Let there be light

That is another job done. I have now got lots of electic sockets and lighting fully sorted in my garage.

Yesterday I fitted a roller blind to the window. Much better than the builders sack I had been using to stop anybody looking in.

No excuses now power, light and 2 fully working doors - will now start the big list of car projects.

Break in - Part 7 the end

Kevin the garage door man, called round today and sorted out the electronics. Excellent service from KJH Automation Services Limited 07976 753824 or kevin-h@lineone.net I would recommend him to you if you need your electric gates or garage doors installing or fixing.

That hopefully is the end to sorting out the mess following my garage being broken in to.

Plum pudding race meeting

I heard of this race meeting at Mallory Park some time ago but what with one thing and another never got round to going. They have had a meet on boxing day there for years apparently.

It was a good excuse to get the Vitesse out for blast. I reckon we were the only classic in the crowd excepting a cream coloured MGB GT. A pity I have often seen interesting cars in race meeting carparks.

There were two Triumph motorbike sidecar competitors - I spotted this one in the paddock. The other picture is of a Berkley which was racing with the sider cars.

Break in - Part 6

Yesterday I was called at work and told the replacement door was available. "Can I fit it tomorrow" he says. Thanks to an understanding and flexible employer I was able to work from home today. So here is the latest instalment in the seemingly never ending saga.

The Garage door man has just gone - job nearly complete. Nice new garage door fitted, this time with no external lock that can be vandalised. Strange that I was told originally that I had to have the lock fitted. A roller door with no external fittings should be less tempting to vandals and thieves.

It turns out that the electronic control gear for the door also needs replacing - normally he would have had parts in his van - his van broke down earlier this week so he came in a hire van with no spares.

So this is another chapter in the continuing saga not the finale - to be concluded soon.

Foggy notion

Was out in my Valencia blue Vitesse in the fog. A dark colour with little old rear lights and no fog lights is not very visible. Must fit a fog light.

Alloy water pump housing

I know it is not my picture I have borrowed it from Canley Classics. But I just wanted you to see my new arrival. When I opened the box in my office it still had that machine shop smell which was a very welcome interuption to my morning.

Fun Cars

I had been looking for this book for some time. Found it on eBay at the end of October. Now another copy has come up. Strange that. Next thing I know it will be republished and available from W H Smith.

There are various cars in the book that use Triumph parts. The TX Tripper pictures are very period. A bit like this.

Kas Kastner - his latest book 2

Just got my copy direct from the states. Signed by the man himself.

Not much in this book about small chassis Triumphs compared with the last two. Has an excellent article about Lucas Fuel Injection amongst other things.

Break in - Part 5

Sorting out the repair or replacement of the roller door seems to be taking for ever. The insurance company have been very good and promised to pay for a complete new door if that is needed. It seems that it is cheaper to replace the entire door and fit new tracks for it than try to fix the damage. In other words the existing door has been written off.

The contractor who will doing the work visited me at 7.20am on Monday so I could show him the damage etc before setting off to work. How is that for service? He said he could have been at my garage for 6.00am.

most excellent resource

I had read that the Triumph 2000/2500/2.5PI Register service notes were recommended for triumphists with PI.

Having bought them I reckon that it was money well spent. They are full tips gathered over the years by club members. http://www.t2000register.org.uk/

In case you can not read the above here is what it says.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

SERVICE NOTES SUPPLEMENT
The long-awaited second volume of our invaluable guide to maintenance and problem solving from the pages of “SIXappeal” 1993 to 2001. Written by our experts and members. Price £12.50 plus £4.00 p&p (UK).

ALSO AVAILABLE AGAIN IN A LIMITED EDITION - SERVICE NOTES Volume I
Still in demand this is the original volume covering the technical bits of “SIXappeal” 1981 to 1992. Price held at £20.00 plus £4.50 p&p (UK).
SPECIAL OFFER - while stocks last
Buy both volumes of Service Notes for only £30.00 plus £7.00 p&p (UK).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

You can save the postage if you buy them at a show. I got mine at the NEC classic last month.

Heated screens 2

Have you noticed this recent exchange on the messageboard started by Jason Green. http://www.tssc.org.uk/messageboard.asp?board=clubchat§ion=general&topic=20061109202455447697795

Looking back at March 2006 copy the TSSC mag Courier I read a letter about getting heated screens made by midlands based company called Uroglas.

The letter invited readers to telephone a chap. What happened next? Did he get any screens made up?

Have tried to contact him by private message via the TSSC board I will report back he later.

A real new post - new style blog -

So what is so good about this new style Blog? It just seems to have republished all my old posts. So if like me you have some software to track new posts you will have got a surprise recently.

I use a Blog roll from Blogarithm http://www.blogarithm.com/getSticker.html which mails me daily with headlines from the Blogs I am watching - a neat trick.

Heated screens

A fellow Triumph Sports Six Club member has posted this on their messageboard.

Heated Screens, anyone? Posted By : Jason Green, 09-Nov-2006, 08:24pm
If any one is interested in a heated screen, please register your interest here.
Current project is for heated front and rear screens for the Herald/Vitesse and heated rear screens for the GT6.
All screens are laminated.
The minimum production run is 15. So when we reach 15 names for each type I'll contact all by PM to confirm.
Prices are from £140 for the front, £120 for the GT6 rear screen and £140 for the Herald/Vitesse rear, all subject to VAT.
I'd like a Vitesse front.
Next, please.
-----------
I would like 1 front screen and 1 rear screen for my Vitesse. If you are interested you can either visit the TSSC messageboard or contact me and will pass your message to Jason.

