September 2004

September 04

I’m typing this on the plane while making the pilgrimage to Seattle to visit K&D. Well really to visit my Mother but might as well stop in. Have some parts to return and some money to leave with them. I was told to leave my wallet at home while visiting. Good advise I’m sure. I already have a shopping list that will undo any credit I may get on the parts. Keri says they have some really cool Interceptors there. 3 75 convertibles, 74 saloon, 74 convt, our 2 mk1s and Kjell Qvale's Coupe'. Very cool. I’ll try to get a few good pics of these beauties. How many coupe’s are out there anyway? 

Going to try to visit Ace while in Seattle. Sad to note he just put his GT up for sale. If I had some extra $$’s I think I’d have to consider a drive home. Black on black, I bet it’s a nice ride.

My list ‘o things to get while there.

xFuel filler hose                     

-More decals??

-Radiator shroud seal              CT6601

-Inner belt mldg seal               P17/11/A         51067

-Back glass mldg joint cover   LU P21/10/1   71019

-Back glass mldg joint cover   RU P21/10      71018

-Headlight door spacers all

-Fuse block label plates           N15/21/A

-Fuse block cover                    N15/19            CT5499

Had a nice visit with Doug and Keri. Both very nice people. Merlin is a magnificent example of an Interceptor. The engine is highly polished. It looks and sound s very serious. Some serious time, effort and love went into that vehicle. Saw several convertibles and a coupe there. The bottom side of the coupe was showroom clean. NICE! Keri has assembled a magnificent garden. Quite a variety of foliage. A very nice place to call home I imagine.

Picked up all on my lost ‘o things to get except the fuel filler hose. It was suggested that the backup while filling was due to ventilation issues and not the filler hose. I’ll have to double check the condition of the hose. So now off to the garage upon my return to Colorado to install the bits and pieces and prepare for the Conclave. Speaking of the Conclave, it’s in a different location this year. Something about construction in the park if I remember correctly.

Back home. While getting the exhaust fixed, I had a chance to look at the fuel filler hose. Looks cracked and old. Imagine that. I’ll replace it as a matter of course.

Both gaskets between the manifold and the header pipe were leaking. The exhaust shop where I got the system built said it’s the heat that bows the gaskets out. Guess I can believe that but 3K miles??? Found a metal gasket at a Mitsubishi dealer that is a very good match. The techs (and I use that term loosely) at the “Exhaust Pros” shop were certainly less than “Pro”. In fact I had a very cold reception from the jerk that was assigned to work on my Interceptor. Seems the warranty service is not a priority for them. I’ll have to shop a bit next time. 

Last night I replaced the fuse box label plates. Today I found the Interceptor running hot. After some investigation I discovered neither of the fans were running. Can’t imagine both relays died. Voltage checks showed no voltage to the relays on the switch side. Wiggled some of the fuse box contacts and the fans came back to life. Have to fix or replace those soon.

Got some pin stripes applied today. Hope it goes faster now. Thin grey over a slightly wider black. Growing on me as I look at it.

September 10

Today I went to visit a friend at his new bate and tackle shop. Nice little place. Found a laser thermometer he had sitting there. Fired up the Jensen and took readings at different locations under the hood. The exhaust manifold was just short of 500 Fahrenheit. The side tank on the radiator showed to be 200 when the fans kicked on. Sounds like I may need to bring that down just a touch. A cooler thermostat is on the list of things to do. A long list...

He also had some pictures of a car his father owned years ago. It was Muntz. Interesting car. Very few ever made. Nice restoration on this one.

Saturday September 18 2004

The weekend of the colorado conclave has arrived. There are to be over 500 British vehicles in the park on sunday. Today is the "Ride the Rockies" event. The people participating in this event arrived at the designated place. We received directions and clues to find land marks along the way. I was riding with another Interceptor owner who's car was less than prepared for the drive. I was glad to have the company. Makes it quite a bit easier to find the landmarks. We went over Squaw Pass at about 11,000 ft. Just on our left was Mount Evens at 14,000 ft. We could see the road going up and over the peak. The next weekend, that road was to be closed by snow.

We did OK until the last clue. Seems the landmark wasn't there anymore. Many people were wandering around looking but not finding anything. We went over to the rustic mountain saloon where we turned in our clue sheet and looked at the tie breaker questions. It seems as we were waiting to get our clues in the morning, the organizers took close up pictures of tail lights of about a dozen cars. The tie breaker was to identify as many of the pictures as possible. I think I could pick out the Jensen Healy tail lens but that was about it. So much for that. Had some great micro brew, walked around a bit and headed back down the hill. A nice day for this event.

Sunday September 19

Arrived at the park the day of the conclave. There was already an Interceptor there. Dean has a very nice red Interceptor. I parked and chatted with him for a while. AS time went on, a few Healys showed up along with Dave and his green Interceptor. Dave and Dean took first and second place last year.

The voting this year was done with a little ballot pad. Fans would write the number of their favorite car on a ballot and drop it in the ballot box at the front of the class section.

Last year I had my hood open and may have lost points because the engine compartment was somewhat less than wonderful. I had decided last year that I wasn't going to list the hood until I had something to look at. Well, I took a risk and opened the hood, I figured with all the effort on the valve covers, wiring, air cleaner, and carb, it might be good to leave it open. Got a lot of good comments on the engine bay. Not quite quite where I want it yet but it was looking good.

By the end of the day, there were five Interceptors, including a convertible, and five Healys. A nice presentation. At the designated time Dave and I sat down and counted the ballots. The second and third place vehicles were separated by one vote. After double checking the numbers on the windshields, I was blown away to find I took First in Class. Just amazing. We all waked up to the award presentations and accepted our ribbons. The three Interceptors that were there from the beginning took the top three ribbons. Mark and his convertible showed up a little late and probably would have taken first if it had been there from the start. Needless to say, I had a smile on my face all the way home. It was a good day.