I have been using this car as much as possible over the past month or so. And as a result she became ever more dirty. That was when a friend suggested to go to a local car show and local tour the next Sunday. And of course I couldn’t show up in a dirty TR7. So the evening before the event was used to clean the wheels thoroughly and give the cars body a quick wash.
She looked rather presentable compared to some of the other entrants! The show on the “Patersplak” in the picturesque monastery village of Steyl, and the local tour were rather nice and well organised. With a good turn out of a wide variety of cars spanning almost 100 years of motoring. And all the cars were driven there by their owners. Which meant that the approximately 1500 visitors that only came to admire the cars had plenty to enjoy. A few pictures mostly starring ‘t Kreng 😜 She behaved rather well during the local tour. So it is starting to look promising.
And finally there was ‘t Kreng’s MOT (or Algemene Periodieke Keuring as it called here). Due to the car’s age this test needs to be done every two years. I had a good feeling about it. So it was rather surprising that, immediately when I got out of the car, I was confronted by the inspector with the remark that she had already been rejected. This of course called for further explanation. Which I got! Due to the modernisation of the speed camera network over here in the Netherlands, new rules have been established for the reflectivity of the license plates. And my rear plate was clearly showing signs fading.
But I needn’t have worried. A closer inspection showed that the plate was on the correct side of the limit. Just! And the rest of the car passed without any problems. So I only got a (not noted) advisory to replace the rear licence plate in the near future. But at least before the next MOT. It was also good to see that since the previous test two years ago I covered a rather decent 4444 kilometres. Much better compared to the period before 2024!
There was a small problem though. On the scenic drive home I wanted to reverse into gravel track to take some pictures and the engine died. And it wouldn’t start. After two attempts I decided to switch of all power users and use the master switch to cut all power from the battery. After switching the power on again (including ignition and fuel pump) she started immediately as if nothing had happened. Weird to say the least! Another job to keep an eye on.
