Good news on the Spitfire, took it for its MOT this week to a new classic friendly garage in the Hildenborough area. Initially it failed on the emissions but with a little tweaking that was resolved. So I now have a brand new style MOT and the car has been put back in the garage until the end of January when the Stag's Tax runs out. I'll then put the Spitfire on the road and leave the Stag on SORN until March.
Speaking of the Stag, post 10CR the idle has been a little lumpy and sometimes cuts out when idling in Drive. Decided to have a look today - found the central bolt holding the carbs onto the O'ring was loose and the carbs were moving. A quick spanner job and the car now idles perfectly.
Took a drive up to Faversham Classics in the Stag, Trevor had rung me to say he'd got one of the heads off my old engine at last and did I want to see the condition.
Suffice to say it was well stuck - only one head bolt came out and he had to spend a number of days jacking up the head so that he could cut through all the studs. No way could that have been done in the car! So my decision to go for a newly built engine was clearly the right one. Apparently he thinks the original engine was a Tony Hart Rebuild.
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Two Weeks later
Two weeks ago I started preparing the Spitfire for its forthcoming MOT. I am pleased to say it is now as ready as it will ever be. I (together with my neighbour Andy's help and advice) have ground, drilled, patched and welded parts of the floor to sill joints, primed and painted the interior and exterior floor sections and repainted the outer sills.
Unfortunately the existing Inca Yellow does not match the paint I bought. So once the car has been MOT'd (fingers crossed) I will be taking the car to a local paint supplier to get a better match, then I'll respray the sills in primer and start again!
One of the other decisions I made during this process was to refit the original seats, replacing the MX5 ones that I fitted for my attempts at the 10 Countries Runs in 2007 and 2009.
The original seats are in a quite good condition having spent the last 4 years in the garage loft with only a small split in the drivers seat. I have also replaced the rear brakes and adjusted them, replaced plugs, adjusted points and generally serviced the car. It still seems to be running a bit rich, so a bit more tuning is needed before the MOT. I even bunged some Redex into the Tank!
The MX5 seats are probably going to be tried out in Andy's Toledo to provide a bit of extra comfort for next years Round Britain run. We have already measured them and it looks like they will only need some minor fettling on the runners.
Unfortunately the existing Inca Yellow does not match the paint I bought. So once the car has been MOT'd (fingers crossed) I will be taking the car to a local paint supplier to get a better match, then I'll respray the sills in primer and start again!
One of the other decisions I made during this process was to refit the original seats, replacing the MX5 ones that I fitted for my attempts at the 10 Countries Runs in 2007 and 2009.The original seats are in a quite good condition having spent the last 4 years in the garage loft with only a small split in the drivers seat. I have also replaced the rear brakes and adjusted them, replaced plugs, adjusted points and generally serviced the car. It still seems to be running a bit rich, so a bit more tuning is needed before the MOT. I even bunged some Redex into the Tank!
The MX5 seats are probably going to be tried out in Andy's Toledo to provide a bit of extra comfort for next years Round Britain run. We have already measured them and it looks like they will only need some minor fettling on the runners.
Friday, 30 September 2011
Spitfire Rust Removal
With the 10CR well and truly behind me , my attention has now focussed on getting the Spitfire back on the road. It has been on SORN for a couple of months now since both the tax and MOT expired. At last years MOT my tame tester (now retired unfortunately)remarked on the crustiness of the sills.
Having recently gone 'thirds' in a new gasless MIG welder with my neighbour Andy (car 48 in the 10CR) and his son in law I decided to make a start on getting the Spitfire ready for its MOT, which is planned for the end of October. A garage local to my area TSSC meeting point is opening up on our club night to show us how the MOT is carried out and the Spitfire is planned to be one of the guinea pigs!
Andy and I started on the car this week, the offside sill was not too bad, and only one patch was needed on the floor. I decided to strip the paint off the sill completely as it had suffered from brake fluid spills in the past.
The nearside sill/floor is much worse and as I write this has been prepared for 3 large patches to be welded in during the next week.
It has been a steep learning curve for me, never having touched a welder before, Andy is a good teacher and I managed some quite good plug welds today, but my seam welding leaves a lot to be desired!
Ideally, the correct course of action would be to put in a complete floor panel, and new inner and outer sills, and this may happen in a couple of years if I keep the car, in the meantime I have taken the decision to do some more 'minor' surgery to keep costs down.
