As British comedienne Beatrice Lilly used to say so many years ago, "I went
to a marvelous party!" Only trouble was, my TR6 developed a serious
transmission problem while I attended the Roadster Factory's annual party
in Armagh, Pa.
On Saturday, I drove from the TRF campsite to the town of Indiana, Pa.,
where I had an excellent lunch at the Coventry Inn. When I returned to my
car, I discovered that I couldn't downshift into third or fourth gear and
hence was basically disabled from highway travel. There was only one
transmission shop in Indiania, and it was closed on Saturday, so I limped
back down the 16 miles to the TRF in second gear.
On late Saturday afternoon, just when everyone was getting ready for the
banquet, I wheeled my TR into the Roadster Factory garage and explained my
problem to the guys on duty there. They all agreed it was bad news.
Probably not the clutch, probably not the transmission itself, but to find
out they essentially had to take the car apart. Seats out, carpeting out,
radio housing out, transmission cover out. Two or three TRF people went to
work on it, and discovered a loose part in the shift mechanism. Around 6:00
PM on banquet night, they had everything put back together and so were able
to join their wives and the rest of us for the night's festivities.
If these fellows hadn't pitched in, I would have been stranded in central
Pennsylvania, 200 miles from my home in Fredericksburg, Va. I was able to
drive 16 miles from Indiana to Armagh in second gear, but obviously
couldn't have mae it all the way home!
As it turned out, we all had time to enjoy the banquet and party, and I
arrived home the next day safely and on time.
The TRF annual party is an outstanding event, made even more so by the
efforts of guys like Bob and his colleagues in the garage who weren't
daunted by taking on a difficult job with little time to spare.
Thanks for everything. I hope to see everyone next year with no major problems.
|