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"Beans"
posts: 5728
Netherlands
joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006

First anniversary for Bèrke
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Already 5 years ago today, that I took delivery of my current daily driver. A 2008 Land Rover Defender 110SW. Or Bèrke as he’s been christened. And although I have had a few problems with it, the highlights are clearly in the majority. Of course it has been used for one of the main reason it was bought for, moving Triumph TR7’s around, and for transporting the tools etcetera to the shed on a regular basis.



One of the other reason for purchasing this car is my daily job.
Where it can sometimes be useful to have a capable off-roader and work horse!
 





And finally he proved to be an excellent touring and holiday car. The fact that he proved very capable when there was some unexpected snow on higher grounds didn’t come much as a surprise (Toll booth conversation at the Timmelsjoch Q: haben sie Schneeketten dabei? A:Nein die brauch ich nicht!)

Timmeltaler Urweg, on top of the Timmelsjoch

Exiting the Seebertal, a side valley on the Timmelsjoch

Heading down a rather white Stelvio Pass

Also heading down a very frozen and slippery Umbrail Pass

And as ever with a car, he received a bit of personalisation over the years:

As presented to me

As delivered

And it’s current guise

Yes I do have a soft spot for these cars.
True British engineering that will go wrong from time to time!
Roll on the next 5 years!
 posted Wed 29th Jul 2020
"Radders"
posts: 1637
Essex group
joined on Mon 17th Nov 2008

5th July. A few problems.....
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Another Sunday morning run, this time with Colin Wake in his TR6 and Dave Maton in his Mk1 Saloon. (Gavin had the diff removed from his car so couldn't make it)
The meeting place was Howe Green (Just outside Chelmsford) for 9am and once again it was a beautiful summers day. 
I had brought Gertie2 this time as this will be my weapon of choice for the (Hopefully) impending Round Britain Reliability Run. 

The plan this morning was to drive up through Bicknacre, South Woodham, Latchingdon and out towards Bradwell, only some idiot went the wrong way at Bicknacre (me!) and we ended up at Howe Green again! With the proper route selected, we tried again and this time got it right. 
Our patriotic Red, White and Blue convoy stopped just before Bradwell and decided there were too many motorbikes about for our liking (Why do they all ride like such twats on country roads?) and headed towards Burnham On Crouch. 
We then found the road to Burnham on Crouch closed, so ended up on the back roads towards Steeple. This was just as well really as Gertie2 decided to break down with fuelling issues. We did manage to get her going again, but only for a few hundred yards. We soon identified that the fuel tank was blocked at the outlet, but no amount of blowing down the fuel line could clear it.
Luckily, a good mate of mine only lived about a mile and a half away and he came out and towed me back to his place in his 7 series BMW. 
Once at his house we used to his compressor to blow down the fuel line which soon cleared the blockage. I then put a bit more petrol in to dilute the debris somewhat and luckily managed to get all the way home without any further breakdowns. (Good old Dave Maton followed me back as well just to make sure I got there)
On the Monday morning before work, I removed the fuel tank and was horrified at what was in there. I know this car spent 20 years without moving, but I've also completed two very long mileage runs in it since then so it was quite strange that it should choose now to block up. 
Lot's and lot's of rust has obviously come loose since I've been using the car and this was evidently the problem. 
I'm glad really that this problem has surfaced now, so that I have plenty of time to do something about it. If this had happened on the way to, or even on the Round Britain event there would be no quick fix and it would have been game over, so it's a blessing in disguise really. 
I have managed to source another good fuel tank which will be fitted when I have it in my possession. In the mean time, it will give me time to address another couple of niggles that I noticed on the run. 


 posted Mon 13th Jul 2020
"Radders"
posts: 1637
Essex group
joined on Mon 17th Nov 2008

14th June. another Local run out
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With the rally and car event scene still suspended, another little run was organised for this day. Once again, the sun was shining and it was beautifully warm. Gavin came out in his Mk2 and I used my Pi this time.
We started off with a drive up through Woodham Ferrers and Latchingdon and then headed over towards Maldon. 
I took a chance on Promenade park being open to see if we could get a cup of coffee and luckily it was. 
To be honest it was so nice being able to sit outside in the sun again and have a bit of 'normality' back, we forgot about the driving and just stayed there and soaked up the sun! 
After an hour or so it was starting to get a bit busy, so we made tracks and headed home. A short run, but still an enjoyable Sunday morning out. 



 posted Mon 13th Jul 2020
"Beans"
posts: 5728
Netherlands
joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006

