Tim Hunt

+1 for Cibie (now Valeo branded) light units and uprated H4 bulbs. Ring Ultima, Philips Extreme Vision or Osram Nightbreaker Plus all good. Tim

Team 28. Tuesday 8th Swingate Inn, Dover Wed 9th Golden Tulip. Kerkrade Friday 11th Cristallino d'Ampezzo, Cortina Saturday 12th Seligweiler, Ulm (may cancel if we feel brave and tackle allnighter) Sunday 13th Rolduc Tim

We booked the 10.00 ferry outbound so as to have leisurely drive to Limburg for our Wednesday night stop. In view of current recommendation to allow an extra hour for check in have booked us in Swingate Hotel for the Tuesday night, just 5 minutes from the port in normal traffic. Tim

We booked the 10.00 ferry outbound so as to have leisurely drive to Limburg for our Wednesday night stop. In view of current recommendation to allow an extra hour for check in have booked us in Swingate Hotel for the Tuesday night, just 5 minutes from the port in normal traffic. Tim

Tell me about it Pete. I suffered head gasket failure on the 2012 Autoecosse. When I took the head off this is what I found under the head nut adjacent to the failure point! More than enough creep on the soft washer to lose clamp force. I don't know when this rogue washer was used but mea non culpa since it was the first time I had taken the head off. Tim

Went for a long weekend in Devon in the 4A last month. The car ran perfectly as usual until I parked at Brixham harbour. After two hours the car re-started on 3 cylinders. I checked for the obvious then tried the engine again and it refused to start. I then called the AA. The patrol man was unable to diagnose the problem though in his opinion the engine had a weak spark. We even swapped the 123 ignition distributor for the original Lucas item I had in the boot - no joy. We were relayed home. I finally got around to checking the car out the other day and a cold compression check revealed 140psi on 1,2 and 3 with nothing on 4. removing the head revealed that the inlet valve insert had dropped out and lassoed the valve head, jamming it open. Luckily this had happened when the car was parked and it had subsequently only run briefly at low revs, resulting in a minor depression in the piston. I yesterday took the head to my local specialist who had done such a good job on it following gasket failure on the 2012 Autoecosse (due to one non-hardened head nut washer -not guilty!). I just got the bad news - testing revealed a 10mm crack down the throat of no 4 inlet valve seat. Whilst the specialist could stitch the head they would not be prepared to guarantee such a repair and did not want to be liable for a wrecked engine should a new insert let go. The long and short is that I need a new head and have nothing restorable as en exchange. My old head was the original, having been converted by SAH in the 70s with larger inlet valves. I fancy something a little better than standard, Can anyone recommend a new uprated cast iron head from Moss or am I better trying to find a NOS (hen's teeth?)  or good crack tested used head and have it converted by a specialist? Any suggestions gratefully received! Tim  

Team 28 staying the Wednesday night at Hotel Mennicken in Wurselen. this is just 5 miles from the centre of Aachen so handy for a possible meet that evening. It is also very handy to the Dutch border so should not be far from the revised Thursday start location. We are booked in the Hotel Cristallino d'Ampezzo in Cortina on the Friday night and the Hotel Seligweiler in Ulm on Saturday 12/9. This last reservation can be cancelled without penalty should we decide to do the longer route. I must admit the prospect of another two hours or so bar time in Rolduc is appealing and I particularly enjoy long night drives. However, it will be a team decision - I will have to work on Howard! Tim

10,00 out and 14.00 back for Howard and I, I believe. Be nice to see some other Triumphs on the car deck of the early boat. Tim

+1 Raider! Tim

Sorry, should have added that the 4A is currently running on Hankook Optimo K715s in 165/80R15 87T, sourced very reasonably from mytyres.com. After 25,000 miles they are down to 3mm or so and I will be looking to change in the Spring. I have been very happy with the Hankooks in both wet and dry conditions. The Friday night of the last RB(R)R was a good test of the former! tim