Break in part 4

I made a start with buying tools at the NEC classic on Friday. There were lots to choose from but unfortunately alot of junk on view.

Am getting the house alarm extended to include the garage. Will need a radio link as the garage is at the bottom of the garden not attached to the house. The existing alarm only sounds at the garage and did not stop the theives.

Most of the stuff that was nicked was covered by the insurance pay out. Annoyingly no cover for expensive Millers synthetic oil that I had not got round to putting in the car. No spare parts stolen which is good because the house contents would not cover that either.

Seems to me that classic car owners need insurance that covers spare parts and stuff like oil as well as tools. Must check it out next time the renewal comes up.

Break in - part 3

Good news. Had a telephone conversation with the insurers and have agreed a sum of money with them. My cheque is in the post, so can look for replacement tools at the NEC tomorrow.

GT6R

Just visited this excellent new blog. All about building a replica GT6 LeMans car.

http://gt6r-lemans.blogspot.com/

two blondes

The two blondes in my live. Gloria is the big loud hen on the left and Dolly is rather more quiet. Both named after Triumphs. So you thought naming cars was silly!

Break in - Part 2

In order to nick my stuff the garage door was forced open. I told the insurer this and guess what they send a fitter round who looks at the door and tells me it needs replacing or mending. I already knew that I had told the insurer what had happened and thought that they had arranged for somebody to come and fix it. Lucky I had not taken any more time off work for this episode, but will have when the door is fixed. I did spend most of this morning waiting for this news - not a good use of my precious weekend time.

Just like having your car breakdown when the first bloke turns up and says yes your car in broke will get it recovered and you then have to hang around again waiting to be recovered.

Bling bits

I want the 2.5PI engine I am building to look good as well. Found these on sale on eBay from a chap who does lots other shiny bits. http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZbuyright777QQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWNQ3aMESOI

Must make a list

Do you know what is in your garage? Having recently suffered a breakin and having to tell the insurer what is missing I realize how much stuff I had. I intend to make a list of all my tools and parts so I actually know what I have got. At least that is what I thinking today.

Guess when I get down to sorting through the contents I may have second thoughts or stop when the list gets too long and the amount of time and money I have spent collecting all the stuff becomes apparent.

Break in

Last night my garage was broken into. Fortunately no damage to my car but lots of tools have been nicked.

The police are sympathetic but I have no expectation of getting any thing back. Hope the insurance covers it.

Kas Kastner - his latest book

I wonder who will be stocking "Racing, Winning and Other Myths in Triumph Cars" the latest book from Kas Kastner? http://www.kaskastner.com/buybooks.html

If it is anything like his other books it will be a good read.

I would like to get an autographed copy so hope to hear about somebody importing copies sometime this month.

POSTSCRIPT added Tuesday 17th - Looks like neither jason chinn or Canleyclassics will be importing this time - so have ordered direct and paid by PayPal - easy job done.

still a bargain

With all my other insurance policies costing more each year I wondered what was in store for the car this year. No worries. Last year my insurance cost £122.00. This year £124.35 a bargain from Footman James http://www.footmanjames.co.uk courtesy of TSSC http://www.tssc.org.uk/.

Practical Performance Car

I was complaining about supply and demand the other day. Well at last a result on one front.

I took out a subscription to Practical Performance Car some months ago at the Newark Kit Car Show. There was a special offer of 5litres of Millers motor oil free - it turned up today at work.

I asked for Millers Sport 20w50 semi synthetic classic oil. I have been sent CFS 10w60 which is a far more expensive fully synthetic racing oil.

Not being sure it was appropriate for my Triumph Vitesse engine I asked a question on a couple of messageboards. "Anybody know if such high tech stuff will be OK for use in my road car which gets some hard use but is no racing car?"

Within hours the replies came back from Club Triumph Forum. Brillant!

Probably the perfect engine oil for ANY of our engines. Slap it in and enjoy!
"if you are offended in any way by my opinion, please add a pinch of salt"Too young to die old http://www.crazyspitfire.blogspot.com/ the BROKEN Beast!

Use it Steve. It's coming up to winter and that lower rating means your poor old starter isn't going to struggle against that glue called 20 weight mineral oil that will form on a frosty morn. Oil technology has moved on considerably we should all be taking advantage of it. I have used 5-40 for the past 15 odd years in my motors, and they all do big/hard miles, no problems to report.
http://www.canleyclassics.com/

Thank you all gentlemen. I am reassured. At more than £40.00 for 5 litres it could be the start of an expensive habit - but I love my engine. On second thoughts it must be cheaper than a rebulid and if as Dave says I do 20000miles on it that is about the same as 4 normal changes. So I will spend less on oil as well!

Asda at Tunstall

Having picked yet another eBay bargain in Tunstall Staffordshire I was looking out for a chip shop but found ASDA first. It made my day to come back to my Vitesse and find it surrounded by an admirring crowd. You don't see many of these cars nowadays; I had one of those years ago; you lucky so and so my wife makes me drive a modern etc.

Supply and demand

I have noticed of late an increasing tendancy for the particular bits and pieces I want not to be available. I know that our cars are getting to be less and less used but if this tendancy continues we will not be able to use them even if we want to.

to Hawes and back

This is what made me drive for more than 5 hours. Am I mad, I don't think so. More eBay treasure. A gearbox for £10.00.
The North York Moors are beautiful just look at this river.
And my car did not miss a beat! The more I use it the better it gets.

Storage

I had to move all my stuff out of my old garage before it was demolished and I had a splendid new one built. I have been enjoying the space and left most of the stuff in the cellar. The time has come to move back. The part or tool I want is always in the wrong place or in a box buried under something else.

