Triumph - That was a year that was..

[MorrisItalSLX]

11 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

and the stripey nature of the seats match the rear & door trims splendidly

And the green piping matches the carpet, it’s like it was meant to be.

[Bfg]

End of Season opportunity to enjoy clearer roads as yesterday I went back across to the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton, Suffolk, NR35 1NZ(which at this time of year is opened only on Sundays). From where I live it's some 35 across country miles away but, since moving home a few months ago, the route is different.

  

I love this museum because it’s a local one and that makes it unpretentious. It might be noted that it’s a volunteer-run museum charity, and lacking the glamorous and glossy exhibits of well funded museums, but perhaps because of that - it is fascinating. In many ways it’s more like an old workshop packed with minute details.

  

East Anglia was of course dotted with airfields throughout the 2nd WW, and the memorabilia and photographs reflects the true grit of it. More depth is found in the stories relayed by airmen, farm workers (who witnessed aircraft crashes of both friend n' foe) and of the air-sea rescued. These do take a time to read, but there’s humanity in there which isn’t reflected in the glossy paint of a restored museum exhibit, however awesome an aircraft style &/or its specs may be. My visiting on Sunday 12th, the day of the National Service of Remembrance, was poignant.

 

     

^ far right, yes behind the curtain in the anson is the .....

  

   

With so many artefacts found in gardens, along the coastline & esturies, and farmland across East Anglian counties - it may to the uninitiated seem to be filled with mangled pieces of metal, cloth or whatever, but to an engineering mind - those same objects are like cutaway illustrations ..or rather sculptures, revealing in life-scale the guts and the craftsmanship in engineering.

Pete

 

[Bfg]

^ It's March and in anticipation of using the more frequently this summer ..I'm back at it..  This time working in the barn. Although too spacious and draughty to heat, it's a useful workspace surrounded by quiet and attractive Suffolk countryside.

^ Since the chassis swap I've never been happy with the springs and the suspension's ride height, I swapped them before from those M&T fitted and it helped but it still wasn't right.  Although good for country lane driving - the car has a tendency to float at high motorways speeds (as if the front wheels are lifting). So.., out with the springs also supplied by M&T and back in with the springs the car came with, as bought. . .

^ I seem to recall comparing the length and compression of the black springs when I fitted them.    I reasoned that the black ones, having a greater number of coils would have been softer, but that was not the case.   Using a pile of storage heater bricks to do that, they each compressed the same amount under the same load. 

^ After a 10 mile test drive the car looks to be sitting the same as it was before, but a high speed run down the A12 left me with the impression that it is now directionally more stable.  I checked the car's tracking and it was spot on.  I'll leave it as it is and see how i get on with it over a period of time. 

- - -

Moving on to the next task..

^ Some may recall my mentioning that I made the mistake of driving the car with the front (TR6) clamp of the Surrey top lid being undone.  This was back in November when I was running out in the car to try its different seats.  Tucked away under the sun visor I didn't notice the clamp was undone ..until  WHAM  the half lid suddenly opened as I was accelerating up to open dual-carriageway speeds and slammed down onto the boot lid.  The force was enough to bend the 1/4" screw, rear fastening, but thankfully despite the noise - the roof and boot lids were barely marked.  The fibreglass backlight frame however was ripped apart as it was twisted 180-degrees back on itself.  If the rear screen rubber had not been gooed in with some sort of structural black mastic - I guess the roof panel with this section fibreglass would have flown off to pose a threat to following traffic.   I was furious at myself at the time, but in retrospect can see how fortunate I was. 

^ This weekend, with my lid's T-bar first removed, I released the trim for access to the backlight's fastenings.

^  it's a long time since I last saw her topless.  

    

^ The barn is useful but it's also a 20 mile round trip from home, so I've brought the backlight home to work on it.  Although where I now live has an integral garage, I won't want to be grinding glassfibre in it. So my first task was to cut the lawn and then tidy and clear my garden shed / polytunnel as a workspace.  The lawn seemed the safest place to remove the glass.  Before doing anything else I indexed the distance (cut marks) either side of the damage with a hacksaw. 

     

^ The damage looks no better in the daylight !   I had to cut through the mastic to get the glass out.  It's now been set aside for safety.  I would not be at all chuffed if I were to drop it on a paving slab.

^ Moving to a more comfortable working height, the glassfibre now unsupported by the glass is only held in place by threads of vinyl trim on the inside and the black mastic which was used to hold and seal across the top of the glazing rubber.  

   

^Removing the vinyl was what I imagine skinning a snake would be like. The black mastic could only be cut away.  As you can see, even through the paint its bond was strong enough to rip the corner of the fibreglass out.  

  

^ The quality of fibreglassing is appalling, insomuch as the hard corners have no glass in them at all.   I think just clear gelcoat had been used to fill the corners of this frame ..which is not at all structural. Inside that is a very thin layer of fibreglass chopped strand mat.   I guess it did its job. Or at least it did after I fitted a T-bar ..to prevent it twisting, but for the price charged for these things I would have liked to have seen better.  

Unless someone has a backlight frame going ..that I might afford to buy - my task is now to try and fix it.  It'll be 'a challenge' to do it well ..sort of like trying to mend a broken and chipped vase.  Rainy weather yesterday and today is not helping motivation, but it needs to be done.   

Pete

 

[Snake Charmer]

Having seen some of your previous repairs l can see this being a vast improvement over the original.

[Bfg]

Minor but nevertheless useful progress this afternoon.

However it started like this ! . . .

Box of screws, tippled from the shelf above and I caught it just in time ..but for a few pots stacked on top of others. I have lots of pots of screws, some stainless, some countersunk, others raised, some cheese headed, wood screws and self tappers, cross head, straight cut, you name it I've probably got some, sorted out into individual pots. And then I have all sorts of bolts, nuts, set screws, .. many of different sizes and different treads, as well as locking washers, plain washers.  And of course I have pots of clips, and bleed nipples, springs and trim clips..  So I was really lucky that only these screws fell to the floor. The fact that they caught the rubbish bin was unfortunate but again not the end of the world as we know it..

Moving on. . .

..to the polytunnel and broken bits of fibreglass...

      

Before I can repair - I need to get rid of the mastic.  Five minute job ?  in your dreams.   The black goo had excellent adhesion and wonderful elasticity.. 

