January 12th. HRCR Open Day. Gaydon

Bit of an early start today. A few friends and I had decided to visit the Historic Rally Car Register  open day st Gaydon in Warwickshire. I've been looking at getting into the HRCR scene for a while now, so it made sense to go.
I love the Club Triumph events, but I'm also looking to do something a bit different and experience some different rallies and tours. (Hence the reason buying the 'Red Shed'!)
We found out quite a bit while we were there about different events all over the country and were impressed by the friendliness of organisers and competitors alike.
It was a worthwhile trip and I now have renewed enthusiasm in getting the Red Shed on the road and hopefully booking some of these events in the future. :)



January 5th- The Red Shed comes to life!

The plan for today was the mighty task of awaking 'Red Shed' from her 23 year slumber. This car has been dry stored all that time so no doubt we would find a few surprises along the way. The first job was to knock up a temporary exhaust system so that should she start, she wouldn't turn everyone  deaf in the process.

My friend Gavin (Iggy on the forum) had nothing to do and so was my willing volunteer for the day. With the temporary downpipe and two centre boxes in place, the next investigation point was the petrol. The fuel line was inspected and found to be blocked solid in the short outlet pipe that exits the bottom of the tank. A piece or welding wire and high pressure air line resolved this and the pipe was refitted. (after replacing the short rubber link pipe which had perished as well)





      Even with this done we still weren't getting any fuel up to the pump so we blasted the airline down the main fuel line only to find that this was blocked solid too. The welding wire performed its task again and once more a blast for the airline cleaned that out as well.

We were now getting fuel (Fresh fuel as well) up to the pump but no further. The spare fuel pump robbed from the 10CR/RBRR spares box was fitted, but this was causing us problems too. After rebuilding one good pump out of two we were now getting fuel up to the carburettors.

Next on the agenda was to fit a battery and see if we had a spark. Excellent! We did! A very good one at the points, but very hit and miss at number one spark plug. The spark plugs were removed and found that the gap was massive on all of them (I reckon about 60-70 thou!) and the electrodes had all but disappeared!

I fitted the old iridium sparks plugs that were in Gertie until recently and then we were sparking when and where we should have been. The big moment came, the choke was opened, the key was turned and after a few turns of the engine, she burst into life! A bit too much in fact as she immediately went into full throttle. I quickly cut the engine and then found that the throttle return spring was missing. A temporary one was found and fitted and she was started up again.

The engine sounded really sweet. No nasty knocking or banging noises so that was good result. A sticking clutch quickly freed itself  and I even managed to move it forward backwards a little bit.

We didn't run it for too long as we discovered that the rear carburettor was leaking petrol and the water pump was leaking too. (fully expected)

removal of the carbs on Sunday showed that the metal clip holding the twin floats had broken off of the carburettor body and the floats were just resting in the bottom of the chamber and therefore not cutting the fuel off when needing to.



So a spare carb needs to be sourced along with a better exhaust system and a water pump as well. A quick check of the electrics showed that everything was working with the exception of the windscreen wipers and this only turned out to be the switch which has now been replaced.

A very successful day then! It feels quite good when you awaken a car that was last run in 1989 and we retired for the day with a real sense of achievement. :)

January 1st 2013. Brooklands New Year Meet

      Rather than sitting around on New Years Day watching crap TV and getting bored senseless, Dave Maton and I decided to take a trip to the Classic car meet at Brooklands in Surrey. The only downside to this was that the New Years evening drinking was somewhat restricted!

Leaving my house at an offensive 7am saw me collecting Dave forty minutes later and we made our way round a very empty M25. The only highlight of the journey being a Vauxhall Vectra  who's offside front wheel had decided to turn off onto the M40 while the rest of the car continued along the M25!

We arrived at Brooklands for when the gates opened at 9am and took our place in the parking for pre 1973 cars.





 

A little while later we were glad of our early arrival when we heard that the queue to get in was three lanes wide and it was taking around twenty minutes to get through the gates.

There were a number of triumphs there amongst all the other classics and we bumped into Dave Lucas and Rob from the Triumph 2000 register and Tim Bancroft and Dave Picton from CT.

I was surprised at the number of cars there and apparently this was the biggest turn out the show has had of years.

