The following is the same as the Triumph Torque words that were printed within Club Torque for the July issue-better than nothing I suppose.
2.5Pi mk1:
Only one recent outing for the saloon, that being the HCR that I took part in with Doug Foreman as co-driver. Got to say I had a ball on this event, Doug being first class company. Doug is as mad as a bucket of frogs, whilst in Wales he spent the whole time talking to me mimicking a Welsh accent, whilst in Yorkshire a Yorkshire accent etc. The car took the mileages involved in its stride and we even won the test that was set up at Kelbrook, not bad considering we were the largest car! What joy to beat Mr Helm!
The car is suffering from a misfire at present, I will have a look at the ignition system to attempt to sus out the problem, of course having a 123 dizzy makes this a bit more intriguing! The car is not getting used much at present, in fact I am not sure when I will next drive her.
Herald Coupe:
Crikey, I have got the engine back, so now have to fit the head to it, source some push rods and start to think about fitting the lump into the Herald. The specification of the engine is not too extreme, it features a 9.75:1 compression ratio, a 35/75/75/35 camshaft, 1.475’’ inlet valves and 1.3’’ exhaust valves. Fuelling is by a set of HS4 carbs and exhaust by a 4>2>1 manifold into a Vitesse exhaust system. I am hoping for 85bhp? The gearbox is a normal Herald box that has a J type overdrive fitted, this coupled with a 3.89:1 differential should make for approx 19mph/1000 rpm in overdrive top. Braking will be standard at the back with a set of hi Spec alloy callipers on GT6 discs on the front. Suspension at the rear being a swing spring set, upfront having 1 degree of negative front camber attained by the use of shims and 330lb springs, both ends controlled by AVO shock absorbers. Following my experiences using 440lb front springs on the GT6, I may step up to those at some point. The trouble with a Herald being that it’s a fairly flexible car, therefore not a lot of point attempting to make it too stiff as the chassis and body will flex.
A bit of a push over the summer and maybe I will have her on the road in the autumn, hopefully after the RBRR.
GT6 mk2:
Had a busy time with her recently, took her to Silverstone for the 2010 Bocardo Autosolo run by Oxford MC, as usual I was beaten in the Historic Class by Mike and Matthew Helm in Mike’s sorted Spitfire 1500. This is starting to get silly, I can never get to the times of Mike, always about a second away! I hope to get my revenge in the forthcoming CT Autosolo.
Back at the beginning of the month I took the car up to Scotland for the International AutoEcoose, an event that replaced the La Carrera Caledonia. Luckily Martin Randle agreed to navigate for me. This event was great fun as it featured some driving tests and at the end of the first day were second to Mike and Gillian Helm (This Helm fellow is a pain in the rear), with Andy and Lisa Martin equal second. During some of the road sections I could feel a problem with the bearing and did indeed pull over and check the nearside unit just after the start, all seemed fine. However at the start of the second day, I was getting massive vibration under steering and braking. I pulled into a lay-by overlooking Faslane and under the audience of Dave Pearson, Jason Chinn, Dave Langrick, Andy and Lisa Martin pulled the front NS hub off the stub axle to find a totally shot bearing. The bearing that was badly pitted with evidence if the rollers breaking down was cleaned off with petrol and was re-packed with grease and we got on our way, however it felt worse than ever. At Arrochar Martin and I decided that he would be transported in Jason Chinn’s 2.5pi to meet up with Paul Darbyshire who was doing the event on his own and I would attempt to limp the car home, 440 miles being a big ask. I got as far as Loch Lomond but owing to the car now exhibiting dangerous braking I decided it was time to through the towel in and get her recovered home. Luckily as part of my car insurance I have AA recovery, after 4 different relay trucks and 14 hours I arrived back home. This journey was totally surreal, I experienced 4 different accents from the AA drivers: Scottish, Liverpudlian, Brummie and Mexican (Weird orwhat-the guy did not talk to me, in fact the mutha woke me up at some point playing 'Girls Aloud' music-jeez,the longest moments of my life-I mean the guy was supposed to be an adult yet seemed to enjoy trivial shite music-awful experience). After prompt service from Canley Classics with the supply of a new bearing kit and 30mins with the spanners, the car was as right as rain-moral of the story-keep a spare bearing with you!!!!! Massive thanks must be expressed to Martin for his help and patience!