Having surfed around a bit I found some industrail strength shelving on eBay. It is due to be delivered next week. http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZbigdugltdQQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWNQ3aMESOI

Another tank

I took a trip out to Mablethorpe on the Lincs seaside last night. Its an odd place the beach is hidden from the town by huge dunes. Had a fish supper after picking up a Herald estate petrol tank before heading back home.

The roads were a challenge in the dark, with so many farmers harvesting under lights it was tricky to be sure where the road was sometimes. Some of the farming machinery had multiple flood lights which were not dipped for on coming traffic.

Now I wonder if this tank will find its way into the PI fuel system?

I can only assume that the gearbox twisted

Comment from Andre

I can only assume the gearbox twisted and thats why the bell housing
cracked.
I checked the cover and did not see any impacts.
But maybe I might line the thing with sheet metal :)
I'm going to pick up a 5 Speed, I was going to buy a OD kit, but not now.
I want something I can beat on a little more.
A.

Transmission failure - not mine

I have read a tale on: http://www.justdrive.ca/gt6/ which reminded of a not dissimilar incident that befell my Vitesse some years ago. So sent poor Andre an email.

Sorry to read of your news.

I had the bell housing fail on my Vitesse at speed some years ago. The gearbox started to come through the transmission tunnel. (Fortunately into the passenger foot well.) I was pushing the car hard at least 4500rpm in overdrive top!

I guess that the bell house broke first which left the gearbox attached to the prop. Being attached to the prop rather than the bell housing the gearbox broke through the tunnel. The continuing motion of the car pulled the prop off the end of the gearbox, the UJ jokes were smashed. There was a hell of a lot of noise. Fortunately the road was empty and I was able to pull the car up straight.

At the time it was a very unusal event for nobody in the West Midland Triumph community in the UK had ever seen such a thing. The recovery driver told me how lucky I was that the prop runs above the chassis at the transmission as he remembered picking up the remains of an old Ford where the prop had dropped and dug into the road!

Take a look at his pictures: http://www.justdrive.ca/gt6/06/0904/slides/DSCN1285.html

Yahoo - Triumphcarads

The Yahoo group triumphcarads · Triumph Car Ads nearly closed today. Lucky some kind soul stepped in to be the new moderator.

It exists as a free listing for Triumph cars and parts.

It is a great idea would be a great shame to see it fold.

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/triumphcarads/

Use or lose it.

Little London

Here I am on the main street in London. We went on tour of Wales for a few days after the Wyedean run. We had a picnic lunch here watching the swallows skim over the field.

Wyedean scenic run

This was a great day out crossing Wales from Ross on Wye to Devils Bridge. The abundant rain made the run all the more memorable. Knowing that we would be driving right across Wales we had set out the on Friday and stopped the night at a B&B near the start. Had intended to camp but the rain was so heavy as we got near Ross that we took the easier option of B&B.

Welsh mountain roads in a convoy with somebody who knows the way are so much easier. You can concentrate on the driving and scenery with no thoughts of navigating.

We stopped off in some woods at a mountain bike cafe for a cuppa and to regroup. At that point it was clear that the intended finish at the beach for a barbeque would have to change.

The event finished up at Devils Bridge rain station yard. As we arrived a steam train was leaving I reckon we Triumphs got more attention.

More pictures at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/steveweblin/album?.dir=bec6re2&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

Leicester Splash 2006

Shame about the rain. We did splash quite a bit on the way home. A friendly show at Brooksby Hall near Melton Mowbray. Meet some old friends Chris http://nuts-about-triumphs.blogspot.com/ and Steve from the West Midlands. Another Chris who owned my car years ago came and said hello (you can't have her back).

Got a couple of old car mags from the autojumble and Jan my partner found some second hand books so that pleased her.

Good to see the HQ van was there with a selection of the shop stock http://www.tssc.org.uk/catalog.asp?category=home.

One of the side shows called splat the rat was great fun. A rat (a toy it must be said) was dropped down a drain pipe and the aim of the game was hit it as it came out. We both failed. Apparently a 4 year had managed it earlier in the day.

There was a chap there called Carl Saunders. He had lots of body spare parts that he had fabricated himself. He calls his business Black Cat Ironworks. "For Triumph Herald and Vitesse spares repair panels, bodywork, welding and much more........" is what his business card says. contact him on 07963 426933 or email on spiffy@whsmithnet.co.uk

Lincs area TSSC

I am lucky to live within easy reach of several local area meetings. Last night we sampled the Lincs area meet. http://www.lincstssc.co.uk/

Garth and crew meet at The Woodcocks a pub restaurant with a large carpark. The run out from Newark was in heavy rain every time I overtook a truck the wipers had a hard job keeping up. Must think of a way of upgrading. We ate at the pub decent food but a little nouveau for us. Also we were the only couple eating at our table so that was a little odd.

Notts area TSSC meet

Went along to my local area http://www.notts-tssc.org.uk/meeting last night. A good crowd, excellent beer and a super venue. Looks like Claire the AO will have her hands full running the area and sorting the International. Was interesting to hear the letter from HQ about the changes.

Meet a bloke (Ron) who may have a wind deflector I can fit to my Wabastco sunroof.

Area meetings really are a great idea.

2000 problems

Had planned to pick up the 2000 tomorrow, but now looks like thats not on...........

Sorry Nigel will try again soon.

