Jason

I have a fairly chunky wooden Mountney one, which I don't like, on my TR6. I'll gladly swap it for a leather one :-)

Don't forget that Dave has a history of last minute completions, I recall the V8 we used getting an MOT on the way to the start with a brief stop at the post office for tax (I seem to recall it's the only car Dave owns that needs taxing). Dave likes a deadline and as long as you can keep him fed and high on caffeine he'll get there, he might be doing the wiring as you drive to the start but he will get there!

That's a shame mate, hope to see you hobbling along at Sixpenny Handley

Personally I'd replace the wheel barrow handles first and then see how you get on. They still have a value and could be sold on through eBay to help relieve the pain. Wrapping is cheap, ceramic coating isn't as far as I can see but perhaps someone has found a cheap place to do this, the last time I looked it was a few hundred quid for a six cylinder manifold.

cook1e wrote:Just checked it out on google street view and there is a burger van there called the borderer, hope this is gonna be open selling haggis burgers! Google the number for the burger van and warn him to be there with plenty of supplies? Then warn the next stop to have plenty of Imodium and toilet paper handy  ;) To be serious for a second, this is not the control to loiter at, it's an in and out (much like a haggis burger). Please stay only as long as it takes to insult McJim, verbally or with hand gestures, don't throw things as he actually likes that and thinks its Christmas. Get your sig then off into Scotlandshire and the land of the heathen.

Nigel is around, he's busy relocating the family out of London to Norfolk so this time, PLL takes a rest and he's co-driving my TR6 with me.

Yes we have had a flurry of withdrawals but to be honest, the closer we are to 100 the easier the event is to run. Critical mass for the RBRR is pretty low really so the viability of the event is not threatened but we do like to get as many cars on the road as possible. The recent activity has probably been because we were approaching the end of August, i.e. the point where refunds are no longer made so I doubt people will pull out now, they will try and get their cars ready and push on. Some will fail to get the cars ready at the last minute and not turn up on the day, we usually get 3 or 4 last minute drop outs.

Dave is indeed starting early, we haven't even had the driver's meeting yet! It's really good to see the ex-Tiny Lewis car out and about, it's been in storage for as long as I can remember and I've always thought it would make a great RBRR car ina hair shirt kind of way :-) Dave doesn't need luck, he just needs a plasma cutter and a welder - oh and a never ending supply of coffee!

Graham, the basic advice I always give is "Don't fanny around!" get to the control, get your book signed immediately, do whatever you need to do (toilet, food, drink, fettle the car) then get back on the road. Socialise whilst walking to the control, toilet, shop, etc. If you stop and chat to everyone, 30 mins can disappear easily. The key to the RBRR is to keep some time in hand in case you have a problem - 30 mins spent  at 2 controls then a 30 minute problem puts you 90 mins out - not a good place to be. If you have time in hand you can take it easy - it really is tortoise and hare stuff here, the guys who go blatting around trying to be first at the controls are often the ones who have to do that because they have been fannying around when stationary! It's a driving event afterall. For socialising I recommend the International Auto Ecosse and the Ten Countries Run which are far more social. The event was timed with the slowest cars in mind, we didn't miss a control in the Atlas Van until we had a terminal mechanical issue 1800 miles in. That would do 55mph max flat out, down hill with the spinnaker up. The Courier we used next time wasn't much better but both vehicles did well and we had fun, we chatted, we drank coffee and may even have brushed our teeth at one point (there was a rumour Dave changed his socks once but I think that was just a legend) - we did not spend hours at controls. We even managed to replace a blown core plug on route when it blew and turned the Atlast into a sauna. I'm not saying ignore everyone and be so focussed as to not socialise at all but just stay on course and remember what it's all about. Aim for 15 mins per control and you'll be fine.

Ive used latitude for a few years on a blackberry, once over the signing in fiasco that is google, it's OK.

There are quite a few "apps" available for this sort of thing. The easiest is Google's Latitude and you'll find a few CT types already using it - it's free, which of course attracts the CT types! The only down side with all these things that run on mobile phones is the data costs, just be aware that nothing's really "free".

Eagerbeaver Everything in moderation and do what you feel comfortable with - I've done most of the RBRR in a 1960s Standard Atlas van - no HID headlamps, no reclining seats, no heater to speak of, no seat belts, no acceleration - BIG fun. OK we welded a wheel bearing with only 200 miles to go and ended up on flatbed but I think we showed it can be done in a real period motor. I've also done the event in a v8 saloon, a GT6 and Courier Van. This time round it'll be in a TR6 that's been asleep for 20 years. Things to think about, - you car will not get any rest, it won't cool down and it will be running pretty much all of those 48 hours. Ancillaries like the alternator, fan and water pump will of course be running too so make sure they are up to the job. Stuff like windscreen wipers may also be on the go for much of that time. It can rain in Scotlandshire, a lot! Pack spares that you are prepared to fit at the side of the road in less than say an hour, realistically if something major goes bang, you will be out of time v quickly so although you may think you can fix it you're only avoiding the recovery wagon. Be sensible about this, many people do give up too easily but when you're 32 hours in and knackered the decision to get recovered is usually quite easy. As a minimum give the car a general service, check fan belt, fluid levels, brake pads etc. Clean and rainex / mistex the windscreen. Pack minimal tools and spares - don't overload the car with ballast. Include spare water, petrol, oil, brake fluid, a torch. I find that it's better to have the means to make a fix - wire, nuts, bolts, gaffer tape, chewing gum etc because you can't prepare for everything with specific spares. Little stuff like bulbs, ignition set, a spark plug, are about as much as I take - being a PI car I do pack a specific PI kit, spare injector, fuel and vac diaphragms, datum track link piece, and a spare fuel pump but all that fits in a small case and is very self contained. I also take a small plastic sheet or disposable rain poncho to either wear if it's hammering down or throw on the ground to work on. Above all just be happy with your prep and don't be too influenced by others - there will always be the entrants who take a spare gearbox, diff, four poster lift, crypton tuner - don't try and emulate that! One year I spent weeks preparing my car, drove to pick up my co-driver and broke the crank on the way there. We peeled the stickers off my car, put them on his GT6, did an oil change on the GT and off we went - the car literally had 10 minutes prep and had never done a RBRR before. We got round without issue and had a great run - you don't need to agonise over this, it's just a drive round the countryside afterall  ;)