Having recently gone 'thirds' in a new gasless MIG welder with my neighbour Andy (car 48 in the 10CR) and his son in law I decided to make a start on getting the Spitfire ready for its MOT, which is planned for the end of October. A garage local to my area TSSC meeting point is opening up on our club night to show us how the MOT is carried out and the Spitfire is planned to be one of the guinea pigs!
Andy and I started on the car this week, the offside sill was not too bad, and only one patch was needed on the floor. I decided to strip the paint off the sill completely as it had suffered from brake fluid spills in the past.
The nearside sill/floor is much worse and as I write this has been prepared for 3 large patches to be welded in during the next week.
It has been a steep learning curve for me, never having touched a welder before, Andy is a good teacher and I managed some quite good plug welds today, but my seam welding leaves a lot to be desired!
Ideally, the correct course of action would be to put in a complete floor panel, and new inner and outer sills, and this may happen in a couple of years if I keep the car, in the meantime I have taken the decision to do some more 'minor' surgery to keep costs down.
Sunday, 25 September 2011
10CR CAR 12
On the 8th September, my brother Richard and I embarked on our third attempt at completing the bi-annual Ten Countries Run. This year we used my 1978 registered Triumph Stag V8 – on the previous two occasions we had attempted the run (2007 &2009) in my 1976 Spitfire 1500, only to abandon them due to breakdowns.
The Stag was well prepared and I was carrying all sorts of spares including Alternator, Power Steering Pump, Fuel Pump, Electronic Ignition module, oils, water etc.
The Stag was well prepared and I was carrying all sorts of spares including Alternator, Power Steering Pump, Fuel Pump, Electronic Ignition module, oils, water etc.
We departed from my home near Maidstone at 6.30am, accompanied by my neighbour Andy in his Toledo 1300 - a first timer on this run, although like me he had successfully completed the Round Britain Reliability Run last year. We arrived at The Plough, Crews Hill where we just managed to squeeze in a bacon sandwich before turning around and retracing our steps going back past Maidstone to Dover to catch the 12.15 ferry to Calais.
Our first stop should have been Steenvoorde, but we missed it and carried on to the 2nd stop at Charleville Meziere,we met up with Andy there and had a coffee break and rest for an hour. At our next stop Bartenheim, we parked in a large car park by a Kart Circuit where we attempted to get a couple of hours kip only to be woken by low flying jets at 5am!
At 5.15 having made sure our Swiss Vignette was firmly stuck to the windscreen and proceeded to Basel where we were stopped at the border and questioned by the guard who wanted to know if there was a rally on as there had been a lot of old cars going through!
The route book then took us up the Brunig, Grimsel and Furka Passes. These were magnificent roads with fantastic views and hairpins, which the Stag took in its stride, although being an auto it did tend to stay in 2nd and 1st gears most of the time! Andy was following in his Toledo and we pulled over occasionally to wait for him and his wife Di to catch up. We missed the Gotthard Pass, trying to be clever we decided to use the St Gotthard Tunnel not realising the Control Stop was at the start of the Pass above us! Rather than retrace our steps we continued to the next Control Stop at San Bernardino using the old road, again a lovely road with lots of hairpins through the tree line. We were supposed to approach the Stelvio Pass through the Bernina Pass and Livigno, but decided to make up time going on through St Moritz to Zernez and approached through the Umbrail and Ofen Passes. The car struggled up the last part of Stelvio, I suspect due to the altitude, some power was lost and it was getting very hot, so we had a long break at the top having a superb sausage roll from one of the street vendors there. We continued down Stelvio to our overnight hotel stop near Cavalese in Castello Di Fiemme where a number of other teams were also staying. Having stuffed ourselves with the ‘Stelvio sausage’ we didn’t have dinner, just beer!
