

![]() posts: 5728 Netherlands joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006 |
First outing of the year |
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Decided to enjoy the very fine weather this afternoon for a short blast through the country in ‘t Kreng (my Sprint powered FHC). And due to the current Covid-19 pandemic it was a rather enjoyable drive. We (still?) don’t have a complete lock down here, but there’s a ban on gatherings of more than 2 people. So the usual large herds of walkers and cyclists had to stay home. This resulted in some rather quiet and empty roads, with only a handful of people out and about. Sadly as a result of the Corona crisis all pubs are closed till at least early April, otherwise it would have been even more enjoyable. Biggest “problem” for the time being (from a driving point of view) is the fact that the border with Germany is more or less closed. So for the time being no access to proper fuel. But compared to the current crisis there are worse things to worry about! Will see how it all develops … And it looks like I made a mistake when swapping the door lock cylinders at the end of last year. The driver’s door only opens from the inside after some brute force is being applied from inside. Outside door handle works as it should. Something to look into in the coming days or weeks. |
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February/March 2020. Cylinder Head Update |
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A few weeks back, once I had all the parts, the cylinder head and all the new goodies were fitted. Once again helped by Gavin and Dave, the job didn't take long and pretty soon, we were ready for start up. Unfortunately, start up didn't go well and we were greeted with a horrendous clacking sound that none of us could figure out where it was coming from. We swapped the rocker shaft with an spare one in case it was something to do with the new rockers or rocker shaft that we had fitted, but this made no difference. with a feeling of dismay we shut the garage door (It was now approaching 6pm) and gave it up as a bad job. The following Saturday, we started with a compression test and all cylinders turned out to be fine. We tried a few more things, but the more we investigated, the more evident it was that the head was going to have to come back off. With the head removed and investigated it was clear that the problem wasn't cylinder head or valve based either. Looking down one of the cam follower holes, it was looking like we had some serious wear on one of the lobes on the camshaft. Unfortuately, this being a Mk1, you can only remove the camshaft by removing the engine. (You cant get the camshaft out the front of the car because of the nose cone. You can on a Mk2, because of the bigger front grill) So, seeing as there was three of us on hand, we removed the engine. We then set about removing the camshaft and sure enough, the wear on one of the lobes was excessive to say the least. I think the previous problems with the valve seat recession had masked it, and now that everything was as it should be, was now highlighting the lobe problem. So, fast forward a few weeks, I have now purchased a new camshaft and fitted it. I've also purchased a new timing chain, crankshaft cog and spacer and camshaft sprocket. The engine is also back in the car now, but it still needs to have the head and everything else refitted. Hopefully that will be the end of the current problems. |
![]() posts: 5728 Netherlands joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006 |
Tax exempt again! |
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I received a letter from the Internal Revenue Office last Friday (though the letter’s date might suggest something different!). And it contained the official statement that the 1980 DHC, my first car which is in my possession since the summer of 1988, will be tax exempt (again) this year. Or as the letter states; “From the data from the vehicle registration register, I conclude that on the 6th of June 2020 it will be 40 years ago that the aforementioned motor vehicle was put into use for the first time. This means that from the 6th of June 2020 you will be eligible for a tax exemption for this motor vehicle” As it is the second time I received such a letter for this car I am a bit sceptical. And that’s because 15 years ago cars over here would become tax exempt at the age of 25 years. Sadly a lot of skint people started importing clapped out 25 year old (mostly diesel) cars from Germany, to use them as cheap daily drivers. As a result of this, after a few years the age for tax exemption was raised to 40 years! But let’s approach it from the positive side!. 2019 was the last year that I had to be put the DHC away in the shed for her mandatory hibernation in the months of December, January and February 😊 And hopefully in 2022 I will receive a similar letter for ‘t Kreng … |