Nick_Jones wrote:I find that the 5 3/4" Halogens I've got on both cars are absolutely excellent even with standard bulbs  - far better than either of our moderns (even my wife commented on the PI lights recently!) - so inclined to question the need for HiD.  Can't say I particularly enjoy other people HiD lights either.  Maybe you need HiD so you can still see after being zapped by someone elses HiD.....  :-/ Nick You're scarred by Nigel Gair's 4 HIDs on the 10CR - they were impressive but we had more than one dodgy adjuster and struggled to keep them aimed properly - sorry  8)

I thought half the point of HIDs was that they drew a lot less current that high output halogens and therefore didn't need relays - or have I got it wring again?

Colin, you need to lie to him - "Yeah Mike they changed the time, it starts at 12:00 sharp" that ought to get him there for about 13:00 :-) To be honest guys, it's hassle enough to corral you all intro one place, shut you all up and crack on with the meeting, late comers are a pain and disrupt the flow. We have a high proportion of newbies again this time and they will want the full briefing. Also there are a few subtle changes this time, different stops, timing changes and route tweaks so worth taking in the full meeting. It would be good if the "veterans" could do some mingling with the newbies too, pass on a few tips and generally ensure they appreciate what an undertaking this event is without scarring the crap out of them. Whilst some retirements are inevitable it would be good to improve our success rate. Some newbies do seem to have the rose tinted goggles on right up until they realise just how long they have spent in Scotlandshire with a long way to go! We all know the event is hard with the option to make it even harder being down to the car and crew preparation.

Richard_B wrote:Are Heritage intending to do another run of new shells?  :-/ Almost certainly not, they had trouble selling the last batch and the quality was not that great apparently.

Richard_B wrote:Are Heritage intending to do another run of new shells?  :-/ Almost certainly not, they had trouble selling the last batch and the quality was not that great apparently.

That's quite right, parking and going round tight roundabouts at slow speed seem to be the final straw for a weak vertical link. You seldom get away with zero body damage though so it's still not a fun experience!

I had a crappy cap on my first car, a Moggy Minor. It leaked badly with fuel sloshing all over the place. I replaced it with a new one from a garage forecourt (showing my age here, this was in the days when they sold such things) it had the price on it and I left the sticker on. Unknown to me this was covering the vent hole, within a few miles the car was running badly, coughing and gently dying. I was convinced I had put crap petrol in, upon taking the new cap off the filler neck there was a "whoosh" and the problem was clear. I picked the price off and never had the problem again.

You've probably got the wrong cap :-) The venting is normally through the cap

Gt6s wrote: Visual inspection can not detect a vertical link about to fail. Not sure I agree with that mate, I think it's better to say visual inspection cannot detect a vertical link not about to fail :-) If I clean up a vertical link and it's got corrosion on it at the base of the threads then I'd be pretty sure that's "about to fail" and I would replace it. I agree that you can't be 100% sure that a vertical link won't fail even after you have cleaned it up and found that it looks fine. That said, it's not feasible to crack test everything before sticking it back on the car. These are Triumphs after all and as we all know, they will occasionally bite you :-)

I think what you're seeing is the oil coming out between the vertical link and the dust cover - remember it's not the trunnion that fails despite everyone (including me) referring to it as "trunnion failure". The trunnion is the brass bit, the vertical link is the casting - think of the vertical link as the bolt and the trunnion as the nut. I suggest you get it home carefully, then dismantle, clean and inspect for peace of mind. The failure of the vertical link is often caused when water sits on top of the duct seal and gently corrodes the base of teh threaded part of the vertical link. Early signs will be small pits of corrosion, these allow the stress fracture to start and awy goes your wheel :-(

Declare everything to your insurers but best to use subdued language - "Full sports exhaust" may raise an eyebrow (and a premium), "Stainless steel exhaust" won't :-)

It's probably easier to find some grotty alloys than steel wheels these days but try calling round the trade, it's not the kind of thing that looks good on a web site but often they will have some lurking in a corner!

The last three overdrive issues I've had (all on different cars) have all been electrical and pretty similar to your symptoms, one was in the gearstick (silly place to put an overdrive switch) teh other two were electrical connections to the solenoid - both were caused by hot oily wires going brittle and failing in the hostile environment. All 10 minute jobs to find and fix. Electrical is your fist set of test as they are easy to apply and usually cheap to fix :-)