Tim Hunt

You did well Ben. Out of interest I just now looked on the Upgrade Motorsport site and found the cap at £6.36 with free delivery, as attached screen shot. Tim

Thanks for telling me I did 95 pence in cold blood Ben! But seriously, I'm glad I was able to help you out. Tim

For many years I was plagued by a rust coloured corrosion on the master cylinder threads, which required cleaning off at regular intervals. Some time ago I replaced the clutch m/c cap with a plastic one and this solved the problem. These smaller plastic caps are widely available but until just now I had been unable to find a similar plastic replacement for the larger brake m/c cap of approx 63mm i.d.(original alloy cap is Girling part no.510844). I received a tip off (thanks to Kevin Fielder 'Box of Bits') that such a cap is now available from Upgrade Motorsport (see link below) and duly ordered one for the princley sum of £4.95 (note that a replacement alloy cap is currently £20 plus delivery from Moss). I can report that the cap is vented and fitted perfectly as a direct replacement for 510844. Hopefully my days of regularly cleaning the brown mess off cylinders and caps are now over. The plastic reservoir caps in my car would probably offend the purists but then so would much else, it's never going to be a concours candidate - i enjoy driving it too much. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Upgrade-Motorsport-GIRLING-Brake-Reservoir/dp/B08P3MMXVV

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I've phoned through my lunch choice Wendy and, incidentally, the tel no is 317243, as on their website, not 327243. Tim

OK Wendy will do and I'll ask Pierre to do the same. Initially we were told no need to pre-order, I guess this has changed since our party is now bigger than expected! Tim

Wendy, I will have a passenger on the 15th, local member Pierre Miles, so please add one more for lunch. I first met Pierre years ago when he visited our stand at the Knebworth Classic Car Show. I have extolled the virtues of CT ever since and he finally weakened and joined the Club! He is a former Leader of the Lea Valley Group of the TR Register and has a TR6, but this time will have to slum it in a four cylinder car!! Tim

Remarkably reasonable prices Wendy. I didn't find these on the website when I looked and thought they were being coy because they charged an arm and leg!! Tim

I will join you for this visit, but not Sue. Too far for her unfortunately in the TR these days! Please add me to the list for lunch. How many are you expectin? I note concessionary entry for groups. I am looking forward to it. Tim

Super atmospheric pics Colin, thanks for posting👍 Tim

If at a loose end tomorrow why not give the Triumph a run and pop along to the British Motor Museum at Gaydon for this celebration of the 1970 London to Mexico City World Cup Rally. It was to have taken place on 19th April 1970, the exact Golden Anniversary of the 96 cars leaving Wembley Stadium on their epic 16,000 mile challenge but the global pandemic enforced a two year delay. Some twenty surviving WCR cars or faithful recreations will be on display, including both surviving Maxis, three Mk II Triumph 2-5 PIs and all five surviving Ford Escorts, including FEV 1H, the winning car of Hannu Mikkola/Gunnar Palm, there by kind courtesy of Ford Heritage. Cars from other marathon events will also be on show, together with other historic rally cars. Inside the Museum there will be displays of memorabilia, period film shows and interviews with some original WCR crew members and other personalities associated with the event. Entrance to this part of the show will be via the Museum rear entrance and will be FREE. However, should you wish to visit the Museum itself and the Heritage Collection the normal entry fee will apply. Club Triumph will have a dedicated parking area for members' cars, close to the main Museum entrance, just look out for the Club flag! Do come and join us. The Show is open to the public from 09.30 to 16.00.

I have used Classic Oils Heritage 20w50 since its introduction in the 4A. Oil pressure never drops below 70psi at 2,000 rpm however hot the engine gets. Admittedly the oil cooler (with thermostat) may be helping a bit and I change oil and filter every 3k miles. Tim

Judging by the extent of the corrosion am I right in thinking this car spent a considerable time in moist salty air by the seaside? Tim

I'm with Colin, although not in relation to Spitfires. I have the Surrey option TR4A and the fixed rear screen allows almost 360 deg visibility with a glance over each shoulder. What a contrast to most moderns. I have never fitted exterior mirrors and never missed them. Tim

+1 for decent LED headlight bulbs. The much reduced power consumption means relays are not required to protect the main light switch and an original dynamo can cope easily. I found NightEyes H4 bulbs excellent on my 4A. Tim

Good luck in your search Smiley. If you acquire a good 4A you will NEVER want to part with it. Trust me, I should know! Tim

I have been taking 2000i.u.Vitamin D3 capsules daily for the past 18 months in the hope that, if I became infected, my enhanced immune system might help me avoid hospitalisation or worse, after all I could see no real downside. I tested +ve again yesterday but my symptoms have mostly gone and I expect to be back to normal in a few days. Tim

Sue and I did what we thought the responsible thing and both took lateral flow tests with -ve results before leaving for the Dinner on 12th March. We have both now tested +ve, although our symptoms are no worse than those of a bad cold. I was pleased to find that all our companions from table #6 are in the clear, but have heard of several other people that have tested +ve after attending the Dinner. Frankly I thought it crazy that the government's guidelines were recently relaxed such that one is no longer bound to self isolate following a +ve lateral flow test result. I have no doubt that this has been a major factor contributing to the recent surge in the infection rate. Ironically, as I am >75 I received an email today inviting me to book my spring booster dose of vaccine. Now that I have tested +ve I will have to wait an additional 4 weeks for this but, hopefully, the recent infection will have boosted my antibodies. Tim

Did you mean to post this image Mike?

Blimey the AutoX looks more like a memory test than a driving test! Love the looks of the GTR5 btw. Tim

Good wheeze Mike but my failures to proceed were rather more serious. Specifically - a failed water pumpo with no replacement on board, total oil loss and consequently lunched main bearings and a failed head gasket! Tim

Forgot to attach this. I have achieved remarkable economy from the 4A on three occasions - on the back of low loaders returning home from the 1978 and 1982 RBRRs and the 2012 AutoEcosse! Tim

As to the clunks as Clive says it could be wear on the splines. Another possibility is that one or more wheels is/are not correctly tightened. Jack up the car and lock the brake on each wheel in turn. Then grasp each wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock and try rotating the wheel both ways. If you detect any any movement at all then fully tighten the wheel in question. This may not solve your clunking problem since, as you have read, play can develop in many places in the drive train of these cars

Humour today, reality tomorrow! Tim