The following morning we had a superb continental breakfast accompanied by a lovely Apfelstrudel in the hotel and departed for our Saturday start point at Passo di Lavaze. After climbing the pass and descending down it we used the old route to Vipitano which took us alongside the busy and congested autoroute with little delay. On the way to Vipitano we picked up a third car for our little convoy, Sam Shattock and Keith Bennett in their TR4a which was suffering from overheating problems and appreciated our leisurely pace! Halfway up the Jaufen Pass we stopped in a lay-by and Andy brewed up the kettle on his stove for coffees and teas. It was a typically English scene enhanced by Andy & Di producing picnic chairs from their car boot! After climbing to the top we started our climb up the Timmelsjoch (2509m) – an arduous but far more enjoyable run than Stelvio. We stopped halfway up to give the cars a breather but it was well worth the climb
The descent from the Timmelsjoch was as enjoyable as the climb up and we descended through the skiing resorts of Obergurgl and Solden to join the Innsbruck to Bregenz autoroute collecting an Austrian Vignette from a BP Station on the way to Liechtenstein,
We let the Sat Nav find our way out of Liechtenstein and continued on towards our next overnight Hotel stop in Lautrach, Germany We arrived at the hotel at around 7pm, where we had a very welcome beer or two followed by an excellent dinner and early night. Richard and I had our photo taken by Ellis Stokes next to the Stag as this was the furthest we had achieved so far in a Ten Countries Run!
Up at the crack of dawn – to be met by a welcome cup of tea brewed by Andy as we were sharing a 2 bed roomed apartment with him and Di. After a welcome shower I went down to do the usual car check, Oil, Water, Tyres, Food etc. Whilst down there I loaned the use of my Compressor to fellow entrant Steve Radley as one of his tyres was low and his spare was already punctured. After a while it was apparent no more air was going into the tyre, the valve had split and this now left him in an even worse predicament. I was pleased to hear from him later in the run that he managed to borrow two rear wheels from a couple of donor’s for his Mk1 2000.
After another excellent breakfast we left for the Sunday start point at Aichstetten, only a few miles away from our hotel, which gave us a nice early start for the day’s run up to the final overnight stop and finish at Rolduc. We had a good run up through this part of Germany with the hood down until we reached the next control point at Pirmasens. Where we refuelled both ourselves and the car, we left on the next leg to Spa. On the way we were hit by torrential rain for the next half hour or so, reducing our speed to a necessary crawl. I was told later that some of our fellow travellers were not so lucky and got caught with their hoods down.
On entering Belgium we let the Sat Nav lead us to the next control point – Spa – so I chose the Circuit de Spa Francorchamps from the Sat Nav menu and it lead us off at an earlier junction than the Road Book suggested, taking us along some very quiet straight roads to a rear entrance for the circuit where we could take a suitable picture of the cars and listen to Porsche cars racing on the circuit.
Our final leg took us back into Germany through some heavy traffic, only to find that the road we were supposed to take was closed, again, Sat Nav came to our rescue taking us along some nice country roads into Kerkrade, the Netherlands, THE FINAL COUNTRY!!, and our final destination for the day and the official end of the run.
The car was pretty much faultless given the treatment it received in the Alpine Passes, it proved to be remarkably economical for a Triumph V8 Auto returning 27.5mpg average, confirming that the car does indeed have a 3.41 ratio Diff which also accounts for the 7% inaccuracy in the speedo and odometer.
The car required no top ups of oil, auto or power steering fluids and the tyres kept their pressures, which was a surprise as at home, they regularly need a bit of air each week. The car did use a half litre of coolant, but this was more likely the result of me stupidly leaving the expansion bottle cap off whilst checking the level in the radiator causing the bottle to fill rapidly and overspill. – Stag owners take note!
After an excellent buffet meal, lots of the local beer and a good night’s sleep we had a reasonable back to Calais. After stopping at a local wine store to fill up the back seat we arrived in time for our 2.15 ferry home. The Ferry departure was delayed for a couple of hours, and once near Dover the ship had to ‘heave to’ for an hour until a berth came free for it to dock. We remained in the restaurant having ‘eaten’ our way across the channel. We made the trip home to Maidstone up the A2 in record time!
Overall this was a great run, was great fun and gave us a great sense of achievement, our thanks go to the organisers Ellis Stokes,Andy Flexney, Paul Darbyshire and Rob Southern for all their hard work in making the 2011 run such a great success.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Nice Shiny Wheels
Spent the afternoon today polishing the Stags alloy wheels, they were in a sorry state with ingrained brake dust and tarnished alloy. After copious amounts of Brasso and Autosol they came up a real treat. I finished them off with a couple of coats of polish.My father in Law recently sold his car having decided to give up driving, so I volunteered to dispose of all his car related bits which was basically dried up bottles of polish, old brake fluid and lots of unused cloths. Rummaging around the cardboard box I'd retreived a few weeks ago were these gems - a box of unused Picnic Tables still wrapped in Tissue paper!
So I had to try them out! - Should come in handy on the 10CR!
