Round Britain Run Update

It’s now only just over 5 weeks until I attempt the Club Triumph Round Britain Reliability Run in the “Flying Log” again, 2,000 miles in 48 hours around the British mainland. This time the event is raising money for the charity Epilepsy Research UK, particularly appropriate as we lost one of our Club Triumph members, Martin Randle, to Epilepsy last year at much too young an age.

Our Team consists of myself and co-drivers Glynn Davis and Mark Smith, friends who are also Triumph nutters and like myself suffer from the syndrome of collecting multiple Triumphs!

Last month it looked touch and go as to whether I was going to be able to drive on the run as I woke up one Saturday morning with double vision. Although this lasted several weeks the good news is I’ve now fully recovered and have been discharged by the eye doctor so will be driving. If I still had a problem I would have still completed the run but just in the capacity of navigator.

The preparation of the car is now well on track. The biggest job was a replacement gearbox and overdrive which was completed back in May.

New Gearbox fitted

Other jobs which I’ve completed are :_

• Replacing the coil, distributor cap and rotor arm whilst trying to fix a misfire. The misfire turned out to be tight valve clearances on 3 of the exhaust valves which were adjusted and misfire fixed.
•  Getting the master light switch working properly (it sometimes was intermittent and needed a wriggle) using electrical contact cleaner, I’ve also got a couple of spare switches to take along just in case.
• Replacing the twin tone front horns, one of the originals had packed up so I only had a single tone and it was a bit feeble. Horns will be needed up in the wilds of North Scotlandshire to get the sheep and other wildlife to clear the road ahead!
• Replacing a lower ball joint – needed for the MOT anyway.
• Working to free off a partially sticking front brake caliper that was making the car pull to one side under heavy braking, again required for the MOT.
•  Replacing the Fuel tank, the old one worked fine but a baffle inside had come loose and was stopping the fuel sender from working meaning the fuel gauge got stuck. Slight problem when I went to replace the tank, the second hand one I’d bought turned out to be a bit smaller, turns out it’s from a Toledo rather than a Dolomite. Anyway, made up brackets to support the rear and it’s fitted and working. The slight reduction in capacity from 12 to 10 gallons will be OK for now.
•  Replacing all the rubber fuel hose with the latest R9 spec which is suitable for the latest fuels which have ethanol added. Ethanol eats standard unleaded fuel hose and breaks it down causing leaks and sediment.
• Replacement of the Hazard Flasher Switch, picked up on the MOT that the warning bulb wasn’t working and the previous owner had glued the switch together which prevented bulb replacement in the existing switch.
• Getting a small patch welded on the inner wing  for the MOT.
• Car now MOTd with no advisories.

Toledo Fuel Tank is slightly smaller than the original, 10 Gallon Capacity rather then 12.

I have a few more jobs to do over the next few weeks which are really standard servicing :-

•  Oil and Filter Change.
• Brake and Clutch Fluid check.
• Drain the coolant, flush the system and replenish with new anti-freeze mix.
• Check Gearbox and Diff oil and top up as necessary.
• Check and adjust tappets.
• Change Spark Plugs.
• Check ignition timing (it’s electronic so no points to replace/adjust).
• Tune and balance the carbs.
• Replace air filters.
• Re-grease and adjust wheel bearings
• Pump grease into the grease nipples on all greasing points.
• General check of all suspension and steering nuts and bolts.

I’m also going to replace both front tyres, they have loads of tread and passed the MOT but there are a few minor cracks in the rubber and they are about 10 years old.

There is a drivers briefing meeting on 22^nd September where I’ll pick up all the briefing pack with road book etc and also the stickers so the car will then be stickered up to look the part for the run.

The Flying Log, stickered up on the last RBRR back in 2016. Picture taken at Loch Naver in very Northern Scotland.

Finally, if you would like to sponsor our team it would be really appreciated. To sponsor us please go to our just giving page :-

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rbrr2018teamflyinglog

We hope to raise at least £1,000 in all and as the event raised just under £100,000 in total last time it would be great if the £100,000 barrier get's broken this time around. Over the years, Club Triumph has raised over £600,000 for various worthy charities.

A massive thank you to all those that have sponsored us already.

My Car is now a TV Star!

