On Sunday, I made it home in the "new" '62 TR4 (formerly list member Bill
Eley's). To those of you who believed it would make the 1100 mile drive from
Houston to Denver, you were right. To any who believed it would break down, you
were right too. :-)
Can't report much scenery, since I drove straight north on interstates to
Salina, KS, then straight west to Denver. But the first mechanical trouble was
just 50 miles north of Houston on Friday afternoon, early rush hour(s) traffic,
the apparently original coil punked out on me. Flatbed to the mechanic who had
worked on the car for the last 8 years or so, got me on the road with a new
coil, quick tune and checkup the next day. Can't say enough good about Joe
Hamilton at Hamilton Motorsport in Houston; when I was bringing the car in, he
stayed at his shop till around 7pm Friday. The next day did the checkup I should
have planned before I left, and gave me plenty of advice for the trip -- and his
home number if I had any trouble Sunday. Monday morning his wife Dagmar called
my office to make sure I'd made it home. Great people, Houston Triumph owners
are lucky to have him. Got to visit with Bill a bit too, as he put me up for the
night, good guy even despite that Miata now in the garage. ;-)
At a gas stop near Oklahoma City, I found the starter had nearly shaken loose,
awful metal on metal squealing that I hadn't heard over the road noise, so I
stopped for the night and bolted it tight the next morning. Fuel sediment bowl
filled with crud near Colby, KS, a quick careful dump in a dirt pulloff and I
was back on the road. I made it home to Denver Sunday, 8 p.m.
Failed emissions Monday a.m. as expected, doing some tuning with a local
mechanic to take another shot. It's chugging a bit with a lot of blowby (I mean
A LOT) so maybe there's a rebuild in the not too distant future. I believe I
snagged it cheap enough that I can do the motor and still be under market. I
hope.
Hate to have it sitting in the shop in near 70 degree weather like today,
though. Gorgeous car though, oil burning aside. ;-) Thanks again to all who
provided support and advice prior to the trip; I'll be seeing you around -- '62,
black w/ red interior, blk top, very clean.
Steven
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Steven Newell
Crave Technology, Denver, CO
303.675.0777 / 303.675.0999 (fax)
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