TSSC Christmas Open day

Had a very good run up to Lubenham yesterday for the annual Christmas open day at the TSSC HQ - this was a trip I'd been promising myself for a long time as I wanted to see the museum there, so it coincided with their Christmas celebrations.

I took the Spitfire on this 300 mile round trip, about time it had a good run and I have to say it ran very well, just a small issue with tickover when stationery that I'll sort out when I finally get it back in my garage after Christmas. Given the weather yesterday - I was surprised that I only had a few drips from the header rail that were soon stemmed with a suitably placed cloth behind the sun visor - Rain-X worked very well also!

Gave it a treat on the way up - Shell Optimax - maybe it was my imagination, but it certainly ran well.

The 3 hours I spent here was very enjoyable, bit like a large monthly meet really, with some very nice cars - good to see some fellow 10CRer's, Messrs Rochfort and Wake. One particularly interesting 'Triumph' there was Vins Diesel!(Green Metro with large Triumph Logo!)

Managed to pickup a bargain - Aldon Ignitor for the Spitfire - £10 from Bernie's bazaar

There was a very nice Macao replica in the museum, put together by Bernie Robinson - particularly liked the Tiger tail!

No Stag - No Spitfire!

Well, the title isn't all doom and golom, it just means the Spitfire is on holiday under my fathers carport whilst our garage roof is being replaced and the Stag is still with Faversham Classics.

The existing roof is (was as of today) a 40 year old leaky, drippy corrugated one which is from today consigned to oblivion - to be replaced by a nice new pitched roof with proper roof tiles. At last providing a dry environment for the cars and additional storage space above.

The picture shows the current state, the JCB behind is another reason for the pitched roof, we used to have some large leylandii trees behind shielding our house from a commercial yard - these have now been removed by builders who are putting up houses there, so the new roof will also afford us some privacy.

Now I'm debating whether to replace the up and over door with a nice roller type. although the existing one works OK, its just a bit long in the tooth!

No further news on the Stag as yet, hopefully they will be able to start properly this week on the reasssembly!

Thinking about going up to the TSSC Christmas open day at Lubenham on Sunday in the Spitfire (weather permitting) - time it had a good long run - last one was on the 10CR - and we all know how that ended!

Barefaced Stag!!!

Went up to Faversham Classics today to see what work has been carried out on the Stag so far.

Trevor showed me the dismantling and preparation work that he'd done this week, all the front end has now been removed - it has not been possible to straighten the headlamp support panels, so a good secondhand one has been sourced from E J Wards.


The other panels have arrived and are awaiting fitting up when the headlamp panel arrives.

One area that was unexpected is the condition of the nearside outer sill which was disguised by the stainless steel oversill. At some point in its life a very poor repair had been carried out and there is significant rust in this area - so a new sill has been added to the list! At least it's better doing it now before the wings are fitted.


So, next steps - sometime in the next couple of weeks the reassembly should begin!

Where has my Stag been?

I thought it about time I documented what I know about my Stag, after going through all the DVLA documents I received last year I have now made sense of it all

Originally supplied on 1st Jan 1978 by Halls of Finchley its first two owners were companies:

1. ATH Alden Ltd, London W1
2. Anders Electronics, London NW1 17.9.78
3. BW Read, London SW11 23.9.87
4. John Harvey Collection Ltd, Tring 29.4.89
5. D McGiffen, Bexhill 1.3.90
6. DR Waters, Whitstable 6.5.95
7. MD Brennan, Ashford 30.9.03

and finally I aquired it on 25th May 2006. So looking at all the data it has in fact been a 'South Eastern' car for most of its life, with some owners holding onto it for some time, during which it has clearly undergone some restoration. This includes new wings (shortly to be renewed again!) rear wing repair panels, reupholstery and carpeting. It also has electric door mirrors which look like a 70's Jaguar type to me.

The engine has also been rebuilt according to some letters in the history file which make reference to some work being carried out by 'Harringtons' - I assume this to be Harringtons of Hove as the car was in Bexhill at the time, and it this point tubular manifolds were fitted and the alternator moved to the nearside of the engine. I am told by Trevor at Faversham Classics that these are no longer made in this configuration and that the offside bank now has its outlet towards the rear so that the alternator doesn't require moving. Personally, I prefer it on the nearside as its easier to get to.