This has been really difficult to keep under wraps, but as some of you may have seen if you watch the programme, my GT6 appeared on Car SOS on Thursday night.

The filming took place last September and I was sworn to secrecy by the TV company and agreed not to publically mention my involvement in Car SOS or publish any pictures on line etc until after the programme had been screened.

Last summer I had an email from the production company – Renegade Pictures who make the Car SOS series for National Geographic. They contacted me asking if I knew anyone who had a GT6 that they could use for filming, they wanted a car to film as the example of a tidy roadworthy GT6 to film in an episode.  Snag was I couldn’t go asking out on facebook groups or internet forums etc as those who watch will know it would ruin the whole thing if the beneficiary of the restoration was to find out and the filming was to be in the Brecon Beacons. I couldn’t immediately think of a GT6 owner in South/Central Wales. As it was a 71 MK3 they would be restoring which is same year as mine I said they could use mine if they would pay expenses. So having agreed funding for an overnight stop in a Hotel, breakfast, petrol, and the Seven Bridge Toll I happily agreed.

It was a pretty long day as although it would only be a few minutes featured on the programme TV production is a long job and it took nearly 6 hours.

As well as the presenters Fuzz Townshend (The TSSC honorary president) and Tim Shaw driving the car with driving footage both in and outside the car I also drove some of the driving sequences, although that will not be apparent from the TV show.

Me posing with Fuzz, Tim and my GT6.

Filming consisted of lots of driving around a twisty section of road high in the Brecon Beacons being filmed from the air by a drone and at ground level several camera men. Cameras were mounted for in car footage of Tim in the car with Fuzz as a passenger. Then there were some detail shots on the road with go pro cameras pointing at various bits of the car and road (which I drove for). There was some filming of the car stationary using a boom camera to focus in on the interior and exterior details. A few still pictures were taken as well to use as promotional material.

Filming underway, Fuzz getting into my car.

A in car driving sequence being filmed Tim driving my GT6 with Fuzz in the Passenger seat.

There was some stationary conversation with Fuzz and Tim including a comedy moment that unfortunately didn’t make the final cut, Tim is 6ft 9 tall and really had to squeeze to get into the driving seat. He also had to take his boots off to drive as his huge feet were too wide to operate the pedals except in socks! The boots were put in the passenger footwell, and when Fuzz got in he dumped them outside into the car park. Then the boots were filled with Quavers to attract a couple of local sheep to come and “eat“ them!

Tim’s boots dumped in the car park next to my car

There were two other cars being filmed at the same time for other episodes. An MGA and a Lancia Delta Integrale.

Fuzz and Tim in a really nice MGA

Lancia Delta Integrale also being filmed on the day.

At the end of the session the TV company gave me a “money can’t buy” Car SOS Key ring, like the ones Tim presents to the deserved recipient of the restored car in each programme when they say “You’ve been Cars SOS’d”.

Car SOS Key Ring, I’ve been Car SOS’d

International GT6 weekend, Cookie's 5 countries run

I had a very enjoyable trip into mainland Europe with the GT6 with a visit to the International GT6 weekend at Bad Vilbel, near Frankfurt.

I decided to make a bit of a tour around my visit with overnight stops in Dover, Aachen (Germany), Kerkrade (Holland) and Ashford to break the journey up into an enjoyable break.

The GT6 ran faultlessly covering 1125 miles, although I made a check under the bonnet each day the only attention being required during the whole trip topping up the washer bottle and fuel tank. A bit of preparation with a full service, check over and attention to a few bits and pieces before the journey really paid off.

On the way through I called in on a Triumph friend at his place of work near Brussels. Wim de Pus works at a college where they run automotive courses and it was great to see a number of classics being worked on in the workshop there. I also introduced the GT6 to Wim’s Spitfire, known as “ The Fox”, Wim does a serious amount of mileage in his car having covered 123,000km in the 4 years he has owned it.

My GT6 meets "The Fox"

The International GT6 weekend 

The GT6 weekend is independently run by enthusiasts rather than being associated with any individual Triumph club and moves location each time with new local organisers putting on the event. It was in it’s 4th year this year.

This year the main organisers were Harald and Natascha Hummel although they were ably assisted by many of the other local German GT6 owners.

