Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Use your local

Last night I went out to the Nottingham meeting of the TSSC/Club Triumph. It was their 2nd anniversary. Had a burger, a beer and chat a good night out.

Got me thinking about something I have heard said about local pubs. Apparently lots of local pubs are closing down because of competition from big chains and due to lack of use. It is only after the closure that people start to complain and say something should be done about it.

Car clubs must not go the same way. Use them or lose them!

Monday, February 12, 2007

4 door Vitesse at Stoneleigh 2007


Out Saturday night til late so was always going to be a quick visit any way. Got to the show for 1.00pm.

Was looking for a decent secondhand door or a door skin but found some treasure on Mark Field http://www.jigsawracingservices.co.uk/ stand. New old stock doors for little more than the skins a real bargain!

Now how the hell am I going to get them home? I had no tools in car having had a tidy up post MOT. So had to buy a cheap set of spanner for £1.00. Then had to take the passenger seat out and pack it upside down behind the drivers seat. Then I used the tow rope to tie the 2 doors against the roll cage and passenger door handle. Got some strange looks in the carpark.

A good show I got to talk to several people I have meet in cyber space. Meet a couple of french Triumph people and got to practice my school boy french - a common interest made communication easier.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

herald-tips-tricks.wikidot.com

Have recently come across this new wiki aimed at Herald owners.

What do you think of this: http://herald-tips-tricks.wikidot.com/search:site/q/club%20triumph

29.04.2007 Following a comment from the author of the site himself please note the link should be http://herald-tips-tricks.wikidot.com/start:start0

MOT passed

Hurray. Got another years MOT. The car was well recieved at the garage, "a real car for a change"

Only got a few advisories: I reckon that is good. The front wheel bearing have some play and the handbrake only just passed.

Was surprised that my 1969 Vitesse needs a better more efficient hand brake than a modern car. Why so? The handbrake on a Vitesse is a secondary brake because of the single circuit main brakes, so must be 25% efficient. On a modern car a handbrake is the third brake system after the dual circuit brakes, so can be as little as 16%.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Kenlowe - wiring

I had been thinking about trying to get the warning light to work on the override switch. So when fellow blogger Martin Randle http://raidertr7.blogspot.com/ mentioned he was having trouble getting the light to come at the right time I had a rummage and found the fitting instructions. Here is the wiring diagram hope it helps.

Job done

All ready for the MOT now. Did not spend Friday night sorting the car after all so did not get the MOT done today. Will have to sort it next week. Need it ready for a trip to the Triumph do at Stoneleigh.

Cut the studs on the number plate light down to size this morning and fitted that. Have a reversing light again. How long will that last I wonder? I read on a message board recently that the new light may not last well.

The handbrake and horns both needed fixing. If that is the limit of what is needed to pass the MOT this year I will be well pleased.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Steering linkage - the rebuild

The new linkage fits a treat.

Putting the steering back together I found why the horn had stopped working. The wire was no longer attached to the slip ring at the end of the column. I tried to resolder the wire without taking the slip ring out. Silly boy. Had to drift the ring out. Much easier to solder the horn wire onto the slip ring with it out and held in the vice jaws.

The last time I was dealing with these parts I seem to remember it just falling out. I wonder why it was sticking this time - how can the top of the column shroud have changed shape?

I finished putting all the switches back into the column. Will complete the rebuild tomorrow night.