![]() posts: 5728 Netherlands joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006 |
FHC resto nr. 88; A new heart: or a change of plans! |
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When a car’s restoration takes as long as this one, there is a very high risk that plans change as time progresses. And in this case it is the plans for the engine that have changed significantly over the past few weeks. Initial plan was to use one of my top spare parts; a brand new Sprint head still in the box. This would be either used to crown one of my best spare engines, a rebuilt Dolomite Sprint engine (VA prefix, Mahle pistons and honing marks still visible): Or I’d use one off the more worn engines in the shed and have it re-bored to fit these oversize JP pistons ... Then there was the offer from a friend who was willing to donate one of his RV8 engine’s … mmm …tempting. But then that same friend pointed me to an advert on the internet (Marktplaats.nl) for a second hand Sprint head that needed a bit of work. But I clicked the wrong advert and found some other items from the same seller. Including a brand new Sprint short engine fitted with Mahle pistons and an also NOS Sprint head (still in the box). A few emails and phone calls later a deal was struck. As a result of which I am now the proud owner of these parts. These items didn’t come cheap, but it might in the end be more cost effective than to rebuilt one of my spare engines. Time will tell! Biggest advantage for me is that I can now build up the engine when I want to, and without the need of specialist help. Because this would add at least 6 to 8 months to my time schedule (yes good quality engine builders are busy these!). And this afternoon (with a pair of hired hands) the pieces where dropped off at the shed. Time for a little photoshoot. First some overview pictures of the engine itself. And a few details, to start with the engine’s number. As you can see it reads VA3437ESS, which confirms it is for a Dolomite Sprint. But so far I haven’t seen the “ESS” suffix on an engine. But according to some input from Belgium J and a quick search on the internet, ESS probably stands for Exchange Supplied Spare or Exchange Service Spare? But probably the best thing is that the engine is fitted with brand new Mahle pistons, all with F-tolerance mark. And this corresponds with the markings on the engine’s block! And a few pictures of the head. As you can see there is a little bit of (what turned out very light) surface rust on a few parts. So that will get a proper oil soaking and clean before it is fitted to the engine! The sale also included a new distributor set consisting of all three sprockets, proper quality distributor chain, original chain tensioner (in the small box) and original chain guides. But this new addition brings its own disadvantages, or should I say challenges? As I now have one brand new “surplus” Sprint head. So it might well be that all my three TR7’s will get Sprint power in the end 😏. On the other hand that could mean that the original TR7 PI system I have lying around could become surplus somewhere in the future … choices indeed! posted Sun 15th Mar 2020 |
![]() posts: 5728 Netherlands joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006 |
A Lovely Day out |
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Didn’t need my Triumphs to enjoy a very nice (though also very muddy) day out. As I went for a walk through the valley of the river Geul yesterday, in the south of our lovely Province with a friend’s family. Was a rather enjoyable day. The fine early spring weather and good food certainly helped there! The river Geul near “de Volmolen”, Agen Uil Terpoorten-Epen Old farm building now holiday home, Plaatweg Terpoorten-Epen Tavern “De Smidse”, Terpoorten-Epen A well deserved beer 😋, Tavern “De Smidse”, Terpoorten-Epen Along de banks of the river Geul, between the hamlets of Terpoorten and Cottessen Along de banks of the river Geul, between the hamlets of Terpoorten and Cottessen Steep hollow path, Zevenwegen Vijlenerbos Forestry work, clearing up after the storm, Vijlenerbos |