FHC resto nr. 97; Front bumper
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Went in search of a FHC front bumper yesterday. Those who follow this blog might be slightly puzzled here! And that’s because I had prepared both a front and a rear bumper for the car a few years ago. But I didn’t pay enough attention here and put too much trust in the experts on the social media 😜 So when I found out that my only spare FHC front bumper needed a fair amount of welding, I hoped that using a DHC bumper bar on the ’76 FHC indeed was an easy solution. Well, I have to admit it can be done but you either have to drill new holes in the bumper mounting plates of the car’s body, or you have to cut open the steel armature to change the mounting plate inside the bumper bar. The difference between the two mounting points should be clear from these two pictures:

DHC bumper

FHC bumper
As I didn’t fancy drilling holes in the body, nor cutting up the nicely coated bumper bar to change the mounting plates, I went for an easier option. I visited a friend yesterday, who also has a reasonable stock of TR7 spares. And he did have a few FHC bumper bars to choose from. Turned out one of these also was a DHC bar, despite coming from a FHC. But inspecting that car’s shell, showed they indeed had drilled extra holes to fit the bumper to the car. Luckily the other bumper was a proper FHC bumper. And after removing the side lamps and bumper covers it turned out to be in pretty good condition. No welding needed, just light blasting and coating!




So this will be dropped off for shot blasting hopefully soon. And the DHC bumper I prepared? Well that will be put in storage for when I want (or have) to fit a euro style bumper to my DHC.
And I also found a more or less intact exhaust to gearbox bracket. Though this one also needs a bit of reshaping and some remedial welding to strengthen it, before it can be coated.


 posted Sun 12th Jul 2020
"vitessesteve"
posts: 2378
Website Administrator
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Isle of Wight group
joined on Mon 16th Oct 2006

Triumph Vitesse / GT6 rear rotoflex set up shims
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I was very pleased to track down a supply of shims to rebuild the rear hubs on my Triumph Vitesse.

Do you remember Jigsaw Racing?  Well their workshop may have closed down but you can still buy stuff via their eBay store.

Now I just need to get my workshop built so my Vitesse can receive some long delayed attention.
A blog post from vitessesteve
 posted Fri 10th Jul 2020
"vitessesteve"
posts: 2378
Website Administrator
Website Moderator
Isle of Wight group
joined on Mon 16th Oct 2006

Triumph Herald 948 + 1200 disc brake conversion
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Triumph Herald 948 + 1200 disc brake conversion - part 511045 fitting instructions

I have recently been sent a scanned copy of  - Triumph Herald 948 + 1200 disc brake conversion - part 511045 fitting instructions.  Here is start from the booklet.  The booklet was originally published by Standard Triumph and was scanned by Paul Cattrell.

DISC BRAKE CONVERSION KIT
FITTING INSTRUCTIONS
PRELIMINARIES
Disconnect the battery, jack up the car and place supporting stands under the chassis frame. Remove
all road wheels.
Attach a length of rubber tubing to one of the front brake bleed nipples and suspend the opposite
end of the tube in a clean container.
Unscrew one front bleed nipple one turn and by operating the brake pedal, pump the hydraulic system
dry.
Front Brake Assemblies
Disconnect and remove both bundy pipes which connect the flexible hoses to the 5 way connector.
Release the outer ends of the flexible pipes and unscrew them from the wheel cylinders.
Remove the brake drums, hubs, brake backing plates and stub axles.
The whole document is available to view and download from my box.com account at: https://app.box.com/s/zirocqe8bkutddf4qe5qkmpu3jkjddix
A blog post from vitessesteve
 posted Thu 9th Jul 2020
"vitessesteve"
posts: 2378
Website Administrator
Website Moderator
Isle of Wight group
joined on Mon 16th Oct 2006

Triumph Herald 1200 Twin Carb conversion
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I have recently been sent a scanned copy of  - Triumph Herald 1200 Twin Carb conversion - part 511037 fitting instructions.  Here is a paragraph from the booklet.  The booklet was originally published by Standard Triumph and was scanned by Paul Cattrell.

TWIN CARBURETTOR CONVERSION KIT
Part No. 511037
Introduction
A twin carburettor conversion kit contains all necessary components
for converting a Herald "1200" engine of, 8,0:1 compression ratio, from
the single to the twin carburettor condition.
To achieve maximum performance conducive with safe operation of the
engine, when twin carburettors are fitted, existing main bearings, valves,
valve springs, ignition distributor and camshaft must be changed.
Existing cylinder heads must be machined to raise the compression
ratio to 8,5:1. Polishing the ports is unnecessary, but if undertaken care
must be exercised not to destroy the abutment faces for the manifold
locating sleeves.
The whole document is available to view and download from my box.com account at:  https://app.box.com/s/o3hq8rip7n2eo6wh6kgb54w145s6h5s6
A blog post from vitessesteve
 posted Tue 7th Jul 2020
"Beans"
posts: 5728
Netherlands
joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006

