Top Gear - Boating challenge

I just watched Top Gear boating challenge and I haven't laughed so much in ages. The sight of the Toybota going under the waves was hilarious. Jeremy Clarkson thought he had the challenge under his belt when his car sunk only to see James May float into view in his converted Triumph Herald sailboat. When James sailed upto the slipway everyone was amazed when the car engine started and blew Jeremy's effort out of the water! I have to say I think the James herald sailcar was a whole lot more stylish than either Jeremy's Toybota - Toyota hilux with a large outboard engine strapped to the back or Richard Hammonds Damper van - a camper van wrapped in a narrow boat.
It just goes to show how adaptable Triumph cars can be one day the king of the road and the next king of the reservior.
Top Gear gets better every week with the outrageous challenges and topical car chat.

Updates to Blog

Since it has been raining pretty much all day today I thought I would do a bit of tidying up on the Blog. I have added a section on the side bar for links to non triumph traders, mainly accessory dealers anything from racing cams to fasteners. I have also made the links open in a new window, so no more having to navigate back to my blog. If anyone would like me to add a link to their website please email me the link and I will add it. I have also added a link to email me directly, so any comments there's no excuse I have all the base's covered - guestbook, email, and comments below each blog entry.

Spitfire repairs

I finished work at a reasonable time today so thought I would take the opportunity to do some work on the Spitfire. The first job was to fit the petrol filter I bought last week. I put the filter in the flexible tube before the fuel pump. No real issues in fitting the filter. The second job was to fit a new exhaust gasket, to cure the exhaust leak that's been driving me mad for ages. I removed the carburetor and the inlet manifold, which is quite badly corroded around the water pipe connections. I may have a go at drilling the old pipe out and replacing it with a stainless pipe, I've seen these advertised on eBay so it can't be that difficult to do. The exhaust manifold had enough movement to allow me to slip the old gasket off the cylinder head. I will put it all back together tomorrow after I have cleaned the carbs and had a go at drilling the water pipe.

Battlesbridge show and other work

I went along to the Battlesbridge classic car show today with Club Triumph Eastern. There was a great turnout of cars, the most I have seen. Although we didn't have a club stand we did manage to park together in the classic car parking area. On the way into the show the spitfire started to idle roughly and there was a strong smell of petrol, it could only be one thing the float chambers had overflowed again. I lifted the bonnet and as expected there was petrol coming from the overflow hole on the float chamber lid. I took the lid off and cleaned the needle valve, when I put the lid back the gasket had stretched and I couldn't get it to fit, so it was a quick look around the autojumble to see if I could find a spare and luckily I found a overhaul kit for a £1. After fitting the new gasket it was all running fine again. I'm still suffering from letting the tank run too low, I'll have to get around to fitting the petrol filter I bought last week. I also picked up a couple of carb overhaul kits for afriendd in work who had asked me keep an eye out for a couple of float chamber gaskets.
I also got some gearbox oil for the TR4A as I had taken the interior topiecess yesterday to get the gearbox tunnel off in search of the reason the overdrive had stopped working, I found a wire disconnected to the overdrive solenoid but while I had the gearbox cover off I topped up the oil as well. I managed to put the car back together this afternoon and took it for a test drive and the overdrive is back working.
I also run into a friend who happened to have a pair of re-conditioned brake calipers for a Spitfire for £20 each and as I was planning to overhaul the front end of the Spitfire this year they were just the ticket.
I also got some good news that my friends wife had a baby boy yesterday and both mother and baby are doing well. So congratulations to Jon and Heather and their new baby.

A couple of Spitfires at Battlesbridge show

The re-conditioned calipers I bought at Battlesbridge

The gearbox cover off the TR4A - looking for the overdrive problem

Jamie's Spitfire

A friend of mine Jamie came over this morning with his 1500 Spitfire so we could have a look at the carburettors. He was experiencing slight idling problems and lack of power. After checking the normal things ignition timing, spark plugs, points, etc we put the colourtune on the engine and it looked pretty good for the mixture. The timing was a couple of degrees out so we reset that to 10 degrees btdc and regapped the points. We took the car out for a spin and Jamie thought the car was running a little better. Time will tell if the changes are for the better. If that doesn't improve the situation we may have a closer look at the carbs, re-bush the butterfly spindles and balance and tune them. Overall the condition of Jamie's car is very good, the bodywork looks very tidy and in the sunshine this morning it looked really nice.

