By Richard Truett

VALLEY FORGE, Penn. — After a dozen hours and 620 miles, our small caravan of Triumphs pulled into the Sheraton Park Ridge here tired, happy and ready for what looks like an awesome VTR.

It was the night before festivities begin and already the parking lot had at least two dozen of the expected 291 registered cars. And there were some neat ones, too. Mr. Charles Runyan of The Roadster Factory kindly lent his Lemans TRS to be used as a display in the hotel lobby. How cool is that?

But wait…Before I get into those details. Let me talk for a few minutes about the drive from Detroit to Valley Forge.

All last week and over the weekend I treated both of my cars, a 1977 Dolomite Sprint and a 1981 TR7 Sprint to numerous reparations and preparations. I decided I wasn’t going to decide which car to take until a final test drive Sunday evening. It was not an easy choice.

Both cars are running perfectly and have zero mechanical or cosmetic issues. Both cars would stand out at any British car show. But in the end, Dolomite Sprint got the nod. Its uniqueness here in the USA and its awesome carrying capacity tipped the scales in its favor. And yet, driving through the curving roads in the mountains of Pennsylvania is perfect TR7 territory.

I met VTR president Blake Discher and his family at their home and then we drove to Patrick Barber’s house and got ready to go. The Barbers brought two of their cars, a restored 1970 Spitfire and a 1973 Stag. Blake drove his TR6 while his wife and young son kept an eye on us in a chase vehicle.

Except for one very minor issue, wherein we had to add some water to the overflow bottle in Pat’s Spitfire, all the cars breezed into Valley Forge.

Blake, Pat and I took a midnight tour of the parking lot to survey the early arrivals. There were several awesome Stags, a spotless green TR250, some terrific TR6s and a few very clean TR8s.

This is going to be a great VTR. If you can’t make, just check here everyday, I will keep you filled in.