10CR Mechanical breakages

[Velocita Rosso]

On this run i said, I had never heard of so many dilemmas and mechanical problems, as against previous runs
It would be nice to see who suffered what and try and establish any common faults
This exercise would not be for mockery but for genuine analysis

We personally suffered with minor `ailments`
The gear stick became like a pudding stirring spoon
The Spitfire stick sits in the nylon ball/bush and has a spring and nylon `washer` with a metal `washer ` and retainer,holding the stick firm
With constant use/wear the spring had worn through the nylon `washer` allowing the stick to drop
Taking the carpets out and Philip modelling a new washer out of a spring water drinks bottle cap, we were able to reassemble and continue
The only other issue was, on the final run in we heard distinct noises from clutch release bearing and gearbox main shaft bearings
The overdrive was a bit suspect on certain parts of the route
So, new box,stick repair kit and may as well do the overdrive and clutch    

[Howard]

A odd collection of irritating issues this time.

• Broken throttle cable outer retainer - solved with jubilee clips and now replaced
• Alternator not charging - bad / faulty connector in the plug at the rear of the alternator
• Misfire - probably due to dirt as it cleared itself
• Passenger window not opening - the felt guide had slipped.

In general I put them all down to lack of use between my holidays, but aside from this the car went very well and behaved.

Cheers

Howard

[mpbarrett]

Dead Diff.
well the car ran perfectly, no problems with fuel even in the heat! Gearbox did not get any noisier just a shame the diff went.. Don't know what happened but it seized up I guess lost some teeth inside....
Wont know what happened until I get it back that's scheduled for the 25 Sept....
Oh it was just 2 years old, 3.63, and done one 10CR and an Autosolo, maybe 2.5L and GT6 diff don't like each other.
BUT still had a great time and def will do the next one :))
Cheers
mike

[Russell]

Alternator packed up 20mins from Cherasco, caused by carbon dust build up around the brushes and making it short out. James Shackford removed the back and cleared it out for me, which saved me using my noisy spare.

Also niggles with fuses, probably caused by corrosion as I never used the car much last year. (Only 300 miles between MoTs, have now done 3000+ in the last 2 months).

No fuel, heat or altitude issues at all with the PI, really really pleased.

Russell.

[thescrapman]

Mike

I was going to email you tonight about doing a detailed analysis for future reference.

I'll contact you later and have a chat to Mr Helm and Mt Stokes on Monday.

Cheers

Colin

[GTRoger]

Loose wire on alternator, easy fix and a jump start from a greenish TR7...

Front carburettor kept playing up, causing power lost and bad running. Had to take it apart and give it a clean. Did this 6 or 7 times during the run.

Overdrive worked totally random. Most of the time it didn't work at all.

Set fire to the car when I put the gearboxcover back into the car in Italy. Melted the feed for the overdive and connections at amp meter....  :X

Used 5 liters of engine oil  :X :X :X (85% due to leakage I think........ )

Think we had a good time!  :)

[Nick Jones]

A certain grey Vitesse was mostly well behaved apart from some nasty noises from the clutch release bearing (It's new - had done less than four hundred miles at the start).  

Also made some very nasty noises, just like 2 or 3 big ends about to let go, every time I tried to go above 2500 rpm when climbing the Col de Bonnett.  This was a big worry at the time as I really thought it was going to be me having the highest breakdown in Europe rather than Mike and Libby.....  It wasn't especially hot and oil pressure seemed no worse than usual.  We tipped a bit more oil in it (still well above minimum) at the abandoned village and then drove downhill to Nice whereupon it seemed to have recovered.  Suspecting detonation due to exceptionally crappy fuel (we'd filled up just before the Col) we treated it to a dose of 98 before caning it up the Col de Turini to test it.....  Happily it was fine.

Only other thing to note was that it was running primarily on E10 on the run down through France, which didn't (except for the above incident) seem to bother it.  However, it was noticeably very much less economical on E10.  We found some decent 95 unleaded in Switzerland and that got us all the way to Luxembourg.

We added about a litre of oil and it's now just above minimum and back to it's smoky ways proving that the Wynns is cooked! No water used. It's still making nasty noises from the clutch release bearing.

Nick

[Beans]

Sorry but my car was rather boring, with no real problems (sticky fuel gauge being the only problem which occurred on the last day)
Didn't even have to add any oil, when  I came home the level had dropped just below the maximum mark.

I only had to take the torque wrench out on a regular basis, because the freshly powder coated wheels were fitted only just before the event.