Monday, 25 July 2011
£30 Well spent!
What a difference the outlay of £30 has made to the Stags ride!
For some time now the car has been plauged by a vibration between 55 and 80 mph, not just through the steering, but also through the 'seat of the pants'. I have tried on a couple of occasions to remedy this by going to well known tyre suppliers to have the wheels balanced. Each time, some small improvement has been gained.
In a final attempt before looking further into potential prop shaft balancing I used a local garage that has a reputation for handling classics in a sympathetic way.
On Saturday they took the car in and balanced each wheel for me, one of which, the spare , was found to be very difficult to get a balance on due to a possible misshapen wheel. and they also found the existing weights on the rears were far in excess of what was needed.
Having been out in the car this morning, testing it along the A21 Dual carriageway at varied speeds up to 85ish (sorry officer!) the ride is now as it should be, nice and smooth with no trace of vibration front or rear.
The car is now just about ready for the 10CR, just need to fit the backup Kenlowe fan and change the oil for some VR1 closer to the date.
The cost of the balancing? - £30 cash - best value money spent so far this year on the Stag!
Monday, 18 July 2011
Showtime!
This weekend saw the annual Darling Buds Classic Car Show near Bethersden in Kent at the farm where a lot of filming took place for that classic TV show with David Jason and Catherine Zeta Jones. The owner of the farm is a former Chairman of the P5 Alive club and puts on this show every year in aid of the Kent Air Ambulance Trust. I have been to this show a number of times before and it is always guaranteed to have a good turnout, last year was particualrly good with over 1000 cars, this year the turnout was down a bit, probably due to the weather which was a typical english summers day, wet and windy with the odd sunshine break!
This was the first time I'd experienced a change in the way they organise the cars, when I'd been previously they'd been organised by Manufacturer, this year it was by period, so I found myself initially sandwiched between a W reg Fiesta and V Reg Mercedes Saloon in the 1976 to 1980 Class in my 77 Stag. Fortunately a fellow TSSC member turned up in his 78 Sptfire and I moved next to him. All together there were 5 of us from our local area but we were dotted around the show field - must get a Club Stand next time!
My Wife, Daughter, Son in law and Grand Daughter were due to join me during the morning for a picnic, but they elected to stay at home until the early afternoon due to the poor weather. Consequently very few photo's were taken until they arrived, so I have posted some of my Grand Daughter Maia whom as you can see is already taking some interest in Classic Cars!
Ahh - This must be Grandpa's Triumph Stag
Now there's the Handbrake and Gear Lever - where are the pedals?
When can I have a go Grandpa?
Now this is much better, I can reach the pedals!
I know it rained a lot, but this is ridiculous!
The Stag ran well there and back in the rain - the windscreen wipers worked, it didn't leak - but the cigarette lighter socket has now stopped working. I suspect this may be something to do with taking out the carpeting last week to vacuum it out as the interior was getting a bit crabby.
So when the rain stops I'll get this sorted ready for the multitude of chargers need for the 10 Countries Run! I also fitted a Mountney 15" Leather steering wheel I won on the bay last week which is a great improvement over the standard wheel and more comfortable than the 13" one I'd transferred from the Spitfire.
Next job is to mount a backup Kenlowe fan currently winging it's way to me from a fellow TSSC/CT member. This will be fitted with a manual switch rather than a thermostatic one for the moment as the main fan is on a newish Viscous Coupling and does a good job in hot weather (when we have it!).
Other than that the car is pretty much ready for the 10CR pending fluid checks - I have have some VR1 Oil coming my way courtesy of a very good July offer in Eurocarparts so will do an oil change nearer the departure date.
This was the first time I'd experienced a change in the way they organise the cars, when I'd been previously they'd been organised by Manufacturer, this year it was by period, so I found myself initially sandwiched between a W reg Fiesta and V Reg Mercedes Saloon in the 1976 to 1980 Class in my 77 Stag. Fortunately a fellow TSSC member turned up in his 78 Sptfire and I moved next to him. All together there were 5 of us from our local area but we were dotted around the show field - must get a Club Stand next time!
My Wife, Daughter, Son in law and Grand Daughter were due to join me during the morning for a picnic, but they elected to stay at home until the early afternoon due to the poor weather. Consequently very few photo's were taken until they arrived, so I have posted some of my Grand Daughter Maia whom as you can see is already taking some interest in Classic Cars!