 



Despite this Dave and I are not really 'show and shine' type car people and by about 1pm we had seen enough and were ready to head home. A busier, but still trouble free drive home saw us back at Dave's in no time and ready for a lovely New Years Day roast dinner.

It had been a good day out and I might even go again next year. It made a nice change waking up on January 1st without a massive hangover. :)







 



 

December 23rd. A few jobs completed.

After a few weeks of collecting the missing bits for the new car and with no more other commitments for a while, I had half a day today to get a few jobs done.

The first job was to fit the manual pedal box. While doing this I also fitted the brake servo, brake master cylinder and the clutch master cylinder. I also fitted the column overdrive switch and gearstick.

I now need to make up some new pipes for the brake and clutch systems and then need to finish the brakes on the offside rear. (And fit another shock absorber)



This car will need a fair bit of recommissioning after its 23 year hibernation, but I'm hoping to get most of it done over the Christmas break.

That's if the other cars don't keep interfering of course. The daily driver BMW decided it wanted Christmas off and refused to start and run yesterday morning, so I was forced to use the Mk2 estate instead. This car has been fine since I changed the petrol pump earlier this year, so I thought its 'air lock' issue was a dim and distant memory. However, it proved that this wasn't the case by breaking down in the pouring rain! Typically, because the car had been so reliable I had taken the tools out of it a few weeks before.

After trawling a nearby market and buying a screw driver I managed to clear the air lock and get it running again. Once back home I needed to get ready to attend a party in North London and decided not take any more chances with the estate and take Gertie instead. Only to find that her battery was absolutely stone dead! Marvellous! Luckily I had a spare battery and after a quick charge Gertie burst into life and I was able to complete my journey. Bloody cars!

Hopefully, they'll be no more trouble from the other two (I'm not even going to bother looking at the beemer just yet!) and I'll be able to focus on the red car. I'm looking forward to hearing it run for the first time since 1989.



(Temporary work bench!)



December 8th. Work begins!

With nothing else planned this weekend I decided to make a start on the new project. The first job was to drag it out of the garage, sweep all of the leaves and dirt out of all the crevices and find out which brake was sticking and making it difficult to move.

The front wheels were removed first and after evicting a horrendous sized spider and demolishing his home the brakes proved to be free. It could do with new pads but I'll wait until the rest of the braking system is complete and fitted before I do this. (The previous owner had removed the pedal box, servo and clutch and brake master cylinder for his other car.)

The tyres on were of vintage age and all the side walls were cracked, so I've put my TR4 wheels with good Michelin tyres on for now.

The nearside real wheel was inspected next and while it was off I decided to grease the driveshafts and fit my spare lowered fast road springs while it was all apart. This brake was also free so it was looking like the off side rear that was going to be the sticky one.

Sure enough the offside had a seized wheel cylinder and adjuster. I also managed to shear the bottom of the shock absorber while undoing it, so I now need another shock. Further inspection revealed a smallish hole under the nearside front wheel arch, half the exhaust missing and the paint code under the bonnet showed the car to be Cherry Red! I thought it was a badly faded Damson!

The worst part of the car is the nearside wheel arch. It will need some work to look presentable, but considering this car was last on the road 23 years ago. It hasn't faired too badly. It must have been dry stored all that time to be as solid as it is. It's a cross over between the pre facelift and the facelift as it has the upright spare wheel well, but the later type gauges and heater system.

 

In the glove box were other interesting items which have revealed a bit of the cars history. I bought it from Hertfordshire, before that  it was puchased from Surrey, before that the car was in Derby, the previous owner before that was in Lancashire and I found a parking permit for Yorkshire! The log book also says one previous owner since 1977.

I also found a completed 'Customer Preperation Service' document with a bullet check list ticked, an operation guide for the Laycocke overdrive unit and a brochure for 'Operation and Installation instructions for Antiference Car Radio 1303. I also found a 'Tyres and your safety' brochure.

There is also a sealed envelope addressed 'Fleet users and Owners who move residence'. I have no idea what this is but the fact that it's been sealed for so many years makes me very reluctant to open it. Any ideas anyone?  

Also on the windscreen is a 'Kennings' sticker. Kennings were a car and van hire company and had dealerships. They are now known as the GK group (Initials of George Kenning) and found this link quite interesting:

 

http://www.gkgroup.co.uk/content/10/the-history-of-gk-group

 

Brochures and documents found below.