Fibreglass is an incredibly useful material for making things from, but it is not the easiest stuff to get clean once it's been painted and gooed.   The issue may be identified in its other common name 'glass reinforced plastic'  .. it's the plastic which prevents chemical cleaning or seriously abrasive techniques to be applied.  It's lightweight and not very tough to clamp down, so even holding it is less than easy.  Still with craft knife to slice and shave much of the mastic off, followed by a choice of scraper, followed by shaved wire-wool I finally got there.

      

^ The inside ..where the rear fastening for the surrey top lid goes through, was painted over.  This is commonly done by the fibreglassing business to 'finish' the raw mat so that it looks better value to the paying customer.  I power-wire-brushed that off to reveal the thin layer of glass-fibres and otherwise gel.  

So cleaned, this part was ready for the first stage of 'repair'  . . .

The end of this was cracked most of the way across, so I opened up the crack and spread it with polyester glass filler.  Which is like body filler but instead of filler-power it has very fine glass fibres.  Because those glass fibres are exceptionally strong in tension, this filler paste, if it adheres well is also very strong. The random alignment of those fibres means that it doesn't crack very easily in any direction. Where the gel had been inside against the cup for the lid's fastening, I spread some more as reinforcement.  Now all I needed to do was to hold it to the right shape  . . .

 

I'd dry run with the clamps.. in this instance a strategically placed car battery, (formerly in my Chrysler diesel) which itself was being held down by the wedge of grips under the wall shelves.   The clamp (sort used to secure the tarps over market traders stands) on the side holds the flange straight for that short section, with the slightly curved tail of it hanging off the side of the shelf.

That's it for tonight. As I said not a lot but still useful to have this piece strong enough to be glued back into place in the backlight frame. The essential thing at the moment is maintaining its shape and dimension.  If I'd let this end break off then the finished width of the backlight would have been very much more difficult to get right.

   

^ a close up of the work.  It looks pretty awful but it'll clean up.  You'll note on the left hand side a fine hairline crack. That is all the way through and was opened up to spread this adhesive inside. As you can see it's closed up nicely under the weight of the car battery and upper cabinet.   It'll be left to fully cure overnight.  

So..  time for a cuppa..

Bidding you a good evening,

Pete

 

 

[Bfg]

More of the same ol' . . .

^ Cleaning the inside and ends of the backlight frame with a power wire brush ..to give a good key to the filler paste.

   

^ dry run to see how I might clamp the broken out piece in position.  And gluing one part of the joint with the glass-fibre filler paste. 

 

^  I 'green trimmed' the surplus, that is with a craft knife blade as the filler was still curing but not yet hard.  It save a lot of time later, and in worse case situation I would have seen if I'd got the alignment very wrong.  In which case I'd have broken it before the filler cured and started again.

As it is, as best I can see it's close enough to continue with.  

Stop for a cuppa to let that cure a bit before I do the same with the other end of this broken frame.

Pete 

 

[Bfg]

Addendum . . .

  

^  with the second break ( ..just outside the through-hole for the surrey lid's fastening) glass paste bonded - the frame is now back together and self supporting. 

Next up, I wanted to repair, again with the glass-fibre paste) the gelled corners which had ripped out with the glazing mastic. Likewise the gelcoat's stress cracks ..like the one you might just see (above - bottom left)  adjacent to the top (step) of the B-post.  Nothing to do but prise the broken piece out, grind out the cracked gel under the surface, and rebuild it with something a bit more structural ..in this case the glass-fibre filler paste.  

^ not a very clear photo, but you might assess the hard edge corner moulding along the top of the rear window surround is slowly coming back into shape.  The shadow-line is not too bad but there's still a bit more to do. However, next up I'll structurally reinforce the frame ..from its inside / under side with glass fibre laminate.

Repairing fibreglass is not difficult ..although a bit of care n' attention goes into realignment of the broken bits.  But still its time consuming because the polyester resin needs to cure in-between further handling.  If such a flimsy frame is handled to soon or too ham-fistedly there a good chance of its bond being compromised.

That's it for tonight.  Have a good evening.

Pete

   

[Bfg]

Life is grinding sometimes, and there's not much worse than grinding fibreglass ..as its dust (minute glass fibres) gets in places you really don't like it to.   nevertheless, like many an unpleasant task it has to be done, and done carefully and well. Neither filler paste nor fibregalss resin will stick well unless you cut the crap of the surface and score it.  So that was my start for today ..fortunately the weather's turned for the better and I can now work in the garden.  

 

  

^ at the bottom front corners (the B-post) of this backlight frame is where the first, and arguably the most important fastening goes. However the quality of production can be seen in the crack around it.  From the above ; it's apparent that someone was trying to bond onto the top of a polished moulding (not even keyed). From the underside it's not looking much better  . . .

   

^ here the bond is gel onto a single thickness of lightweight fibreglass.  When (carefully cleaning this corner out I broke through to the outside. The panel really is that thin.  Once clean, I masking tape on the other side, and prised the crack open to apply filler paste. ^^

The other side wasn't as bad,  but it was also cracked.  As I say these are the most critical mounts to hold the back window onto the car, so I've reinforced them with fibreglass laminate. . .

  

^ That same left hand side ..and then similarly ^^  the right hand side.  Each now has chopped strand mat + x2 layers of woven glassfibre mat.  Naturally, I'll need to redrill the holes and retrim the bottom edges once the resin has thoroughly cured.   Btw the row of clamp seen in the first photo are an attempt to straighten that bottom edge. They are pulling the fibreglass out to a steel ruler.

Irrespective of having no core to help prevent this frame from twisting, the thickness of the fibreglass leaves something to be desired. . .

   

^ Across the top of the frame - the fibreglass flange, which holds the rear window glass in, is with gelcoat + paint about 1mm thick.  ^^  Around the rear bottom edge and inner and outer moulding together with its bonded brings that thickness to 3mm..  the glazing rubber is of course for the thicker dimension, which is presumably why it leaked and needed copious amounts of black mastic to seal. 

   

^ The depth of the seal to fit along that flange is 12mm deep.  ^^ The second photo shows that same depth relative to the flange itself .. 6mm.  This was why, when I first tried fitting this surrey-top the glass kept pulling out at the top.   When I made my fibreglass surrey-top lid(s) I made a very stiff T-bar to hold the frame back to prevent the glass from popping out.  Now I'll try to rectify the real problem.

Lunch over, time for some more fibreglassing.

