[TR] 2018 Kastner Cup

Mon Jul 9 20:46:34 MDT 2018

Dave,

Great story and experience for you, thank you for sharing your experience.  

I would have liked to attend the FOT Kastner Cup this year, but life
happens.  

My last attendance at an event with Kas was FOT Triumph Event at Watkins
Glen NY when I kicked off the TTA Charity Drive over 10 years ago.

Here are some thoughts for your next challenge - regardless of your age:  

1.       Learn to navigate without electronics, it is a dying art;

2.       learn or re-learn to read a real paper map and get your general
direction following road signs and Landmarks;

3.       listen to the words and meaning of the song by REM, "Stand";

4.       when driving put your phone in the glovebox or map pocket ( yes,
that pouch in the door is a paper Map pocket) and enjoy the drive and keep
your tank full.  If you get hopelessly lost, revisit #2 and #3

5.       Buy the full CD set of songs by The Spinal Tappets from ISOA (you
met several of the band members at The Kastner Cup in the hotel Lobby!!!)

6.       Maybe find some other Triumphs to caravan with to/from a show.

Not advice, just some thoughts to possibly enhance your journey.

Cheers!

Glenn Merrell  

aka StagByTriumph  - Garage (now on FaceBook)

Remember, "the BEST trophies are: Miles on the Odometer; Stone chips in the
paint; and DEAD BUGS on the windscreen . with the occasional smell of
manure!"

From: Triumphs [mailto:triumphs-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Dave
Connitt
Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2018 12:23 PM
To: 'Triumphs'
Subject: [TR] 2018 Kastner Cup

I just got home from one of the best Triumph times I have had.

This was the longest trip  so far in my 1967 Triumph TR4A IRS (recently
added Overdrive).

Friday, I left from work  at 11:00 AM (in eastern side of Cincinnati, Oh)
heading for Mars, PA which is where the host hotel was located. The weather
was just a little misty when I left. Not enough for wipers but I had coated
the windshield with RainX.. The overdrive worked great and I had no problem
at all keeping up with the traffic.

By the time I was half way to Columbus the sun was out and perfect for a
drive. Traffic was kind of heavy as I got closer to Columbus but the
highlight of that part of the trip  was when a couple drove past me in a
Lamborghini convertible and they took pictures of me!

Driving into Pennsylvania, I thought the mountain highways were awesome. I
haven't been to Pennsylvania much and really enjoyed that part of the trip.
Driving by one town, I saw probably the largest American flag of my life.

When I checked into the hotel, there were 4-5 other Triumphs parked in the
lot. I didn't see anybody until I had gotten back from eating dinner and
there were 4 guys sitting in the lobby and found the TR's belong to them. 

As we were making introductions, I found I was sitting there with Steve
Yott, Irv Cory, Jay Hoekamp and Mark (sorry, I forgot your last name Mark..)
I told Steve I have on of his modified cluster gears in my transmission and
told Jay I had one of his overdrive pressure gauges!

It was great putting some faces to the names. The next morning I followed
them to the race track and had one of the best Triumph days of my life. My
good friend Jerry  had sent me a one day pit pass which was great. I was
able to park with the other TR's and by midday there were a lot of them. I
met a lot more of the Western Pennsylvania Triumph Association members which
by the way is a very active club. This is a great bunch of guys. Through my
friend Jerry I have gotten a lot of support, questions answered, technical
advice and actual parts when I was going thru getting my TR finished up and
it was great meeting all those guys and I look forward to the next time we
can meet up.

One more thing, I have the honor of saying I am an official FOG #51!  I even
got to meet Kas Kastner and he signed a poster for me.

Even the trip back home was great!

I woke up about 5:30 Sunday and laid there until I decided I had to pee and
at that point, jumped into the shower and packed up. I was on the road by
6:00AM and noticed that Irv and Mark had already left. Stopped in some
little town just north of Wheeling, WV for a sumptuous Denny's breakfast and
off I went. The rest of the trip went fast with perfect temperature and
little traffic (until I got to Columbus). By the way, my new driving pet
peeve is the driver who doesn't understand that the  left lane is a "passing
lane" not your personal "parade" lane. 

The car.. my Triumph drove perfectly the entire trip which was not quite 800
miles I think.  I did have one issue with my choice of navigation getting
there. I planned on just using the Waze app on my phone thinking since my
radio has a USB port, I thought I would just plug in the phone and the radio
would keep the phone charged.. Not so. I had to stop at two rest stops to
charge the phone with added about an hour to my trip up there. That was fun
as the plugs are next to the bathrooms so I looked like I was some kind of
dirty old man. Once I got to the hotel, I found a Walmart and bought 2 of
those auxiliary phone batteries. On the way back, I was able to get back to
Columbus using one of the auxiliary batteries so life is good. I am planning
on adding a auxiliary power receptacle before my next trip so I can just
plug a charger into that and not have to worry about losing my navigation.

In closing I would say that if you can swing it, definitely go on a long
trip in your TR. 

Dave Connitt

'67 TR4A IRS

http://DavesTR4A.com

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