John Bonnett Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 Hi Roy and Smithy, good to hear from you and thank you for your comments. I'm really pleased with how its come out and today was a milestone.Roy the radiator is 10 degrees off vertical and there are two nine inch fans in front of the rad. These are operated by a dual temperature switch and there is an over ride switch on one of them. I hope they will be sufficient to do the job.I'm sorry that I couldn't get to Stoneleigh but I do hope we will be able to meet up soon perhaps at Prescott in May?regardsJohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainzy Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Bloody gorgeous car. John, did you get the Serck style numberplates or did they come with the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 1381 wrote:Bloody gorgeous car. John, did you get the Serck style numberplates or did they come with the car? The number plates came with the car and you are absolutely right, they are Serck plates.West Country Triumph did a very nice job for me on the bodywork so I am now having to do an equally good job inside the car by purchasing all new interior trim. More expense aghhhhhh!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firebobby Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 3141 wrote:The number plates came with the car and you are absolutely right, they are Serck plates.West Country Triumph did a very nice job for me on the bodywork so I am now having to do an equally good job inside the car by purchasing all new interior trim. More expense aghhhhhh!!Looking gorgeous John and sounds lovely as well, don't worry about the expense as I'm sure you will want to keep her (the car) for many years and get lots of pleasure too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JensH Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Nice! Well done :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Thank you all for your replies and nice comments. I'll not forget that it was only through your support and encouragement at the outset that prevented me from throwing in the towel. I'm really glad I didn't. It is a very pretty car and I'll not begrudge spending a few bob to make it look presentable inside.I'm hoping to be at the Prescott Triumph day in May and hope to be able to meet many of you there and to thank you personally.Best regardsJohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 The car is all done now apart from a new set of carpets will have to wait until after our holiday at the end of the month.I've just taken a few pictures of the car and I am really pleased with how it has turned out. It was well worth all those hours during the Winter in a freezing cold workshop. We have a 700 mile round trip in the car next week so it will be interesting to see how I feel about the car after that marathon.Anyway here are a few pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerberosa Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Looks amazing john pitty i couldnt come round and see ithope your holiday goes well and the car performs :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRooster Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Nice work, well done fella.RR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Smaaaart John. It's touches like the rad and that radio plate that set it off, too. Nice! :) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Thank you all. It has yet to be tested on a proper journey but if we manage the trip to Suffolk and back next week without being deafened and crippled things are looking good for our raid into France at the end of the month.I've filled in the entry form for Prescott and hope to see you there. I've driven Prescott in anger and it is truly awesome and bites back if you turn in too early (remember the adage,"Middle of the corner, middle of the road"). Be warned or you will be off and taking the short way back to the Paddock. Only joking. Do drive it if you can because like Shelsey and Cadwell it is one of those boxes you must tick before you die.John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royboy66 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Time to enjoy all the hard work now John ! ;)(clap)See you at Prescott! Roy 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky 13 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Wow!I was up early so decided to browse the forum to pass a few minutes......Then I came across your thread and somehow over an hour's passed!!Congratulations on a splendid job. I'm 750hrs into rebuilding my Mk3, so recognised many of the comments you've made here. There's still some way to go with mine, but I'm mightily encouraged to see what you've achieved.Cheers John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 It will be good to meet you Roy at last and to thank you in person for your advice on fitting the Golf radiator. It seems to work well although I wonder whether the two nine inch fans will cope on a very hot day in stationary traffic. I hope we don't find out in France. Both are now mounted engine side of the radiator which will give them the best chance, so, we'll see.Lucky 13, best of luck with your rebuild. I hope it gives you as much pleasure as mine has. At 750 hours in, you must be well on your way with it. Any pictures?John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotoflex Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Outstanding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bancroft Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Lovely stuff, what a nice car.Reckon the fans will be fine.Are you taking to the Alps, if so, think about the silicon brake fluid. I had a bad experience with that stuff in the Alps back in 2005 boiling up, think about using conventional fluid.Fantastic car and I hope that you have a great time driving her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 timbancroft61 wrote:Lovely stuff, what a nice car.Reckon the fans will be fine.Are you taking to the Alps, if so, think about the silicon brake fluid. I had a bad experience with that stuff in the Alps back in 2005 boiling up, think about using conventional fluid.Fantastic car and I hope that you have a great time driving her.That's very kind of you thank you. We are not going to the Alps this time, we are spending a week in Brittany and then down to the Loire followed by a week near Bordeaux in South West France. We are then nipping into Spain to catch the ferry from Santander back to Plymouth so it should be a very nice trip for a GT. I never know if GT stands for Greater Trouble :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 We have just returned from a really enjoyable holiday in France and the GT6 did us proud. We took the Plymouth Roscoff ferry, spent a week in Brittany and then drove down to southwest France for ten days returning to the UK from Santander in Spain to Plymouth; a 1250 mile round trip. The only problem was the light switch which broke up internally. Great service from James Paddock saved the day and a brand new switch was fitted in time for our return.In Brittany we had the same torrential rain as here in the UK and the car coped well apart from a leak on the bottom corner of the windscreen which ran into the passenger's footwell soaking everything in the glove pocket on its way down.The Golf radiator worked well even in the 30 plus degrees on the way down through Spain. However, the two 9 inch electric fans couldn't hold the temperature down in the stop start traffic in Santander so this will need to be sorted out. I was pleased that despite no heat shields fitted there was no fuel vaporisation so that was a relief. My wife and I found the car really comfortable even after 300 miles in a day and this is in unrestored seats that have done 80,000 miles. We have the 3.27 diff and overdrive which made their contribution with lower noise levels and effortless cruising.So, all in all, very encouraging particularly bearing in mind that this time last year the car was looking very sorry for itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black6osprey Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Well done John, I'm glad the car did the business. It looks great.I've still not found the courage to go more than about 150 miles in a single trip in mine. Small steps and all that. So well done for having the belief :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 A couple more pics.Although we didn't know it at the time, closely following us en route to Santander were a number of cars from the Devon TR Register who had been to watch the Grand Prix de Pau. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpbarrett Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Only just noticed this thread, what a great rebuild and lovely car! Mines a late Mk3 in the same shade of blue, which I think really suits the cars shape. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 mpbarrett wrote:Only just noticed this thread, what a great rebuild and lovely car! Mines a late Mk3 in the same shade of blue, which I think really suits the cars shape. mikeHi Mike, I know Smithy doesn't agree but I too love the colour; it really suits the car and very appropriate, being French Blue, for the trip to France. It is very similar to the colour of the 2CV that we parked in front of in Duras.John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 John, are you going to paint it Italian Red for your next trip then? :P :)In truth, your car has brought me around a bit from the hatred I developed for French Blue (in all the time my car was that colour). Yours looks good. The Stag I saw yesterday in my local garage looked good too. Tastes mature as we age! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 [quote=smithy]John, are you going to paint it Italian Red for your next trip then? :P :)Yes there's a thought!Will you be at Prescott next Sunday? I've booked my place and it would be good to meet up if you are there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendan The Spit Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Brilliant thread - and I just subscribed to your YouTube channel! Looking forward to more vids coming through! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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