Pete 

 

 

 

[Bfg]

  ..from the TR Register forum

46 minutes ago, stuart said:

FWIW Pete as you have a glass window the lip that the rubber goes on should be 10mm  at least that's the rule of thumb that Moss use when assembling their glasses to fibre frames. I would also be going for a new Moss rubber when you come to refit the window. Don't forget with the Moss rubber it will appear to be bigger than the glass that's deliberate and the excess must be evenly distributed to each lower corner to prevent a gap appearing.

Stuart

Thanks Stuart, that's very useful to know.   I would have been guessing around 11mm to allow 1mm for tolerance, but 10mm is still probably 4mm more than it had been trimmed to before.

^ The nature of working with fibreglass is that I've deliberately extended the flange quite a bit more (that's seen as cyan blue ..as it's not cured yet). I trim it off when cured to the width required.  

^  I had hoped to do a bit more this evening, but my resin is well passed its best.  I'll get out to buy some fresh tomorrow, as it'll make the task a dozen times easier than trying to wet out this old stuff.

Up the B-post section I've laminated x3 additional layers of 450g chopped-strand glass over the window-rubber flange. There's just one across the inside width. The flange facing into the car (seen here, facing towards the bottom clamp in the photo) isn't critical but I've reinforced over where the section of frame had ripped out.  The masking tape and weight is only there to stop the edge of that laminate from lifting, which glass fibres tends to do when bent over a 90 degree corner.

Finished early .. so it's time for a cuppa

Pete

 

 

[Bfg]

A quick pictorial update . . .

    

^  Fibreglassed underside to the frame, where I'd used masking tape to extend the flange.  As you can see the resultant extra width of that was 3 to 4mm and instead of being 1mm thick it is now around 3mm thick.   With the extra thickness the frame was much stiffer than it had been, so I opted to not fit wood, or other means to prevent it from twisting.  Despite my original intent, and Stuart's endorsement of doing so, the lid's T-bar worked well before to prevent twisting, and so I felt little motivation to change things. 

   

^ Having something more sturdy to work with, I got on with rebuilding the contours, and primed it.  With so many colours ; black of the moulding, grey of raw fibreglass, primrose yellow of the paintwork, and green of the fibre-filler it was difficult to see the shape.  Coating with primer added yet another colour but when first applied helped highlight flaws.  

   

^ I had considered painting the frame red, to match the car, but then because of the extent of rubber seals around all edges decided to go with gloss black.  Unfortunately, the reflections in that show up every wave and wobble in the fibreglass moulding.  I rubbed down and repainted it a couple of times but decided the odds were stacked against me.  If I were to insist on having good reflections - then this fibreglass moulding would need to be replaced with an aluminium backlight frame.   

^ If you don't take those reflections too seriously this the backlight looks acceptable for a driver's car.  I need to replace the glazing rubber's 'chrome' infill bead, as the one I have is broken and twisted.  The rubber itself I reused. Again it's far from perfect but usable.  

^ work in progress.  The backlight is now mostly refitted but it's glass has not yet 'settled'.  I could do with the heat of a closed car on a still n' sunny day to soften its glazing rubber.  There's no sealant or mastic holding the rubber in place yet, and as you can see the rear interior trim is still to be refitted.   Presently I'm not so keen on it being black, but perhaps it'll grow on me or else fade into the background and not be noticeable.   We'll see.

^ Conversely, I liked the backlight being painted primrose yellow.. and it light tone disguised the moulding's numerous defects (not only distortions but clearly its mould was chipped and at the end of its working life). 

That's all for this week, I bid you have a good weekend.

Pete

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bfg]

Not much been happening on the TR front, because I've been busy with the Daimler, but I am planning to go across to Malvern and the Inter-club International Weekend < here > ..the last weekend of this month

All being well n' good, I'll be driving across-country in Katie.  And as I'm building a tiny trailer-tent to save me ol' bones from laying on the cold n' lumpy ground, I need to fix a towing hitch to the car. For those interested ..the link (below).

 

I'll mostly be on a trade stand throughout the weekend  ..to help a friend sell his huge stock of TR bits,  but perhaps we'll see some of you there ?

Pete

[Bfg]

Aside from fitting the towing hitch to Katie, ready to go camping at the end of the month, I wanted to fit the boot rack.    This is not something you see on modern cars, but back in the day they were quite common, and even specifically made for certain cars.  Fortunately i was able to get one ..I was actually given it ! by a very generous lady in our local TR club group ..and it is specific to the TR4, 4A and TR5. . .

   

^ Simple angle brackets fit under the boot lid hinges (after the hinge), with the hinge's rubber gasket between the bracket and the paintwork.  These brackets are stainless steel so I'm guessing they (and probably the rack too) is an after-market reproduction of the original.  On my car the brackets hole centres wasn't quite right, just on one side, and needed minor amendment.    I've seen photos of these brackets being the other way around, so its flat face is outside the boot hinge, so it seems subjective as which side the owner prefers it. 

    

^ I prefer to have plain shank through such skinny brackets, and to get that plain shank I have to buy longer bolts and cut them to length. ^ ^ Having loose-fitted the top hinge fastening I checked the bottom fastenings. The rear-lower brackets are mostly hidden under the number plate and this boot lid had the holes already there. I didn't know if these were standard or whether a similar rack had previously been fitted to this particular car.  Anyhow . . .   

   

^ Unfortunately the holes in the boot rack and the holes in the boot lid didn't align. And after measuring each I determined the boot rack was right, so the boot-lid had to be re-drilled.  After checking the height, I used masking tape to mark that, and then with rubber buffers under the rack's brackets marked the new hole centres. . .

   

^ They weren't very close after all  .   ^ after touching those hole edges in with epoxy primer, and again using plain shanked bolts, and big washers on in underside - the rack was securely fastened.  Only now needing for the number plate to be refitted, along with the LED number plate lights I use. 

 

^ In the meantime I was honoured to hear and see a Spitfire flying around in the sunshine.. June 6th D-Day 80th year memorial. What a lovely gesture to fly over English towns and countryside to remind us and be thankful.

 

^ Another little task done.  I'm very grateful to those in our local, East Saxon's, TR group for their kindness.

As a motorcyclist I'm used to using a rear rack for carrying all sorts of things, and for my long distance touring trips which involved camping, the tent, self-inflating sleeping mat and sleeping bag would go on it.  I've read on this forum that these boot-racks can take upto 40 kg (almost 90lb) but I wanted it for a particularly lightweight load. . .