TSSC south of England meet

We went along to the TSSC south of England meet yesterday in the Mk3 Spitfire. It was a good turnout of Triumphs as you can see in the photos below. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very kind in the afternoon, the rain came down to dampen the proceedings but we made the most of the morning. There was an area for tuning up cars run by 3 mobile tune up company's. They seemed to be doing a good trade as they were always full. I had the trunnions oiled on the Spitfire and the front suspension checked out. The mechanic noticed some wear in the lower wishbone trunnion mounting hole so thats another job to attend too. I also bought a technical publications CD for the spitfire and fuel filter from the TSSC shop.

A tale of two car nights

I went along to two very different car related nights in the last couple of days, the first was the executioners spring riot at the Ace cafe in London and the second was the Club Triumph Eastern club night at Ramsden Bellhouse.

The Ace cafe was absolutely packed out, there cars parked all over the place, every available space seemed to be filled with American cars or Hot rod's. The pictures below show some of the cars that were there.

What ever your views are on taking an old car and changing it beyond recognition you have to admire the work and skills needed to create these cars. The engines are pure works of art in many case's as are the body work and interiors.

The second night was the regular Club Triumph Eastern club night at the White Horse pub in Ramsden Bellhouse. There was a good turnout as normal and the car park displayed a good number of Triumph's, there was a particularly good show of Spitfires along with Heralds, Vitesse's, TR4A, Austin Healy 3000 amongst others. The night was its usual blend of good food, discussion, the customary quiz and raffle. It was an altogether more civilised occasion than the previous night, but they were both enjoyable in their different ways.

Not a lot happening

I have just been pottering around the last few days. I have tidied up the wiring for the electric fan and fitted the new oil pressure switch on the spitfire, apart form that there's really not a lot to report.

I have added a calendar to my weblog side bar, in it are some dates for events I would like to attend. You can set the calendar to send an email to remind you of a certain event (please check dates with the website listed - I have been known to make the odd mistake!). Please feel free to have a look and don't forget to use my guest book to send me a friendly message or maybe details of an event I have not listed.

Sunday outing

We took a trip out to Matching Tye today, thought we would find a nice pub to have a spot of lunch and happened to come across an informal Tractor show. The show was in the field behind the Fox inn, so we decided to stop off and have a look. I have been to the pub before with the Triumph club so Knew that it served good food, so what could be better a quick look at the fore runner of the engine used in the TR4A and a good sunday lunch. When I got chatting to the tractor owners they told me it was a charity run in aid of the St Francis hospice (please see their link below). This is a regular charity run taking place every May day bank holiday Sunday at the Fox Inn, Matching Tye, Essex.As you may well be aware the engine used in the ferguson tractor in the late 40's and beyond was the fore runner of the TR power unit. the following qoute tells how the link between the Triumph car company (then Standard motor co) and Ferguson came about.

"The automotive industry at the time was looking for other projects due to the completion of wartime contracts. Harry found a suitable works at Banner Lane Coventry owned by the Standard Motor Car Co. With Government restrictions on raw materials Harry Ferguson approached the government of the time with a request to purchase the raw materials necessary for the production of tractors. This was approved due to the necessity of work in the area and the fact that it was a bid to increase food production for the country. In July 1947 Standard were about to develop a new engine for the new post war family saloon car - which became the Vanguard. Harry Ferguson decided that this could be adapted to fit A tractor design he had in mind"

http://www.stfrancishospice.co.uk/default.asp - St Francis Hospice

TR4A Brakes

The seal kit came today to for the rear wheel brake cylinders so after work it was off with the rear wheels to change the seals. The drivers side brake drum was pretty wet with brake fluid where the seals had been leaking and the brake shoes have had a bit of a soaking, I think I will order a new set of brake shoes to be on the safe side. There were no dramas in changing the seals, I had my usual fight with the brake shoes to get the springs back on but it wouldn't be any fun without that. I gave the suspension and handbrake mechanism a good clean up while I had the wheels off. I found a great degreaser in a local pound shop called Astonish engine degreaser, what ever this stuff is made from it shifts dirt and grease with no problems, I hate it when my wife is right she said you can get good bargains in pound shops personally I hate them, but on this occasion she was spot on.

