Another test day, or just enjoying the weather

Under the pretence of 10CR preparations I took a day off from work yesterday and took the DHC for a nice ride through the southernmost part of our lovely Province. It was good to be really out in the open again, especially as this was the first time that I took the car for a ride just to enjoy! The fact that the weather was brilliant really helped with the overall feeling;

During the approximate 230 km ride over every kind off road this part off the country can provide, the car behaved rather well. It handles good, is comfortable, engine pulls fine and the brakes are OK. Also the drive train is free from noises and has no noticeable play or backlash on the gears.

Compared with 't Kreng the engine is much better at low down torque. On the other hand it's useless to get the revs over 5000 rpm. But then it's much less thirsty, which should be a big bonus on the 10CR.

Handling wise the lack of a roof is noticeable as the car has (slightly) less sharp handling than 't Kreng. Also on the DHC the (poly) suspension bushes are a bit softer than on 't Kreng resulting in a more comfortable ride. But then a DHC is for cruizing!

The exhaust still rattles against the underside of the body but only on very bad surfaces (like cobblestones). It looks like it's getting less the more I drive the car. And the gear change remains slightly notchy in true "LT77 'box" style, so I got some new transmission oil for the gearbox today. See if I can improve the gear change a bit. Hopefully I'll find some spare time to put it in as soon as possible, and see if it really does improve the gear changes ...