North American Triumph Sports 6 (Vitesse 6) and Herald Database My 1967 Triumph Sports 1200 "blog"

The Drive Home

...driving away in what quickly became a pouring rain with rapidly fading daylight!

Admittedly, I was paying rather more attention to the rain, and the fact that the car was taking its time to actually start and run, than I was to the time of day. But having checked everything else out quickly (including lights, heater blower), I was pretty much ready to go as soon as the engine warmed enough to run well without choke. I actually ended up merely waving goodbye to Paul's widow and son as they stood a bit tearfully under their umbrellas (I certainly would've been so in their position), while I made my way down their winding driveway and out onto the rainy State Route 7. My son followed in the Honda.

All seemed reasonably satisfactory; remember, this is not only the first time I or anyone had driven the car in at least six months, but I'd only just gotten it started for the first time in at least six months! I had no idea if 1. the car would continue to run, or 2. if there was a sane bone left in my body!

As we progressed, the rain got harder and steadier. Fortunately, the defroster and wipers were keeping up...until they both stopped! But we soon came to the intersection @ "Downtown Duanesburg"; I headed right at the traffic light onto US 20, looking for a place to pull over. I found one fairly quickly, and I jumped out, popped open the bonnet and started wiggling wires as best I could. My son pulled up alongside, asking what the problem was. In doing so, he asked if I had signalled the right turn back at the light. (He knows me very well, I being an ex-driving instructor and, therefore, having taught him and his sister well!) As soon as he said that, I realized exactly what the problem was: the fuse! It looked ok, but I wiggled it and immediately heard the blower come on and saw the wipers and turn signals start! Whew!

Back onto US 20 towards Albany. I'd already decided NOT to take I-88 back to Albany, figuring a State highway @ somewhere approaching 55 mph (actually a fair bit less, given the rain) was more than enough of a test of me as well as the car! It took another 25 minutes or so to reach the western outskirts of Albany, by which time it was getting reasonably dark, and we were getting reasonably hungry. A quick right into a Burger King was the logical move.

I pulled up nosed into a space alongside the building and noticed a distinct lack of output from my headlights. Great. I'd wondered about the column lighting switch, as it had seemed a bit wobbly. Working it back and forth didn't seem to help, so I decided on the next best thing: a quick rewire. In rain and dark, I managed to find the low-beam lead wire, unplugged it from its proper home and managed to plug it into the side lamp connector. Headlights! I made a quick mental note to add that to the list of things to check further -- should I ever get home -- and we went in to eat. It was completely dark by the time we finished our meals, so having headlights became a very good thing indeed! Thankfully, that was the last drama the last 20 miles home!

Next: In My Name

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7/25/12; revised 7/28/12