Another "not much to report" update...

The van came back from having its gearbox fixed. Seems to be working well. An extra cooler has been fitted too for the transmission fluid as the specialist doing the work said the existing one wasn't large enough for towing. Heat is apparently the worst enemy of these automatic transmissions so extra cooling can't be a bad thing.

Having swept four years accumulated debris out of the carpet I took the van to Stafford Showground for the TSSC international meeting. It's much more civilised camping in a van instead of a tent! Especially when it rains as much as it did on the Saturday night.

I managed to buy a few bits and pieces whilst I was at Stafford. All for the van rather than any of the Triumph cars in the end. So my van now has a working lighter socket instead of a hole in the dashboard and modern electronic indicator relays in place of the old fashioned thermo-mechanical ones. The back doors were leaking again this week but I've had another go at sealing them with RTV. I thought I'd solved that problem before so lets hope I've got it this time.

The odometer on the van still doesn't work but I think I've now done the 500 miles which is my first running-in target. The only possibly problem I can see that may need attention soon is a few odd clunkings and other noises coming from the suspension/steering/wheel bearings. The best plan there will be to take it to the local garage and get them to check it over I think. I'm pretty sure there's nothing too seriously wrong.

All in all, not much else to report. Oh, I've also discovered that the headlights from a Triumph Acclaim HLS will fit the van. That means I might have a route to getting some decent halogen lights fitted as the current ones are poor at best.

Time for an Update

Still not much to report I'm afraid. The van has gone off to have it's leaky gearbox looked at. It was good to drive it again after so long and it behaved perfectly on the 40 mile drive to see the specialist that had been recommended to me. I've had a phone call today to confirm that having had a look at it, it really does need a full overhaul which was suspected in the first place. That means that the job will be quite expensive but it should last another 20 years once it's done.

Next job is to decide what to do with my old race car trailer. I'm planning on getting a new one once the van is back in action again but the old one is looking a little run down at the moment. It's been stood outside for four years and to make it usable again it will need all the brakes overhauling, new wood for the load deck and all new road lighting. The chassis and frame is sound although needs some attention with a wire brush and a can of paint. It's a 16 foot hydraulic tiltbed trailer so would have been expensive when new but it's far from new now. I don't know whether it's worth the effort and expense of restoring it to a good condition.

I went to a car show at Hebden Bridge last weekend. Took the racecar out for a run and entered it in the show for the afternoon. It was a good show, helped by the weather staying (mostly) fine and there were a few unusual cars there to look at. A few that spring to mind being Citroen AMI, DS and SM models, a pair of early Range Rovers and a Gilbern. Not often you find all those in the same place at the same time. Lots of other cars there too of course. It's an annual event and worth a look if you're in the area.

CSCC race meeting at Oulton Park this Saturday. Oulton Park is about as close as any race circuit is to me so I'm hoping to get over there for a look. The weather forecast is pretty dismal though so it looks like being a rather wet event.