Triumphs in use

Whilst visitng Newcastle for the day we saw an automatic Stag parked up and a Spitfire in motion amongst all the rest of the traffic in the city centre. I think that David Pearson prognosis may be right. http://www.canleyclassics.com/blog/

real world use

I use my car so was glad to see this on the Canley Classics blog from David Pearson.
http://www.canleyclassics.com/blog/2006/07/did-you-use-your-triumph-this-weekend.html

Stephen Weblin

No trailer

My plans to pick up the 2000 will have to wait. Seems lots of cars are being moved this weekend.

2000 opportunity

I know of a 2000 saloon in the vale of Belvoir that is available for breaking are you interested?

Last MOT'd 2002 then driven for a year.

I would like the gearbox/overdrive you can have the rest if you can help me retrieve it.
Problem is nobody will hire me a trailer when I turn up in my Vitesse.

I have plenty of space at my place to break it up here in Newark!

http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/steveweblin/album?.dir=c189scd&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

http://www.kdtriumph.com/

The Karl Dandridge Triumph the link on the left of my blog was not working. I have fixed now. Give it a go. http://www.kdtriumph.com/

Meet up with Karl at the TSSC national today. A very professional looking stand. Even the sweets were colour co-ordinated.

Sounds like he will using his racing experience to bring some interesting stuff to the market soon for us street car drivers. I will be watching out for more news!

Stafford 2006

I visted the TSSC national at Stafford. It seemed a little quieter than usual. It was good to meet up with some old friends from my days in the West Midlands. One of those chaps Chris Allen was running the Dinky concourse. That chap must have every AA model ever issued. If you get the chance check his collection out.

Two ex John Kipping/Canley blokes were trading there. Mike Papworth who sorted my gearbox recently and Karl Dandridge. http://www.kdtriumph.com/

There were some bargains to had in the autojumble. I looked at several cars running PI and got some more ideas.



This is a electronic PI set up on a GT6.

I have saved some more pictures to http://photos.yahoo.com/steveweblin

Also picked up a spare petrol tank from Debbie AKA targopurple which I bought off eBay recently. A nice change to actually meet an Ebay trader. Will be able to play with this one to get the PI plumbing sorted.

WYL

A picture for use in my profile etc.

rear view mirror part 4 - a happy ending

Top picture shows the two styles of ordinary none dipping mirror. Bottom picture shows two types of dipping mirror.

I picked another ordinary rear view mirror off eBay. Much to my surprise the fitting it different.
The stem ends in a female socket rather than a male ball (rightside of 1st picture) : the mirror has a ball on a stalk on back.

Now I can fit the dipping mirror I already have (not the one I got from David Pearson of http://www.canleyclassics.com/ that has a socket on the back) onto this new stem.

Job done!

David - thanks for taking the time to try to help. Problem now sorted. I never thought that
there would be so many variations on a theme. I thought Stanpart tried to standardise!

PS whilst visting Stafford TSSC International I noticed amongst the autojumble that there were plenty of rear view mirrors that could be bought and customised as I have done.

Garage Doors opening

Will try to host a video at http://eazyshare.net/files/727/DSCF0860.AVI

Radical Modification

I have just found out that I could source Wizard of Nos stuff from:

Kingdom Developments
address: Old Great North Road, South Muskham, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG23 6EA
phone: 01636 708099

A local firm. Maybe worth a blast out to chat to them.

http://www.noswizard.com/

Pictures from Newark Kit Car Show

A Marcos
the Probe 15 - Just look how low this car is 2 inch ground clearance.

Newark Kit car show

What a bargain as the driver of a classic car I got in for free. How many more shows do you know where that is the case?

I will post some pictures later.

Meet a local chap who does one off alloy fabrication for kit and racing cars. Think I might talk to him about getting a custom petrol tank made up to add into the ongoing PI project. I was quoted £150.00 for a tank having seen used TR5/6 tanks for £75.00 I may be on to something!

Quoting from his compliments slip

"Alloy Racing Fabrications specialists in one off products in all aspects of welding & fabrication 13 Oak Avenue, New Ollerton, Newark, Notts NG22 9PT. Telephone 07968 329108 fax 01623 835805 email sales@alloyracingfabrications.com"

Garage summary

I have added some more content on my website at http://vitessesteve.co.uk/garage/garage_project  was
 http://www.geocities.com/steveweblin/garage/garage_project.htm any questions please ask. I know how useful it was to talk through the options with various friends and my architect before starting the job.

TSSC News

I have just come off the phone to Bill Sunderland TSSC President. Thanks Bill for taking the time to reassure me about recent events.

I was glad to talk to such a committed chap. I am sure that things are changing for the better now.

Talking to a real human is much better in many ways than using the message board I suggest contributors to the TSSC message board try it sometime............

I think that the messageboard is a great facilty but rumours can run out of control. Because it is so immediate it is possible to post without thinking. Remember as they used to say many years ago "careless talk costs lives." Is that what anybody wants?

Ashby Folville

Spotted this on the Club Triumph forum.

For those in the Leicester/Nottingham area (or who fancies a drive out from further afield) its the monthly car gathering (Classics, Vintage, Custom, Sports, etc) at Ashby Folville, which is close to Melton Mowbray on the B674 - just off the B6047.
Well worth a visit - should be another bumper turnout tonight.... and by bumper I in excess of 200 cars, supplemented by Bikes. You don't need to know where in Ashby Folville - if you find the village you can't miss it.

TSSC changes are a foot

Jason Chinn says on his Blog http://chinn.blogspot.com/

Want a job?
Seems like there's another re-shuffle at the Triumph Sports Six Club - I heard that role of Public Relations Office may be vacant. I wonder what's going on in the TSSC these days?

My reply

Interesting times in deed. Just been on the phone to Bill Sunderland at TSSC HQ who reassured me that things are changing. He said that the members will start to see significant changes as soon as next month.