The following Monday it was off to Castle Combe for a MGoT Track Day, and for the time I was there I had a ball, the little car driving very well and for a fairly conventional example seemed to be quite nippy. I enjoyed a great session chasing after Bruce Sellers and his mega jolted GT6 convertible and after a bit of time I was able to pull past and away from him. I must admit I was having to drive the car like I have never done before (After 27 years ownership!), real tail out stuff, but I must say that I do find the handling to be pretty good for a car with such a weight up front. These cars do not have the most communicative of chassis, but using well known suspension tuning practices can handle fairly well. All this fast driving put a strain on the already fragile gearbox, coming into the pits I could hear lots of bad noises emanating from the ‘box in 1st, 2nd and 3rd, meaning to my untrained ear layshaft problems. I then decided to get her home, realising that 4th gear would be fine, I had this fear of AA relay trucks! Therefore the next night was spent taking the gearbox out of the car and I took her up to Canleys a day or so later, Dave will strip the ‘box down and repair her. Got to say I am not that fussed about this, I always think of the transmission of these cars as being disposable and it must be 3 years since I last had the gearbox repaired! I reckon on being able to take a ‘box out of the GT6 in 1.5hrs, I must be slowing down as it took me 2hrs, it’s a terrible thing getting old! Back in 2003 before the inaugural 10CR I took the gearbox out of the car 3 times and got very practiced in the art, like the car I am getting rusty!
Bit disappointed about all this, but I must say the car is a terrific little thing, she still looks ok and drives and goes well. Next up is the Club Triumph Historic Autosolo, should be a fascinating day, up against all the usual Triumph Autosolo experts. I am really looking forward to seeing how the car compares to Katie Foreman’s similar example and the TRs that will be present.
After that it will be the RBRR, the 6th time I have entered the event using this car, I am dead proud of the fact that no other GT6 has done more RBRR’s.
Friday, 23 July 2010
Friday, 2 April 2010
Blimey, a part of a TR7 that is useful!!!!
Talking with Keith Dandridge last week at the MGoT Silverstone TD, he told about his latest modification to his splendid GT6.
He has bought a TR7 circular water plastic expansion bottle that is fitted with a radiator cap. This bottle has an inlet towards the bottom of its body that is connected to the radiator overflow tube underneath the rad. filler neck, he has used fuel pipe and attached the pipe using fuel pipes clips, this pipe will be pressurised hence the need for secure fittings. All one then does is fit the old rad cap to the top of the expansion tank, the old overflow pipe to the overflow outlet on the rad cap fitting and a rocker cover oil filler cap onto the radiator. The joy of this is as it sealed water should be siphoned back and forward as Triumph originally wanted, but never happens as the old overflow bottle never seals correctly.
Keith tells me it does work and increases the amount of coolant available. Robsport sell secondhand bottles at a tenner, so the total cost of the mod should be £20ish including pipe and fittings. I have ordered 2 bottles and will be doing this to the GT6 and the saloon. The price of new bottles is £40 or so, obviously cheaper to go for secondhand items. Only snag with this is that a bit of TR7 will be fitted to the car!!!!!
He has bought a TR7 circular water plastic expansion bottle that is fitted with a radiator cap. This bottle has an inlet towards the bottom of its body that is connected to the radiator overflow tube underneath the rad. filler neck, he has used fuel pipe and attached the pipe using fuel pipes clips, this pipe will be pressurised hence the need for secure fittings. All one then does is fit the old rad cap to the top of the expansion tank, the old overflow pipe to the overflow outlet on the rad cap fitting and a rocker cover oil filler cap onto the radiator. The joy of this is as it sealed water should be siphoned back and forward as Triumph originally wanted, but never happens as the old overflow bottle never seals correctly.
Keith tells me it does work and increases the amount of coolant available. Robsport sell secondhand bottles at a tenner, so the total cost of the mod should be £20ish including pipe and fittings. I have ordered 2 bottles and will be doing this to the GT6 and the saloon. The price of new bottles is £40 or so, obviously cheaper to go for secondhand items. Only snag with this is that a bit of TR7 will be fitted to the car!!!!!
Thanks, Mr Dandridge!
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Push it along!
Sorry about the title of this entry to my Blog, this song's title seemed apt. BTW its a great song by Paul Weller that featured on his last lp 22 Dreams.
Spent the other Monday at Silverstone taking part in the MGoT TD and I had a blast.
I was going to use the GT6, but the high chance of rain led me to take the saloon, what a wimp eh! I think we had 23 Triumph cars there amongst the 120 or so. Many of the usual CT TD stalwarts being present, Nigel Eden in one of his TR6s, Paul Michelmore in his rapid Spitfire/GT6 hybrid, Andy and Kevin Martin in Andy's Vitesse, all the Dolomite Sprint chaps, Ellis Stokes out in his 2500TC, Dale Barker in his increasingly fast Herald, Keith Dandridge in his glorious GT6 and Dave Picton and James Carruthers in their mk1 saloons. Nice to see another mk2 GT6 present with Tim Walker in his nice red mk2 example. Many had burnt the midnight oil to get their, especially Richard Brake who bought along his venerable Spitfire mk3 that is fitted with a 2.5 Pi lump. Richard spent the whole preceding w'end working on his car, good effort.