    

^ The half hard-lid of Katie's surrey-top tucks in and sits on it ..as if they were purposefully designed for each other     ...And in doing so usefully frees up the behind-the-seats space, or the boot, for camping / luggage.  I'm well pleased with that.

Pete

 

[Bfg]

Yesterday's Coffee n' Classics at Needham Market..  this was the forth monthly, lovely low-key meeting of enthusiasts just enjoying a get together and a chat. . .

https://www.facebook.com/100003074325383/videos/309177028852499/

 

[lesapandre]

45 minutes ago, Bfg said:

Yesterday's Coffee n' Classics at Needham Market..  this was the forth monthly, lovely low-key meeting of enthusiasts just enjoying a get together and a chat. . .

https://www.facebook.com/100003074325383/videos/309177028852499/

 

Some interesting Vauxhall cars there. The 2-dr Velox estate - was that a hearse? The Pre-War looks good too - quite advanced in their day some with OHV and semi-monocoque construction.

Nice hot 'coke bottle' Viva - one for the 'misguided modern reboot' thread too.

Commer camper looks ace. Looks like a Paralian - I think that's what they are called?

[Bfg]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

Some interesting Vauxhall cars there. The 2-dr Velox estate - was that a hearse?

No never a hearse. It was converted by a chap who does professional restoration work, and otherwise makes all sorts of stuff around his home.  A dedicated craftsman with an eye for detail, I believe he started off with a very scruffy 4-door estate and rebuilt it to be a 2-door.  For balance & proportion he extended the front doors by 9" and reshaped the b and c posts to get rid of their reverse angles, which of course necessitated custom glass and lifting mechanism, and window surrounds complete with their chrome trim.  It's superbly done, not least considering that chrome is a straightened out chrome surround ..from around a windscreen. The almost straight lengths fit into corner pieces which he hand-made and had chromed. 

Of course filling in the old rear doors was easy to man with such skills, as was modifying the tailgate and rear bumper to clean the lines up.  The finished result (imo) looks very much nicer and better balanced than the factory's estate model.  Under the bonnet is just as tidy. Its 3.3 litre (I think Graham said) with manual and overdrive looks mostly standard but is a little tweaked. The rear axle is wider from the PA (?) model and gearing to suit the power. For the wheels he used reversed BMW wheels modified to Vauxhall stud centres. 

The interior looks period but with the later model's wider pleating on the seats. There are a number of detail swaps between different Vauxhall models under bonnet and in the detailing of the grille too.  To anyone but a Vauxhall enthusiast not looks out of period though.  The steering console and other parts are professionally painted in metallic silver ..not the rattle-can look but really nice. 

The car used to be two-tone in pink and silver, which looked fantastic ...and nothing at all like a hearse.   When Graham bought the car off his friend it had been used for years as a daily, until rust worm literally ate it away.  Over five years, Graham then restored the car structurally, mechanically and paint (I knew him from working in sales for Catermoles Garage in Ipswich - which has now gone) but his profession was in vehicle paint.  He choose the metallic blue, which in the sunlight is a beautiful colour, and to help break up the bulky look of its side view.., he made and added the broad chrome strips along the sides (in place of the original skinny ones).   IMO it altogether works as a really practical, easy touring estate.  Seen loaded in the back is his camping gear from a weekend away. He and his wife had come straight to the coffee n' classics.  Graham has is think seven or eight Vauxhall Velox, Cresta, etc., models, but they're mainly very nice and used rather than show queens.

P.         

^ sorry no better photo, but you can just about see the revised b and c posts of the 2-door Velox estate, and its rear side window's chrome surround.

[Bfg]

For anyone interested - Bedfordshire - Triumph cars - Vintage aircraft museum - Sunday 8th September . . .

I'm going and have paid, but through the TR club which sent me an email giving details.   £10 for club members or £15.50 p.p. for those who just turn up.

I'm presently looking for a campsite nearby as I understand the Shuttleworth campsite is (aside from the month of August) only open for event days, and even then has no showers. 

150+ pre-booked Triumphs is a good start + the museum + gardens  ..should be a good day. 

Pete.

 

[Bfg]

This coming Sunday  is Helminham Hall - Festival of Classic and sports cars  @ IP14 6EF Suffolk, East Anglia.  

Huge number of cars attend, both vintage, classic and modern classic. Including hearing them individually run down the park. 

It's always been a great show ..but I'd recommend you try to get there early as gates can be slow at peak times.  Refreshments and food is usually expensive, and with long waits ..so I eat before I get there and then again have a beer and eat at a pub after the show.. early evening.

Pete

[Bfg]

  Triumph interclub meeting at the Shuttleworth Collection last Sunday.....

On 09/09/2024 at 12:14, Aldpilot said:

oops having trouble with the image

^ Great photo.. taken before the weather brightened up . . .

^ Great photo.. taken as the weather brightened up ! . . .Early comers aptly appropriated the title Shuttleworth TR Ducks !

All in all, a spectacular event both in the number of attendees and a credit to the organisers, the marshals, the photographer, & the reception volunteers who served us so very well.  Thank you kind sirs and lovely ladies ..one and all. 

Perhaps I am afflicted with a perverse sense of astoundment (if that is in fact a word), insomuch as I particularly enjoyed watching those marshals with the poles, aiming to evenly space the parking of cars, and their incredible patience with those attendees who just couldn't seem to fathom out what the poles meant ..my very great respect to those gents who braved the downpour. 

Lovely to see and chat with Mike and Caroline, in Brenda, and likewise a friend from my local TSSC group who attended in his rather nice Vitesse. Otherwise I knew no-one but still stopped to have a good chat with quite a few. 

* just a few of those who attended.

Otherwise, as I tried, perhaps unsuccessfully, to express to Mike, I felt the Shuttleworth collection missed an opportunity to 'advertise' their event days ..by not having a couple of aircraft in the air, when the weather turned very pleasant indeed.  This is no reflection on the TR / Triumph club organisers, as the very modest ticket price and limited numbers, were too little to include a flying display, but simply an observation further to my career-experience in marketing - I felt the Shuttleworth collection missed-out on promoting (through having a vintage plane or two in the air) their event days to some 250+ Triumph owners, their friends & relatives + other visitors on the day. 

^ The one vintage aircraft that, apparently reluctantly, did take off was of the Cambridge Flying Club, and so not actually part of the collection.  As you can see the weather soon turn very pleasant indeed.

     

..conversely, the previous evening there was a fine display of biplane acrobatics and also an interesting light aircraft flying around (photos from some miles away, as I set up camp on the other side of Biggleswade).

