On Saturday, I was attending the early Saint Patricks Day parade while
visiting Ventura, California. To my utter amazement, in the parade stream was
a nice woman in a BRG 1959 TR3A. I yelled to her that I too was a TR3 driver
and she threw me a refrigerator magnet for the Ventura highlands games for the
second week in October.
A ways down the road, I looked and there she sat with her TR parked and
coolant running out from the engine department. A damsel in distress in a
sidescreen TR! All of my dreams had come true!
We opened the bonnet and in a couple of minutes I found that the heater
hose had come off the right hand through fitting at the firewall. I put it
back on and got her going again. She still had sufficient coolant for driving.
I felt like a hero.
She thanked me and said "What are the chances of breaking down across the
street from a Triumph TR3 mechanic".
It made my day. My wife just rolled her eyes.
For you guys in Ventura, she needs two new metal fittings and seals where
the heater hoses go through the bulkhead. They were in pretty sorry shape. She
asked me if I belong to the Central Coast British Car Club, so you guys
probably know who she is.
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