+1 on Roger's post. When first acquired in 1970 my 4A was shod with Cinturatos. They were very entertaining on wet roundabouts but frankly the wet grip was unacceptable for serious use. We soon binned these tyres for a set of Dunlop Sports (the Aquajet tyre). These were a revelation with outstanding grip on wet and dry surfaces although needless to say one inevitably paid a penalty in reduced mileage. I note these tyres are still available from Vintage Tyres, at a fancy price, in 185VR15, not sure if the standard  165 TR4/4A section tyre is still made however. Tim

My vote definitely for a group ferry crossing if possible. It is part of the event and great to see so many Triumphs on the car deck. as regards possible "migration" problems at Calais I can only report that I took a day trip three weeks ago today and encountered no problems/delays at Calais at all. However, who knows what the situation will be by September! Tim

Martin Randle/David Lidbury/Hank Hall   Mk2 2000 Tim Bancroft/Dave Kent                      MK1 2.5 Pi (SU) Mike & Anne Weaver                          Dolomite Sprint Clive  & Gill Senior                            Spitfire 1800 (it must be finished by then!) Colin Wake + 1                                 Perhaps a TR again....... Dave Jones + someone willing to fix the Mk1 2000 at the last moment for him Mike /JaneCharlton                          Spitfire mk3 Philip Charlton/Wayne Coates           MK1 2000/V8 Steve Thompson/Gaz Seddon          GT6 MK3 (mobile bar) Howard Pryor/Tim Hunt                   TR4

I will be entering as co-driver in Howard Pryor's increasingly nice TR4, always assuming he can resist preparing it to concours standard by next September! It's about time I got the chance to cane someone else's car. It will be a pity to break my run of six 10CR completions (if you count the inaugural 2003 event as a 10CR) in the same car but I have nothing to prove and suspect it could be some time before that record is broken. Anyway we always have the 4A as back up if needed. Tim

When at home I simply use a trolley jack anywhere under the 4A chassis using a piece of hardwood to spread the load and protect the surface.  I then lower the chassis on to logs which are about ten inches in diameter by twelve inches. These logs were cut from a neighbour's Eucalyptus tree over thirty years ago and are still in perfect shape with no splits. When out I would use the scissor jack to lift the car to change a wheel but would never get under it unless I could find some solid additional support to put under the chassis for insurance. Tim

Thanks to all for the helpful suggestions, you've given me plenty to think about. Tim

Thanks for your rapid response Clive - why not braided for you though? My choice was dictated by a sad experience on the 1982 RBRR. Just before the run I had had a new steering rack fitted by Dunham & Haines, then a Leyland Main Dealer in Luton. Unfortunately they had managed to nip one of my un-braided cooler hoses and it eventually chafed through, resulting in sudden total oil loss on Bodmin Moor, lunched bearings and an RAC recovery. In fairness to D & H they did accept responsibility and rebuilt the bottom end at their expense. It was cold comfort though for having failed to finish that year's Run. I just thought that braiding would improve the protection of the hose although I did route the hose carefully and added additional protection where it passed close to any metal surface. Tim

I recently obtained some replacement stainless steel braided oil cooler hoses. I thought this a sensible precaution since the current hoses are over 15 years old now and cannot be expected to last for ever. I need to cut two of the hoses to fit an in line thermostat. Last time I used a hacksaw to do this and it really made a mess of the braiding. It occurred to me that there must be a better way to make a neat cut - heavy duty shears? an engineering shop guillotine? Has anyone any suggestions based on their experience? Tim

