35 Years of driving TR7’s

In the past week (on the 22nd of August to be precise) it was exactly 35 years ago that I started a rather long term relationship with the Triumph TR7. I bought myself a TR7 DHC for my 25^th birthday. Looking back over these years I can say I learned quite a lot about these lovely cars over that period. But I also enjoyed them on many long distance tours. So 35 years of touring captured in 35 pictures taken during various events and tours!

October 1990:

A lovely sunny autumn afternoon somewhere in Lincolnshire.

During my first ever trip with a TR7 to the UK.

September 1997:

Photoshoot on Wrynose Pass while visiting the Lake District.

September 1998:

‘t Kreng being loaded onto a car ambulance,

after a fuel pump failure (Milton Keynes UK).

July 2002:

‘t Kreng almost disappearing from view in the fog on top of the Jaufenpas (I),

during the car’s first Alpine tour.

September 2005:

‘t Kreng on top of the Col de L'Iseran (F),

during Club Triumph’s 2005 edition of the 10 Countries Run.

March 2006:

Enjoying the fine weather near Vijlen (NL),

the day after a local navigational rally.

April 2007:

During the second trip with my newly acquired TR7 DHC.

June 2007:

Enjoying some fabulous roads in the Yorkshire Dales,

on the way to the start of the 2007 edition of Le Carrera Caledonia (Gunnerside UK).

September 2007:

Enjoying the Sun rise over the Col de la Colombière (F),

during the first day of Club Triumph’s 2007 edition of the 10 Countries Run.

June 2008:

Again enjoying some fabulous roads in the Yorkshire Dales, this time while on the way to the start of the 2008 edition of Le Carrera Caledonia (Sowry Head UK).

June 2009:

We took part in Le Carrera Caledonia, and afterwards we spent some days walking and touring the Isle of Skye. Here 't Kreng is seen waiting patiently in a deserted parking lot near Duntulm.

August 2010:

The DHC on top of the Timmelsjoch during her | maiden | trip after her restauration was completed a month before.

June 2011:

A short rest in the Yorkshire Dales again, this time while on our way to Hawes. There we would spent a few days walking in preparation for the 2011 edition of the International AutoEcosse (Buttertubs Pass UK).

July 2011:

The DHC on top of the Stilfserjoch (aka Stelvio), during her 2nd Alpine Tour after her restauration was completed a year before.  The front wheels clearly showing signs of heavy brake use!

September 2011:

Sun rise on top of the Sankt Gotthard Pass, during the first day of Club Triumph’s 5th edition of the 10 Countries Run.

June 2012:

‘t Kreng lurking in front of The Black Cock Inn, our accommodation in Broughton-in -Furness after we finished the International Auto Ecosse.

May 2013:

A short pause at the side of the B4520 near Pwllgloyw, during Club Triumph's first edition of the"Taith o Amgylch Cymru" (or a Tour of Wales).

June 2013:

‘t Kreng patiently waiting for us to return from a lovely walk along Lake Buttermere.

September 2013:

Fine views from the top of the Col de la Bonette (F),

during the 2013 edition of Club Triumph’s 10 Countries Run.

May 2014:

The DHC in front of the Nant-Y-Moch reservoir, during the second edition of Club Triumph's “Taith o Amgylch Cymru” (or A Tour of Wales in proper English).

August 2014:

‘t Kreng in front of the famous Ribblehead railway viaduct,

during Club Triumph’s first edition of the “Border Raiders” tour.

September 2015:

Towards the top of the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse (A),

during Club Triumph's 2015 edition of the 10 Countries Run.

October 2016:

‘t Kreng in the grounds of the Rolduc abbey before the start

of the 28th LTV Nachtrit (Kerkrade NL).

September 2017:

A short rest for man and machine on top of the Sankt Bernhardin pass,

during Club Triumph's 2017 edition of the 10 Countries Run.

November 2017:

Enjoying the autumn colours during one of the last tours of the year (Belfeld NL).

May 2018:

Due to various problems with my Defender ‘t Kreng had to be put

into daily use for a month or so (Klein Hanssum Neer NL).

May 2019:

‘t Kreng in the early evening sun at the side of the  L228 near Bocket (D),

during a local tour with some friends.

September 2019:

A very nice back drop for the car. On the Passo Pordoi (I),

during Club Triumph’s 10 Countries Run.

October 2019:

The DHC in front of one the spare lock gates (Baarlo NL)

after some post 10CR work had been carried out.

June 2020:

The DHC after another successful biennial safety and

environmental inspection (or APK as it is called here).

February 2021:

Enjoying the light and sight in the shed, while working on one of the many jobs

the restoration of my ’76 car has put forward so far!

September 2021:

While I was away on a lovely walking holiday in Süd Tirol,

my TR7’s were together in the shed for the first time!

Oktober 2021:

‘t Kreng during the final reconnaissance for the 32nd edition

of our annual “Nachtrit” (Vijlen (NL).

April 2022:

Enjoying a fine spring morning. Near “De Lanck” in Swalmen (NL).

September 2022:

Is it the end? After a head on collision, caused by an oil or diesel slick on the road, during Club Triumph’s 2022 edition 10 Countries Run. Passo di Valparola (I). The risk of using your cars!

FHC resto nr. 152; Headlining

Slowly starting on the car’s interior. Well over a month ago I took a new headlining from the attic that had been lingering there since I restored 't Kreng. The idea behind it was that if I would hang it up in the Sun, the creases, from to many years in its original bag, would straighten out. They didn’t completely. So some doubts crept in as whether to use it or not. Probably fitting and stretching it would get rid of the last creases.

There was another problem though; it is a white lining. As it should be on a TR7, I know. But I hate white headlinings and prefer black anytime! So first thoughts were to fit it and paint it black afterwards. But I have decided not to use it at all. And there are a few reasons for it. The first ones being the already mentioned creases and the hassle of painting it in situ. But more importantly; while trawling through the headlining parts I have in the shed, I found out that this headlining has incorrect dimensions of the various sections between the listing rails. They all are at least 4 mm to wide for the listing rail's mounting holes. And one section is not even square. Which might prove to be a too much of a challenge to get it stretched correctly. The joys of parts “Made in England” 😟 Luckily, while going through my spares, I found this original headlining.

Certainly not fit for (re)use but it is more than good enough to act as a template from which to create a new headlining.

With that discission made it was time for the next one. What to use for insulation on the underside of the roof panel. Original plan was to use an EPDM closed-cell-foam rubber. And to determine the thickness needed I fitted one of the spare listing rails to one of the spare roof sections. Turned out there is absolutely no space between the rail and the roof skin. Luckily for me the sealed box that contained the original head lining also contained two pretty good sets of roof insulation pads. So that discission was an easy one!

And final job in the shed was to find a set of 8 plastic end caps for the listing rails. Luckily I do have a few boxes with various plastic TR7 parts. And sure enough there was a full set there. The listing rails I coated many years ago were also found in one of the storage cupboards. Conveniently hidden from view of course!

FHC resto nr. 151; Door speakers

In my last post I mentioned the (re) discovery of a decent pair of original door speakers, pictured above. And since then I even found a few hours to clean them.

Next time I will handle them it will be to fit them to the door cards that were refurbished already some 7 years ago.

And to finish this rather short post; I finished another small project recently. Designing my own under bumper spot light bracket on the computer. Now I only have to find a firm locally that can laser cut the various components from 3 mm sheet steel. But I will probably first make a CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) version to check dimensions and clearance on the car.