I decided to join the Ottawa Valley Triumph Club (OVTC) on their fall colours drive with the Jag. Absolutely amazing drive. Amazing country and amazing roads. Throwing the big V12 around the twisties was thrilling. The steep and quick inclination changes and twisty roads added an element of dan.. umm excitement, yes that's it, to the drive because cars coming round the bend/crest were not visible until they were 50ft away. Two lane countryside roads barely wide enough for the big cat added to the excitement.
About an hour or so into the trip my co-pilot started smelling burning rubber from the Jag. Pulled over and found the A/C belt was melting. Thought it might be rubbing against the coolant filler neck, I dabbed a bit of oil around on the belt. The burning smell stopped but about 10mins later we saw smoke coming from under the hood. Pulled over and found that the smoke was coming out of the A/C pulley itself. I think the A/C pulley was seizing up. After realising the belt was only driving the A/C (which has always been non-functional) and the air pump, I cut the belt off with a haxsaw blade (thanks Paul). It was smooth sailing once again.
We stopped at Cedar Cove restaurant on White Lake for lunch and turned back for home. Averaged about 14mpg with the Jag. Incredible considering how bad the valve clearances, timing and mixture have become.
OVTC hospitality was once again at its best. A big thanks to Don LeBlanc for putting the event together and for the superb routes.
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