Richard, I am glad you enjoyed the your first RB(R)R. It sure is addictive - take it from one who enjoyed the 2014 event more than any of his previous nineteen in the sane car! I am glad you put your head over the parapet re the Drivers' Meeting - I agree it was unnecessarily long, particularly the Macmillan representative's contribution. She should have been given 15 mins max in my opinion to hit the key points and we could have done without all the details of her Saharan adventure etc. I noticed a number of people in addition to me getting increasingly twitchy as she went on and on. I am sorry about your mis-fuel, you are not the first to do it on this event and won't be the last I'm sure. It's easily done, particularly if a little tired. I don't know what happened to your text message re late arrival at a control. It's a pity. if the info had been passed on maybe the marshals could have stayed on a bit as I know they did elsewhere. We received helpful warning messages from central control during then run. I agree that if marshals at a particular control did intend to stay on for a longer period then if this information were communicated to teams it would be very helpful fior their planning.  However, I would hope that as responsible drivers club members would never sacrifice safety trying to reach a control within a particular window. Always remember that it is better to arrive late that not at all. Tim

I don't see any advantage in joining the M25 nearer to the Potters Bar exit. on the last two Runs the M25 has not been any problem at all, we have been able to maintain 70mph or the posted temporary lower limit all the way from the M40 junction. I agree that the M40 was grim on Sunday but I don't think that Didcot, Wallingford, Chinnor, Wendover and A41 to M25 would have been any quicker. There is no good way from Didcot to the Plough. Maybe the answer is to start and finish the RBR  somewhere else. Tim

I'm sorry about your experience Steve. I have now had twenty RBR breakfasts at the Seaview (on twenty separate visits thanks you Velocito Rosso) and have always been impressed by the speed and efficiency of the service, even on the more recent events with well over 200 people to be dealt with. I am always amazed by how they manage it all with a smile. I did have to comment on the weak coffee on Saturday but this was quickly replaced with fresh without demur. I cannot imagine that you were intentionally ignored, this must have been an honest mistake on the part of the hard working servers. I am sure you didn't just sit there meekly and watch later arrivals served before you and when you pointed out the mistake you were quickly looked after. Tim

Be warned Bob, this event is dangerously addictive. This was my twentieth RBR in the 4A (Entry 17) and the fortieth anniversary if my first. I have to say it was the most enjoyable to date - I have never been unhappy with the way my car has gone but a rolling road session last Wednesday found an additional 13 bhp that I didn't know I should have had! It has transformed the car on the road and of course my co-driver and I found it too hard to resist making pretty full use of the extra poke. Despite this the car returned an overall TRUE CONSUMPTION of 34.05mpg (corrected for known odometer error). From my records the comparable figures on the previous four runs were 32.11, 32.54, 32.33 and 32.50 and on the last three Ten Countries Runs the car achieved 32.40, 31.13* and 32.16. (The asterisk refers to the 2011 10CR, which involved twenty Alpine passes, probably accounting for the lower figure). These figures are remarkably consistent so I can be confident that the consumption on this last RBR represents a significant improvement, particularly taking into account that the car was frequently being driven harder than on any previous Run. I can only echo the thanks of previous posters for the tremendous efforts of the whole organising team, their helpers at all the controls and those members and friends who turned out at various points on the route to cheer us on, often at ungodly hours. Although it is rather wishing one's life away - I shall be nearly 71 for the nest RBR if still alive - I can ponly say roll on October 2016! Tim

Nothing. Apart from needing a screwdriver to reaffix the interior mirror I inadvertently knocked off in Skiach Services I only opened my tool bag to find a junior hacksaw for Doug Thompson at Tebay and a Stanley knife for Chris Allen at Pimperne. Maybe I shouldn't be too smug, after all two years is a long time! Tim

Fantastic, well done you three (and the old girl). I left The Plough quite early and the best sight I saw all weekend was the Renown passing me in East Lodge Lane barely a mile from the finish at around 20.30. I let out a cheer since I knew you could push it from there if you had to! How do you now fancy the 2015 10CR in this wonderful car? Tim

Yes, and please remember 30 is not a target and is too fast if you cannot stop within the distance you can see to be clear AND CAN REASONABLY EXPECT TO REMAIN SO. After a prolonged spell at the NSL 30 mph can seem like dawdling, it' s only when that small child steps out from between two parked vehicles that you realise it is far too fast. Lecture over! Tim Tim