The car was also known to Faversham Classics when it was owned by Mr Waters and they carried out servicing, repairs and fitted the Clifford Immobiliser/Alarm system to it during his tenure.

Anyway, as you can see, I've been doodling in MS Paint and put little Brown Stags on a map of the South East - you can tell I was waiting in for the post this morning!

Parts Delivered

Just a quick update, obtained front chromework, radiator grill and indicator repeater today from Orchard Classic Cars, the eBay seller near Paddock Wood inKent (5 miles from home) - all bits were in very good condition - £70 the lot which I think was a good price given that the centre part of the grill alone retails at £83 secondhand from Rimmers!

Have delivered all the bits including the bonnet to Faversham Classics today - they are a great couple of guys there, spent an hour over a cup of coffee whilst they were having their lunch talking WW2 airplanes, museums etc rather than cars. They hope to start on my car in the next couple of weeks once they've finished the one they're currently working on.

Looking at the work they do, I have every confidence in their ability.

No pics I'm afraid - forgot to take some

NEC Classic Car Show Photos

Just a few pictures from an excellent day at the NEC Classic car show. Couldn't resist a picture of Tim Hunts TR4 - last time I saw this car was queing behind it to get on the Ferry at Dover at the start of Club Triumphs Ten Countries Run

The Rochdale (top left) was very interesting - Glass fibre monocoque handbuilt in very dubious working conditions! Apparantly the rear suspension is bolted direct to the glass shell!

First collection of parts

Well, I collected the first of the secondhand spares to help in the rebirth of the Stag. I got this bonnet and nearside indicator/light unit off eBay from a chap breaking a Stag only 5 miles away!

Have left him looking for the horsehoes and top and bottom Chrome trims and the complete radiator grill - will ring him on monday to see if he's been successful

The bonnet is in very good condition - just the wrong colour!

Stag woes

This is what the Stag currently looks like, the list of parts currently goes like this:

Bonnet - got one from eBay today
Nearside indicator/sidelight - ditto

2 new wings, top panel, lower valence, L/H repair panel, headlights and bowls. - all on order from SOC parts to be supplied direct to Faversham Classics - on my credit card!

I also need radiator grilles and chrome trim - the place I sourced the bonnet from are looking through their parts box for these as I type! The radiator, new in Feb this year, needs to be sent away to be repaired or recored as the fanblades impacted on it, thankfully the engine is OK.

The bumper will be reused, it only has a slight 'ding' which you can just see behind the 'R' of the Triumph in the photo above.

In discussion with Trevor at Faversham Classics this morning, he is hoping to pull out the headlight assembly to avoid the need for purchasing a new one (big expense) - I have to say he and Kevin are very helpful and are mindful of the limited funds I have available to put her back on the road. One of the bigger decisions to take is whether to have only the repaired areas painted, or go for a complete respray, and if I do go for the respray, do I change the colour? I was going to have the timing chains changed at the next service in Feb 08 so this may have a bearing on my paint decision, and I also know the nearside rear hub bearing needs changing before the MOT!

Tommorrow is a visit to the NEC Classic Car Show - so I will probably looking for a few bits there as well!

First Post

This is actually my second blog, my first one was called 76Spit, but i haven't updated it for some time - 2 years- and I can't remember the passwords, so have decided to start afresh. particularly as I want to record the repairs to my Stag somewhere other than the usual forums.

Anyway - a bit of history first, I have two Trumps, a 1976 Spitfire 1500 in Inca Yellow and a 1978 Stag Auto in Russett Brown. I entered Club Triumphs 10 Countries Run this year in the Spitfire with my brother - we had the ignominy of the first to breakdown on foreign soil requiring the repatriation of the car using the AA. The cause of this was a disintegrated rear wheel bearing, easily remedied by replacing the rear driveshaft and hub once it was home.

Th Stag is a different story, being in good condition and wanting to seperate the annual tax renewal anniversary from the Spitfires, this year I decided to Sorn it for a few months from the end of October. As we had a couple of particularly nice days in the last week of the month, I decided to give her a last outing. To cut a long story short I was following a Tesco Direct delivery van that stopped quicker than I did resulting in contact (my fault - can't deny that!)

The car is now with Faversham Classics, the insurance has paid out 75% of the value and I am beginning to spend on the credit card! - more later!