__________________________________________________________________

Blazing hot

We took WYL for a blast yesterday to see some open gardens out in the country. Gardening is my partners first love as my Vitesse is mine I guess after her of course!

Despite the heat no problems but did get v hot in car - no running on or boiling after parking up.

Noticed a new noise maybe the alternator bearings are running dry

rear view mirror part3

Having cleaned up the rather crubby dipping rear view mirror that I picked up from David Pearson at Canley Classics recently I thought I would try fixing it to the stem. Unfortunately as you can see from the pictures getting the mirror attached to the stem will not be easy. The ball on the end of the stem is too small to pop into the mirror head. On a normal non-dipping Vitesse mirror the ball on the end of the stem is held in a threaded cap which screw fits to a male threaded part on the head.

Ultima does it again

I know it is not Triumph related but this is one hell of a car. I saw one on the way into Nottingham the other day. If I had one of these that would make commuting fun again!

0-100-0 in 9.4 seconds.

Details at: http://www.ultimasports.co.uk/records/part6.html

Or watch the vid at: http://www.ultimacars.com/video/UltimaRecord2006.wmv

A visit to Karl at KDTriumph

On my way home from a meeting at the National Motor Cycle Museum I called in on Karl. http://www.kdtriumph.com

Over a welcome cup of coffee we discussed things Triumphs. The conversation touched on club politics, racing and a favourite subject of mine fitting a 2.5PI engine into my Vitesse. Karl recommended I give careful consideration to the fueling.

I have heard that if using the standard petrol tank that I will need to leave it at least 1/4 full if not 1/2 full. I need a swirl pot. Having to fill up at half empty would cut the range to 100 miles between petrol stations. A 2.5PI saloon or TR5/6 tank would have a built in swirl pot. Now I will have find one to do a test fit.

Seeing the racing GT6 lurking at the back of the workshop gave me an opportunity to see just how much damage it sustained.

Karl also agreed to get some dashboard trims items blasted clean and blackened for me. When fitted they will improve the look of the dash.

Dipping rear view mirror part2

Called in on David Pearson at Canley Classics. It is amazing the stuff they have in store. There were many different rear view mirrors from all sorts of Triumphs. I came away with a grubby dipping mirror that when I modify it abit should do the job.

Also have to say I could not resist buying a alloy water pump and alloy housing. Do you not just love all the shiny light weight bits!

Alternator mounting

Surfing eBay I saw that Karl of http://www.kdtriumph.com/ had an alternator mounting listed. http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZkdtriumphQ2dcomQQsspagenameZADMEQ3aXQ3aEMTFSOIQ3aUKQ3a2
It looked a little different to me. It seems that the GT6 mounting puts the alternator lower than the big saloon mounting I am using at present on my Vitesse. Will use this new lower fitting on the 2.5PI lump I am building up.

Day at the races

We have had a great day out watching the Triumph race at Donnington. The circuit has had much money spent on it since last year and it shows.

dipping rear view mirror

I am still looking for
http://www.geocities.com/steveweblin/dipping_mirror/dippingmirror.htm
If I find a suitable source I will try to remember to post something here or the TSSC board.

I have a dipping rear view mirror in my Vitesse. I think it came from a big saloon. Trouble is it now tends to shake at speed.

What dipping mirror would fit to the Vitesse that a Triump breaker might have?I missed this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayI.....3AMEDW:IT&rd=1which would have been ideal.

I know I could get a mirror from somewhere like Halfords that would need sticking on the glass or hold on by suction but would prefer a Triumph part if poss.

I also know that the sun visors will need cutting down to size as all the dipping mirrors are bigger than the original equipment non-dipping mirror, unless you know of a small dipping mirror.

Hens get everywhere

Chicane having a dust bath. All our chickens have Triumph names. Must try to get pictures of Toledo, Bonniville, Gloria and Dolly as in Dolimite.

Garage Doors Fitted

Now for the electrics.

Big TSSC tent

If we want a big tent covering all Triumphs should we be more open about other clubs and their events. I know the Racing is already a joint enterprise.

How about listing all the Nationals held by the other clubs. In my time I have enjoyed the TR do at Malvern and a couple of Dolomite SODIT national events.

back from the wood yard

My car gets pressed into action. The chaps at the wood yard were either amazed or horrified to see me putting the timber in through the sun roof to bring it home.

eBay treasure - from George

Just back from trip down to pick up some stuff from George. http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZweedyx Keep an eye out for some more bargains he has lots of stuff from 3 bonds (mk2 vitesse). All the money from his selling goes to the Parkinsons Disease Society.

Meeting him took my mind off this current TSSC club politics. Enjoy your Triumph today. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Karl sets up business

Karl the workshop chap from Canleyclassics has set in business. http://www.kdtriumph.com/
With all his real hands on experience he should be able to offer an excellent service.

I have had quite a bit of work done on my Vitesse over the years by him at Canley Classics and can recommend his handiwork.