![]() posts: 2378 Website Administrator Website Moderator Isle of Wight group joined on Mon 16th Oct 2006 |
Bristol - Triumph Car Dealers 11B |
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This post is a list of Standard Triumph car dealers in the Bristol area compiled from my collection of dealer directories. 5 April 1938 College Motors Ltd, Rupert Street Garage, April 1951: C. Allen & Sons Ltd, Berkeley Square, BRISTOL 8. F. W. Allen (Bristol) Ltd, Lower Arcade, BRISTOL 1 Bristol Motors Ltd, Ashton Gate, BR1STOL 7. Cater Motor Co Ltd, Crofton House, Cheltenham Road, BRISTOL 6. Cathedral Garage Ltd, College Green, BRISTOL1 College Motors, Rupert Street Garage, BRISTOL1 Coventry & Jeffs Ltd, 22-32 St. George's Road, BRISTOL 1 Victoria Motor Co (Brisrol) Ltd, Temple Gate, BRISTOL1 Western Motors (Bristol) Ltd, Park Row, BRISTOL1 Windmill & Lewis Ltd, Clifton, BRISTOL 8. October 1955: Distributor College Motors Ltd, Rupert Street Garage, 1. Phone 27781/5. Dealers C Allen & Sons (Bristol) Ltd, Berkeley Square, 8. Phone 22514. Bawns (Bristol) Limited, 170-175 Coronation Road, 3. 'Phone: 63025/6/7 and 64423. City Motors (Bristol) Ltd, Quakers Friars, Broadmead, 1. Phone 21591 And at 174 Cheltenham Road, 6. Phone 45833. R S T Cole Ltd, Shrubbery Garage, Downend. Phone 53875. Coventry & Jeffs Ltd, 22/32 St. George's Road, 1. Phone 20091/4. Fishponds Motor Co, Fishponds Road, Bristol. Phone 52373 and 53473. open 24 hrs 7 days a week T Hobbs & Son, 8 Longmead Avenue, 7. Phone 45575. Mullett's Motor Works Ltd, 55, 57 and 59 Redcliffe Hill, 1. Phone 21631/2/3. Ridgeway Garage (G. W. Best), Wells Road, 4. Phone Whitechurch 2618; Night 2787. open 7 days Triangle Garage (Bristol) Ltd, Ashton Gate, 3. 'Phone 64341. Victoria Motor Co. (Bristol) Ltd, Temple Gate, 1. Phone 27251/4, open 24 hrs 7 days a week Whitehorns Motor Mart Ltd, 104/108 Ashley Road, 2. Phone 56909 and 58325. Williams Automobiles Ltd, Eastville Bus Terminus, Eastville. 5. Phone 57845/6. August 1961: Distributor College Motors Ltd, 27 Rupert Street, 1. Phone 26531 + Service and Spares at Old Broad Street, Temple Way 2 Phone 26531 Dealers C Allen & Sons (Bristol) Ltd, Berkeley Square, 8. Phone 22514. Auto Valet (Bristol), 89/91 Lawrence Hill 'Phone 51352. Bawns (Bristol) Limited, 170-175 Coronation Road, 3. Phone: 63025/6/7 and 64423. Bridge Motor & Engineering Co Ltd, 60/62 Hampton Road, Redland 6. Phone 34486 City Motors (Bristol) Ltd, Montague Street 2 Phone 21591 And at 174 Cheltenham Road, 6. Phone 45833. S J Cook & Sons (Kingswood) Ltd, Rodway Garage, Station Road, Kingswood Fishponds Motor Co, Fishponds Road, Bristol. Phone 52373 and 53473. open 24 hrs 7 days a week Goughs. Garages Ltd, The Grove Phone 24614 Greyhound Garage, 303 Wells Road. Phone 78585 Harris Motors, High Street, Hanham. Phone 6-73243 T Hobbs & Son, 8 Longmead Avenue, 7. Phone 45575. Kings Motors Ltd, 15/19 Strokes Croft. Phone 21581 Rodney Garages Ltd, Station Road, Kingswood and Staple Hill, Fishponds, Phone 655200 Shrubbery Garage (Downend) Ltd, Downend Road, Downend. Phone 653875 Sparkes Garage 46-50 West Street, Bedminster Speedwell Garage, 749 Speedwell Road 5. Phone 58054 Triangle Garage (Bristol) Ltd, Ashton Gate, 3. 'Phone 64341. Vickers Auto Ltd, Malago Road, Bedminster 3 Phone 627403 Wells Autos Garage, Wells Road, Phone 77651 Williams Automobiles Ltd, Eastville Bus Terminus, Eastville. 5. Phone 57845/6. February 1965: Distrbutor College Motors Ltd, Avon Street, BS2 0PT + Service and Spares at Old Broad Street, Temple Way 2 Dealers C Allen & Son (Bristol) Ltd, Berkeley Square, Bristol, BS8 1H2 Autotrend Ltd, Fishponds Road, Phone 657247-8 Bawns (Bristol) Ltd, 168-176 Coronation Road, B3 Bedminster Road Garage (Sales) Ltd, Bedminster Down, 3. Phone 663025 Bridge Motor & Engineering Co Ltd, 60/62 Hampton Road, Redland 6. Phone 34486 City Motors (Bristol) Ltd, Marlborough Street 1 Phone 21591 Clarke Bro's (Westbury) Ltd, Stoke Lane, 9. + Muller Road S J Cook & Sons (Kingswood) Ltd, Rodway Garage, Station Road, Kingswood, BS15 4XX Crown Garage, Bath Road, Saltford. Phone 3203 Filwood Service Station, Filwood Broadway, Knowle West, 4. Phone 662871 Goughs Garages Ltd, The Grove. Phone 24614 T Hobbs & Son (Car Sales), 8 Longmead Avenue, 7 Phone 45575 Miles Motors,Miles Garage, Cheapside, Wells Road, Phone 77875 Premier Service Station, 329 Gloucester Road Runway Garage, Gloucester Road, Patchway Sparkes Garage 92-110 North Road, BedminsterThornbury