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Check out the facebook Group, Rob Southern is suggesting he may be able to organise pies at Perth Tesco Extra. This has a 24 hour petrol station and is actually on the route. So it looks like pies in the early wee hours rather than tea time may be an option. Please respond to Rob's post on the RBRR facebook group if you are interested in this.

I posted this on the RBRR facebook group earlier, posting it here for the few who don't frequent the facebook group.     Looking at the last run, this is where we filled up and the mileage between. 1 brimmed the tank in Stevenage before start. 2. Whetherby 200 miles. 3. Jedburgh 146 miles. 4. Kinross 83 miles. 5. Skiach 156 miles. 6. Wick Tesco's 92 miles, 7. Skiach 155 miles. 8. Stirling 195 miles. 9. Tebay156 miles. 10. Gledrid 140 miles. 11. Between Abergavenny and Monmouth ( I think this was at the new control) 155 miles. 12.Okehampton 159 miles. 13 Bude 200 miles. 14. Salisbury 189 miles. 15 Knebworth after finish 134 miles. Route is slightly different this time but we will go through all these locations. I'd also advocate taking a can full of petrol as a back up.

There was a post on the RBRR facebook group yesterday from Shedtune (Andy Pearce) talking about using WhatsAp for a spares messaging service this time around. Also with the facebook group up and running (and used a lot more than the forum for RBRR discussions!)  I can see that many of the crews will be posting updates on there during the run.

Interesting bit of work today. My Dolomite, the Flying Log developed a fault on the 2014 RBRR, the fuel gauge got stuck on half full on the Sunday morning resulting in us running out of petrol near Bridport in Dorset. Anyway we were lucky in that another crew had a can of petrol and we continued and finished. I changed out both the gauge and the sender after the run and the fault remained, eventually a couple of years later I traced it to a faulty tank, a tack weld holding the internal baffle had broken and the baffle had sprung into a position where it fouled the sender float. I did try and fix it with various levers etc but to no avail, I also tried modifying sender unit levers without success. So for 4 years I've done without a fuel gauge, however I managed to find a good 2nd hand tank earlier this year so swapped it out today. The result was a partial success, I found that the new tank is actually a Toledo one so is 2 gallons smaller and not so long so the rear mountings don't align. I managed to fit it with a couple of brackets though and I do at least have a working gauge again. I'll continue to try and find a decent Dolly tank in the longer term.

Our RBRR ride "The Flying Log" is coming on, I have a small amount of work for the MOT that will be done and a retest completed this week. It failed on a small hole that had rusted at the bottom of the inner wing (picture below) and of course emmissions. It ALWAYs fails on emmisions every year as if it's set up to run properly it is over the MOT limit. So it will be weakened off so it runs like a pig to get through the MOT and then richened up again to a proper state of tune afterwards. As from next year when it becomes MOT exempt I'm going to have my MOT station do  the test without logging it on the system and leave out the emmsions test. That way I still have the car checked out for any safety and roadworthy issues but can ignore emmisions which are not really a roadworthiness or safety issue. Other stuff still outstanding on my to do list:- * Change the master light switch, current one works but some times needs a wriggle but I picked up a brand new one on ebay a while back to fit. *Change the fuel tank. The baffle in the existing tank has become dislodged and makes the sender unit stick so the fuel gauage doesnt work, picked up another tank advertsised on the Dolomite Facebook Group a few months back. The baffle damage was doen on a previous RBRR when the car was loaded up with spares, tools and 3 fat bastards, The car kept grounding out on teh rough roads especially ion Scotlandshite and the constant banging damaged the tank! *Add some thermal insulation to the copper fuel pipe than runs behind the engine to help prevent vapourisation in hot weather (like it will be hot on the RBRR, not likely!) *Change the front tyres, they have plenty of tread on and got through the MOT, however they are about 12 years old and starting to crack. I would replace with Michellins to match the existing, however, just foudn out that Michellin have now stopped doing any tyres in 165/70 13! * General Service, oil, filters and coolant change with barsleak added to the coolant, tappets, timing, carb tune, gearbox and diff oil check, wheel bearings grease and adjust, brake and clutch fluid check etc.  

Gearbox and overdrive in place a few days back and last weekend I've  been out for a test drive in the Dolly to make sure the new gearbox and overdrive works. All working great  Drove it with no carpets or gearbox tunnel cover and it's quieter than the old one even without anything to take away the noise so looks like another good unit built by Pete from Sussex in his spare time....   Car is nearly back together now, Have the gearbox cover, dash, parcel shelf, radio etc fitted, also fixed teh blowing exhaust flange gasket and I'm trying the later improved arrangement that Triumph used on 1500 spitfires supporting the downpipe from a bracket on the bell housing rather than the gearbox.