My own attendance to the event was via the long way round, ie., from the wrong side of Ipswich, across to Rugby, before heading back to Biggleswade to camp.  An additional 115 miles to my journey, but well worth it to collect a much better (rebuilt) differential and steering rack + also door glass for Katie.  My profound thanks to Peter Hoath for those and other parts which will help me greatly..  

 

Wot, you don't carry a spare differential when you go away for a weekend ! ?

After the meet, at Shuttleworth, I again locally camped overnight before heading up to Castle Rising (..a spectacular c.12th medieval keep and particularly originally earthworks) and then on to the exquisite Castle Acre Priory, Norfolk ..but that's another story.  According to google maps., it was a 346-mile round trip for Katie, cut short (400+ miles planned) due to drizzling-wet weather and no intermittent wipers.  Very pleased to say Katie performed admirably as usual, and so was rewarded (today) by being washed (..that's the 3rd time in four years ! ..I know I'm just too kind. ) ..not wax-polished though  ...we have a scruff reputation to preserve.

Again my BIG thanks to the organisers, the marshals, and each of the volunteers from both the TR register and the TSSC who made this event such a great success.

Pete.

   

 

 

 

 

[Bfg]

monday's Coffee and Classics, here in Suffolk . . .

 

I really do like Emma's Coffee n' Classics meeting, to see friends and familiar faces for a congenial chat. Yesterday, Tony came across for the first time, in his beautiful Daimler 250. It was great to see him and the car again. I met him through Facebook's Daimler V8 group ..last November, soon after I had just bought the same model. We both have the rarer (just 700 produced) variant with manual + overdrive transmission. Most were built with an automatic gearbox. I used to have one.. the Daimler 2-1/2, with the broad rather than slim-line bumpers. Tony's car is a gleaming example, very much un-like my own which is over-due a respray. His is an inspiration to get mine out.

 

Yesterday, I was again in 'Katie', my red TR4A, with its bespoke surrey-top roof. I've used her for holiday touring this summer, together with a tiny camping trailer, (about a 1000 miles this past month and a half) ..hence the towing hitch, but as the season comes to a close and the weather turns cooler it's a good excuse (as if I need one) to get the Daimler out.

Another friend, Andrew, came across on his 1955(?) Sunbeam S8 motorcycle. I met Andrew when I had a specialist Sunbeam restoration business. I was selling this bike, which appropriate to its registration I'd named 'Hovis' ..Quite befitting a motor vehicle of that era I thought.

 

 

The post-war Sunbeam motorcycles were conceived to be the flagship models of the BSA group. They have an in-line, all-alloy, twin-cylinder 500cc engine with overhead camshaft (and no external oil ways)., a dry-plate clutch on the in-line gearbox, to a shaft final-drive. Each being unusually advanced features in post-war motorcycles, or even to this day.

A friend of Andrew's, I met yesterday, was Ian ..who it turns out also has a Triumph TR, albeit of the six-cylinder variety. We got on very well and enjoyed a lengthy chat, not least because he's recommissioning his TR6 and had questions to ask.

 

Another chap I met, sorry I don't recall his name, came across with his good lady wife, in their stunning Morgan. I met him briefly last month ..just as I was about to come to Coffee n' Classic. I'd stopped into Sainsbury's, to Specsavers, to collect a pair of new glasses. And as we were both in classic cars, I invited him to come across then & there to Needham Market, but he declined. I guess he was wary of meeting strange men in car parks.! I'm glad he remembered our conversation, looked up this topic and noted the date of this month's meeting, and came across. Welcome !

 

Anyways up, the meet was again blessed with fabulous weather, an eclectic assortment of vehicles, and great coffee. Each go really well with good conversation. Thank you Emma for pulling this event together ..and to one & all who attended. P.

 

Pete

[Bfg]

Here we go again, with another 5 minute job. . .

   

^ BIG Thanks to Peter Hoath for his generosity in selling me his rebuilt, by Pete Cox, 3.7 differential.  and yet again ! , to Rich C-R for the loan of his ramps, which with my own lift the car to a tight crawl space underneath.

   3:49pm

How long should it take ?  with 4 nuts on each of the half shafts, 4 nuts on the drive (prop) shaft, and 4 nuts of the poly-bush mounts ..just 16 to undo, drop the old differential, lift the other into pl;ace and tighten those same 16 nuts. . .

   5 pm

^ neither sockets nor my ratchet ring spanner fit onto the half-shaft or drive (prop) shaft nuts, so each had to be undone with a ring spanner 1 flat to 1/4 a turn at at time.  As a precaution I'd fitted the half-shaft nuts with medium strength Loctite, that meant that each nut was stiff on its thread to the very last.   Of course, the wheels had each to be lifted - to turn the half shaft and prop, to reach the nuts on the top side. The jack was then lowered, to lock the tyre against the stand, so as to break the lock on each of the half-shaft's nuts.  It all takes time, especially when working on your own and laying flat on your back under the car. 

  

^ Sod it, the exhaust has to come off, the diff carrier won't drop passed it and the fuel pipe.  ^^ and there's not enough width with the CV joint's long studs to wiggle things sideways.  When I undid the drive (prop) shaft a dribble of diff oil came out of the hollow. Likewise when I undid one of the half shafts. In both instances diff oil had seeped into those cavities, which is presumably why I needed to top the diff up, after a thousand miles, despite it apparently not dripping very much.   So oily hands and hair, to deal with too.  This is just one example of why I prefer working on motorcycles.!

   

^ These illustrate is issue more clearly the clearance issues. LHS - The socket extension is behind the fuel pipe, and RHS - I needed a cranked extension to get around the exhaust. Because of the polybushes long studs, which necessitate an almost vertical drop, and lack of wriggle or twist room because of the half shaft studs - this task was a little more of a fiddle than I had hoped. The fact that the differential itself is flipping heavy to manhandle just adds to the fun ..and the risk of hurt or damage.  

     6:08 pm

* Had to be done !  Thankfully, even with the chassis mods I had done, including the TR6 T-shirt plates (top and bottom) the exhaust came out easily.

    6:22pm

^ That's better. and now ready to undo the polybushes and to lower it down.   ^^ soon after I removed the polybush nuts and the large washer/plate and the lower half of teh bush itself - I substituted the large washers for smaller penny washers.. just taking things very carefully to avoid damaging the fuel pipe and because of the near interference proximity of the half shaft studs.  I lowered it very little-by-little on the trolley jack.