Motor Co Ltd, St Marys Street, Thornbury. Phone 2356 Market Garage, Bath Road, Keynsham, Phone 86/3261 September 1968: Distrbutor College Motors Ltd, Avon Street, BS2 0PT + Service and Spares at Old Broad Street, Temple Way 2 Dealers C Allen & Son (Bristol) Ltd, Berkeley Square, Bristol, BS8 1H2 Bawns (Bristol) Ltd, 168-176 Coronation Road, B3 S J Cook & Sons (Kingswood) Ltd, Rodway Garage, Station Road, Kingswood, BS15 4XX F A S Garages Ltd, 75 Gloucester Road North, Goughs Garages Ltd, The Grove M W M Motors Ltd, 686 Fishponds Road, BS16 3HJ Premier Service Station, 329 Gloucester Road Runway Garage, Gloucester Road, Patchway Sparkes Garage 92-110 North Road, Bedminster March 1970: Distrbutor College Motors Ltd, Avon Street, BS2 0PT Dealers C Allen & Son (Bristol) Ltd, Berkeley Square, Bristol, BS8 1H2 Bawns (Bristol) Ltd, 168-176 Coronation Road, B3 Church Road Garage, Chuch Road, Horfield S J Cook & Sons (Kingswood) Ltd, Rodway Garage, Station Road, Kingswood, BS15 4XX M W M Motors Ltd, 686 Fishponds Road, BS16 3HJ Runway Garage, Gloucester Road, Patchway Sparkes Garage 92-110 North Road, Bedminster March 1972: Distrbutor College Motors Ltd, Avon Street, BS2 0PT Dealers C Allen & Son (Bristol) Ltd, Berkeley Square, Bristol, BS8 1H2 Bawns (Bristol) Ltd, 168-176 Coronation Road, B3 S J Cook & Sons (Kingswood) Ltd, Rodway Garage, Station Road, Kingswood, BS15 4XX M W M Motors Ltd, 686 Fishponds Road, BS16 3HJ. Lex Mead (Bristol) Ltd, 11-15 Merchants Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4ER March 1974: Distrbutor College Motors Ltd, Avon Street, BS2 0PT Dealers S J Cook & Sons (Kingswood) Ltd, Rodway Garage, Station Road, Kingswood, BS15 4XX. C Allen & Son (Bristol) Ltd, Berkeley Square, Bristol, BS8 1H2. M W M Motors Ltd, 672-686 Fishponds Road, BS16 3HJ. Lex Mead (Bristol) Ltd, 11-15 Merchants Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4ER May 1975: Dutton Forshaw (Bristol) Ltd, Avon Street, BS2 0PT Henlys (Western) Ltd, 156 Cheltenham Road, BS6 5RN C Allen & Son (Bristol) Ltd, Berkeley Square, Bristol, BS8 1H2 M W M Motors Ltd, 672-686 Fishponds Road, BS16 3HJ + service at Hockeys Lane Lex Mead (Bristol) Ltd, 11-15 Merchants Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4ER. March 1988: Hartwells of Bristol Ltd, 11-15 Merchants Road, Clifton BS8 4ER Hartwells of Bristol Ltd, 285 Badminton Road, Coalpit Heath, BS17 2QL Green Brothers (Bristol) Ltd, 122-137 West Street, Bedminster BS3 3PN Lex Tilotson Bristol, High Street, Kingswood, BS15 4AH Regal Garage (Bristol) Ltd, 74-82 Staple Hill Road, Fishponds BS16 5BU Williams Automobiles Ltd, 16-18-20 Fishponds Road, Eastville, BS6 6SB Plea for informationIf you have any more information or recollections about Standard or Triumph car dealers in Bristol such photos of window stickers, dealer badges or sill plates etc please let me know. I can be contacted via the comments to this post or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephen.weblinSource and linksLink to the other articles in this series.Link to my facebook page: Triumph Car Dealers. Link to my Triumph Car Dealers Flickr group which includes many photos of Standard Triumph garages etc from my collection and many other contributors . I have a collection of Standard Triumph car dealer directories: http://vitessesteve.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/triumph-car-dealer-directories.html Picture credit: A blog post from vitessesteve
posted Sat 7th Mar 2020
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FHC resto nr. 87; Striping, one step backwards |
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In my previous post I wrote that there was no need to remove the striping from the bonnet. And there lies the problem when you’re a bit of a perfectionist 😏. Because since finding out that the bonnet striping wasn’t fitted perfectly it continued to haunt me. And after consulting a friend (who cut the striping for me) it was decided to remove the striping from the bonnet. And with a borrowed hair dryer (…) that went pretty easy. Next stage was preparing some of the left overs, or should I say test pieces which I had stored for just this reason. With a new set of bonnet stripes ready it was time to log in to my work account and open AutoCad to adapt the original cutting file for the front wing stripes. As there were no major errors in the overall dimension and shape, this only took a few minutes. Sadly though said friend had run out of black foil! To be continued!