Ahh - This must be Grandpa's Triumph Stag
Now there's the Handbrake and Gear Lever - where are the pedals?
When can I have a go Grandpa?
Now this is much better, I can reach the pedals!
I know it rained a lot, but this is ridiculous!
The Stag ran well there and back in the rain - the windscreen wipers worked, it didn't leak - but the cigarette lighter socket has now stopped working. I suspect this may be something to do with taking out the carpeting last week to vacuum it out as the interior was getting a bit crabby.
So when the rain stops I'll get this sorted ready for the multitude of chargers need for the 10 Countries Run! I also fitted a Mountney 15" Leather steering wheel I won on the bay last week which is a great improvement over the standard wheel and more comfortable than the 13" one I'd transferred from the Spitfire.
Next job is to mount a backup Kenlowe fan currently winging it's way to me from a fellow TSSC/CT member. This will be fitted with a manual switch rather than a thermostatic one for the moment as the main fan is on a newish Viscous Coupling and does a good job in hot weather (when we have it!).
Other than that the car is pretty much ready for the 10CR pending fluid checks - I have have some VR1 Oil coming my way courtesy of a very good July offer in Eurocarparts so will do an oil change nearer the departure date.
Monday, 6 June 2011
Recent Travels
Not a lot on the Triumph front recently, this was because we've been away on a holiday in the South of France and Italy. We started off flying to Nice for a couple of days before we joined our Cruise ship, the Azamara Journey for a short 4 day cruise that took in Portofino, Italy where we visited the Cinque Terre villages, Saint Tropez, and finally arriving in Monaco at 8.00am on the day of the Grand Prix. This is me having lunch on board overlooking the harbour.
We spent the morning walking around the 'Old Town' of Monaco soaking up the atmosphere, our ears being assaulted by the sound of the support races bouncing around the old buildings. We had decided not to purchase tickets for the GP given their exorbitant price (400+ euro for a grandstand seat) and instead to watch/listen from onboard ship. We could just see the cars entering the tunnel from the Sun Deck. I elected to return to our cabin and watch the GP on the TV (BBC of course!) with the real sound of the cars coming in through the open patio doors. At one point I had to close the doors as I couldn't here the commentary on the TV!
I was glad we didn't purchase tickets as the last 6 laps were a farce following its restart and the front runners changing their tyres!
After returning to Nice the next day we had a very nice couple of days in the villages above Nice, staying in a nice Hotel in Vence and driving a Fiat 500 up some very interesting roads. Practice for the 10CR!!
On our return home, I had my Birthday Present which was a drive around Goodwood in an Aston Martin Vanquish - what can I say? - I want one!!! Forget all those Ferrari Cars that people want, the Aston is THE car to have, superb drive, no idea how fast I went, too busy looking out for braking and turn-in points, all I can say it was bloody quick and 80mph along the A27 later in the day seemed slow! Yes, that is me in the pic below, you can't see my big grin behind my hand unfortunately.
Had the Spitfire out over the weekend, still going well, must get the welding done before the MOT next month. I have a part share in a brand new MIG welder so my only excuse is now to learn how to use it.
We spent the morning walking around the 'Old Town' of Monaco soaking up the atmosphere, our ears being assaulted by the sound of the support races bouncing around the old buildings. We had decided not to purchase tickets for the GP given their exorbitant price (400+ euro for a grandstand seat) and instead to watch/listen from onboard ship. We could just see the cars entering the tunnel from the Sun Deck. I elected to return to our cabin and watch the GP on the TV (BBC of course!) with the real sound of the cars coming in through the open patio doors. At one point I had to close the doors as I couldn't here the commentary on the TV!
I was glad we didn't purchase tickets as the last 6 laps were a farce following its restart and the front runners changing their tyres!
After returning to Nice the next day we had a very nice couple of days in the villages above Nice, staying in a nice Hotel in Vence and driving a Fiat 500 up some very interesting roads. Practice for the 10CR!!
On our return home, I had my Birthday Present which was a drive around Goodwood in an Aston Martin Vanquish - what can I say? - I want one!!! Forget all those Ferrari Cars that people want, the Aston is THE car to have, superb drive, no idea how fast I went, too busy looking out for braking and turn-in points, all I can say it was bloody quick and 80mph along the A27 later in the day seemed slow! Yes, that is me in the pic below, you can't see my big grin behind my hand unfortunately.