As with all MGoT events we had a 20min. session each hour with a 1 hour break for lunch. The first session was a compulsory 3 lap convoy run behind a pace car that everyone taking to the track had to do. We were asked to follow the line of the pace car as this would give a pointer to the correct racing line. After the second lap this did seem a bit boring, but was useful when we came to do our free sessions. I took Richard with me in the car, possibly not the best thing for either him or me as we ended up chatting about the car as we were going around, we should have been studying the track and attempting to work out the lines!
The sessions were good fun and certainly were fast. Silverstone is a weird place as it feels massive, as it is not enclosed one tends to loose the impression of speed, this can be a problem! On my first session I was following a Dolomite Sprint along the tsraight and feeling happy at the way the old car was managing to hold onto this car, the driver missed the braking point and promptly drove of the track, me being a complete numpty did likewise. Now the Dolomite driver had the good sense to let the car drive itself out of the outfield area, not me, oh no I decided to attempt to wind some lock on. This was ok on the tarmac that covered most of the area, however a strip of astroturf exists about 10m off the track, and my steering input resulted in high speed oversteer, bloomin' worrying, the old pulse rate certainly went up!
I must say the old car did really well, she ain't the fastest Triumph, but she certainly handles well and with smooth inputs can be made to hustle along. The last two sessions of the day were marred by heavy rain this coupled with a failing AC Delco fuel pump made me decide not to attempt these sessions-a wise decision I think.
All in all despite the cold conditions, again Silverstone proved to be one of the best TDs I have done. Thanks to all CT friends who helped to make the day enjoyable.
It was a good thing that I did not take the GT6, I went to start her last weekend and the blasted fuel pump failed. Luckily I had picked up a fuel pump repair kit from Canleys when I was up there on Saturday, this was duly fitted and all was well. However for the GT6 I think I will fit a modern electric fuel pump. James Carruthers kindly sent me a mail showing a HUCO pump, this looks to be exactly what I need, luckily I still have a filter king that can be used to moderate the pressure. I can then use the re-built pump on the saloon-until I one day re-fit the pi kit!
http://www.fastroadcars.co.uk/shop/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=29
I will also take the opportunity to re-route the fuel pipe up and around the bulkhead, I have never understood why Triumph saw fit to fit the fuel pipe around the front of the engine block.
Next up is my first Autosolo on the 11th April at Bovingdon, this is being run by the CSMA, to say I am looking forward to this is a understatement. I believe a few other CT types are taking part, should be a fun day. I fully expect it to be freezing, after all Bovingdon is an aerodrome so its time to break out the thermals! Best thing about Bovingdon is that the war film that featured De Havilland Mosquitos '633 Squadron' was filmed there, the opening shots of that film show the stretch of runway we use. The only job I need to do to the GT6 is fit a new brake pipe, check the ignition and balance the carbs. I drove the little car the other day, what a great vehicle (Even if I say so).
In fact April is shaping up into a great month: CSMA Autosolo, the HCR, The WCR40 and the release of a new Paul Weller LP, 'Wake up the Nation'. Something I am thoroughly looking forward, I bought 'In the City' by The Jam back in 1978 and have bought all of Weller's LPs since then, back then I could not have imagined that I would still be buying his music 32 years later with the same enthusiasm. The music mags are saying that this new one is as good as anything he has done before, not many artists of his importance are still producing quality records 34 years after starting-McCartney, Townshend, Davies, John, Bowie have all stopped making relevant music. The only one still making important records is Bob Dylan who is now into his 48th year of recording and look at the influence he has had upon the world of music. Well done, Mr Weller! Have a look at this site I found, it states the obvious to me!
http://www.whymusicmatters.org/
Spent the other Monday at Silverstone taking part in the MGoT TD and I had a blast.
I was going to use the GT6, but the high chance of rain led me to take the saloon, what a wimp eh! I think we had 23 Triumph cars there amongst the 120 or so. Many of the usual CT TD stalwarts being present, Nigel Eden in one of his TR6s, Paul Michelmore in his rapid Spitfire/GT6 hybrid, Andy and Kevin Martin in Andy's Vitesse, all the Dolomite Sprint chaps, Ellis Stokes out in his 2500TC, Dale Barker in his increasingly fast Herald, Keith Dandridge in his glorious GT6 and Dave Picton and James Carruthers in their mk1 saloons. Nice to see another mk2 GT6 present with Tim Walker in his nice red mk2 example. Many had burnt the midnight oil to get their, especially Richard Brake who bought along his venerable Spitfire mk3 that is fitted with a 2.5 Pi lump. Richard spent the whole preceding w'end working on his car, good effort.
