It started 10 years ago today

Earlier this year it was 30 years ago that I bought my first car, a TR7 DHC. And it is hard to believe, but it was exactly 10 years ago today, that I started with the restoration of this car. How time flies! So what better way to end my blog this year with another look back. And how better than with a small selection of pictures of some of the landmark moments in the car's 18 month restoration:

29 December 2008

Dismantling begins. The cars body donor patiently waiting in the workshop for her end

4 February 2009

Patiently waiting outside the premises of the company,

that carried out the paint removal and initial shot blasting of all suspect areas

4 April 2009

After welding and dent removal was completed

4 May 2009

Another batch of parts cleaned, powder coated and ready to be fitted to the car

25 May 2009

Temporary storage after final shot blasting and applying the primer coat

4 July 2009

Moving on for the start of the paint preparations

(wondering why so many pictures were taken on the 4^th of each month!?)

22 Augustus 2009

The (adapted) A/C heater (which had become a project in itself) finally finished

17 September 2009

One of the many seemingly small jobs that also needed doing,

refurbishing the rather period Nardi steering wheel

5 October 2009

Loaded onto the trailer, ready for its final journey to the painter

21 October 2009

In the spray booth

29 October 2009

Back home in the shed after painting

2 January 2010

First time in the sun, and with refitting all the cleaned and refurbished parts just on its way

19 February 2010

The bonnet safely stowed away, waiting for the marriage

16 May 2010

The marriage

2 June 2010

Final systems check shortly before her first outing

3 June 2010

Engine fitted and connected up, ready to be fired up

5 June 2010

And finally the first test drive, and time to enjoy the lovely weather!

19 June 2010

Final check of all fluid levels, the brakes, suspension parts and engine and transmission mounts.

For those interested in the full story of the car's restoration, please have a look at my weblog using the label Restoration DHC (warning reading all posts will take some time 😜)

Seasonal Greetings

With 2018 nearly over, and with a short review of the year already done in my previous post, there is nothing much left for the time being but to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2019!

Calendar Girls 2019

How time flies, again another year almost over! Time to look back on my TR7 year with a new calendar. With the theme for this year's edition just being "Out and about with my TR7's in 2018".

The cover:
Both cars together in front of the shed,

on the day 't Kreng was released from her daily duties.

I would have loved to report some more progress on the '76 FHC. But sadly a lot of time had to be spent in clearing all Triumph related stuff from René's place. And this took us well into the summer.

Then there were the technical problems with the Land Rover early in the year, as a result of which 't Kreng had to be put into daily service for well over a month. But it was good fun, and it was an easy way to clock up a fair few TR7 kilometres early in the year. And it proved what I had secretly hoped for, more frequent use should solve any water pump related leaks. The coolant leaks from the water pump area, that started well over 2 years ago, have stopped completely. Result!

There were also the problems with the refurbished carburettors for the DHC, which took most of the summer to get solved. This meant that the DHC hardly saw any action over the summer, not at all a bad thing with the searing hot temperatures we had all summer! But with the DHC's carburettor issues sorted, at the beginning of a very fine autumn, meant that this car too saw a fair amount of use this year. So from a driving point of view and bearing in mind the small amount of time I was able to spent on the cars 2018 wasn't too bad. 't Kreng added 2137 kilometres and the DHC 2784 kilometres to their respective odometer.

And finally there were a fair amount of non car related events and problems that arose over the year. But no need to write these down here ...

So in 2019 these pictures, taken during the various trips of the past driving season, will grace the study wall:

January:
Somewhere in the country near the German border south of Venlo,
during one of the first tours of the year (NL).

February:
Enjoying the last day of spring, and a very fine day it was.
Huis Zuidewijk-Spick near Boukoul (NL).

March:
Enjoying the car and the fine weather after her biennial MOT

April:
First outing of the year for the DHC, early May.
Along the banks of the River Maas north of Kessel (NL).

May:
Enjoying the fine spring weather and daily duties.
North of the village of Neer visible in the background (NL).

June:
Enjoying the last day of spring, and a very fine day it was.
Kasteel Hillenraedt Boukoul (NL).

July:
Eenjoying the car and the fine weather after her biennial MOT

Augustus:
Enjoying a fine autumn, near "The Broken Castle",
south of the village of Grubbenvorst (NL).

September:
Enjoying the fine spring weather and daily duties alongside a sand pit,
between Neer and Buggenum (NL).

October:
Enjoying a fine autumn,
north of the little hamlet of Elkenrade (NL).

November:
Enjoying the fine spring weather and daily duties alongside the river Maas,
close to the river ferry between Beesel and Kessel (NL).

December:
Final tour of the year for the DHC,
north of the little hamlet of Elkenrade (NL).

Last tour of the year

Today saw the by now traditional last tour of the year before my two current TR7's have to be tucked away for the months of December, January and February. As the weather forecast was rather poor I decided to leave the DHC in the shed and take 't Kreng for a final blast through the country. It was again good fun, also thanks to the sometimes slippery conditions!

At least one problem that reared its ugly head almost two years ago has solved itself. In other words the coolant leak from the water pump has completely vanished over the year. Probably caused by the frequent use the car got over the year. But this last trip also did remind me of some maintenance work that needs to be done to the car.

To start with the pedal's pivot points need lubrication, as they are starting to make squeaky noises. Another one is a thorough check of the drive line as there is a vibration and a slight rumble at certain road speeds; could be prop shaft related. And finally it sounds like the valve gear of the engine needs some new shims. Hopefully the weather won't be to cold this coming winter as I have to work on the car outside under the carport ...

And the final job I might do on the car if time allows this winter, is to shed some more weight by fitting these plastic side windows that have been lingering in the attic for far to long:

Will see what other jobs will come in between if any!

Signs of age for 't Kreng

The picture above is already well over 20 years old and taken about 8 months before the car returned back on the road early in the summer of 1997. Fast forward to the present day and the car is definitely starting to show it's age. Actually well over 10 years ago the first tiny signs of rust appeared in the seam between the rear light panel and the right hand rear wing started to appear. So far I have tried to prevent the rust from spreading with an occasional squirt of waxoil. But as this picture shows I was losing that battle:

Clearly more drastic measures were needed to stop the rust from spreading. Time to get the tools out. And after about 15 minutes of scraping and chiselling at the affected area the extend of the rust became clear:

Could have been worse! I could have gone for a nice and clean finish, but that would have taken many hours of work. And as the paint in the affected area is also starting to fade I went for the quick and dirty solution. Take a spray can with an epoxy based industrial rust converter and treat the affected area with a few liberal layers.

It won't win any awards but it should hold on long enough to prevent the rust from spreading before the car will get a full re-spray somewhere in the future ...

Hopefully I will be able to use this car for a few more trips before the end of the month, and its mandatory three month hibernation, which starts on the 1^st of December.