Had the Spitfire out over the weekend, still going well, must get the welding done before the MOT next month. I have a part share in a brand new MIG welder so my only excuse is now to learn how to use it.
Monday, 9 May 2011
Spare Wiring!
It all started with changing a blown bulb in the courtesy lamp on the centre console of the Stag. Having bought some spare bulbs at the TSSC South Eastern Meet yesterday I decided to replace the bulb on the passenger footwell which has not worked for some time, for good reason as when I took the cover off the existing bulb was nowhere to be seen.
I knew there was one in there as I'd replaced it a couple of years ago, so off came the parcel shelf and sure enough, the bulb had simply dropped out and was nestling safely between the centre console and carpet. No need for a new one, this time I made sure it was securely fitted.
Whilst I had the parcel shelf out I decided to see why the radio would not sit right back in its slot, so out that came, I then noticed for the first time a small toggle switch cunningly hidden away behing the dashboard, clearly a previous owner had an alarm of some kind which had latterly been replaced by a Clifford immobiliser.
After checking with a multimeter that none of the wires were powered with the ignition on or off I traced the wires back through the centre console behind the radio , some to the relay board and some to the engine compartment. Fortunately, this is where they terminated behind the sound deadening on the bulkhead, being blanked off with insulating tape.
After some careful extraction, removing scotch lock connectors from the loom, the picture below shows just how much there was. And the radio? - well it now sits properly fully back in its slot.
I knew there was one in there as I'd replaced it a couple of years ago, so off came the parcel shelf and sure enough, the bulb had simply dropped out and was nestling safely between the centre console and carpet. No need for a new one, this time I made sure it was securely fitted.
Whilst I had the parcel shelf out I decided to see why the radio would not sit right back in its slot, so out that came, I then noticed for the first time a small toggle switch cunningly hidden away behing the dashboard, clearly a previous owner had an alarm of some kind which had latterly been replaced by a Clifford immobiliser.
After checking with a multimeter that none of the wires were powered with the ignition on or off I traced the wires back through the centre console behind the radio , some to the relay board and some to the engine compartment. Fortunately, this is where they terminated behind the sound deadening on the bulkhead, being blanked off with insulating tape.
After some careful extraction, removing scotch lock connectors from the loom, the picture below shows just how much there was. And the radio? - well it now sits properly fully back in its slot.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Triumphs Update and Drive It Day
I didn't realise that I last updated this blog at the beginning of February, OK so we've been on Holiday and dealing with parents and grandchidren that have kept me a bit busy with little on the car front until a few weeks ago. One thing I did do 2 months ago was advertise the Spitfire for sale, I had come to the conclusion that I really can only afford to run one Classic - the expensive one!
Luckily so far the Spitfire remains in my garage, a few nibbles but nothing conclusive - but then I didn't advertise it as well as I could have! During this time, the MOT on the Stag crept up on me unnoticed, I thought it was later in the year to coincide with the anniversary of the new engine in August , so having organised a run out for my local TSSC area I found myself relying on the trusty Spitfire.
This was a lovely run a couple of weeks ago from our base in Hildenborough to the Dering Arms in Pluckley that has a 'Classic car Sunday' every 2nd Sunday of the month. 3 Spitfires, 2 Vitesse and 2 Gentry's did the run and we arrived amongst some very exotic and specialist cars in the station car park!
The following week I had organised another run, this time on Drive It Day to Brooklands, again 3 Spitfires but with 1 Vitesse and 1 13/60 Herald convertible. Brooklands as always is a fascinating place and there were plenty of Classics there as well. An added bonus is Mercedes World next door and amongst all the modern machinery there is a small display of classic cars as well. They also serve excellent coffee!
And what of the Stag, she has passed her MOT just needing two new anti rollbar links and a handbrake brake adjustment. She has also had a full service and two new silencers in readiness for the Ten Countries Run in September.
The pictures from the Dering Arms Run and Brooklands Run can be found here: http://tssc-west-kent.webs.com/apps/photos/
Luckily so far the Spitfire remains in my garage, a few nibbles but nothing conclusive - but then I didn't advertise it as well as I could have! During this time, the MOT on the Stag crept up on me unnoticed, I thought it was later in the year to coincide with the anniversary of the new engine in August , so having organised a run out for my local TSSC area I found myself relying on the trusty Spitfire.