As with all MGoT events we had a 20min. session each hour with a 1 hour break for lunch. The first session was a compulsory 3 lap convoy run behind a pace car that everyone taking to the track had to do. We were asked to follow the line of the pace car as this would give a pointer to the correct racing line. After the second lap this did seem a bit boring, but was useful when we came to do our free sessions. I took Richard with me in the car, possibly not the best thing for either him or me as we ended up chatting about the car as we were going around, we should have been studying the track and attempting to work out the lines!
The sessions were good fun and certainly were fast. Silverstone is a weird place as it feels massive, as it is not enclosed one tends to loose the impression of speed, this can be a problem! On my first session I was following a Dolomite Sprint along the tsraight and feeling happy at the way the old car was managing to hold onto this car, the driver missed the braking point and promptly drove of the track, me being a complete numpty did likewise. Now the Dolomite driver had the good sense to let the car drive itself out of the outfield area, not me, oh no I decided to attempt to wind some lock on. This was ok on the tarmac that covered most of the area, however a strip of astroturf exists about 10m off the track, and my steering input resulted in high speed oversteer, bloomin' worrying, the old pulse rate certainly went up!
I must say the old car did really well, she ain't the fastest Triumph, but she certainly handles well and with smooth inputs can be made to hustle along. The last two sessions of the day were marred by heavy rain this coupled with a failing AC Delco fuel pump made me decide not to attempt these sessions-a wise decision I think.
All in all despite the cold conditions, again Silverstone proved to be one of the best TDs I have done. Thanks to all CT friends who helped to make the day enjoyable.
It was a good thing that I did not take the GT6, I went to start her last weekend and the blasted fuel pump failed. Luckily I had picked up a fuel pump repair kit from Canleys when I was up there on Saturday, this was duly fitted and all was well. However for the GT6 I think I will fit a modern electric fuel pump. James Carruthers kindly sent me a mail showing a HUCO pump, this looks to be exactly what I need, luckily I still have a filter king that can be used to moderate the pressure. I can then use the re-built pump on the saloon-until I one day re-fit the pi kit!
http://www.fastroadcars.co.uk/shop/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=29
I will also take the opportunity to re-route the fuel pipe up and around the bulkhead, I have never understood why Triumph saw fit to fit the fuel pipe around the front of the engine block.
Next up is my first Autosolo on the 11th April at Bovingdon, this is being run by the CSMA, to say I am looking forward to this is a understatement. I believe a few other CT types are taking part, should be a fun day. I fully expect it to be freezing, after all Bovingdon is an aerodrome so its time to break out the thermals! Best thing about Bovingdon is that the war film that featured De Havilland Mosquitos '633 Squadron' was filmed there, the opening shots of that film show the stretch of runway we use. The only job I need to do to the GT6 is fit a new brake pipe, check the ignition and balance the carbs. I drove the little car the other day, what a great vehicle (Even if I say so).
In fact April is shaping up into a great month: CSMA Autosolo, the HCR, The WCR40 and the release of a new Paul Weller LP, 'Wake up the Nation'. Something I am thoroughly looking forward, I bought 'In the City' by The Jam back in 1978 and have bought all of Weller's LPs since then, back then I could not have imagined that I would still be buying his music 32 years later with the same enthusiasm. The music mags are saying that this new one is as good as anything he has done before, not many artists of his importance are still producing quality records 34 years after starting-McCartney, Townshend, Davies, John, Bowie have all stopped making relevant music. The only one still making important records is Bob Dylan who is now into his 48th year of recording and look at the influence he has had upon the world of music. Well done, Mr Weller! Have a look at this site I found, it states the obvious to me!
http://www.whymusicmatters.org/
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Smooth throttle action!!
Blimey, dead excited as I have just fixed the sticky throttle that has afflicted the saloon since I bought her!!
Thanks to Colin Wake, he gave me a old 2500S throttle return system, took the defective unit of the car and fitted the secondhand unit and hey presto no more jerky throttle action. Amazingly enough this unit is more worn that the one I took off, but it def seems better, nice and progressive.
Marvellous, gave the car a bit of a pasting on the Chertsey by-pass, surprised a few moderns and all felt good in the world.
Blimey!!
Right, tomorrow I am going back up to the Midlands to attend the Race Retro show at the NAC, Stoneleigh. Was going to take the M25 and M40 route, reckon I'll go a more interesting route.
Next month I will have owned the car 6 years, reckon within those 6 years I have done more with the car than the previous owners did in 35 years. Track Days, 12 car rallies, a couple of Dutch rallies, 2no 10CRs, 4no HCRs and 1no RBRR, fantastic!
Whilst at Stoneleigh last weekend I bumped into Roy Burrell who is doing the Herald engine work, just waiting on some cam followers and the engine will be ready to collect. Then its time for some full on work on the car, would like to get her done for the Castle Combe TD in June.
