Jason

I know we can do it using personal banking but it represents a clear risk to the club to have funds sloshing around outside of Club Triumph Ltd - I would not be happy to take that risk - RBRR is non-trivial amounts, we get upto 275 people at £100 each - that's over £25k going through a personal account. That sort of thing attracts tax interest. Now I'm not going to waltz off with £25k but say my bank account gets hacked and the cash disappears, or I lapse into my cider dependency days - the Club could falter as a result. Even online banking isn't the only answer - image having to check for funds appearing in an account for 130 entries, some not appearing for days - bit of a nightmare At least with cheques we can physically see it's paid - the number of rubber cheques is very small, we used to get the odd one but in recent years it's not been an issue.

The tsunami of entries has yet to arrive, I suspect that I'll see it tonight when I get home. As far as cheques are concerned, they still represent the easiest and cheapest way for us to process payments, it would be great to have an online system that you could all fill in your forms, add an online payment and have it all validated against a valid membership number, before getting your entry number and seeing it all published online. It's possible, but I don't know how and if we paid someone to do it, entry fees would go up again. If anyone can do it, for a small consideration then get in touch with me and we'll talk (remuneration would be flexible, we pay in home made cakes, mugs of tea and maybe a guaranteed RBRR entry or two, there might be money involved but never much!) It would be a labour of love

Welcome back Ben, no spare flywheel here at Chinn Towers but with that list you should be able to find one - good luck.

Are we having guest clubs/cars too? My mate Mike Cooper in the Mini Innocenti is still keen. Never heard of the place but it's only an hour away so v handy :-)

There's no MOT requirement for bumpers to be fitted but I think if you have sharp edges then you might fail. The best way to find out is to take the car to your chosen station and ask the tester if he considers it acceptable or not.

I've got to admit to having read this and felt upset at the way some criticisms are being made. Using words like "dull", "uninformative", "annoying", "unhelpful" don't do much to encourage anyone, let alone a bunch of volunteers who work evenings and weekends unpaid for the benefit of others. I don't think rendering these criticisms in an open forum is going to help break down any perceived clique barriers. I think the opinions on the charity presentation are fair - we should have enforced the timings we gave her and wound it up no matter how tricky that is. Remember here that the organisers are not all seasoned public speakers, it takes an awful lot of guts to stand up before you guys and deliver a presentation let alone create one suitable for you. I take the point about it being disjointed at times - sometimes presenters forget what's coming next and "jump" slides, then have to go back or forget their thread - sorry. We can work on that and make it flow a bit better, I'll also work on the timing with the  team, and bring my alarm clock for the next charity speaker! I'm quite unsympathetic to crews who appear at controls outside the time slots - it's a challenge, it's meant to be hard, it's not competitive against others, it's competitive against yourself. Can you prepare a car and crew to complete a pre-set course within the time and rules? I know what it's like to fail, it's humbling and crushingly disappointing. That's why we continue to run it, so you can come back again and do it right. Sometimes you get lucky but you know what? The more you practice the luckier you get. As for the aerial photo of Tebay, sorry - I couldn't find one of the place in the dark but I took one this year and will use that next time. I feel I may been overly defensive but the original poster felt it was his right to say his piece and I respect that, so I hope people will respect my right to tell him I think's wrong and I don't like the way he said it  :) OK now I've got that off my chest I will take on board the concerns with the rest of the team and we'll work through them.

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/car-accessories/car-maintenance-accessories/maintenance-fluids-and-greases/maintenance-fluids/?552776261&0&cc5_858

Gaydon is indeed a possibility but nothing is set, we do need a decent start point and something like Gaydon could work although it is an expensive venue (compared to £nil for the Plough - all suggestions are welcome, needs to be something with catering, a decent carpark, would prefer something with a motoring heritage/theme but that's not a deal breaker - really somewhere sympathetic to the old car would be good. As for the Plough, I think it is destined to become a "pubco" place :-(

It's always a tricky thing, that last leg (in fact the post breakfast part in total!) we need to keep the crews checked in frequently to ensure the "legs" are not too long and drivers are encouraged to rotate. We also need to ensure we pick a route that's worth driving with decent scenery and roads. We like to keep the mileage around the 2000 mark and we have to finish at a time that allows for late arrivals to get back to the Plough at a reasonable hour. The Didcot to the Plough route is a pain, the real problem is that there are many ways to go but all are very "delicate" to balance   route complexity - important to keep it relatively simple at this stage in the run traffic - very volatile, in previous years, the M25 has been both stationary and clear and back to stationary within an hour mileage/average speed - again, we need to keep it within reasonable parameters to ensure drivers aren't encouraged to push too hard flexibility - I think here, more than anywhere, the phrase "the route is advisory" is most apt, drivers need to be flexible and use their skill and judgement, if the road is blocked, slow moving, etc then find an alternative. Rest assured the organising team will discuss this, as we do every year, and see if we can find any improvements that work. One things is for sure though, with the next run being the 50th anniversary and the Plough looking like it will be under new (possibly much more corporate) management, we could well be looking at a different start/finish point entirely!

My TR6 suffered the same jerky clutch, especially when warm. It made travelling in stop start traffic a real pain. In the quest for a decent clutch I replaced the lot - mechanical and hydraulic components, but the real culprit was a combination of a worn carrier and clutch cover "fingers" that were deeply worn. The TR6 set-up is slightly different to the 2000 so my fix isn't entirely relevant - I went for the phosphor bronze carrier and no anti-rotation pin (as per TR2/3 spec apparently) but apart from a very slight whine in neutral, it's excellent. I just need to chase out an ignition gremlin now - that, I suspect, is a dodgy plug lead.