This was a lovely run a couple of weeks ago from our base in Hildenborough to the Dering Arms in Pluckley that has a 'Classic car Sunday' every 2nd Sunday of the month. 3 Spitfires, 2 Vitesse and 2 Gentry's did the run and we arrived amongst some very exotic and specialist cars in the station car park!
The following week I had organised another run, this time on Drive It Day to Brooklands, again 3 Spitfires but with 1 Vitesse and 1 13/60 Herald convertible. Brooklands as always is a fascinating place and there were plenty of Classics there as well. An added bonus is Mercedes World next door and amongst all the modern machinery there is a small display of classic cars as well. They also serve excellent coffee!
And what of the Stag, she has passed her MOT just needing two new anti rollbar links and a handbrake brake adjustment. She has also had a full service and two new silencers in readiness for the Ten Countries Run in September.
The pictures from the Dering Arms Run and Brooklands Run can be found here: http://tssc-west-kent.webs.com/apps/photos/
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Stag and Spitfire update
A few weeks ago the battery sensing wire on the alternator loom of the stag broke for the second time, looking closely at the wires it was clear that they had hardened and become brittle through age. So I ordered a new cable from EJ Wards - my Stag has a relocated alternator to the nearside so an extended cable was needed, and this is what was ordered.
When it arrived I went to put the new cable on, only to discover that although it was long enough to reach the alternator from the junction connector on the offside wing, it was much shorter than the originally extended part-loom. So, after some head scratching, I thought as a temporary fix as it was cold outside I ran the cable over the top of the engine (see pic).
Yesterday I decided to do a proper job, so thinking it would be a simple job to remove the old cables, which by this time lay disconnected in the engine bay I proceeded to trace their route, only to discover that they seemed to go in front of the radiator. after much tugging, swearing, taking off the radiator grille, I gave up trying to get them out and cut off the visible ends. The remainder of the cable will be a surprise for whoever takes the radiator out next!
After this fruitless task I turned my attention to a better routing for the new cable and determined that the easiest solution was to cable tie it the front anti roll bar, keeping it away from the front nearside downpipe.
One of the most frustrating parts of the process was screwing back the radiator grille which hadn't needed to come off in the first place!
Today I turned my attention to the Spitfire, I have decided to sell this and concentrate all my efforts (and finances) on the moneypit (Stag) As it hadn't turned over since well before Christmas the battery needed a good overnight charge, but I am pleased to say she started easily once the fuel had got through. Only problem now as I've sorned it I can't give it a good run, so I ran it up and down the Close I live in a couple of times to make sure nothing was sticking (brakes, clutch) and that everything works. I also took the radio out to put in the Stag as its a more modern MP3 one. The next decision is whether to sell it with the MX5 seatsthat I fitted a couple of years ago or put the originals back in which I still have and ebay the MX5's.
Apart from that it just needs a good clean inside and out, some photo's taken and then advertised.
When it arrived I went to put the new cable on, only to discover that although it was long enough to reach the alternator from the junction connector on the offside wing, it was much shorter than the originally extended part-loom. So, after some head scratching, I thought as a temporary fix as it was cold outside I ran the cable over the top of the engine (see pic).
Yesterday I decided to do a proper job, so thinking it would be a simple job to remove the old cables, which by this time lay disconnected in the engine bay I proceeded to trace their route, only to discover that they seemed to go in front of the radiator. after much tugging, swearing, taking off the radiator grille, I gave up trying to get them out and cut off the visible ends. The remainder of the cable will be a surprise for whoever takes the radiator out next!
After this fruitless task I turned my attention to a better routing for the new cable and determined that the easiest solution was to cable tie it the front anti roll bar, keeping it away from the front nearside downpipe.
One of the most frustrating parts of the process was screwing back the radiator grille which hadn't needed to come off in the first place!
Today I turned my attention to the Spitfire, I have decided to sell this and concentrate all my efforts (and finances) on the moneypit (Stag) As it hadn't turned over since well before Christmas the battery needed a good overnight charge, but I am pleased to say she started easily once the fuel had got through. Only problem now as I've sorned it I can't give it a good run, so I ran it up and down the Close I live in a couple of times to make sure nothing was sticking (brakes, clutch) and that everything works. I also took the radio out to put in the Stag as its a more modern MP3 one. The next decision is whether to sell it with the MX5 seatsthat I fitted a couple of years ago or put the originals back in which I still have and ebay the MX5's.
Apart from that it just needs a good clean inside and out, some photo's taken and then advertised.
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