 

 

 

 

 

 



December 2nd. At last I've done something. (But not much!)

Since the ill fated trip to Holland at the start of November I've done very little on the cars.  A combination of a sickness bug and lack of motivation ensured that my 'get up and go' got up and went!

The windscreen wiper issue that developed just outside Dover in the torrential rain turned out to be a knackered wiper motor. Luckily I had a spare, so this was fitted and the wiring was replaced as that had melted too. I now have wipers that self park whereas they never did before, so that's an improvement.

During one of my bored spells I've had a go at making a Mk2 2.5pi rev counter that will look at home in a Mk1. I will have to fit the Mk2 pi speedo as well and relocate the temperature, fuel and voltage gauges, but I wanted to see how it would look first before I go the whole hog. I wanted to keep the chrome bezels that the Mk1 has while using the Mk2 rev counter, so the end result is......

I'm quite happy with it, so the next task will be to do the same to the speedo. I had this in mind for Gertie, but there is a new project on the horizon. I quite fancy getting into the Historic Rallying scene. Not in a big way, just doing the odd events here and there, but Gertie isn't eligible for the class I want to enter. Being 1968 she is too young and also too modified.

The class I want to enter is Category 1 and the car needs to be registered before 1.1.68. It also has to be pretty much to manufacturers specification (mild mods are allowed) and the car has to be  standard in appearance too. Bumpers have to remain in place, and cars can only be one colour unless they left the factory in more than one. (there goes the cream roof and cream wheels trade mark!) You can't display any advertising and can only have certain sized wheels and tyres. You can also only have four forward facing lights, so spotlights are out too. (Unless you fit a big set of spotlights and tape over the standard full beam units like Charles Harrison has!) :)

Luckily, I got to hear of a 1967 Mk1 saloon and so made arrangements to view it. It needs work, but the price was right and it was ideal for what I was looking for. I don't want a mint condition one when there's a mild chance of disappearing through a hedge backwards at high speed at some point!

So hopefully, said car will be delivered one night this week and I'll have something to play with over Christmas. Apart from being robbed of a few parts it's fairly original and according to the dvla website was last on the road in 1989! So it needs a bit of recommissioning then!





Unfortunately, the purchase of the Mk1 will force the Mk2 estate out of the garage once again and I will probably have to put it up for sale. It's too good a car to be sitting outside in all weathers. You could well be seeing it on the dreaded fleabay very soon! :(

November 2nd. 24th Nachtrit-Holland

At last! The time had finally come for my twice yearly jaunt across the channel to take part in the 24th Nachtrit in Holland. My partner in crime for this trip was RBRR co driver Dave Maton.

Dave arrived at my place at the ungodly hour of 6.30 and by 7.10 we were on our way. After a trouble and traffic free run we stopped at Tesco's Dover for fuel and breakfast and then booked in with DFDS. It was at this point that I got a strange case of dejavue and as I found out our 10.15 ferry to Calais had been cancelled just as it had been when we came out for the Chinese rally in March! Hmmm.......two bookings made, two bookings not honoured. Not impressed!  After mentioning their 100% failure record to them, they moved us onto the 12.00 sailing to Dunkerkque free of charge, so at least we'd be 30 minutes further up the motorway when we did arrive in France.

The sky had been getting darker and darker across the channel and the drive through Belgium took on a leisurely pace due to the constant torrential rain. After tackling Brussels in the rush hour we headed towards Liege and then Maastrict before reaching our location in Slenaken at around 7pm. We checked into the hotel Berg En Dal which we found manned by two 'mature' gentleman that weren't exactly of a friendly nature. If you can imagine Fawlty Towers run by Hinge and Bracket you are just about there!

After checking into our 1970's styled rooms, (I dont think they were intentionally designed that way-they were just that old!) we had a wander round the town to try and find something to do. When this proved fruitless, we headed for a bigger town five miles away. When we found this town also closed due to a beer festival the following day, we admitted defeat and headed back to 'Hotel land fill' for an early night.

The following morning we were greeted by yet more rain and also got a good telling off by Hinge for sitting at the wrong table at breakfast! (We hadn't noticed they were numbered!)