My caution was rewarded...

      6:34 pm

^ As I so carefully lowering the diff just a little at time, watching to avoid damaging the fuel pipe one one side, and the half shaft studs either side, on the other side its front-cross-brace came to rest on the brake pipe.!

It was after 6:30pm and light through the open garage door was fading fast. I didn't want to risk damage and so called it a day for today. 

   

^ In-between undoing the half and drive-shaft nuts, and dropping the exhaust off Katie, I'd been cleaning up and spraying the replacement diff I'd bought off Peter. It was scuffed and dirty, but the real reason was that my old peepers I struggle to see black.  Silver may not be 'original', but that is not a care to me on a car whose registration is original ...and not a lot else.

Next post will be of my putting this diff into the car..

Pete

 

[Bfg]

Differential Swap - Part 2

  12:18 pm

^ Resuming work yesterday afternoon, I used a wooden board under the differential so as to move the supporting car jack further forward. The longitudinal balance point of the bare diff (with oil in it) is about where the forward half-shaft flange bolt is.  Withe the jack further back the diff was not lowering as evenly. As you can see from the rear poly-bush studs the diff needed to be pulled all the way back wards.

   

^ aside from the brake and fuel pipe, the diff's front cross brace also fouls the chassis (red arrows).  This may be very slightly 1/2" worse, on this particular chassis, because of the less-than-neat welding of the closing plate under the suspension-mounting bridge, but that only adds a little more to 'the fun' and is quite manageable.

These half shafts though were still a nuisance, not least because I feared for the threads on those studs.  I'm sure the original half shafts slid more on the their splines than these CV joints do.

After a fair amount of twiddling the diff this way and that, I did get both half-shafts to sit above the diff's flanges and blocked there. With those out of the way I could concentrate on avoiding the brake and fuel pipes by dropping and pulling the diff back and twisting it around the fuel pipe. . .

      12:37pm

^ fighting me to the last, the polybush upper half getting in the way of pulling the diff backwards or twisting to clear the fuel pipe.  ^^ finally ! ..after 20 minutes the diff is clear of the brake and fuel pipes.   I'm sure if someone had anticipated this they and the welding might have been tucked aside a little better. 

   12:38pm

^ no don't whine.., come home to papa

   < oil level checked, before fitting.   Man 'o man was that drain plug tight ! 

^ as collected, the oil level was clean and at a level - good to go .

    13:21pm

^ here we go again ..

      13:38pm

^ Going back in was very much quicker and easier than the old one coming out  ..just 17 minutes to have it in place with the half-shaft studs engaged and the upper-half poly-bush mounts in  . . . But one of the lower-half poly-bushes was missing. 

Where can it have gone ?  .. it's bright blue and the garage floor was all but clear !

  <  would you credit it.!

 

   14:40pm

^ drive shaft bolts, half shafts and polybushes all done up. It's taken me an hour and nineteen-minutes to fit this.   Now, there's just the exhaust to put back on and then to lower the car and tidy up.

     

I'd discovered a broken exhaust bracket, under the back end of the gearbox so out with the welder to fix that.  ^^ without the tail pipe hindering things, the mid-section pipe is easily fed through.

   15:56pm

   16:23pm

^  On the floor again ..with just my tool kit to pick up.  It's taken longer to put the exhaust back on, and to lower the car and put the ramps away, than it took to put the replacement diff in and do its nuts up.   

Another 5 minute job complete.  Now to test drive it.

Again many thanks to Peter Hoath for the diff., and to Rich C-R for the loan of his ramps.

Pete

 

[Snake Charmer]

My Father had an S8 as daily transport around 1978  we had a lot of fun out and about on it. He wanted a gearbox for a project bike built around a Wooler engine and ended up with two Sunbeams as the old chap selling them would not sell just a gearbox.

I seem to remember the S8 had the engine from the other bike in it, a 1949 S7 and the S8 engine was partially rebuilt. I recall trips to Stewart Engineering and may have a few copies of "On The Beam" in the loft. I wanted to restore the S8 and did make a start but life intervened and I sold them around 2000. I still have the Wooler engine, a 600cc version that came via the RAE Farnborough, it was used for an inflatable wing project.

It's bugging me where Stewart Engineering used to be!

 

[Bfg]

5 hours ago, Snake Charmer said:

It's bugging me where Stewart Engineering used to be!

Stewart Engineering were in Putney, London, but then moved to near Woburn in Bedfordshire.

[Snake Charmer]

Thanks, I thought it was Putney but for some reason only recall quite a long trip to get there, it was 40 years ago though!

[Bfg]

Further to my swapping Katie's diff., which I had hoped would have been a quicker and easier task, even on my own.

In case its of use to anyone - The lessons I learnt, which would make the task quicker, easier and perhaps even safer, the next time, were ;

• I'd take the silencer and mid-pipe exhaust off first.  It makes seeing things easier and also reaching the half shaft and drive (prop) shaft nuts easier. 
• have a small tray to catch diff oil, when the half-shaft and drive (prop) shaft was unbolted. I hadn't anticipated oil being in those cavities. Paper towel to wip fingers and the ground.
• removing the lower halves of the polybush and substituting those smaller penny washers did help. It prevented things from happening on there own (slipping) and yet allowed clearer eye sight and wiggle room. 
• a much better (rough or knurled surface) hand grip on the trolley jack handle ..near its bottom end (which is all I could reach as I lay under the car) would have be useful.  It is necessary to release the hydraulics (lower the jack) both very slowly and very slightly (under absolute control) ..and then to quickly lock it there.  As I did this task, the trolley-jack dropped too quickly twice. Fortunately both times were as I lowered the jack (under the trailing arm) to lower the tyre down, to lock it against the stand. (Each wheel had to be lifted, to turn its half-shaft, and the drive (prop) shaft, to get to the nuts on its top side, and then lowered again to lock the axle as I undid those nuts). Had the too-quick release happened as I was lowering the differential itself, then the brake pipe may have been damaged, or the fuel pipe torn off. 

^  on that note.. and heeding Pete's comment above .. I would have been wise to have had a near-empty fuel tank (siphon it out first), and my large catch tray ..within reach.!   Draining the tank involves anticipation, in running the tank near-dry &/or having a suitable capacity of petrol-can (and a siphoning pipe) handy. 

