Update no 6: LCC 2009

There was a plan! Entering the Carrera Caledonia Rally in the 2.5PI followed by a 2 week holiday in Scotland. The only issue was that the 2.5PI still wasn't running after converting it back from carbs to PI. Somewhere in April I started working on the car, building a new fusebox, wiring up the fuelpump and arranging the fuelsupply from tank to metering unit. Luckily as the car is an original PI all the original fuellines were still in place. I managed to get it all finished in time, only the car refused to run. (and still does....) As I ran out of time we decided to go for plan B, better known as the GT6. So we packed our stuff, filled the boot of the GT and off we went. On our way up to the ferry the engine started to play up. It wasn't running properly and temperatures were rising high. This wasn't feeling right.... As we had plenty of time we decided to return home and go for plan C, better known as Citroën Saxo. After repacking the car we went off again and managed to make it in time for the ferry. Here we met Theo and René who also entered in the LCC. After a rather rough crossing we arrived in Newcastle early friday morning. First day of our holiday we drove across the Yorkshire Dales heading for the P&P night in Kelbrook where we would meet other CT members who had entered LCC. We enjoyed a freezing BBQ and some rather funny tasting hamburgers (Martin you will taste proper burgers in August! ). It was a good night out! On saturday it was LCC time. Again a great route, amazing sceneries and loads of fun. Our humble Saxo was going really well, I was actually enjoying the handling of this little french car. If only it had some more power... Els was doing great on the navigating part and we both enjoyed our first CT event together. Dispite not being in a Triumph. On monday we continued our way up north headed for Tongue, in the very very north of Scotland. This would be the first stop on our tour. We had a top holiday discovering Scotland, been to Tongue, JoG, Ullapool, Lewis & Harris, Isle of Sky and finally back into the civilised world of Edinburgh. Unfortunately at the end of our money we had to return home....

Sunday at the Dreadnought, The Nottingham crew gets ready

Queens view, Scotland doesn't come better!

Yellow submarine! Els wants this Stag...

Our Little Saxo on it's way to Tongue

Arriving at Lewis and Harris

Standing Stones

Update no 5: Why the GT6 stopped running and NvhO 2009

A couple of weeks before the first event of 2009 I thought it would be about time to investigate the GT6 and find out why it stopped running during the November Nachtrit. As there was a problem with the fuel supply I had a suspicious feeling that there would be a blockage in the fueltank. I was right. After removing the sender unit I noticed what was wrong. When I bought the car in 2001 it had been stored in a garage for 14 years. Unfortunately it had a nearly empty tank which caused a very rusty tank. I then solved the problem by sealing the inside of the tank with "tank-cure", a 2-pack sealant. For some odd reason after 9 years this sealant had come loose and caused major blockages. I changed the tank for a fresh example and the GT was back in business again! Just in time to start in the Nacht van het Oosten rally, a.k.a. the Chinese rally. Well, what can I say, it was a top night of entertainment. Rutger found some very interesting roads and also we had to discover 2 new navigating skills. This time it was not only "tulips", the rally started with a section of mapreading. Just before the halfway stop there was a special stage on an empty industrial estate. Oh boy, did we have fun trashing the GT6 around the wide roads. We managed to do the exact route only we forgot there was a controlpost with a stamp. Well, actually we didn't bother about the stamp. It was too much fun trying to go sideways around the corners. The second half of the rally went really well, we arrived without any trouble back at the chinese restaurant.

Update no 4: Christmas present 2008

This is our latest addition to our family. Some of you have already met him at the 2009 10CR Nürburgring stop, our friendly dog Tommie! It's quite a character, full of temparament and energy. His battery never goes flat! His specialty is ruining our garden and chasing rabbits ducks etc. Of course he likes Triumphs, we even took him out once in the GT6, although I'm sure he prefers the more spacious Saloon.

Tommie at 9 weeks, little and sweet

Not much later, discovering the world!

Sometimes he's self destructive!

The final product after one year of feeding!

Update no 3: Nachtrit 2008

November 2008

Well, we didn't finish! All was going really well in the first section. We found a good pace and enjoyed trashing the GT6 around. Co-driver Paul did an excellent job on the tulips, no mistakes at all. Soon we were behind Rob in the Escort and both cars were flying on the twisty roads in the Belgium Ardennes. One of the highlights of the route was a ford which had to be crossed. A bit too enthusiastic maybe and after a couple of 100 metres the engine stalled. We pulled over and inspected the dizzy etc. After wiping out the wet parts the car was running ok for a while then stalled again. The Escort crew didn't see us stop and continued their run. After changing cap, rotor and plugleads the car still wasn't running ok. In the meantime Rob in the TR7 V8 pulled over. He suggested to check the fuel supply. Well, he was right, there was no juice coming at all. After cleaning out the filter inside of the facetpump the engine went again. Eureka! So we continued the rally. After some 10km the engine stalled again in an uphill section. We pulled over again to check on the fuelpump. Cleaned it out and off we went. Followed by Rob in the TR7 and Mark in the Volvo 480 we carried on. Not much later when we had to pull onto a main road the car stopped again. This time I was really fed up and decided to stop. It was just too dangerous with a car that constantly cuts out. We parked the car up at a farmhouse and continued the rally on the backseat of a Volvo 480. Up to the halfway stop to have some delicious spagetti (or was it tomatosoup?). After that we went straight back to the finish. A bit dissapointed about the results we went home. The day after we left home early to collect the GT6. Luckily (not) the car was parked up at the most far point on the route,actually not far from Namur. When we arrived the car was still there and fired up immediately. It could be driven onto the trailer. Of course Theo had to do his photographing but soon enough we were heading home. After a gentle drive in the Land Rover we arrived home around noon. The end of another interesting weekend!