Getting set ready for a gearbox and Overdrive change on the "Flying Log" this weekend, will put in a NOS Borg and Beck Clutch while the box is out. Overdrive is fine but the gearbox is noisy so needs changing before the RBRR. Will have a noisy gearbox good for rebuild and a working overdrive for sale afterwards, same as Spitfire 1500 if anyone is interested ;-) 

You can assemble it together on a bench before fitting to the car and check the end float, I've always set the bearings up first before fitting to the car.  I fix the dial gauge to the hub and check the end float against the backplate as in the picture below.   Make sure you assemble dry when you check the float, once you've greased the bearings you won't be able to measure. So basically, assemble with the shims ( I use the Canley method to check what shims I need). Use a spare halfshaft nut, preferably one where the nyloc has worn so it does up and undoes easily or a plain nut, torque up to the setting with a torque wrench (can't remember what it is but it's tight!). Then check the end float, if it's too large add shims or larger distance piece, too small reduce shim or smaller distance piece. Re check, then once it's got the right float, take a\part, pack the bearings with grease and re-assemble torquing up to the correct setting.

is the BT my donate on line or is it a text giving service? If it's via text then Vodafone justtextgiving is better as 100% of donations goes to the charity, Vodafone basically cover all the costs of the service as part of their charity foundation. But  it's only via text and not on line although it can be tied to a just giving page for any donators who don't want to use a text service, albeit with the normal just giving charges for on line.

The Flying Log   Gusset Brown 1500HL Dolomite, 1979 with poo Brown Interior...    This will be the 4th RBRR for this car, which has already successfully completed 3 RBSS. 1st was in 2008 when the car belonged to Darren Sharp, followed by my Team Flying Log Entries in 20014 and 2016.   This year the crew will be myself Andy Cook, my 7th RBRR, Glynn Davis, his 3rd RBRR and Mark Smith his 2nd RBRR.

A Warning Martin, once you do one you'll get addicted and you'll be hooked to take part every two years. Happened to me in 2006 and I've not been able to kick the habit since.

So having picked up the reconditioned starter on Monday it’s just been far too hot to work on cars the last few days until tonight. So today I refitted the starter, replaced the burnt out secondary positive wire between the starter and alternator, replaced both the battery leads, replaced the body earth lead and replaced the alternator connector block. The alternator was replaced with a heavy duty one last year, the battery was new this month so I’ve basically got a completely new charging and starting system. Then the moment of truth as I tried to start the car, wow that new starter cranked over really fast and the car sprang into life really quickly. I think the old starter has been on the way out for a long time, probably before I bought the car 3 years ago. So just a bit more tidying up of the loom where I had to strip it back to get the burnt out wire out and it’ll be job done. I’d certainly recommend Burghfield Start and Alternators, they did a good job, quickly at a reasonable price reconditioning my old unit.

Nick,       I've now had the starter tested by Burghfield Starter and Alternators and it has bbeen confirmed as knackered, from what they said after stripping it down to investigate  the main reason for a high current draw was that the solenoid contacts were badly worn and only just making a contact. The brushes are also worn away to almost nothing so needed replacement anyway!  I had a choice they charge £40 for a repair plus parts which would have been £60 total or £70 for a full recon, so it's a no brainer I'm getting a full recon. That way it's fully guaranteed for a year where as a repair is only guaranteed for the bits that were fixed. Price is plus VAT so at £84 cheaper than the best price I've found elsewhere (Canleys) plus no carriage to worry about. They have all the parts in stock and it will be ready on Monday too which is pretty good service. I've also now got a new set of battery leads and body earth lead that have arrived today ready to fit and I'll replace the burnt out wire in the harness. The thicker wire to the alternator seems fine, I've tested it with a meter and it has no resistance and also looks in good condition with good connections.

The saga continues!   I tried starting it again after charging the battery up, it turned over very slowly and started smoking, one of the wires (the smaller of the two) between the solenoid and the alternator melted. I guess it was a big current draw due to the resistance. I've stripped it out of the harness the lighter of the two wires between the alternator and solenoid is totally FUBAR, ther heavier one runs between the same two points but that's OK. I've have ordered a replacement alternator connector kit to do the job properly together with new battery leads and a new lead to go to the body earth. I'm still not convinced that the starter isn't knackered though and I've been recommended Burghfield starter and alternator company near Reading from a thread I started in the Dolomite Group on facebook. It is only 20 mins away from home/work and they say on their website that they will test starters and alternators for free. So I'll take it into them for a check rather than risk burning out wiring again. They only charge £40 to rebuild a starter (no matter what is involved) plus the cost of any parts so that sounds reasonable. They give a free estimate too before starting work too so I've nothing to lose. Luckily I don't need the car in a hurry, I've got TriumFest/Marque Day at Sanata Pod  this weekend which I'm doing in the GT6 and I'm away doing family stuff the following weekend so plenty of time to get the Dolly starter re-built...