These brakes are a bit damp!!

One of those days!!

I took the TR4A to work this morning and on the way dropped my wife off at the Holiday Inn at Brentwood, this is not a normal day but my wife was on a course and she was getting a lift from the hotel, so rather than leave her car at the hotel for a few days I gave her a lift. It was all going well when I dropped Mel off and I pulled away merrily. Nothing to out of the ordinary so far, then the engine decided to die. Luckily I was just pulling in to a petrol filling station when it happened. I spent the next hour delving about under the bonnet looking for the problem. I soon found the cause of the unexpected stop, a rivet had fallen out of the rotor arm and allowed the metal contact plate to fall off. This was a touch disappointing as I had only fitted the new rotor arm a few weeks earlier. Well to add insult to injury the rivet which held the plate in place had fallen into the distributor body and I didn't have any tools or spares with me in the car (a tool kit and spares are now kept in the boot - I know its shutting the door after the horse has bolted, but at least I will have them in the future). Luckily a few passing motorists lent me some tools to retrieve the rivet, a Phillips screwdriver to remove the distributor base plate to access the rivet and after some temporary repairs the car got me home.

Toolkit for the TR4A

I found the old rotor arm in the garage and put it back on and the car was back to normal. Looking at the failed rotor arm it does seem rather cheaply made, the only fixing for the contact plate is a small rivet which is pressed into a serrated hole in the plastic rotor arm body, the old rotor arm is much more substantial with the contact plate moulded into the rotor body.

The original rotor on the left and the failed unit on the right

Carburettor overhaul update

I finished off the refitting of the carbs today. I set them up using the guide printed on the vintage triumph register website. First of all balancing the air flow then setting the tickover. I adjusted the jets using the lifting pin and listening for changes in the engine rpm after I was happy with the set up this way I checked the mixture with the colourtune and the front carb was spot on, the rear carb was running slightly rich so I adjusted the jet up about a 1/4 of a turn. The colourtune now stays a light blue shade throughout the whole rev range, only turning slightly yellow when the revs are dropped rapidly and the pistons take a few seconds to settle. I took the car out for a run and what a difference. The car runs so much smoother at tickover and right up through the rev range. The engine pulls much better and there is no hunting when the engine is coasting.
On another note I was going to take a run up to the TR Register club night at ramsden Bellhouse tonight but when I came back from the quick test run I noticed a patch of fluid around where the rear wheel a was sitting on the drive. I checked the brake fluid and sure enough it was rather low, so another shopping trip on the internet for a rear wheel cylinder kit and the next chapter on the weblog.

Carburettor overhaul update

The carbs went back on the TR4A today. Once the linkages were fitted and the petrol pipes put back on it took about 10 seconds of turning over on the starter and she fired up. I balanced the carbs roughly by ear and then set the tickover after adjusting the jets to richen up the mixture. I will balance carbs and set the mixture correctly tomorrow. I don't have a lot of experience balancing carbs so I will be following the procedure on the vintage triumph register web page

http://www.vtr.org/maintain/carbs.shtml

The carbs back on the car.

Club Triumph eastern run to Finchingfield

Today was FBHVC drive your classic day and Club Triumph Eastern arranged a run out to the pretty Essex village of Finchingfield. There was a good turnout of cars despite the slightly inclement weather. Among the cars present were several Spitfires, Heralds, Vitesses, an Etype jag and Lotus. The run up to Finchingfield was very pleasant, anyone who thinks Essex is an industrial site really should take a run into the countryside of north Essex. Apart from a unscheduled stop to repair a broken low tension wire on a vitesse the cars performed without fuss. Once at Finchingfield we stopped at the Red Lion Pub for lunch and a few drinks. The pictures show the cars in the car park of the pub and the village in all its glory.