It's one of those weird things about the RBRR - you travel around the country with 100+ other Triumphs yet there are some cars you simply don't see all weekend - we never saw the Renown anywhere other than at the Plough at the start and at the finish! Excellent effort and achievement proving once more that you really can do this event in any Triumph. Well done Dirk and team - and car!

sparky_spit wrote:It was also on Radio 2 at about 18:30 ish on the Friday evening as I was leaving The Plough.  Chris Gunby had obviously phoned into the show from his car, but got cut off.  Steve Wright(?) read out what he had said to the researcher and commented something along the lines of "they must all be mad". Steve Wright finishes at 17:00 http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/programmes/schedules/2014/10/03 so could it have been Simon Mayo? Yes it was - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04hc4hk at 1.34.30 not the most accurate of pieces but hey! a mention on Radio 2 Well done Chris Gunby  8)

Remember that we are only going there once every 2 years and we are not going to pay a lot for what we are asking - we try hard to keep the costs down and will continue for as long as it's practical (but we will be flexible in order to keep the event alive)

The basic specification is that it needs to be close to Lands End, have parking for 100 cars and be able to feed 250 people in an hour - ish - for around a tenner a head (the cheaper the better really) If you know of somewhere that fits the bill then I'm fine with you making a general enquiry - make no promises :-)

8861 wrote:How about a marquee in field near by and a 07.00 hog roast?...it would also allow the Dolomite crews  to cook up their road kill BBQ Badger with an owl sauce - yum (puke)

It really is a thorn in our side as organisers and it's one we will try and do something about - our crew took the tactical breakfast option and left. The toilets need to be open at 7am - my own "personal emergency" was only narrowly avoided - I apologise for mincing around like a ponce on a catwalk (and no, I'm not taking to the stage for a private show for you Ferny) We have tried other venues and frankly they were more trouble than they were worth, after being let down at the last minute in 2012 Lands End did step into the breach once and did us proud but this can't carry on - it's a monumental downer at a place and time when we are all on such a high. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions - or knows a caterer or hotelier who can accommodate us then please get in touch.

Gentlemen, ladies and Ferny - well done to all participants, marshals, spectators, hangers on and assorted loonies along the way. It was indeed an epic success, great fun and another big tick in the box for Club Triumph - the club that does! We'll coordinate the final missing in action list and see who has been mentioned in dispatches - watch the Blog for some sleep deprived ramblings later today.

Only one typo? C'mon, you're not trying :-) We did have a bit of a nightmare with this run's route book so please be gentle!

Ted - I had reasonable success repairing pinholes with epxoy - araldite and fibreglass tissue. It's a bodge and not really something I'd fit and forget but it should last a weekend.

Completing the RBRR is getting a full set of signatures in the road book - the route is optional. The timings are governed by when the control stops are open - if you arrive outside those opening times then you won't get a signature - ergo you won't complete the RBRR. You can take whatever route you like and complete the RBRR but if you miss out parts of the route, take short cuts or just whack in "fastest route" to your TomTom every time then you will miss out on the whole atmosphere and camaraderie of the run. Seeing other club cars on the road, overtaking and being over taken by them is great. If you want to take a different route then you don't need permission, just do it but think what you'll miss and, should the worst happen and you have a breakdown, you will not get picked up by any helpful Triumphs because they will all be on the official route :-) The official route has been carefully selected but we're not going to nanny everyone, you're big boys and can play where you want, just don't expect any help if you get an ouch or a boo boo  8)

The rumours are right, don't clean them it will screw it all up! You want them nice and dirty inside. Once clean you'll find there are air leaks. Also, don't take the butterflies out, you'll never get them back right! The only time you could clean them is if you were going to fit new throttle spindles and then you'd need to be able to put bushes in and line bore plus hone to get a tight seal. Clean the outsides all you want but leave the insides alone!

The acid test is really simple, you should be able to stick your thumb over the air bleed and stall the car. If you can't stall it then you have an air leak - probably a poorly sealing (and therefore poorly synchronised) butterfly. This is all rather easier to diagnose than to fix  :o

'twas a good day and all the better for the weather not being too hot  8) Big thanks to my team of timing marshals who worked really well - the event was also helped by cars generally staying on the course and not murdering too many cones  :)

mikew wrote: I thought all Lucas electrics were intermittant  ;D :-)

Irrespective of what the temp gauge says, does the engine feel hot when running? Thinks like pinking, running on, steaming from the overflow, heater very hot, etc. I would be inclined to do some serious testing with a temp probe and a lot of driving around, especially in traffic (low airflow). Carry a lot of spare water and thick glove to get the rad cap off without burning your hand and you won't get stranded if the car does get hot. Getting hot and boiling and keeping going is what really kills cars, getting too hot, resting and taking it easy shouldn't do any permanent damage. A decent multi-meter will come with a temp probe and a digital read out - something like this (I have one) [mail]http://www.toolbox.co.uk/draper-61023-autoranging-2175-67397?utm_source=GoogleBase&utm_medium=GB&utm_campaign=GoogleBase&gclid=CjgKEAjwnfGbBRDlxoHrl6uikyESJAD-nzCFFO3aDb6CQ-e15RPxdFdaMqyaf2i2zj5GdmFoee-2m_D_BwE[/mail] As the other posters have said, your temp gauge is an approximation, it doesn't necessarily mean you have a problem if it reads high (or low). Our cars are not prone to overheating in standard trim with a cooling system in good order so I would not think modification is a good starting point.