Tim Hunt

I must admit I was not expecting much from the Nighteyes for the price but, as I said, I had been very impressed by their performance on another car on the last RBRR and so far no complaints on mine - a very well controlled beam pattern with sharp cut off and certainly no falling off in performance to date. I reckon the issue of heat dissipation is a bit of a non issue. I have felt the (metal) headlamp bowls on my car after a long night drive and they remain cool to the touch. I also recall Alan Chatterton telling me that he had noticed falling snow building up on a headlamp lens with an LED bulb fitted whereas a halogen bulb would keep the snow melted. This is another indication of the much lower heat generation from an LED. I am not bothered by this potential disadvantage since the likelihood of me ever driving the TR in falling snow is vanishingly small. Tim

😀😀😀

I was impressed by the Nighteye LED headlights on Allan Chatterton's car on the 2018 RBRR and invested in an H4 pair for the 4A immediately afterwards. The beauty of LEDs is that they are far more efficient at converting electrical energy into light rather than heat when compared with incandescent filament bulbs. The pair cost under £20 two years ago and I was impressed with the packaging, fitting instructions and construction. No fans are involved, the bulbs having ribbed aluminium heat sinks and since the light sources are very small they can be positioned to exactly mimic the position of the filaments in a halogen bulb so the beam pattern is unaltered. There is a sharp asymmetric cut off on dip with excellent spread and good reach on main beam. No oncoming drivers ever flash me and I had no problems on MoT test even before the guidelines were changed officially allowing the retro fitment of LED headlight bulbs in our cars. The rear of the bulbs sit out a bit further in the headlight bowl and the associated wiring is a bit more bulky but they fitted in the existing bowls on my car with no problem. Big plus for me is the much reduced power consumption since I am still running with a dynamo. Strongly recommend. Tim

What a super job, love the Powder Blue too.

Yes Tim, conscious of that when we submitted the puppy naming form, quite a while ago now, we specifically asked that 'Derek' should be a black Labrador. I initially ran the idea past Derek's daughter Louise at a Club night shortly after his funeral and she was clearly touched and delighted.

Our tremendous effort for the Guide Dogs charity on the 2016 RBRR was sufficient to fund the training programmes for two puppies, for which we were invited to choose names. The Committee settled on 'Derek', in memory of Derek Pollock, our much missed late President and initial inspiration behind the event, and 'Triumph'. I am delighted to say that Triumph, a Golden Retriever bitch, was born on 28th October 2020 and Derek, a Black Labrador, on 7th December 2020. Both went from the Guide Dog Breeding Centre to their puppy walkers a while ago and are making excellent progress, being socialised and progressively meeting more and more challenges. The parentage of both puppies involve many generations of guide dogs, and there is every reason to expect that both Derek and Triumph will eventually become life changers for their eventual owners. It has certainly taken some time to bring this to fruition but we are delighted with the final result. Our contact at Guide Dogs very kindly provided the attached photo montage showing how 'our' puppies have progressed. Tim Triumph and Derek.mov

Does anyone know of a competent company that could install security cameras to monitor the car park of a block of flats in Luton, Beds? Ideally they should be located in the Beds/Herts area. many thanks. Tim

OK Ben. TR4A driven by me for 50 years and 7 months to date (though not much over the past year of course!). I think I can safely say this one is a keeper too, brings a smile to my face each time I take it out and very little grief in five decades. Twenty completed RBRRs so far together with eight 10CRs, two C2Cs, several HCRs some Autoecosses and La Carerra Caledonias and TR Register events also. Incidentally the stain on the road in the Col de la Bonette picture is not vital fluid from NGP 86D! Tim

I thought we were already in Europe Sam, at least geographically. Tim

I wasn't sure whether to post here or under RBRR. Members will be saddened to hear that Club Vice - president and long term RBRR supporter Charlie Sneddon (or Charlie as he preferred) died suddenly on April 25th, Drive It Day, following a heart attack. Like me I am sure all regular Round Britain entrants will miss Charlie's warm and friendly welcome at a Scottish control somewhere this October. I made Scotland on all my Runs, even when I didn't make the finish, so must have chatted to Charlie on twenty two occasions. He worked for Land Rover in the '70s and had excellent contacts all over. On my first few Runs, prior to the Edinburgh Ring Road, he arranged for the police to provide crews with an escort through the city to the Forth Road Bridge, it was quite exciting running red lights with their encouragement! R.I.P. Charlie and thanks for so many great memories. Tim

Very good work Sam and nice to see you back on the Forum. Tim

Hello Kevin. I am sure a member of the Spitfire cognoscenti will be along shortly in relation to your mechanical questions. As regards the anti-freeze you need an ethylene glycol silicate containing type (Bluecol or similar). The newer long life OAT (Organic acid Technology) type coolants are not compatible with our engines. I run a 50/50 mix of Bluecol/rainwater year round and change this every two years without fail before the anti-corrosion additives lose their effectiveness. Always top up, if needed, with the same 50/50 mix to preserve the concentration. Tim

I'm with Steph re the strange headlight switch arrangement on the 1300, shared with Herald/Vitesse and early Spitfires. Another Triumph idiosyncrasy is the two speed wiper switch on the TR4A, the first position gives what is optimistically called 'fast' speed and the second slow speed, for me the other way round would be more sensible, unfortunately it is impossible to re-wire the existing switch to achieve this condition. Tim

Unfortunately Bruce my overall success rate is only 90.7% (20/22) since we had a second failure on the 1982 Run (a failed oil cooler hose). At least it has been 100% since and including 1984! Tim

You can't complain about that for service Jim!! Tim

That's absolutely great Jason. I love the speed with which the list opens via Events - RBRR - Entry List. I could make a cup of tea before that happened on the old website - well almost! Thanks Craig. Tim

Thanks Rob, I wasn't aware of the Apple issue, this was first time I had posted pics taken on an IPhone. I've no idea how you managed to get that picture the right way up. In future I will use a camera if I plan to post a pic on the Forum! Tim

Had a decent run out in the 4A and an excellent, socially distanced pub lunch https://wheatsheafperry.com The Hunt household has taken the lockdowns seriously and I worked out that yesterday's was the longest journey since the 10CR in September 2019! Pictures taken before departure and at Old Warden on a visit to the Shuttleworth Collection on the way home. Sorry, don't know why pics are upside down. They were saved the right way up but if I rotate them 180 degs and save again before posting they still end up this way. Clues anybody? Tim

Matt, if you click on the event in the Upcoming Events side bar you will see that entries are planned to open on 15th May, through this website. Tim

Can't wait Chris, fingers crossed! Car's ready NOW. Tim

My mistake actually. I have just rechecked and it was only the eighteenth time, water pump failure and no spare put us out in Scotland in 1978 so we didn't make Land's End that year. Tim

Lands End for the nineteenth time in my 4A. This was the 2014 event. No video, sorry. Tim

11 lbs/ft torque - surely some mistake. I reckon that a 3.27 axle would be a trifle ambitious, you would certainly have relaxed cruising but wouldn't win many prizes at the traffic light grands prix. Unless of course you have a 3.5 litre Rover lump in your Spitfire in line with your user name! Tim