posted Sat 29th Feb 2020
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![]() posts: 2378 Website Administrator Website Moderator Isle of Wight group joined on Mon 16th Oct 2006 |
Broadfields Garage, Cockfosters part 2 - Triumph Car Dealers 42A |
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This is my second article about Broadfields Garage & Engineering Co Ltd, Standard House, Cockfosters in North London. This time I am covering the subject of Standard Triumph Sales and Service Weeks in more detail. You can read part 1 here:
Plea for informationIf you have any more information or recollections about Broadfields Garage, photos of window stickers, dealer badges or sill plates etc please let me know. I can be contacted via the comments to this post or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephen.weblinFurther information and sourcesLink to the other articles in this series.Link to my first post about Broadfields Link to face book page: Triumph Car Dealers. Link to my Triumph Car Dealers Flickr group which includes many photos of Standard Triumph garages etc from my collection and many other contributors . I have a collection of Standard Triumph car dealer directories: http://vitessesteve.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/triumph-car-dealer-directories.html Picture credits: All these photos are from Standard Triumph Review February 1958. A blog post from vitessesteve
posted Sat 29th Feb 2020
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FHC resto nr. 86; A few small jobs |
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With the new brake light switch fitted successfully to 't Kreng's pedal box, I went over to my local car parts supplier for two more switches, earlier this month. One for the DHC and one for the this car. And while I was in the area I also paid a visit to Montagetechniek Patrick Saes a few miles down the road for some stainless fasteners to fit the door mirrors base plate to the mirror’s base plinth door mirrors. And with the musical carnival obligations behind me, and with still a few days off from work, I decided to spent some quality time in the shed 😜 First items to be bolted to the car were the mirror’s base plates. Fairly straightforward, though on the driver’s side the two nuts were lying to deep inside the base plinth for the bolts to engage. Only way to get around the problem was removing the plinth, attaching the base plate to it and fit the assembly back on the door. As easy as it sounds, especially with a still almost bare door. With the base plates in place fitting the mirrors was easy. Of course I had to forgot something, in this case the Loctite. This is needed to prevent the grub screws from coming loose. But on hindsight this might not be too bad, as the plastic base plate will probably have a tendency to deform slightly over time, due to the stress of the grub screw. And without Loctite it will be easier to tighten the grub screw when needed. For those interested; the mirrors fitted are new items, purchased directly from Tex Automotive. And they are fitted with convex glass to improve the field of view. Next on the to-do-list was the brake light switch. No real need to fit it already but this way at least I can’t forget where I stored it J. And with no dashboard parts in place yet it was very easy to adjust both the switch and its mounting bracket. And final job for the day was a thorough check of the striping parts that go over the front wing. A few weeks ago I noticed that the striping on the bonnet was fitted slightly different on the two sides. So to be safe I took the front wing striping and a pencil with me to check how these fitted … As you can see in the picture above there are a few areas of the striping that need rectifying. So back to the drawing board and computer. But at least there’s no need to remove the striping from the bonnet! Time to go in searches for a late seatbelt to fit to the DHC, as the driver’s seat belt doesn’t roll up properly anymore. Did find a set, but they were rather inaccessible, and still fitted to one of my two DHC bodies. So that will have to wait for another time. But while searching through my spares I stumbled across two “Rover” branded boxes containing a set of column switches for a late classic Mini. Managed to save them a few decades ago when a Rover dealer was having a clear-out and thought they were TR7. Will see if they can be made to fit to a TR7 … |
![]() posts: 2378 Website Administrator Website Moderator Isle of Wight group joined on Mon 16th Oct 2006 |
Triumph Herald Spitfire Tuning & Modification |
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The Triumph Herald Spitfire Tuning & Modification book is the next item from the batch of books and manuals rescued by Colin Wake. It includes lots of period tuning information. The Tecalemit Jackson fuel injection system is described You can read or download the book from here: If you like this may also like the Triumph Spitfire 4 Stage Tuning and Competition Preparation Copyright Notice I am sharing this book and not seeking to profit from its distribution. If you have any claim to the book or its contents please let me know. A blog post from vitessesteve
posted Sat 22nd Feb 2020
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