On our way out of the hotel I asked Hinge what time the hotel was locked as we would be back late that night. He told me that his front door was locked at ten, but I could come in his back doors at anytime!

We took a drive out to get some petrol before the nights rally and managed make an interesting morning of it. Dave wanted me to pose by the sign below, I can't think why though.

We did find an Aldi and bought some supplies for lunch and encountered some strange names which provided us with a giggle, although the locals must have wondered who these two madmen were in their midst.

On the drive back to Fawlty Towers we spotted this place......

....and although there appeared to be plenty to eten and drinken, I couldn't find any slapens anywhere! Most disappointing!

Once we arrived back we planned a military style operation to sneak the food and drink we'd bought up to our rooms without being spotted by Hinge, which went very well until we encountered Bracket on the second floor doing the hoovering. Busted!

An afternoon of watching the rain from the window and McCleods Daughters on TV (it was the only thing on in English!) and stuffing ourselves with bread, cheese, ham and coke was the highlight of  the day and I made a mental note to write a guide on 'Things to do in Slenaken' the next time I pulled up at a red traffic light.

After about three years, it was time to head to the 'Best Western Hotel' for the start and meet up with the other crews doing the rally.

I don't know how, but somehow we were car no.1, and so were the first to leave. It was Dave's first time at navigating tulip diagrams and I have to say he was very good. After driving some brilliant roads and some err....not so brilliant ones we arrived at the halfway stage where we shared a table and some lovely spaghetti bolognese with Colin and Michelle. The restaurant (guarded by a WW2 Sherman tank) had a real old fashioned and friendly feel to it. (The place we were staying at could have learned a thing or two, that's for sure!)

(A very dirty Gertie at the halfway stage)

We started the second stage and after agreeing to follow Colin and Michelle who were having some fuel issues, we did about another 30 miles, before we lost all pressure on the clutch. Investigation indicated that it was a problem in the master cylinder and other than obtain a replacement, or a seal kit, there was nothing we could do. We had no choice but to retire from the event and set the Satnav back to the Best Western where everyone would be finishing and see if we could get some help.

We managed to continue driving the car by car by starting it in gear and jolting forward until the engine caught and changing gear at the right revs. This was to be the pattern for the 40 miles back to the hotel.

Back at the Best Western, nobody had the parts to be able to help us, so we retired back to our hotel deflated. Surprisingly, Hinge was still up even though it was well gone midnight, (he must have a had a tiff with Bracket) so we asked if we could settle up and check out. We'd already decided that we were going to try and drive home with no clutch and that it would be best to do it in the dead of night with no traffic on the roads.

This turned out to be a good call and we made good time arriving at Calais at around 4.30am Sunday morning. After pesuading DFDS to bring our booking forward 14 hours, we were able to catch the next available ferry at 6am (Although they did charge us 20 euros ammendment fee. I wonder what they would have said if I'd tried to charge them that for changing my booking at the start!)





(A Battle scarred and clutch-less car at Calais)

We embarked at Dover relieved that we had at least got back on British soil, so if we couldn't continue now, it wasn't such a drama to get home.

However, the gods hadn't quite finished challenging us as the no.1 fuse now decided to blow and continue blowing as well leaving us with no brake lights, indicators, heater, washers and more importantly...wipers! Needless to say torrential rain followed which made the journey back to Essex all the more entertaining!

Still being early morning the traffic was light and we made my home address with no further dramas. On opening the front door I found an envelope containing a clutch master cylinder seal kit that I had ordered before I left, but obviously just missed reaching me before I departed. Bloody typical!

Despite having no sleep and having been awake for over 25 hours Dave and I decided to get it fitted and bled up so at least Gertie was mobile again. While Dave stripped and rebuilt the master cylinder, I took a look at the electrics and traced the problem to a fault on the windscreen wiper circuit. It's possibly the switch, but further investigation is required. I had to break off from this as Dave had finished his bit and it was time to bleed the clutch. It was reluctant at first, but in the end it relented and we now have a nice firm pedal that selects every gear at the first time of asking.

Despite all of the above Dave and I had a great time and our ability to laugh at almost every situation saw us both through.

Hopefully, the next one in March will be a bit less dramatic!