Thanks to Colin Wake, he gave me a old 2500S throttle return system, took the defective unit of the car and fitted the secondhand unit and hey presto no more jerky throttle action. Amazingly enough this unit is more worn that the one I took off, but it def seems better, nice and progressive.
Marvellous, gave the car a bit of a pasting on the Chertsey by-pass, surprised a few moderns and all felt good in the world.
Blimey!!
Right, tomorrow I am going back up to the Midlands to attend the Race Retro show at the NAC, Stoneleigh. Was going to take the M25 and M40 route, reckon I'll go a more interesting route.
Next month I will have owned the car 6 years, reckon within those 6 years I have done more with the car than the previous owners did in 35 years. Track Days, 12 car rallies, a couple of Dutch rallies, 2no 10CRs, 4no HCRs and 1no RBRR, fantastic!
Whilst at Stoneleigh last weekend I bumped into Roy Burrell who is doing the Herald engine work, just waiting on some cam followers and the engine will be ready to collect. Then its time for some full on work on the car, would like to get her done for the Castle Combe TD in June.
Thursday, 4 March 2010
My god, where have I been!
Umm, been abit quiet!
Not alot has been happening on the old car front, lots happening on the Focus front though-anyrate no one wants to read that!
The GT6 has been out just the once when I had a drive out in early Feb. Amazing to say that I forgot what a great little car she is- 26.5 years and I seemed to have become forgetful!
A few little problems to sort out, these being plumbing in a better screen washing system. Looking through my collection of spare Triumph parts I found a mk1 saloon washer bottle coupled with an electric pump, this used in conjunction with a small switch I have found will make a simple system for directing high presssure water onto the screen. I will also stop using the worn out 2 position wiper switch and use a simple toggle switch I have to energise the wiper motor. The original switches are difficult to find and expensive to buy, the toggle switch is another item from my parts collection.
The other impending job is to rebuild the seats, I will need new foams and covers. When I bought the car she was fitted with early mk3 seats, these were subsequently re-built in 1989 with late mk3 cloth covers supplied by Newton Commercial. I see no reason to change as I have always found the seats comfortable, being slim has been an advantage! One of my major hates is the fitment of Maxda MX5 seats into early GT6 cars, why do this when the originals are fine and look the part? Looking at the price of new covers, I see James Paddock are selling them at £125.00, I think I will have a go at cleaning my existing trim! However I def. need new foams, so will buy from Park Lane.
These jobs will be the only work I will do to the car before the October RBRR.
The 2.5 has been used a bit since Xmas, this has mainly consisted of local driving and the occasional drive to The Plough when on Club business. The car is going very well, I went to the recent CT Annual Dinner in her and as usual marvelled at her ability to just soak up mileage. Nothing is planned apart from hopefully fitting the modded cyl. head I have, will I ever do this? I will take this car up to Stoneleigh, useful as I will be picking up some TR6 steels from Chris Allen, these will be blasted and powder coated black and will probably find their way onto the car-think its time to get some lower profile rubber onto her and make her look abit meaner?
The Herald will hope fully hit the road this year. The head is more or less done so once I have collected this I hope to put the new engine and gearbox into the car-reckoning on late April, early May for that activity?
I have been thinking about the events that I hope to do this year, these should be as follows:
March 22nd: MGoT Track Day at Silverstone: 2.5
April 11th: CSMA Autosolo at Bovingdon Airfield: GT6
April 24/25th: Club Triumph HCR: 2.5
May 23rd: Std. Triumph Forum, Prescott: GT6
June 5/6th: IAE, Scotland: 2.5 (This will be a real test as immediately after this event I have to be back in London for a CT meeting:Inverness to London in 10hrs)
June 14th: MGoT Track Day at Castle Combe: GT6
July 18th: CT Autosolo: GT6
1/3rd October: CT RBRR: GT6
25th October: MGoT Track Day at Goodwood: 2.5
As most people in the UK are finding at present, my budget for fun is smaller than last year, so I have to restrict myself. I have decided not to tackle part in any rally type events as I rather speed type stuff like Autosolos and TDs. Of course, the exception to this being the HCR, IAE and the RBRR.
The other night I discussed the TR Register series of sprints and hillclimbs and would love to attempt a limited number of these during 2011, just hope that a few other CT types might be interested? I would stick to sprint events held at circuit as less risk of damage than when one goes up the hills! For these the GT6 or even the Herald would be suitable.
This weekend sees the annual Triumph year curtain raiser at Stoneleigh, I hope to see lots of Triumph friends there. I may well stay in Leamington Spa on the Saturday night and hope to enjoy a few drinks with a few friends.
