FHC resto nr. 59; Parts galvanising

It has been a while since I last reported on the '76 FHC. And there was a rather good reason for that, there was nothing to report! But I am slowly picking up work on that project again. In my last report I wrote about the new heater matrix plus sorting and preparing various parts in preparation of the galvanising process. Well the first batch of parts, those containing springs or that are made from spring steel were sorted out and dropped of at Glanszink in Kinrooi (Belgium). And within a few days I got a message that the order was completed. Time to pick up the parts and see the end result;

As you can see not too bad, especially bearing in mind these parts were cleaned in the dish washer! Also clear that I have made up my mind at last, I choose a black passivation finish. The same as for the DHC. I know some of the parts will be hidden from view but you pay per batch not per item ...

And with this batch finished the other parts were also sent of. But before these will be galvanised they will first go into the oven for paint and grease removal, after which they will be shot blasted. This should give a far better surface finish! Also a few of the parts in this batch will get an e-coating, including a few vital heater parts that I had forgotten. So as soon as this batch is ready (hopefully within the next two weeks) I should be able to start on the reassembly of the heater and the rest of the car!

The driving season is almost over

The month of November is almost over, so it is almost time for my two roadworthy TR7's to be tucked away for their mandatory three months hibernation;

But not before I took both cars for a few trips in the area over the past two weeks. And as the weather, together with the autumn colours, were rather fine the camera's got some use too!

Initial plan was to use 't Kreng for these trips, but as the weather last Wednesday was not very autumn-like, I decided to take the DHC from the shed instead, to enjoy the rather fine autumn weather with the top down;

And yesterday the weather again was rather fair for the end of November. More than enough reasons for yet another trip with one of the TR7's. This time 't Kreng again was the car of choice;

The trips with 't Kreng were of course mainly to add some mileage to the car (= for fun :-), but also to determine the extent of the leak that I found earlier in the year. Judging by this picture, taken after returning home from one of my trips last week, the leak from the connecting tube (UKC2538) between the water pump cover and the thermostat cover, looks like it has stopped. Although there were traces of a weeping water-pump-cover-gasket;

But after returning home yesterday I had to conclude that the coolant level had dropped a bit. And there were again slight traces of coolant around the water pump cover. Still not very alarming, but some attention is needed in that area.

And that will be one of the scheduled little projects for the coming winter. Thinking of replacing the original steel, corrosion sensitive, connecting tube with a machined alloy one. And of course the steel bolts to the head and inlet manifold will be replaced with stainless steel items. Together with some work on the '76 FHC I hope, because hardly any progress has been made there so far this year. But a few important steps have been set in motion over the past few weeks.

Glad that at least the mileage covered with the cars has been much more compared to the previous year! Maybe this Wednesday will see the final tour with one of the cars, the weather permitting. But whatever happens, the car's mandatory hibernation will start on the 1st of December!

The holiday is over

As I will be returning to the office tomorrow it is time to look back at another walking holiday in Süd Tirol. Time for the annual picture report:

Sankt Martin in Passeier

Early morning light, Passeier Tal

Alpine meadow near the hamlet of Weiher, Passeier Tal

Alpine meadow near the hamlet of Egger, Passeier Tal

Small field chapel outside the hamlet of Christl

Rural Gasthof Christl

Defender lurking in the hamlet of Christl

Small shrine in the woods above Aigen, Passeier Tal

In the backstreets of Meran

A rainy day in Meran

Sankt Leonhard in Passeier

Sankt Leonhard

Typical farmstead above Sankt Leonhard

Derelict shed on the outskirts of Sankt Leonhard

The entrance to the Kalm Tal

Small shrine in the woods above Sankt Martin in Passeier

Public footpath marking

The little hamlet of Gruber, Passeier Tal

Kälbl, Kalm Tal

Derelict shelter near Glamitz, Passeier Tal

Vinschgau Tal as seen from the Hans-Frieden-Felsenweg

Small farm seen from the Hans-Frieden-Felsenweg

Hans-Frieden-Felsenweg

Admiring the view of the Etsch Tal, Leiter Alm Vellau

Typical fence part 1; Leiter Alm Vellau

In the woods above Vellau

The Pfelderer Tal seen from the Schafbichl

Pfelderer Tal

The Pfelderer Tal seen from the Schafbichl

The Pfelderer Tal seen from the Schafbichl

Urweg Jaufen Kamm

Toutes Directions, Urweg Juafen Kamm

The Ratschings Tal seen from the Jaufen Kamm

Near the summit of the Fleckner Spitze, Urweg Jaufen Kamm

The Passeier Tal seen from the Jaufen Kamm

The flank of the Tagewalder seen from the Jaufen Kamm

The Texel Gruppe seen from the Prantachkogel, Passeier Tal

In the woods above the Pfandler Alm

Shelter above the Pfandler Alm

Farmstead above Sankt Martin in Passeier

In the woods underneath the Pfandler Alm

Barn in the Walten Tal

Typical fencing part 2; Walten Tal Wanns

Sailer Tal

Underneath the Sailer Alm

Cattle shelter, Wannser Tal

But as our hotel (and pub for the locals) is located on the rather busy main road from Meran to the Jaufen Pass and the Timmelsjoch, there were also some interesting machines to admire in the weekends. Mostly from locals who stop for a drink or some food before carrying on:

And one of the cars parked in front of the hotel contrasted quite nicely with my Defender. 50 mm longer and 250 mm wider than my Defender and only proper seating for 2. And its soundtrack was pretty poor too compared to the Lancia HF Integrale!

And as last year, on our way to our holiday destination, the Timmelsjoch decided to throw some challenges at us. This time in the guise of some fairly heavy snowfall. Snow chains were mandatory, but the toll booth attendant was easily convinced that the amount of snow wouldn't be a problem for my car. And it wasn't. But not all traffic were so lucky ...