I think it maybe OK after all. I was naive enough to think that a brand new battery would at least be charged up! I tried jumping the car tonight and the starter turned, albeit slowly. I checked the voltage on my new battery and it was only showing 12.3 under no load so it's now on charge overnight. Fingers crossed for the morning. Thanks for the link though, Guildford is only about 15 miles or so away so if I do need to get a reconditioned one they will be worth a try.

Anyone out there got a good 1500 Dolly starter motor they want to sell or know a source of reasonably priced reconditioned ones. Cheapest I can find is Canley classics @£95 and they don't hold any stock... Somewhere within North Hampshire/Surrey/Berkshire would be even better but will do a post job if I cant find one locally... I certainly want to avoid paying Rimmers 170 quid for one, that's for sure!

The other point to note is that a condition of entry is that one of the entrants in each team must be a member of Club Triumph, so make sure you join up before the entry opens if not already a member unless one of your crew is of course.

Great Book, even better I have a couple of mentions in the text and I can see at least 3 of my own photos included in the book including what I regard as one of the bestest ever pics I've ever taken!   

Hoping I can pick mine up at the Dinner that was a prize from a competition in the bar after last years meal. Ellis told me I'd won it and I remember we had to guess the number of something, can't remember what the something was I had to guess the number of though as I was a bit drunk at the time!

Ellis did tell me earlier in the year that I've won a copy from a guess the number of competition at the club dinner last year, can't even remember what I guessed I think it may have been time of something?  I was probably a little the worse for wear at the time but it didn't cloud either my judgement or maybe perhaps just a lucky guess! But really looking forward to getting my copy when it's published anyway.

Well good news, got my matched funding from Vodafone got approved so that's another £350 to add to the grand total. It gets paid direct to Guide Dogs by the Charity Aid Commission so won't be attributed obviously to the RBRR so Tim will need to separately add to the grand total, I've mailed him to let him know.

The gearbox on the Flying Log has got a bit noisier since the run. It's always been a bit whiney in all but top gear, and especially in 3rd when coming off power to the overun. But now it's also pretty noisy in neutral at tickover which it wasn't before. Mainshaft and Layshaft bearings are probably excessively worn. It's working OK in terms of changing gear etc but I think it will need a gearbox rebuild in the reasonably near future. I'm going to try and see if an oil change for some good quality fresh Castrol EP90 makes any difference. Not expecting this to fix it but it may reduce the noise and make it last a little longer. It probably wasn't helped by the previous owner who had the crazy notion that a mixture of 20/50 and EP gearbox oil was better than EP oil for overdrive cars. At least he told me he had done this and I drained a refilled with EP780/90 as soon as I got it home, but that was 7,000 miles ago including 2 RBRRs.

Exactly Tim, we can't mandate that people stay over but can suggest it's a good idea to consider.

Management of tiredness is part of the team aspect of the run. I've been on the run 6 times now and completed successfully 5 times, only one of these was as a 3 man team, every other time it's been in a team of two. I was involved in one of the accidents mentioned in Raider's post above as a passenger when we spun off the road avoiding as he put it a "kamikaze Deer!" it was actually a @kin great Stag with Antlers rather than a piddly little Deer BTW!. I confirm this had nothing to do with tiredness, on the contrary, the driver would have probably hit the Stag if he wasn't properly alert and if he had been tired. It's definitely easier as a team of 3, but with some common sense it's achievable and safe as a 2 man team. The important things are, firstly to always plan a change of drivers at the next control and secondly to recognise driver tiredness between, I have on many occasions said to my co-driver, I need a break can we swap please  between our planned swaps . Also when I'm the passenger I will ask the driver every now and then on route how he is feeling and does he need a swap. Done this way it works and it's safe. I have when in the GT6 which is faster been able to reach some controls especially the overnight ones very early and for the whole crew to get some sleep before the control opens, this isn't possible in a slower car like my Dolomite so actually I reckon running a two man team is tougher in a slower car. I stayed overnight after the finish this year for the first time and must admit it was a well spent 40 quid to get a room in a local premier inn, I think this is something that ought to be suggested but not mandated in the info supplied for the run and also at the drivers meet. Not only did I feel refreshed for the drive home in the morning but it was also good to wind down over a couple of beers with some of the other crews in the bar after the meal at Knebworth, notice I said a couple of beers, I certainly wouldn't advocate a session drink at the end!

The road closure on the A466 near Chepstow was a lot more of a hassle as it was unexpected and we had to find a way around on the fly having missed/ignored  the diversion. Lots of narrow roads that were not much more than a track through the Forest of Dean, got a bit worried that the Sat Nav was sending us the wrong way but it worked a treat...