I mentioned the Focus ST I use at the top, well what can I say about this car. THis car has totally exceeded my expectations, it has been a blast to use, totally reliable, just the best modern car I have ever used. I have now done 80,000 miles in 3 years, the biggest bug bear has been the economy, this being approx. 28.5mpg. The handling is very good, good turn in and fairly neutral handling despite the heavy 5 pot up front. I do wonder if the front springs have gone off as the ride does seem harsher now, but the damping is fine. Best two things about these cars are a) the steering, one can really feel where the wheels are pointing/going and b)the lairey induction noise that starts to come in at 3K, after 4k it really starts to bellow-real fun.
The Focus RS seems very popular , but I wonder if it is a bit too extreme for normal use, I have no doubt that they must be fun, but it ain't actually that discreet!
If I had to run a modern out of my own pocket I would seriously consider a ST, a marvellous car. Just hope the 2011 Focus is as good!
I have to replace the ST soon and have my eye on the new Alfa Romeo Guilletta that is due here in June, looks very exciting. I went to my local Alfa dealership the other day and they are all revved up over this new Focus/Golf competitor. The styling does seem to echo the looks of the successful MiTo, however the pics I have seen of the red coloured Guillettas make the car look abit bug eyed-reckon white or silver would be best in a attempt to diminish the size of the headlights? Road tests are due soon as the Guilletta is released in Europe this month, so I shall see what Autocar, EVO and others think.
On the subject of car magazines, I have always bought car mags. The present fave raves are Classic and Sportscar. EVO, Autocar, Motor Sport and Octane. All these offer great writing that is both sharp and fun. Fave writers being John Simester and Henry Catchpole who both write in EVO, Steve Copley in Autocar and Nigel Roebuck (Roebuck's F1 column in MS always hits the spot with incisive comment and thoughts, coupled with a complete lack of bullshit) who writes in Motor Sport. I find it hugely encouraging that both Autocar and Motor Sport are still being published, rare for such quality to be appreciated over so many years! All these mags completely trounce Top Gear magazine, not to say that James May is bad, his Daily Telegraph column on a Saturday is excellent. The DT Motoring paper is top draw, maybe I am biased as one of their writers Peter Hall does drive a mk2 GT6! Also of course James Elliott, Editor of C&SC owns 'The Beast', a 2.5Pi mk1 that is well known in CT circles as James has done two RBRRs in her. A top and inspirational car!
Jeez, I have been rabbiting on and on, better finish now!
Not alot has been happening on the old car front, lots happening on the Focus front though-anyrate no one wants to read that!
The GT6 has been out just the once when I had a drive out in early Feb. Amazing to say that I forgot what a great little car she is- 26.5 years and I seemed to have become forgetful!
A few little problems to sort out, these being plumbing in a better screen washing system. Looking through my collection of spare Triumph parts I found a mk1 saloon washer bottle coupled with an electric pump, this used in conjunction with a small switch I have found will make a simple system for directing high presssure water onto the screen. I will also stop using the worn out 2 position wiper switch and use a simple toggle switch I have to energise the wiper motor. The original switches are difficult to find and expensive to buy, the toggle switch is another item from my parts collection.
The other impending job is to rebuild the seats, I will need new foams and covers. When I bought the car she was fitted with early mk3 seats, these were subsequently re-built in 1989 with late mk3 cloth covers supplied by Newton Commercial. I see no reason to change as I have always found the seats comfortable, being slim has been an advantage! One of my major hates is the fitment of Maxda MX5 seats into early GT6 cars, why do this when the originals are fine and look the part? Looking at the price of new covers, I see James Paddock are selling them at £125.00, I think I will have a go at cleaning my existing trim! However I def. need new foams, so will buy from Park Lane.
These jobs will be the only work I will do to the car before the October RBRR.
The 2.5 has been used a bit since Xmas, this has mainly consisted of local driving and the occasional drive to The Plough when on Club business. The car is going very well, I went to the recent CT Annual Dinner in her and as usual marvelled at her ability to just soak up mileage. Nothing is planned apart from hopefully fitting the modded cyl. head I have, will I ever do this? I will take this car up to Stoneleigh, useful as I will be picking up some TR6 steels from Chris Allen, these will be blasted and powder coated black and will probably find their way onto the car-think its time to get some lower profile rubber onto her and make her look abit meaner?
The Herald will hope fully hit the road this year. The head is more or less done so once I have collected this I hope to put the new engine and gearbox into the car-reckoning on late April, early May for that activity?