This year the event centred on a Hotel in Bad Vilbel just outside Frankfurt and attracted GT6 owners and their cars from Germany, Holland, Switzerland and the UK. I’ve realised now that I didn’t actually count up the cars but there were approximately 20’ish GT6s in attendance. When you consider there are a lot more GT6s located in the UK and we got around 70 at the TriumFest 50^th anniversary, 20 GT6s at a mainland European gathering is quite an impressive number.

GT6s getting ready for a Trip out at the City Hotel Bad Vilbel our base for the weekend.

On the continent, convertible GT6s (AKA Gitfires, Spit6s etc) are pretty popular and I reckon around a 3^rd of the GT6s at the meet were soft top conversions including Harald’s one.

Harald's GT6 Convertible

Most people arrived on the Friday and after a meet and greet in the Hotel Bar we went off to a nearby Restaurant situated in a nearby park overlooking Frankfurt City for a meal.

Some of the cars lined up in the restaurant car park.

On the Saturday we had a drive out during the day, with stop offs at a campsite restaurant for lunch and a tour of “Burg Ronneburg” Castle.

Various GT6s on Saturday getting ready for the drive out.

Cars parked up at the lunch stop

GT6s in convoy in the German countryside

GT6s at Castle Ronneburg

After the convoy back there was a dinner arranged in the Hotel Restaurant. During the meal an announcement was made regarding next year’s event, which will be held at Großenkneten near Bremen in Germany between 5^th and 7^th October.

On the Sunday we had a trip into Frankfurt to a classic and sportscar meet up at “Klassikststadt”. Translated Klassikststadt = Classic City, it’s an old factory complex converted into high end classic and sports car dealers, classic restorers and servicing, and high value classic and sports car storage. once a month they have a classic and sports car meet which is rather impressive...

Parking Spaces had been reserved for our GT6s although I must admit the GT6s looked a bit downmarket compared to some of the exotic machinery there. I got told off by one of the more exclusive dealerships for taking photos as there was a no photography sign, the cheapest car I saw in that particular dealer was a Triumph Italia at €120,000, most over the other cars for sale there were €200,000 upwards. There were a few less valuable cars for sale in other dealerships in the complex but nothing as cheap as our Triumphs! Some of the cars in storage in glass partitioned walls were pretty rare. Some of the repair work going on looked good to, like a modern Lamborghini having an Engine change! Outside there were loads of classics too look around, some live music, a bar and food outlets. A really nice way to end the GT6 meet.

GT6s lined up at Klassikstadt

Panoramic view across the centre of the Klassikstadt complex

Inside the Klassikstadt complex

Some of the other visiting Triumphs

This rear engined BMW 700 convertible shares a lot of the looks of a Triumph Herald, not surprising actually as it is also  Michelotti designed.

A few of the other non Triumph Classics at Klassikstadt

After Klassikstadt most of the GT6 owners went on their way, there were a few of us (including Mike and Sue from TSSC Essex) at the Hotel for one more evening and we met up with Harald and Natasha and a Swiss couple for a meal in a Pizzeria that evening.

Part of my journey back took me along the Rhine.

My GT6 parked up by the Rhine at Lahnstein.

That evening I stayed at Rolduc Abbey in Holland, this is normally the finish for the Club Triumph 10 countries run and is a nice place to stay so I had booked in there.

My GT6 at Rolduc Abbey

On the way back home I stayed in Ashford which was very close to where I purchased my GT6 from just under 30 years ago so I thought I’d swing by to take a picture.

I bought my car at the Lenham Motor Company in Harrietsham, Kent  back in March 1988. The more observant of you will recognise the company name as they used to manufacture GT fast back hardtops and bonnets for Triumph Spitfires back in the day.

At the time I paid the princely sum of £1700 for the car having knocked the dealer down from £1795. It’s increased in value somewhat since then by about 650%, I’ve just checked on line and inflation over that same period is a mere 150% so not a bad investment as long as you ignore the thousands of pounds I’ve spent on the car over the years!

Original Lenham Motor Comapny advert from 1988, my car is at the bottom of the list

At The Lenham Motor Company the day I bought the car in 1988

At The Lenham Motor Company the day I bought the car in 1988

Back to the future, visiting Lenham Sports Cars October 2017