Out and about with ‘t Kreng

It’s already been a few weeks ago since I changed the hydraulic fluid in the brake and clutch circuits of ‘t Kreng. But I hadn’t had the opportunity to test the car after the bleeding session. Luckily last Saturday Roger and I had planned to do the (hopefully!?) final reconnaissance of the route for this year’s edition of our “Nachtrit”.

Though I did have some reservations on choosing ‘t Kreng as the car for this tour, I ultimately decided to go for it! And glad I did, as it was a fabulous ±450 kilometres long drive from door to door. And circa 300 kilometres of these were driven on, mostly Belgian, country lanes and back roads.

It was jolly good fun. So much so I did forget to take some pictures from time to time! It was also a stark reminder of how good this car still handles after all those years since she was restored.

Lunch stop in the small village of Barvaux-sur-Ourthe.

Route de Saint-Antoine in Fays

And when I returned home I thought it would be nice to check how these ±450 kilometres would show on the hydraulic fluid of the clutch system. Well here’s the answer. The picture I took directly after bleeding:

And for comparison the picture I took upon returning home with just over 450 kilometres later. Already looking slightly murky. And it clearly shows to me why the hydraulic systems need regular fluid changes:

The cooling system again performed faultlessly!

35th edition of the LTV Nachtrit

It’s that time of year again; Autumn, Halloween, All Souls, Saint Martin's Day. But most importantly the “LTV Nachtrit” of course. And yesterday evening (Saturday the 26th of October) saw the already 35th edition of this night time navigational rally.

Last year we had a pretty strong field of participants, with 39 teams heading into the night. Sadly this year we were down on entries, but there were still 26 teams that set off into the night for a very nice selection of roads through Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands. It was a rather international entry list, with entrants coming from the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands!

Contrary to previous editions there was no official halfway stop. Though the 264 kilometre long route could be split up for a meal and a rest wherever the teams wanted. And as in the previous editions, the navigation was with the help of a roadbook that used tulip diagrams.

But first there was the final check of the route for any last minute road works or diversions. Which meant an early start of the day for my navigator and me. Luckily there were no real problems there. Also no signs pointing in that direction. Though it later turned out that, due to a Halloween procession, traffic was held up for a while in the village of Theux. But that was still a few hours in the future. In the meantime we were able to enjoy the fine weather and the beautiful autumn scenery!

And the participants were lucky with the weather too, clear skies and dry. So no slippery roads to catch them out! And of course being dark they missed out on the views. But that should give them a good excuse to return and drive the route in day time! A few pictures of the varied field of participants at the start at the Abbey of Rolduc;

1954 Triumph TR2

1959 Triumph TR3A

1960 Sunbeam Alpine

1967 Porsche 9121

1978 Renault 5 Alpine

Two original Dutch 1982 Triumph TR7 Coupés

1993 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS U9

And few pictures of some of the other entrants in the parking area on the grounds of the Rolduc Abbey:

34th edition of the LTV Nachtrit

Yesterday evening (Saturday the 28th of October) saw the 34th edition of our annual nighttime navigational rally. And contrary to the previous edition, when we had only 22 entries, this year we had a pretty strong field of participants. In the end 39 teams headed into the night and some very dark country lanes of the Dutch/Belgium border area. The tour was divided into two stages, totalling 234 kilometres.The navigation was with the help of a roadbook that used tulip diagrams.

But before that there first was the final check of the route for any last minute road works or diversions. Which meant an early start of the day for my navigator and me. Luckily there were no real problems there. We even had a small but rather enjoyable delay while entering the village of Wijlre!

We managed to find some errors in the roadbook though! Turned out something went wrong while printing this. Luckily the errors were fairly easy to rectify in the briefing. But not all teams did pay sufficient attention there! A few pictures at the start at the Abby of Rolduc:

Roger’s GT6 positioned to act as starting clock stand

Nice variety of Triumphs

JM's Triumph TR7V8

Drivers briefing

Three of the four TR7’s taking part

Nice original Triumph Dolomite 1850HL

Very nice Triumph Herald 12/50 rally car

Triumph Toledo with a twist!

Two very nice late Triumph TR7’s

Lovely early TR2

Traditional last entrant to leave, JM with his TR7V8

Though one of the participants first had to fit a new coolant hose to his Stag

Luckily JM was at hand for some assistance

Sadly the participants were less lucky with the weather conditions. Where we had fairly nice conditions during the day, soon after the last car had left it started to rain. Which resulted in a few retirements caused by overloaded electrical circuits.

Oh … and during the first kilometres of the second stage my Defender passed the 250.000 kilometre mark. Forgot to capture the moment though.

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!