Emails exchanged

Emails exchanged

to Jason

Have got home from a day in office and settled in for the evening. Now I
find an email from David Aspinal. Think I will leave until tomorrow to call
him.
Having read his message on TSSC message board I think I had better sleep on
it. He does not seem to have answered either of the questions. Why
restrict advertisements, why the club has such an odd arrangement to publish
the magazine.
To say that your statements were inaccurate but not to say how or why leaves
the matter unresolved and the members such as me in the dark.
All the best

to Steve, I too am sleeping on it - I have drafted a response to David. He's
been economical with the truth, has not apologised nor, as you say, actually
answered the issues. I don't think this can be put to bed until he does.
The way I see it -
I asked a question about a statement in some minutes.
David tells me that statement was printed wrongly.
Unfortunately that's been interpreted rather loosely by saying my post was
inaccurate.
The statement hasn't been publicly corrected nor has the question been
publicly answered.
I think we have to keep pressing - his idea of private answers to public
questions is crazy - he's as much admitted that he'll answer the question
privately to individual members but not openly on the forum, how daft is
that, "I'll talk to 10,000 members individually but not as one"

Thanks for your support, keep flying the flag!
Jason

No problem

Must have been a temporary fault as I can still view and post. Goody.

tssc missing post

I don't mind at all but David Aspinal seems to have taken a exception to it
- both to you posting it and what I said! I had another call from him this
morning another hour plus, I must have spent over 4 hours on the phone to
him in total over the course of this episode.
He seems to flit between understanding and dogmatic in an instant - he still
hangs onto the idea that by censoring things he'll stop people talking. He's
a small businessman used to doing things his way and I honestly think he
needs to just take the blinkers off and look at things with fresh eyes. The
membership has an interest in debate, has a right to talk and if anyone
takes that away they will be upset!
He was a little exasperated with me this morning, because I won't just shut
up - as I pointed out it's my Blog and I'll say what I like I'll keep it
light hearted and legal but other than that it's whatever I fancy putting up
there :-)
The trouble is in trying to stop the thread he's created a sh*t storm out of
all proportion to the original question - it now becomes a principle. He
still has to answer all the questions and issues this episode raises. What
are the procedures for taking a post down, or suspending a member or
answering questions about the workings of the Club etc?
Interestingly I have to write an Area News tonight following our area
meeting Tuesday when all this kicked off - I have to mention it as it was
the hot topic of conversation, I wonder if I'll be censored in print too?
I'll only know when the next Courier drops through the door!
Jason
Want to see what I've been up to? Check out Jason's Blog -
http://chinn.blogspot.com/
-----Original Message-----
From: Stephen Weblin [mailto:steve.weblin@virgin.net]
Sent: 07 April 2006 09:07
To: chinn@ntlworld.com
Subject: Vitessesteve: freedom of information
Stephen Weblin has sent you a link to a weblog:
Jason - so the story continues. Hope you do not mind me quoting your latest
blog entry on my blog and the TSSC message board.
or at work weblins@aforbes.co.uk
Blog: Vitessesteve
Post: freedom of information
Link: http://vitessesteve.blogspot.com/2006/04/freedom-of-information.html
--
Powered by Blogger
http://www.blogger.com/

lock out or site gone down?

I have just tried to view the TSSC site to read the much anticipated message from David, but can not see the site.

Is there a problem?

freedom of information

Poor Jason seems it is still not sorted. I quote from his blog http://chinn.blogspot.com/

TSSC access - why I'm not quite ready to return
I thought my access was "sorted" today but it needs some manual intervention at HQ to restore everything and that will have to wait for the staff to come in tomorrow. I do hope my profile, photos and info remains intact.I've had another chat with David tonight, he called to say that he will be putting up a statement on the message board and I will be restored. He did say he'd run it by me first, I'm working at home tomorrow so I should be able to give it some attention.I've said that taking down posts without explanation and without addressing the issues raised doesn't answer anything and leads to the kind of anger and frustration that I experienced.The questions that have been raised remain mainly unanswered so I hope David's statement addresses them - saying "this is not the place to raise it" doesn't really work and as I consider the TSSC board IS the place to raise issues I will continue to do so. If people aren't allowed to air their views there, then they'll do it in public forums - you can't solve a problem by denial. I do respect the views of the CoM but I would like the same respect for mine. If the CoM consider the post inappropriate then they can remove it and deal with the issue personally, I don't necessarily object to that but they must talk to the poster and sort it out, not stonewall people.My Blog will always have the unadulterated truth in it and the comments people post are not vetted although I do have the option of deleting anything offensive.I believe in the freedom of information and consultation with members - I don't believe being on the CoM gives you the right to make decisions with complete immunity from question. Members should never hesitate in questioning. I don't believe in a Utopian society where everyone is consulted on everything but as far as practically possible people should have the right to be heard. Decisions need to be made but justified and public to the members.My discussions with David have been amicable and forthright and I am grateful to him for that. He probably won't thank me for pointing this out but if anyone has an issue they can write/email him with it and he has promised to respond. If you don't get a satisfactory response to your post, send it to him and ask. He is quick to point out that although he's the General Secretary he doesn't get paid.
# posted by Jason : 8:22 PM 0 comments

Lets hope that he and the TSSC can come to an amicable aggreement.

TSSC Secret police

Just seen this.

Missing Post Posted By : Trudi Prettyjohns, 05-Apr-2006, 1:21pm

The reason for the removal of the thread titled "Web and printed advertising" was due to inaccurate statements and in part, a breach of confidentiality. Some valid questions were asked but unfortunately they became caught up in the deletion. Questions and issues of this nature should be directed to Council Officials so that factual answers can be given and not aired on the messageboarad. The messageboard is not the medium to use when seeking information of this nature. Contact details: David Aspinall, General Secretary 01986 895633 (between 7pm - 9pm), TSSC HQ 01858 434424, Julie Sewell, Public Relations Officer 01986 894805 (between 9am - 9pm)[ post a followup ]
1:29 PM

Is that an answer?

