FHC resto; why I haven't done much this year

Those of you who follow my ramblings on here may have asked themselves what's happening with the restoration of the 1976 FHC. Well to be honest not much. Actually nothing has happened since my last report in May. And there is a rather simple reason for that, other priorities!

As mentioned earlier I bought a Defender 110 SW last year to replace my Defender pick up. And as this new car did lack some parts I thought it really needed, I have been rather busy upgrading it. With the biggest upgrade being caused by a promise I made myself when I bought my first Land Rover in the summer of 2000. What that promise was? If I would get stuck and would have been able to rescue myself with a winch, I'd fit one. Well earlier in the year this happened ...

All rather embarrassing especially as I forgot that this car is equipped with an electronic traction control, which probably would have saved me. But this traction control doesn't switch on automatically, it needs activating by flooring the throttle!

At least it gave me a good excuse to throw some money at the Defender. But as money can only be spent once, the work on the FHC was put on hold. As for the upgrades, the most important ones being LED lights all round, long range fuel tank, some dent removal (or hiding) to rear door and bonnet, some repairs to the roof rack, and off course the winch plus a new bumper to fit it properly ...

Still a few jobs left to do on the Defender, but they'll have to wait till next year. As for the FHC restoration, hopefully I will be able to do some work on it during the coming festive period.

28th LTV Nachtrit

Last Saturday, the 29th of October, saw another edition of our traditional night time touring assembly. This year's route again headed south east towards Adenau. It was actually the same route as last year but driven in the opposite direction, and with a few different road sections added here and there! As mentioned last year we had a good reason to return to the same area, because at the time some rather nice roads were closed due to road works. Added bonus was that, because we didn't have to get the long way 'round all the diversions, we were able to get the total mileage of the route below 300 kilometres. The best of these being ...

Near the Obersee

Detour through Simonskall

The long way 'round through Pomster, avoiding the B258

As has become customary over the years we did a last check of the route in the morning and early afternoon, to check for any last minute road closures or village fairs. There were none. I had anticipated on this and had one of the cameras with me to capture some of the stunning scenery in brilliant autumn colours. Sadly it was not to be. All day long it was foggy and wet or just grey and cloudy. So no need to get out the car for some pictures. At least the weather provided me with entertainment in the guise of some rather slippery and treacherous road sections! But despite that we were back in Rolduc well before the briefing and start of the event.

This year we were asked by the staff of Rolduc if we could start from the front of the main building, as it would be a much better back drop for pictures from the start. At least this gave me an opportunity to capture most of the Triumphs (of the 42 teams that took part) against this beautiful historic backdrop.

So for those who want to try it for themselves, next year's (and 29th) edition will be held on Saturday October the 28th. But this time we'll be staying closer to home with a road book that will have something to complement the tulip diagrams ...