

So time to bore you with a few pictures taken during some of the runs. To be honest the weather often didn’t help with taking decent pictures. As a result the camera was often kept unused in its pouch. But the past few weeks have seen some better weather:

But the most important TR7 related news is that the DHC’s body shell was delivered to the shed last week, after E-coating was finished. Time for an update: DHC repairs #34 an inspection of the finished product!

And now for the most important task of the shell’s repairs, paint preparations and painting. To be continued.

Out and about with ‘t Kreng

I have been using this car as much as possible over the past month or so. And as a result she became ever more dirty. That was when a friend suggested to go to a local car show and local tour the next Sunday. And of course I couldn’t show up in a dirty TR7. So the evening before the event was used to clean the wheels thoroughly and give the cars body a quick wash.

She looked rather presentable compared to some of the other entrants! The show on the “Patersplak” in the picturesque monastery village of Steyl, and the local tour were rather nice and well organised. With a good turn out of a wide variety of cars spanning almost 100 years of motoring. And all the cars were driven there by their owners. Which meant that the approximately 1500 visitors that only came to admire the cars had plenty to enjoy. A few pictures mostly starring ‘t Kreng 😜 She behaved rather well during the local tour. So it is starting to look promising.

And finally there was ‘t Kreng’s MOT (or Algemene Periodieke Keuring as it called here). Due to the car’s age this test needs to be done every two years. I had a good feeling about it. So it was rather surprising that, immediately when I got out of the car, I was confronted by the inspector with the remark that she had already been rejected. This of course called for further explanation. Which I got! Due to the modernisation of the speed camera network over here in the Netherlands, new rules have been established for the reflectivity of the license plates. And my rear plate was clearly showing signs fading.

But I needn’t have worried. A closer inspection showed that the plate was on the correct side of the limit. Just! And the rest of the car passed without any problems. So I only got a (not noted) advisory to replace the rear licence plate in the near future. But at least before the next MOT. It was also good to see that since the previous test two years ago I covered a rather decent 4444 kilometres. Much better compared to the period before 2024!

There was a small problem though. On the scenic drive home I wanted to reverse into gravel track to take some pictures and the engine died. And it wouldn’t start. After two attempts I decided to switch of all power users and use the master switch to cut all power from the battery. After switching the power on again (including ignition and fuel pump) she started immediately as if nothing had happened. Weird to say the least! Another job to keep an eye on.

Is it leaking?

Or isn’t it! The continuing story of ‘t Kreng’s coolant system: I have been using ‘t Kreng on a few occasions over the past few weeks in order to add some miles on the odometer. But mainly to see how the coolant system behaved after all the cooling hoses’ small leaks had been sealed. And as such the car was also used as transport for a few works meetings and project location visits in the northern part of our province.

And guess what, only shortly after I set of for the first meeting, the low coolant level light came on. This happened while standing at traffic lights or driving very slowly through traffic. It would switch of while pulling away from traffic lights or accelerating. Though much more reluctant than it would usually do.

And there was another problem that reared its ugly head. With only a little over 100 kilometres on the odometer since the last fuel stop the fuel gauge was lingering just under the half way mark. Did I have a fuel leak? Or perhaps someone tried to syphon fuel from the car? As I already was running late I decided to ignore the instruments and warning lights and carried on the journey. At least the temperature gauge seemed to function properly! So all in all a rather enjoyable day. I even manged to capture an army Chinook helicopter that was assisting with a forest fire in the area. Rather impressive bearing in mind there is 7.600 litres of water in the Bambi bucket hanging underneath the Chinook:

I eventually returned home without any further problems. It is probably unnecessary to mention that I set aside some time last weekend to thoroughly inspect the cooling system once again:

• Starting with the header tank. It was clearly visible that the coolant level had dropped at bit. I later remembered I hadn’t topped up the system after I tightened the coolant hose connections the last time;
• The hole underneath the water pump was next in line. This was dry;
• The radiator was free from any visible leaks (hardly surprising!);
• All the hose connections between the radiator and the heater were checked with tissues. All were completely dry;
• The heater’s core pipes hidden underneath the dashboard were also dry, with no traces off coolant in the tray underneath the heater;
• The coolant drain plug in the engine block also showed no leaks. As did the head gasket.

So this morning I decided to take the car for a trip to visit a few friends. But not before I had topped up the coolant level. After which it was time to check the fuel gauge by topping up the fuel tank just across the border in Germany. Turned out the amount of fuel that went into the tank was in accordance with the amount of kilometres covered. But the low coolant level light again had a life of its own. Switching on and of several times during the short run to the petrol station. Till I remembered I was still running with the choke out slightly. And when I pushed the choke back the low coolant level light switched off. Which reminded me of a problem with the temperature gauge last year. When switching on the lights the engine temperature would rise according to the temperature gauge, and drop when the lights were switched of. At the time this was diagnosed as a bad earth in that circuit (around the instruments.). And it all adds up. So maybe I’ll have to bite the bullet and pull the instrument cluster from the dashboard for a good clean of all connectors and also clean the earth points in the interior (those in the engine bay were dealt with last year). And the low coolant level light didn’t switch on again during the next 100 or so kilometres. As a result of which it was an even more enjoyable ride!

DHC repairs #33: The next phase

With the welding of the DHC’s body completed a few weeks ago I started with the preparations for the next stage. Which mainly consisted of planning the transport of the body shell into Germany. And this week saw the start of the next chapter in the resurrection of the DHC. On Tuesday the body shell plus the doors, bonnet, boot lid, lower front screen finisher and a US front bumper bar were loaded into a friend’s van. It was a tight squeeze to reach the front of cargo box to fit the ratchet straps. But my old bones managed it. I even got back out again without any help or injuring myself 😜

And at dawn yesterday morning we set of for the long drive in to Germany. To a small industrial estate near the also small town of Welzheim to be precise. Here the body shell was unloaded from the van at a company called Carblast, for the body to receive three treatments:

• First the removal in an oven of the remaining paint (mostly welding primer and e-coating of the used NOS panels);
• Next stage will be chemical rust removal (acid dipping);
• And the final stage will be E-coating the shell and its associated parts.

These jobs should be ready within the next 6 to 8 weeks. Which means I get to go on another 900 plus kilometre return journey!

Needless to say I am very curious about the final result. Especially after looking at a few finished body shells in the reception and dispatch hall. To finish this post a few pictures of the body in this hall, where I left it and where it will be prepared for the various treatments.

To be continued!