My wife Linda and I live in E.Lancs so it's a fair old drag just to get to the ferry (sorry to our Scottish members, I know it's even worse for you) , but nonetheless six hours solid driving (4.00am start) saw us arrive at Dover for a fuel fill up and our DFDS crossing , I like using DFDS as the ferry gives the driver a chance to rest and the food onboard is quite nice. After disembarking we carried on for round about an hour on the A26 before reaching a small village by the name of Vaudricourt, very quiet village but a nice little house to rent for one night, not too far from the A26 either as I don't want to be meandering through the unfamiliar countryside. I decided at the accommdation to check the car over, when I lifted the bonnet I was quite surprised to see a fair amount of oil sprayed onto the underside of the bonnet, this is not what I expected as although the engine does leak a bit from other places this was a new one on me. It was getting dark and late and I wasn't sure where it was coming from, so I topped up ready for the next day.
Another early start again (6.00am), and in the darkness together with a blanket of fog I found my way back to the A26. I had a look on google maps before we left and there are two suggested routes, the A26 with it's tolls taking an hour less the the non toll route and as at our accommodation we had a fairly small window as a key pick time the A26 it had to be. I try to keep a cruising speed in the low sixties to make adequate journey tmes without stressing the car too much. This is with no overdrive and a 4.1 axle, and the car seems quite relaxed and smooth at this speed too. The A26 seems to go on forever and reckoning on about 500 miles till journeys end I split it in half for another fuel fill up and the same for driver and passenger too. At Troyes we change to the A5 and at Dijon the A39, then the A40 at Bourg-en-Bresse.
At a point on the A39 the scenary changes quite dramatically from the very flat agricultural landscape we saw all the way from Calais to some quite spectacular alpine views, travelling on high bridges over gorges then dissapearing into long tunnels. I have intended to tour round this part of Europe for a while now and it really is a great driving location.
After about 9 and a half hours including our stop we arrived in La Clusaz, a delighful town, lots of traditional buildings as well as the chalet we are staying in.
The car clocked 515 miles from Vaudricourt to La Clusaz, further than google maps said but the was a detour near the end. It has cost in tolls just in case any of you are thinking of a trip €85, and the petrol seems to €2.00-2.15. In spite of this I notice in La Clusaz plenty of large cars with large engines, Range Rovers and American Dodge Ram pickups with 5.7 litres, so maybe I shouldn't be too concerned about what my car uses.
Once we settled down in our chalet I had another look at the engine, the oil seemed to be coming from the rocker cover and when I removed it the cork gasket appears to have grown a little so it doesn't fit too well into the underside of the cover anymore, it was popping out of it's channel on the nearside. I've tried to relocate it best as I can and tightened it up so I'll see how it goes.
A great trip all in all, about 900 miles in total so far, and good parking off the road as well, (I always look for that)
keep using your Triumphs and all the best to everyone.
Michael