TSSC - Missing Post

Missing Post Posted By : Trudi Prettyjohns, 05-Apr-2006, 1:21pmThe reason for the removal of the thread titled "Web and printed advertising" was due to inaccurate statements and in part, a breach of confidentiality. Some valid questions were asked but unfortunately they became caught up in the deletion. Questions and issues of this nature should be directed to Council Officials so that factual answers can be given and not aired on the messageboarad. The messageboard is not the medium to use when seeking information of this nature. Contact details: David Aspinall, General Secretary 01986 895633 (between 7pm - 9pm), TSSC HQ 01858 434424, Julie Sewell, Public Relations Officer 01986 894805 (between 9am - 9pm)

what is going on?

A fellow TSSC member Jason Chinn http://chinn.blogspot.com/ has recently tried to add a post to the TSSC clubchat MessageBoard -

No matter, here it is again

I said -

I've just read the Notes of the Council of membership meeting that dropped through my letterbox last week. Why have the COM decided that only traders who advertise in the Courier would be allowed to advertise on the Club website? This seems like a quantum leap backwards. Who are the COM aiming at with this weird ruling and why?

Stephen Weblin said -

This should be a club for the benefit of the members. Many people live in cyberland now - why are we as a club looking to restrict relevant advertisers from our website?

Andy Cook said -

I agree, Surely if a trader want's to advertise on the website only but is still prepared to pay for it then this is still a source of revenue for the club, by turning him away we are turning down revenue that we otherwise wouldn't receive at all. I'd have thought that the margin on web based advertising was really good as it must cost a lot less to add anadvert into the website than to arrange for printing in the Courier.

Another couple of car clubs that I belong to are totally internet beased are mainly funded purely through web advertising, in fact the membership is free unless you want to advertise stuff for sale or make a dontaion. Therefore it appears to me that going totally web based obviously works as a business model for a car club.

As I understand it most of our TSSC annual membership fee goe's on Courier printing and distribution costs so maybe the club need to consider whether sending out the Courier as a monthly magazine to all members is viable in the longer term. It may be more efficient to have an opting out option with a discount on memnership for those who opt out and then just have the Courier available on line to members who want to download it or read it on line. Just a thought..........

Ian Mulford said -

I have always thought that a magazine a month is a bit excessive especially as there's often pleas for more contributions to fill the pages. Most clubs I know of have quaterly magazines. Surely that would save a lot of money.

Tim Scrivens said -

I agree with most of the points on this thread, the direction that the CoM is/was heading was a main reason why I stepped down from being a Director.

I strongly believe that the TSSC should be a car club first and a business second, unfortunately at present the situation is reversed. Whilst it costs money to run the TSSC, I'm not convinced that revenue generating should be no.1 prority.

A degree of respect for some members of CoM mean that I cannot say too much about the ins and outs of decisions made at council level.

Claire Hill said -

I personally look forward to receiving the mag every month. Also for members who can't make it to meetings etc it is a way of keeping them in touch with what their area is doing. Would anybody advertise in the private ads if they knew it would take three months to get to fellow members? Surely this would just push even more onto ebay.

Mark Astley said -

I agree completely with Claires comments, however if it was a cost saving that would be required then why not reduce the glossy Courier down to bi-monthly or quarterly and pack it with good quality articles and for the intervening months print a low tech area news report compilation along with the small ads and camping/event ads and booking forms like we used to get a few years ago. Trade advertisers could still pay as before but maybe reduced rate for simple black/white ads.

I would miss my Courier every month though.

Tim Scrivens said -

Mark, again, a possible solution but not a viable one.

The Courier is created in an odd manner, it is created 'in-house' by an externally controlled and owned company, and cutting the number of issues of The Courier would only mean that the TSSC would have to find other things to fill the Courier production time with - so, as you can see, there will be a saving on print and mailing costs but still a couple of people to pay all year. I believe that there has been an agreement to produce the Courier in it's current form upto the next 5 years, so it's a no go, again as the money's already been spent.

I said -

"created in an odd manner" I think that describes the working of the whole club very well. "created 'in-house' by an externally controlled and owned company" isn't that a contradiction? The whole point of outsourcing something is to diverst yourself of the fixed costs associated with producing that something :-)
It would be really interesting to see the real accounts of the club, the ones published to keep the members happy don't really make a lot of sense and are generalised beyond being useful. I'm not an accountant nor do I run a business but just looking at things like cleaning costs I have to wonder, why is it so expensive?

.....

I think that covers it all, we can carry on now.







DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL - To post a followup, click the link below -

http://www.tssc.org.uk/messageboard.asp?board=clubchat§ion=general&topic=20060404145704281990372&post=20060404145704281990372

=======================================================================


And it has been removed again.

Very odd.

Big brother is watching

Big brother is watching or TSSC Message board deleted thread. It makes you think when a webmaster jumps in so quickly and deletes an entire thread. What are they trying to hide?

Message: 5
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 08:14:57 +0100
From: "Tim Scrivens"
Subject: Web and printed advertising



=======================================================================

Tim Scrivens - http://www.tssc.org.uk/profile.asp?profile=92/38984A

Has added a post to the clubchat MessageBoard -

Mark, again, a possible solution but not a viable one.

The Courier is created in an odd manner, it is created 'in-house' by an externally controlled and owned company, and cutting the number of issues of The Courier would only mean that the TSSC would have to find other things to fill the Courier production time with - so, as you can see, there will be a saving on print and mailing costs but still a couple of people to pay all year. I believe that there has been an agreement to produce the Courier in it's current form upto the next 5 years, so it's a no go, again as the money's already been spent.