• the upper handle of the trolley jack needs to be generously padded - to avoid it damaging the car's rear under-valance.  Mine is, with a tube of 1/2" thick neoprene, but that padding slipped as I was trying to control (from underneath) the lifting or easing / manipulation of the diff and the rear wheels off/down onto the stands.  For next time, I need to ensure that padding doesn't slip.  
• if the upper halves of each poly-bush could be held up, out of the way - it would have helped a bit.  I'm not sure how to do that, as the poly-bushes are loose on their studs
• using a wooden board (3/4" x5-1/2" x14") on the trolley jack, much improved positioning the jack for weight distribution, and then also allowed a certain degree of sliding to take place. Sliding the diff on the wooden block for a short distance was easier than getting the trolley jack to roll backwards.  Getting the ladened trolley jack to move sideways (to move the diff away from the half-shaft studs) was impossible, so again the wooden board (without chocks) allowed the diff to be slid half-an-inch sideways.  NB. My trolley jack is a broad-based low-profile jack with a 4-1/2" diameter lifting pad. Those with a smaller (hobby) trolley jacks may have great difficultly balancing the diff or a board on its lifting pad.  
• ensure the CV jointed half-shafts (with their long studs) when released from the diff's flanges are pushed forward and blocked up above the diff's flanges. This happened on one side, but on the other.. the half-shaft came rearwards.  That was no good, as the diff needs to move backwards, so as to clear the brake & fuel pipes and chassis. And so I fought with that half shaft (not to damage the threads and yet force it elsewhere) when I realised that it had to be part re-engaged and turned / untangled ..to move it up and forward of the diff's flange.

 

^ By the way I do use three very hefty timber blocks (4-1/2" x5-1/2" x14") in conjunction with the car ramps, in effect wedged, to safeguard against the car rolling off ..when I'm under it.  NB. The handbrake is off, and the car is out of gear, to allow me to turn the half-shafts to get to each nut.  Also, the rear ramps are reversed, the front ones are the opposite way around, even though I lift the car and slip the stands under the wheels rather than driving up onto them.

Long ago my father used to recite "Back to back they faced each other, they drew their swords and shot each other".  I've never forgotten that nonsense, and always recall it when I set the car-ramps 'back-to-back to face each other'.  

I had the garage door open, for better light and in case of emergency ..even though neighbours only infrequently pass by.  I also have my mobile-phone nearby ..on the tool tray, again in the case of emergencies. It's not underneath the car but it is, in most instances, within leg reach. I don't think there's a place to put it, where I could reach it ..whatever the eventuality.. but having it on a plastic tray, that can be drawn / slid across the ground is I think a wise precaution when working alone.  It may not be a car accident but at my age all sorts of health issues can surprise one.

Hope these additional notes help.

Pete

[Bfg]

A friend's meticulously restored TR4A was burnt out, and written off a few weeks ago. . . And the car was too badly damaged to determine the cause. Thankfully nobody was hurt. 

   Eric, this beautiful TR4A is sadly no longer with us.

The owner is on the TR Register forum, and has subsequently bought a very nice looking Triumph Stag.

I met him, a really nice chap, the other week after he'd listed a rebuilt TR4A differential for sale in the TR club's Classified Ads.  I collected it and also rebuilt steering rack from Rugby, the day before the meeting at the Shuttleworth collection.        

Further to his selling off his TR4 spares, his car fire became a topic of forum conversation. 

In reply to this, one of the TR guru's - Stewart added his condolences and suggested "that's why Fire safety Sticks are recommended".

  there's also a video here ;  https://bladeprint.co.uk/products/fire-safety-stick

I'd not heard of these before.  I carry a 1 kg extinguisher in the TR, and another in my quirky trailer tent, but they are bulky, and I never realised that their extinguishing time was so short.  ..just 8 - 10 seconds ?

And so, taking aboard the recommendations I've ordered x3 FireSafetyStick 50s today.  The reason for my buying three is that I know - if I had just one, it would be in the other car, or on the boat, or in the garage at home !   Now I have these, and so the other fire extinguishers and fire blankets will distribute around my storage and home and shed.

Having checked first with the TR-Register club shop, on line, inc Amazon and Ebay, and then having asked the UK distributor and a mainstream mail-order marine / chandlery if they could offer a discount for either ten or twenty  (..depending on interest from my local TR & TSSC groups, and the local yacht club) ..the best price i could find, for the Fire Safety Stick 50s, was from L&S Engineering, Walsall. < here >.  

Their price, at this time, is £63.24 inc VAT, and for x3 I paid £5.30 in P+P.  So the order totalled £196.08.!  That is a hefty bill to me ..but I figure the price might be amortized over their 15-year shelf life.   ie., about £1 a month.

I really feel for Peter loosing his beautiful '4A Eric, and hate the idea of my or any friend's classic car or motorcycle going up in flames, (however if it were my Peugeot I wouldn't care a darn ! ..save loosing my no-claims bonus  ..huh ! ).   Likewise loosing my camping trailer, boat, or my home to flames, not to mention the health and safety of others.  Many years ago, I did have a electrical cooker fault, a chip-pan fire, which I fought and managed to put out, but cleaning and redecorating afterwards is not something I'd wish to repeat. If that flame had been put out sooner then quite possibly the damage, and the stink, would have been far less. 

I'll be carrying a fire stick in Katie's boot, and it would be nice if others did the same just in case there were a fire at any classic or retro car meet, whether your local group or an open public event.

Pete

[Bfg]

An excellent breakfast meet this morning at The Cricketers, Eight Ash Green, Fordham Heath, near Colchester.  Not an official TR club group event, and so all-comers were welcome. Very good turnout and the weather stayed dry.  The breakfast was excellent and great value too.  Credit to the staff for feeding 40 or 50 of us, mostly full-English breakfasts of ;  x2 eggs, x2 sausage, x2 bacon, black-pudding, beans, tomato and mushroom, x2 hash-browns and toast, juices and hot beverages.  An especially big thanks from each of us to Rich C-R for organising it ..and us.  

I didn't have my camera with me, so these piccies are off my phone (reduced in resolution for the website).  Thanks for all who came, because you and your cars are always so welcoming.     NB. Andrew came along in his steam-punk GT6, although rumour has it that he also has a TR ..but it only comes out when there's not even the slightest chance of rain. Mind you it's only a rumour 

Pete

 
 

 ^ (double click for larger image) ^

   

[Bfg]

Probably because of early morning light rain this month's Coffee & Classics @ Needham Market (..a Facebook group) on Monday saw the least number of classic & retro cars to date. The Met Office  was spot on with their forecast of a light drizzle forecast to 10:30 and then to dry up.  Despite there being more moderns than 'interesting' vehicles it was still a really good meeting with a few cars turning up a bit later.