I have been thinking about the events that I hope to do this year, these should be as follows:
March 22nd: MGoT Track Day at Silverstone: 2.5
April 11th: CSMA Autosolo at Bovingdon Airfield: GT6
April 24/25th: Club Triumph HCR: 2.5
May 23rd: Std. Triumph Forum, Prescott: GT6
June 5/6th: IAE, Scotland: 2.5 (This will be a real test as immediately after this event I have to be back in London for a CT meeting:Inverness to London in 10hrs)
June 14th: MGoT Track Day at Castle Combe: GT6
July 18th: CT Autosolo: GT6
1/3rd October: CT RBRR: GT6
25th October: MGoT Track Day at Goodwood: 2.5
As most people in the UK are finding at present, my budget for fun is smaller than last year, so I have to restrict myself. I have decided not to tackle part in any rally type events as I rather speed type stuff like Autosolos and TDs. Of course, the exception to this being the HCR, IAE and the RBRR.
The other night I discussed the TR Register series of sprints and hillclimbs and would love to attempt a limited number of these during 2011, just hope that a few other CT types might be interested? I would stick to sprint events held at circuit as less risk of damage than when one goes up the hills! For these the GT6 or even the Herald would be suitable.
This weekend sees the annual Triumph year curtain raiser at Stoneleigh, I hope to see lots of Triumph friends there. I may well stay in Leamington Spa on the Saturday night and hope to enjoy a few drinks with a few friends.
I mentioned the Focus ST I use at the top, well what can I say about this car. THis car has totally exceeded my expectations, it has been a blast to use, totally reliable, just the best modern car I have ever used. I have now done 80,000 miles in 3 years, the biggest bug bear has been the economy, this being approx. 28.5mpg. The handling is very good, good turn in and fairly neutral handling despite the heavy 5 pot up front. I do wonder if the front springs have gone off as the ride does seem harsher now, but the damping is fine. Best two things about these cars are a) the steering, one can really feel where the wheels are pointing/going and b)the lairey induction noise that starts to come in at 3K, after 4k it really starts to bellow-real fun.
The Focus RS seems very popular , but I wonder if it is a bit too extreme for normal use, I have no doubt that they must be fun, but it ain't actually that discreet!
If I had to run a modern out of my own pocket I would seriously consider a ST, a marvellous car. Just hope the 2011 Focus is as good!
I have to replace the ST soon and have my eye on the new Alfa Romeo Guilletta that is due here in June, looks very exciting. I went to my local Alfa dealership the other day and they are all revved up over this new Focus/Golf competitor. The styling does seem to echo the looks of the successful MiTo, however the pics I have seen of the red coloured Guillettas make the car look abit bug eyed-reckon white or silver would be best in a attempt to diminish the size of the headlights? Road tests are due soon as the Guilletta is released in Europe this month, so I shall see what Autocar, EVO and others think.
On the subject of car magazines, I have always bought car mags. The present fave raves are Classic and Sportscar. EVO, Autocar, Motor Sport and Octane. All these offer great writing that is both sharp and fun. Fave writers being John Simester and Henry Catchpole who both write in EVO, Steve Copley in Autocar and Nigel Roebuck (Roebuck's F1 column in MS always hits the spot with incisive comment and thoughts, coupled with a complete lack of bullshit) who writes in Motor Sport. I find it hugely encouraging that both Autocar and Motor Sport are still being published, rare for such quality to be appreciated over so many years! All these mags completely trounce Top Gear magazine, not to say that James May is bad, his Daily Telegraph column on a Saturday is excellent. The DT Motoring paper is top draw, maybe I am biased as one of their writers Peter Hall does drive a mk2 GT6! Also of course James Elliott, Editor of C&SC owns 'The Beast', a 2.5Pi mk1 that is well known in CT circles as James has done two RBRRs in her. A top and inspirational car!
Jeez, I have been rabbiting on and on, better finish now!
Saturday, 26 December 2009
Dominos!
(I have had to edit this posting as I wrote it after consuming a bottle of wine)
Feels like the years are passing very quickly, I still cannot work out why as one gets older times passes quickly-loads of theories have been expressed by some wise old sages, but time is a unit so I cannot understand this..............
A few rumblings about the past year, been a good one I think, with some top events being enjoyed!
Biggest downer was the HCR, poor maintenance resulting in nsf wheel bearing failure near Crossgates in the middle of Wales, inexcusable! Massive apologies to James Carruthers, he certainly did not wish to spend 4 hours sitting as a passenger in a recovery truck!
The event I enjoyed the most was certainly the Club's Autosolo at Bovingdon Aerodrome, so good to see 30 or so CT members enjoying their cars and all competing against each other and the clock. I did quite well until the rain came down in what must be described as biblical proportions, after that my times fell away. I could'nt cope and therefore got beaten by Mike Helm, Nigel Abdullah and Andy Martin-well done chaps.
For next year I am really looking forward to the event again to be held at Bovingdon again, Nigel Abdullah who will set out the tests, has promised to make them longer by exploiting the amount of runway that we will be given by the landlords of the aerodrome. The tests were a bit cramped foir the bigger cars, therefore the added space help to make the saloons more competitive and o course a little less work for the drivers!
