Triumph TR3A Completes Cross Country Trip!
The following details my trip home from West Virginia to Illinois with my "new" TR3A. It was a humbling and harrowing experience!
Please contact me if you have a story you would like included here!
The following short story is Triumph News group having driven halfway across the country in my brand new (to me!) TR3A. I hope you enjoy it!
Well everyone, I survived the trip - all
800 miles of it.
Thanks to the work, advice, and roadside guidance of Fred T I am now
the proud owner of a 1958 Signal Red Triumph TR3 with Tan interior and
overdrive. Practically everything about the car has been lovingly cared
for and rebuilt and yet I still managed to break parts of it. Here's the
story:
Several months ago I began asking the list for referrals on a project car.
I received word from many of you and there were some very good offers.
Fred, however, came through with a car that exceeded my expectations by
miles. Overdrive, great paint, rebuilt engine, clean. I waited VERY
patiently for 2 months while Fred and the seller Tim Mc. worked on the
car to make SURE it was road worthy so I could drive it home. I offered to
get it transported - but NO. Fred has a saying - there's only 2 ways to do
something a) the right way and b) the wrong way. So Wayne gets to wait.
And wait. Last weekend the wait was over and I flew to Washington DC to
look at the car. On Friday night I stayed over with an English friend of
mine. He's a good laugh and we went out for a nice dinner. Then a
few
drinks. Well - lots of drinks - so many in fact that I can't remember
anything past 1am. We got home around 2:30 - 3:30 apparently. Within
a few
hours 2 *hurting* Brits are on their way to Fredericksburg, VA. We end up
being an hour late. Beautiful country - especially compared to my
"native"
plains.
It took 10 minutes for me to make up my mind to buy the car. Between Fred
and myself I was physically prepared for the trip to Illinois as well.
Many
of you helped because I used your suggestions to equip my emergency toolkit.
Tom W., Paul W., and Randall Y. provided valuable insight.
Ken G. provided advice and emergency phone numbers along the route and his
secret pager code! In any case my kit plus Fred's left me with more stock
than TRF (oops - sorry!!! grin). It turns out I almost needed it.
I left in high if wobbly spirits to get McDonalds for lunch. By the time I
had completed the 10 minute journey I had managed to shear off the gear
lever leaving myself a 2 inch nub (yes I know it does not happen) and also
noticed the oil pressure gauge was leaking oil onto the tan carpet. Not
big
items at all as I have spares and can fix them and certainly nothing Fred
could have anticipated. Feeling a bit chagrined I kept driving and took
Route 68 through the Appalachian mountains on Fred's recommendation.
Brilliant. Fantastic road and beautiful. Unfortunately I broke down
about
half way through. Luckily I had a cellphone, and luckily I had a signal
which was rare for this trip. Ten minutes on the phone with Fred had the
problem solved - the white coil wire has lost it's connector and was easily
fixed with the portable garage in the trunk.
By now I was getting a bit paranoid though. The actual task of driving the
car 800 miles home had not been approached realistically on my part (mentally)
and those giant downward slopes on
the mountains
were scaring me! What if the steering wheel fell
off - or the brakes gave out! It also had a lot to do with lack of sleep
I'm sure..... Either way I kept going North up into Pennsylvania and it
got
dark. I don't know about your Triumph but mine has really good lights.
Really good - I was very relieved having imagined glow worms for headlights.
Still driving through the mountains in Southern PA in the dark was forcing
my adrenalin to new heights. I was getting Jumpy.
Have you ever been stuck inside your own head for 12 hours? I have and
it's
not a good thing for me. I had no radio. The portable one I brought
could
not pick up a signal because they don't have radio stations in these parts
of the world apparently. Too many trees to listen to. My nervousness
grew.
Pretty soon I decided I had better stop in Cleveland for the night as my
original plan of doing it all in one shot was obviously totally absurd. 81
miles out of Cleveland the thunderstorm hit. Thunder, Lightning, Semi
Trailers, and 6 inch wiper blades that barely touch the windshield. At
least they kept moving. Oh - and the water. Just in case you don't
know
it - TR3's leak like mad. I was soaked through and so was everything in
the
cab.
Lucky for me I had brought a flashlight so I piled everything on the
passenger seat and covered me and my stuff with my coat. I made it to
Cleveland and almost damaged the gearbox by trying to back up with the
overdrive on. Duh. I turned off the electric fuel pump as I could
not get
the keys to lock the car and what's the point anyway - right?
I was too tired and keyed up to eat so went to bed around 12:30am. By 8am
after a night of tossing and turning (maybe 4 hours total sleep) I was back
in the car having dried out my cloths on the hotel room heater thingy. I
tried to start the car for 15 minutes and could not. Called Fred again and
we started troubleshooting. After several minutes it dawned on me that I
had shut off the fuel pump the night before. Gah... Fatigue and stupidity
at work! Fred was nice about it though.
I drove to a nearby Kmart and purchased a rain suit, rainex (both defog and
exterior) and a bottle of Orange juice as I was still to keyed up to eat.
The rain kept coming but it was lighter so I suited up in the rain suit and
off I went. The anti fog kept the window clear which was a huge step up from
the night before.
About 3 hours out of Cleveland the rain stopped and I pulled over for gas.
People commented on the car and gave me the thumbs up just like they had
since I left Virginia. I was enjoying it more now though - as I got used
to
the car, the trip, and was getting closer to home. I even removed the
rainsuit and tried the heater for the first time. Yes - I had not used it
because earlier I had developed some irrational fear that it would stop the
car from running.
A quick calculation verified that I was
getting almost 30 miles per gallon
at a very loosely estimated speed of 70 miles per hour. I checked the oil
and topped up for the last time - I used about 1/2 of a quart for the 800
miles. Life was starting to get good and I zipped onto I 80 on the final
stretch. By now the scratches on my hand from changing gear with my 2 inch
nub (oops that does not sound right) were really starting to hurt but I did
not care. I had no gloves and had forgotten to buy any.... The thump
from
the overdrive was sweet and the big trucks did not seem so big anymore.
By the time I hit Gary, Indiana I was almost euphoric. That's the first
time in history anyone has been euphoric about getting to Gary. I even
began weaving in and out - overtaking with gay abandon. More grins and
thumbs up - particularly from a couple of Miata owners.
By the time I reached Plainfield I was VERY HAPPY. Those 800 miles taught
me a lot about the car and a lot about myself. My last meal had been the
McDonalds at yesterday lunch. I was exhausted and keyed up. None of
that
stopped me from taking the kids and half the neighborhood out for rides. I
did not eat until Kim dragged us out to Portillo's for dinner. A great
ending to a great 2 days. Now I know why you guys do what you do and am
looking forward to being more a part of it. Thanks again Fred - and thanks
to all of you who make this list what it is.....