MOT: next in line
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Last week the DHC got a certificate of good health during her biannual MOT. And this week it was ‘t Kreng’s turn. But not before I checked a few items that might cause trouble during the inspection last weekend. I started under the bonnet. First in line for a closer look were the carburettors:


Everything fine there. The linkage was still smooth and the inside of the throats also looked nice and clean, with no visible signs of back firing. Also the K&N air filters, the fuel hoses and all fuel connections were in good condition.
A further inspection of the engine bay showed nothing obviously wrong. No leaks and all levels on the mark.
The spark plugs and the brakes were not touched as the car behaved rather well during her first, and so far only, outing this year! And the rest of the engine bay also looked quite all right. Actually for a car that has been in more or less constant use since 1997, it doesn’t look too shabby!


Last in line were the front wheel bearings. Here I found the biggest problem, a slightly loose left hand front wheel bearing. But that was quite easy to rectify (or should be), using my tried and tested technique:

1. Remove the wheel to access and remove the bearing dust cap;

2. Refit the wheel, making sure it is firmly clamped down to the hub.
This way it is easier to detect any play in the bearing and to turn the wheel,
to listen for rumbling noises;

3. Make the necessary adjustments, until the wheel turns freely, and without any noticeable play. After which the nut retainer (21H5129) and split pin were refitted.

4. And finally the dust cap was refitted to the hub (sorry! I forgot the picture).

But I have to admit that one way or another I wasn’t quite happy with how the bearing felt. But maybe I am just overly worried, hearing rumbling bearings everywhere 😜. Luckily I had no time to inquire any further. So I decided to leave it for the professionals to judge during the biannual inspection!


And today was judgement day, so I again visited a friend’s workshop to present a car for her biannual test (or APK as it is called here). As usual the test started on the brake test platform. Sadly due to an injury (and partly old age J) the tester couldn’t get in the car. So I had to perform that part of the test for him. So no pictures of the three readings. But the car passed with flying colour with the following average readings; front ±4750N, rear ±1700N and handbrake ±1600N. The emissions test was next, and as expected this was also spot on, with a reading of just above 3,0 % vol. CO. (yes I was a bit too quick to take the picture, so I missed the point where the meter levelled out!).


The last part of the test was the visual inspection of the engine bay and suspension. And despite my slight worries all turned out to be fine. Another clean health declaration for the next 2 years!


And last but not least, at the end of this month my daily LaRo Defender will be the last in line! In that case it will be a full service and its annual inspection.

 posted Wed 1st Jul 2020
"vitessesteve"
posts: 2378
Website Administrator
Website Moderator
Isle of Wight group
joined on Mon 16th Oct 2006

Jag 3.8 Vitesse
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People have been tuning and modifying the Triumph Vitesse for many years. Hot Car magazine May 1969 featured a Vitesse that had a Jaguar 3.8 engine in it.

The car was said to do 130mph and to have 250bhp. It was built by the well known Downton engineering. Based on a shortened Jaguar XK150 chassis.  The Triumph Vitesse body was altered to fit.


A blog post from vitessesteve
 posted Tue 30th Jun 2020
"Beans"
posts: 5728
Netherlands
joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006

Another MOT for the DHC
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This morning the DHC was presented at a friend’s workshop for her biannual safety and environmental inspection (or APK as it is called here). Most important (for me that is) part of the inspection were the readings from the brake test and the emissions test.


To start with the brakes. With the readings [N] shown above (left to right Front, Rear, Handbrake), it was a clear pass. But I am still not really happy with how they perform. Maybe I am just spoilt because my two other cars (‘t Kreng and a late Land Rover Defender) both have discs all round. And as such have a much better pedal feel. Especially when compared to a 40 year old front-disc and rear-drum set up!


The emissions test was a fail, though that didn’t come as a surprise. The workshop owner guessed that already, during my last visit to him with this car in November last year. And he was proved to be right: with a CO percentage of 6,17% it was slightly rich. Nothing to worry about as it only needed adjusting both adjusting nuts by one flat to get the readings well below the maximum of 4,5%. Another pass!


All the other checks and the general visual inspection revealed no further problems.


So another clean sheet of health for the next 2 years. Turned out that since the previous APK the car covered nearly 7000 kilometres. Not bad considering a general lack of time and three other cars to spent time on! Time to kill some more time with a scenic tour on the way home (including a short photoshoot) to enjoy the fine early morning weather!


 posted Wed 24th Jun 2020
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