Bovingdon is a weird place as it used to be a Bomber Command and 8th USAF Bomber base during WW2, it seems sad that it is better known these days as a weekend market venue, an incongruous useage-all cheap shit and junk food! The aerodrome has been used for as a venue for various films including '633 Squadron', 'The Battle of Britain' and 'Mosquito Squadron'.
Anyrate, I cannot wait for the CT A'solo on 19/07/10!
The 10CR was weird and in retrospect a great event, the highlight for me being the Le Mans stops and the strange one at Condom in France, one made very extraordinary as I run into an old mate of mine just after we left, one of only two people I know who live in France-this blew my mind! BTW Terry Wogan has a place in Condom! All in all great fun and massive thanks must go to Dave Kent for being good company and always willing to get stuck in when the bonnet needed to be opened, this happened alot as we had lots of dizzy problems!
Next year I look forward to more Autosolo events, Track Days, the HCR, the Stoneleigh show and of course the highlight, the RBRR.
Anyrate enough musings, I must wish all CT friends and members the best of luck and hope that 2010 is a good year-considering the amount of events that we can look forward I think that owning a Triumph and being a member of CT will mean a good a year can be looked forward to, I cannot wait to get out there and start having fun!
2009 was good, but I am certain that 2010 will be better-onwards and upwards!
Feels like the years are passing very quickly, I still cannot work out why as one gets older times passes quickly-loads of theories have been expressed by some wise old sages, but time is a unit so I cannot understand this..............
A few rumblings about the past year, been a good one I think, with some top events being enjoyed!
Biggest downer was the HCR, poor maintenance resulting in nsf wheel bearing failure near Crossgates in the middle of Wales, inexcusable! Massive apologies to James Carruthers, he certainly did not wish to spend 4 hours sitting as a passenger in a recovery truck!
The event I enjoyed the most was certainly the Club's Autosolo at Bovingdon Aerodrome, so good to see 30 or so CT members enjoying their cars and all competing against each other and the clock. I did quite well until the rain came down in what must be described as biblical proportions, after that my times fell away. I could'nt cope and therefore got beaten by Mike Helm, Nigel Abdullah and Andy Martin-well done chaps.
For next year I am really looking forward to the event again to be held at Bovingdon again, Nigel Abdullah who will set out the tests, has promised to make them longer by exploiting the amount of runway that we will be given by the landlords of the aerodrome. The tests were a bit cramped foir the bigger cars, therefore the added space help to make the saloons more competitive and o course a little less work for the drivers!
Bovingdon is a weird place as it used to be a Bomber Command and 8th USAF Bomber base during WW2, it seems sad that it is better known these days as a weekend market venue, an incongruous useage-all cheap shit and junk food! The aerodrome has been used for as a venue for various films including '633 Squadron', 'The Battle of Britain' and 'Mosquito Squadron'.
Anyrate, I cannot wait for the CT A'solo on 19/07/10!
The 10CR was weird and in retrospect a great event, the highlight for me being the Le Mans stops and the strange one at Condom in France, one made very extraordinary as I run into an old mate of mine just after we left, one of only two people I know who live in France-this blew my mind! BTW Terry Wogan has a place in Condom! All in all great fun and massive thanks must go to Dave Kent for being good company and always willing to get stuck in when the bonnet needed to be opened, this happened alot as we had lots of dizzy problems!
Next year I look forward to more Autosolo events, Track Days, the HCR, the Stoneleigh show and of course the highlight, the RBRR.
Anyrate enough musings, I must wish all CT friends and members the best of luck and hope that 2010 is a good year-considering the amount of events that we can look forward I think that owning a Triumph and being a member of CT will mean a good a year can be looked forward to, I cannot wait to get out there and start having fun!
2009 was good, but I am certain that 2010 will be better-onwards and upwards!
Thursday, 12 November 2009
RBRR 2010
As you all know, I am the Main Organiser of the Club Triumph Round Britain Reliability Run. I am very lucky to have 3 very talented guys to help organise the event, these being: On maps: Nigel Abdullah, on Entry Admin: Jason Chinn and on IT: James Carruthers. In fact owing to the amount of work that they are doing, I seem to have nothing to do at present! Good lads eh!
Anyrate its all go, so far 39 entries have arrived at Jase's house, gawd knows how many will arrive tomorrow. Its seems like RBRR fever has descended upon the Club-fantastic stuff!
Its a top event and I cannot wait to be in the car park at 'The Plough' getting ready for the driving odyssey that is the RBRR!
Expect to see all the lastest info about the event on the CT website and upon the RBRR Blog that will be featured within the 'site.
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