Carburettor overhaul update

I had a go at removing the bushes for the butterfly spindle's, the bush on the non linkage side of the carb body seemed to be moulded into the casting although on the linkage side there was a pressed in bush. I had to machine out both bushes in the end. It took a bit of setting up in the drill to get the holes aligned. Once I had the new bushes pressed in I reamed them out with a 5/16 reamer to make sure the holes were perfectly in line. When the spindles and butterfly's were replaced the play was completely gone. One thing to remember is to only tighten the butterfly's mounting screws once the linkages have been fitted or the butterfly can lock up on the side of the carb body. The linkages took a bit of working out on how they went back together, thank goodness for digital cameras a few photos as the carbs were stripped have paid dividends. I will finish off rebuilding the carbs tomorrow and then fit them back on the car and hope for the best!

Carburettor overhaul update

I stripped the carbs down today and gave them a good clean up. The general condition of the carbs seems to be good. I have posted a couple of pictures of the cleaned bodies. Tomorrow I will remove the old butterfly spindle bush's, the hole the bush sits in is stepped on the inside edge. I may have to machine the old bush out if I can't get a punch to move the old bush's.

TR4A carburettor overhaul

I took the carbs off the Tr4A today as I was having trouble adjusting the carbs to achieve the correct mixture across the whole rev range. Once off the car there was obvious play in the butterfly spindles. This would lead to a weak mixture at higher revs. The floats were also set to high at about 10mm gap between float and top edge of cover and there was a lot of debris in the bottom of the float chamber. One good point is the pistons and damper assembly's look in good condition and the Piston lifting pins are both free. The photos below show the general condition of the carbs.

Club Triumph treasure hunt

Melanie and I took the Spitfire to the north london branch of Club Triumphs monthly meeting on Easter Monday. The night included a Treasure hunt organised by Ellis, this consisted of a quiz with questions themed around the route the treasure hunt would take and the treasure hunt itself. The route around the Hertfordshire countryside was very pretty. We were one of the first cars to set off although a few wrong turns later we were soon overtaken by some of the other cars. We were caught in a three way cat and mouse game with two 6 cylinder spitfires belonging to Fredrique and Vin. We managed to hold our own - just! The spitfire was running is well and was ideal for the tight country lanes. Once the points were counted we came joint second, just one point behind the winners. Thanks go out to Ellis for making such a good job of organising the event.

However the next day was a different story. I took the spit to work and she was running really rough at idle and miss firing when accelerating. When I opened the bonnet there was petrol coming from the vent hole in the top of the float chamber of the rear carb. I had run the petrol really low the night before and I think I must have pulled some dirt into the carbs. Once I had taken the float chamber top off and cleaned out the needle valve the car returned to running well again. I won't let the petrol go as low as that again.

Easter weekend

We took the TR4A away for the Easter weekend for a trip to Cambridge. Unfortunately the weather wasn't as good as the Weatherman promised so the top stayed up for most of the trip. The car drew some admiring looks from the tourists in Cambridge, especially the Kids. She performed well and now the thermostat is working again the temp remained at the half way mark on the gauge for the whole journey. We stayed at the Moat House Hotel in Cambridge which is located only a short walk from Kings College and the main tourist attractions. The highlight of the trip though was a visit to Duxford air museum on the journey home. The museum is a great day out with so much to see. The displays of aircraft, road vehicles, boats and even submarines is wonderful. The work that goes into maintaining, restoring and conserving the aircraft is just breathtaking. How the full time staff and volunteers remember where all those parts go is mind boggling.

The D Day landings exhibition was especially poignant, the entrance into the area was through a landing craft with the sound of gunfire all around, it was humbling to think what the men who fought there went through. The exhibits included monty's field caravans, staff cars, heavy vehicles etc. The exhibit also had a hands on area where you could handle the kit that a soldier would have carried, it was so heavy, how they carried it all for so long is incredible. We left duxford a little wiser and with a whole lot of respect for what those soldiers did for us all.

Spitfire Steering wheel

I have just fitted a new steering wheel to the Spitfire. It was my birthday this week and was bought a new mountey steering wheel for the car. The old wheel was only 11" across and I found it difficult to use, especially at slow speeds. The new wheel is 13" across and as well as looking a whole better is much easier to use. Fitting was easy just drive the car forward to line up the steering then remove the nut that holds the wheel onto the column and give the old wheel a tap from behind to release the splines and it was off. Fit the new wheel onto the new boss and then line up the wheel and push onto the splines and refit the nut, and as they say, job done. I might put the old wheel onto eBay as it may be just the ticket for someone else.

Before
After