[Keith]

During the event-
    Nothing failed apart from the glove box lock.

Prior to the start-
    Panic as I discovered a broken engine mount during a last minute check, big thanks to Dale for the mount and to Tim for the replacement for the hose that we broke while changing it.

After the event-  
    Got home OK Monday, in the evening went out in the car, got half a mile down the road and got a puncture. Fixed that with a new tube, went out again today, got half a mile and it started misfiring and spluttered to a halt. Turned out to be a coil connection. On top of that the clutch is slipping, the tyres are worn out and the engine is getting more smoky. It seems to be behaving like the 'ideal' Colin Chapman racing car where everything fails at the end of the event!

Keith

[heraldhabitat]

MOE used 4 pints of oil, boiled up at the Italian border after a huge climb in the heat, fresh water and never a problem again with that, Dynamo packed up at the dock on return, got home due to a huge battery, there was a guiding and helping hand form Roy Lacey and his lovely GT6. The dynamo isn't that old but the front bearings shot and the the brushes are non existent, I wonder if the two hour 90mph drive across Belgium and Northern France had anything to do with it?

[Raider]

I maintain just such a record as Mike suggested and make it available before 10CRs and RBRRs.

I'll update it with whatever information I get from this year's 10CR when I update the championship tables with final results from Ellis.

The thing is though, I only include causes of retirement not problems that are fixed or don't actually stop the car.

[sparky_spit]

We ran on 98 octane all the way round. One particular tankful seemed to provoke pinking, but 2 clicks retarded on the distributor cured that. Consumption worked out at 39mpg, and just 1/2 a pint of oil.

Only failure was the stitching on a seam of the driver's seat cushion.  I can live with that.....

[TRTOM2498]

The only issue I had with my Mallard Green TR6 was a broken N/S trailing arm. We spent 30 mins removing the shock absorber, and continued the event, some 700 miles with one shocker all the way home.

Not a common issue, and no other issues with the car that was driven hard during the event.


Cheers.

[thescrapman]

Raider wrote:

The thing is though, I only include causes of retirement not problems that are fixed or don't actually stop the car.

Afternoon Martin

That is why I was interested in digging deeper.

We made it, but via at least 12 visits to the hard-shoulder or a suitable layby.

Cheers

Colin

[mikeyb]

Orange Stag - 2077 miles door to door, worst mpg 19, best 32, average overall 25.

The old car never missed a beat, performing faultlessly throughout the whole trip, including sitting in traffic for ages in very hot Nice, up and down the Col de Bonnet and a 100+mph stretch on the autobahn.

We consumed over 80 gallons of fuel, about 200ml of oil and no water. Jolly good show!

Oh and we did the whole trip door to door in shorts and flip flops with the roof down, twas a bit chilly coming home Monday night   :)

[Torpedo4]

I think for Team Torpedo, it would be easier to list what didn't break.. Joking
2000 saloon just lost a coil and began to run rough...french gas?  Can't wait to dig into it at home.
Dolomite needed a top radiator hose, but we improvised.
The other two cars.....sigh! Where do I begin?

[Mike Carroll]

Team 86. Cavalry Blue TR7 Convertible.  Ran on 99 octane all the way round.  No issues with fuelling even when filling up with that evil smelling green stuff (E15?).  2442 miles door to door, roof down all the way around Europe but had to concede to the elements when the heavens opened up on the M20.  Only problem was a slightly sticky throttle but that's an ongoing problem that I thought was solved, possible engine earthing issue.  The diff has a slight whine but then again it's had a slight whine since I started using the car for these runs.  Topped up with 1/4 litre of water and 1/2 litre of oil.  Didn't check consumption but it usually returns over 30mpg on these sort of runs in standard form usually cruising at 90+ when we can.

[heraldhabitat]

Lost the dynamo at Calais on return, got home ok, average 28mpg, 4 pints of oil, thats half less than last year due to new cylinderhead.

[Darren Sharp]

On my 2500 we blew the 2 yr old Main beam switch on day 2 (my fault no relays)and the  alternator gave up the ghost on the way back to the ferry. Used 2 pints of oil ( which was excellent) and averaged about 35 MPG  ( 28% reduction O/D box and a 345 Diff) oh yes and I drive it like a granny most of the time which helps. What did not help was watching The History of the Crash Test Dummy the night before I left for France !

P.S  I must get another Spitfire and Auto test it like a hooligan.