Tim

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL - To post a followup, click the link below -

http://www.tssc.org.uk/messageboard.asp?board=clubchat§ion=general&topic=20060403110309105024371&post=20060404081454281968765
Message: 10
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 09:33:06 +0100
From: "Jason Chinn"
Subject: Web and printed advertising



=======================================================================

Jason Chinn - http://www.tssc.org.uk/profile.asp?profile=84/09631

Has added a post to the clubchat MessageBoard -

"created in an odd manner" I think that describes the working of the whole club very well. "created 'in-house' by an externally controlled and owned company" isn't that a contradiction? The whole point of outsourcing something is to diverst yourself of the fixed costs associated with producing that something :-)
It would be really interesting to see the real accounts of the club, the ones published to keep the members happy don't really make a lot of sense and are generalised beyond being useful. I'm not an accountant nor do I run a business but just looking at things like cleaning costs I have to wonder, why is it so expensive?

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL - To post a followup, click the link below -

http://www.tssc.org.uk/messageboard.asp?board=clubchat§ion=general&topic=20060403110309105024371&post=20060404093304281971536

the wrong nuts

After waiting in for the delivery the wheels nuts as supplied are not suitable.
The washers supplied are flat they should be bevelled
The shank of the nuts is too long see picture.
The chrome plate is coming off already.

To simplify telling people about this problem I cobbled together a web page:
http://www.geocities.com/steveweblin/wheelnuts/wheel_nuts.htm

studs etc

Extra brickwork sorted by Tony yesterday.



New studs fitted today this morning before the rain came. How I wish my garage was sorted at times loke this. Working outdoors and having to search through all my stuff in the cellar before finding the right tools etc makes a simple job like replacing the studs so much more time consuming and uncomfortable.

Nuts for WYL

Action on all fronts.

Wheel nuts ordered from Midland Wheels, should be here Monday. Also got a water proof cover on order to protect the car whilst I get it sorted.

Tony is going to do the extra brickwork today or Saturday am.

getting it fixed

After a quick chat with Dave Pearson at Canley Classics I have ordered some new wheels studs, wheel bearing and a brake drum. Now I need to find some wheel nuts to replace the 3 I have lost.

Minilite http://www.minilite.co.uk/ or Midland Wheels http://www.midlandwheels.com/
should be able to supply. Trouble is there is so much to choose that I may need to send a picture of the missing nut to them first according to Midland Wheels.

Am on holiday tomorrow so intend to get things sorted then if poss.

The nuts I need fit to 3/8" UNF inch studs and use a 3/4" inch UNF spanner to fit/remove. Non dome nuts would be best unlike those that I am using at present - see picture.

Sorry George

I had intended picking up some eBay parts I had bought from George.

http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZweedyx

I will have to call by again after fixing the car. Another excuse for long distance blast!

the return of Tony

Tony the brickie who did the original brickwork has agreed to do the extra brickwork I need so that the doors can be fitted by Total Supplies later.

recovery from Barnet

I was on way to the classic car show at Alexandra Palace. WYL was doing well but as we passed through New Barnet the passenger side rear wheel fell off. Just look at that white track cut into the road surface.


I got help after calling out the recovery which is included with the car insurance. First time I have tried and all went well. Have a few days holiday coming up and had thought I would get to do some of the back log of work on WYL but will have to sort the back end first. Looks to be little damage other than the drum being rubbed down a bit whilst it was running along the road. Have lost three wheel nuts. Will check out the bearing may have been bashed up by the sudden impact.

the return of Total Supplies

I have decided to get the firm that supplied the doors to fix em. April 18th is door day. Now to try to get Tony the brickie back to sort the extra brickwork needed.

Getting the doors to fit

Why is it that nothing is ever as easy as you first thought.

Unfortunately I now find that the doors are not as easy to fit as I first thought. I took the measurements from the plans for the garage. What I did not know at the time was that the all thou the brickwork on the outside face of the garage raises straight from the ground inside it is different. The brickwork piers do not raise to full height only as far as the lintels over the doorways.

The brackets to hold the roller doors has to be fixed above the opening but in the same plain as the vertical tracks for the doors to run in.

Seems that I will have to extend the brickwork piers up and have the tracks for the doors mounted on the inside face of the brickwork.

roof on

A couple of pictures showing the new roof inside and out. The work took two days - with the roofers on site both Monday and Tuesday. The last skip went yesterday.

Final payment to Chic + pictures

All the building work has taken its toil on the lane, it is sea of mud just now. The verges will recover soon. I can see the snowdrops already. Our wild life hedge is also starting to show signs of life. There are remains of the ivy and brambles that were growing on the old garage so I expect that will recover as well.

Talking to Paddy one of my neighbours I found out a possible reason for all the old bricks and stuff that the builders found. Apparently during the second world war parts of the lane were dug up to build air raid shelters for the little houses the other side of Victoria Street and the people living in the yards off Parliament Street. A view of the concrete floor and the threshold that spreads out onto the verge of the lane.

Have made the final payment Chic the builder today. That only leaves the roof to be fitted and be paid for; the vehicle doors to fit and the electrics to be fitted by me.

My neighbours are going to fit a gate to the alley on the far side of the garage in the picture above.

Just got laid

The garage floor has been put in today. Loads of sand then crushed stone followed by slab, damp proof course then floor slab.

Need the roof and vehicle doors to finish the building work. Roof, gutters and downpipes are due to be fitted on Monday.

Garage plans and door delivery

Here are a couple of scanned extracts from the plans of my garage.

Yesterday whilst still at work I got a call that the vehicle doors were about to be delivered. They did not turn up as the driver had run out of hours and had to park up. The doors had been made in Sunderland and were being delivered straight from the works. Today the truck turns up but after much searching and head scratching the driver could only find one of the doors on the truck. I now have one door + two sets of everything else to fit the doors. I wonder when the missing door will turn up?

More pictures