 

   

Of course I was in Katie, with Emma (the organiser) taking these ^^ photos, just as the weather brightened up.

 

         

Refreshingly, it was good to see a few crusty cars this month, with the Zodiac, a mini, and an MGB being finer examples of very useable classics.  I honestly feel this sort of car has something above the now more-usual pristine classics. They have true grit. 

 

       

When I first arrived there was a swam of interest around a very nice DeLorian. It's almost a shame that these cars were made famous by the film, as it's an interesting car and a valiant attempt, in the days when hot hatchbacks were all too commonplace, to do something different.  I drove in one, way back when, and I must admit at that time I wasn't over-awed by the Renault (2 ltr if if recall) power plant, but to be fair my own car of the period was a BMW 733i m.o.d. (actually the second to last of that particular model to be made in RHD). Being in the motor trade (design engineering) and on contract to GKN, I was also very fortunate in being paid to assess some great cars of the era. 

Now for something completely different . . .

    

I'm not sure I can add much to what the photos already tell.  4-cyl car engine in the trike (see below)   ^^ The 2nd photo was again taken by Emma, and I include it here without excuse because it is imo a particularly excellent photo.  Not an vehicle to be seen everyday in and around Ipswich, but certainly one with a good capacity for the grocery shopping or school run.

 

        

This little 2-door has a few surprises under its bonnet.  It's clearly street legal with a nice cammy song as he approached and decelerated through the gears. And on the track it's now sub-10 seconds and 180+mph.  The owner is an interesting chap whose glad to share a few tricks. . .

   

^ I understand the nitros, seen through the rear window, has helped better the ten-second barrier ..through alleviating turbo lag.  And in the boot there's a different sort of injector ..and that's for the oil pump. The hard-learnt lesson was that, with those drag-strip acceleration rates, even extra baffles in the sump wasn't enough to prevent oil surge away from the pick up pipe ..and aeration - with consequential expensive failure. And so, the tank in the back is fired by a sensor to very quickly inject a surge of oil into the pump to prevent it from running dry.  I don't recall what sort of power is being developed but a figure of 800+ bhp seems to be hanging around in the back of my mind, along with 6 mpg ..but that is at full wack, not for the typical urban cycle.

 

In the other hand we had this majestic old Riley . . .

       

^ This rather unassuming Riley was in lovely condition, with a beautiful interior (sorry my piccie of that was cr_p).  Not concourse but still really nicely presented and practical . . .

I was particularly interested in buying a Riley RM  four or five years ago (I had almost given up on buying TR) after I had seen, and heard at Helmingham Hall's classic event, an RMB with an almost-silent long-stroke 2-1/2 ltr.  That car's engine was akin to standing close by a steam engine (aside from it not having the aroma nor the radiant heat) insomuch as it ticked over like a sleepy gentle giant. Truly wonderful engineering.  I had enquired with the owner of this car (photographed above), whether this was the 1.5 or 2.5 ltr, because although the colour of the radiator badge is different, and bonnet of the 2-1/2 is longer by some 8" .. it's rather difficult for the layman to tell which ..when one of each isn't available to compare.  I thought this one's bonnet line looked better proportioned, so my pointed-question was whether it was the 2-1/2.?  

The answer was a polite "no".  And then after the briefest of pauses he says its 3-1/2..  Even though I had been a member of the Riley RM club, and bought n' read 'the authoritative books' - I honestly didn't know Riley RM's came as a 3-1/2.  The look on my face must be one the owner is used to, because he then quietly added ' it's a Rover SD 3500 engine ' ..under the bonnet.   I really like V8's and so enthusiastically asked if I might hear it.  And as he kindly obliged - I went around the back of the car to hear the exhaust note.  Cunningly, the owner has refrained from deviating the car's original looks by having just one tail-pipe.  Some exhausts notes are just perfect.., not at all raspy, nor too loud, but just nicely round & full toned, and burbling to the slow tick-over of the very useable V8.  I'm sure Acker Bilk would have loved it too. 

If I recall the standard Rover V8 was about 155bhp, on carbs, so just a little more than the 2-1/2 litre Daimler V8 I drive.  Still, it all tucks under the RMB's gull-wing bonnet so neatly that you wouldn't know it's there.  Brilliant.  I'm sure this engine's smooth delivery of torque would make the car a delight to drive.  In truth, the engine itself didn't sound quite as refined as that of the Riley 2-1/2 I'd heard, but for everyday usability on today's roads, and longevity - I think this understated Riley 3-1/2 is fantastic. 

The owner was even kind enough to allow me to try the driver's seat for size (you may recall - I am 6'-5") ..and it was tight but workable.  The wooden dashboard design is 1940's height of elegance, and the lacquered / varnish finish was beautiful.  Seeing that I was a tight fit, the nice man showed how the car's prior owner, being a lot shorter than me, had 1" spacers on the runners to raise the seat.  I reckon' without those and a 2" smaller steering wheel I could manage as well as I do in the Triumph.  Footwell width is equally as narrow but then I was wearing my walking boots.! 

If I didn't have the Daimler 250, I'm sure this week I'd have been shopping for an RMB. 

Well, I could go on but it's late now, so I'll end here and bid you a very good night ..or day.

Pete

 

 

 

 

 

[Bfg]

For Sale ?  Due to a combination of personal circumstance, there's a possibility that I may be offering Katie for sale soon.  If anyone here, or anyone you know, is looking for a good TR4A driver, on an excellent chassis and with its really very convenient Surrey Top, then please drop me a personal message.  I have a 4-page and 70+ photo summary of specs & what I've done over the past 3-1/2 years. Although she is not to everyone's (nor the purist) taste, the car is fun and reliable, well sorted, is more spacious than most any other TR4-6 out there, and she continually attracts a lot of positive comment and passer's by thumbs up.  I hope, through what I've shared in this topic you'll agree she's not perfect ..but about as honest as you can get.  I have the bumpers and chrome hub caps and various other spares in dry storage.  And Yes, I accept that I'll not be getting back the time and monies I've invested, but that's sort of okay, because upon reflection I've really enjoyed the journey and am well pleased with the result.

Cheers, Pete   

[High Jetter]

I thought 'she' was a keeper for you, am sorry if things aren't good for you at the moment.