JohnD

"Not possible"? There are a profusion of dipping mirrors on sale, some with suction cup attachment. Following the style of the Traffic Police, who fit them for the use of the officer in the passenger seat, I use one on my modern, to improve near side rear view as the provided mirror isn't wide enough. In the TRansit, I have a satnav and a tyre pressure monitor attached to the windscreen, and they stay on very well! Absolutely! John

Well, thank you, iani and Tim, for echoing my suggestion of a dipping mirror, so rubbished by radders! And/or: Is there a case for pre-RBRR scrutineering? As performed every single time I go racing. Race scrutineering is directed at safety. If it's only headlights that need to be checked, a simple white line on the car park with a wall in front, with the headlight heights of the various Triumph models marked. Drive up to the line, turn on the lights, pass or fail! Simples! John

Thank you, Pete! Electrical numpty, me! But it's not just the alternator alone that concerns me. Some have posted prideful pics of their "comprehensive kit of spares", filling the boot and back seat! Even those can't deal with every possible failure, as Mole's post shows. John

Shepsy, I take my SofS to Revingtons, in Bridgewater. Some distance for you, even more for me, but they do know their stuff , and Triumphs. You may have heard that Neil is retiring, and that the business may be sold on. I know no more, so see the Revington TR website for news, and about their Rolling Road Workshop Facilities (revingtontr.com) John

Pete Piest, You have to think laterally - or in this case longitudinally! I first used Pi in the Silverback, the one and only racing Vitesse Estate. There was no room for pumps or anything in the boot, and I wasn't prepared to fit them under the floor, so they went in front of the rear axle hump. For fire security, they were all enclosed in an alloy housing, as shown here: This was before I realised the need for a swirl pot, but I used the Facet then as the Bosch was at the same level as the tank, and as Nick says, that needs at least a few inches of 'head' to work properly. I subsequently fitted the swirl in there too!. No need for rear seats in a race car, but some surgery to the seat base would have provided a normal looking, if firm, rear seat! John

A useful way of doing this is "TempTabs". Small sticky labels that permanently change colour according to the temperature of what they are stuck to. EG 0646 2532 | Testo Temperature Sensitive Label, +161°C to +204°C, 2 Levels | RS (rs-online.com)

Pete, Nick's words on pumps are, of course, as Holy Writ! When I converted the Silverback to Pi, I was very conscious of the effect of cornering and fuel slosh in the tank on mechanical fuel injection. A carburettor can reject bubbles in the fuel supply in the float chamber, but injectors cannot and early in the conversion, it would cut out just as you put your foot down on exit. Triumph fitted a little gravity pot under the estate's fuel tank but it wasn't adequate. So I added a swirl pot, fed by a Facet Red Top. I thought that this would easily keep pace with the Bosch that the pot feeds, but in fact, and about ten years down the line, I actually checked, by running either into a measuring jug. In fact, free-running (no pressure), they are about equal, and I suspect that sometimes, taking in the other factors that Nick mentions, the Facet isn't keeping up. I've simplified the hose layout and installed new filters, which so far has done the job. I'm sure that maximising the hose and connnector sizes is the way to go, and to mount the swirl pot as high above the Bosch as possible! John

ferny, I recall damaging the exhaust on Kevin's Acclaim, when at the end of along downhill run and at near max speed (I was driving) we hit an unmarked, but unsurfaced road repair. The Acclaim exhaust manifold goes forward from the transverse engine, down and under the sump, so vulnerable and it split where it dented. Repaired with two Jubilees and an opened out tin (possibly aluminium) can, it got us home that time, still with our hearing intact. John

AndyA, put an ammeter across the fuse and see what current it's taking? If it's near the rating then you might need a higher current fuse, or better to split the circuit and spread the load across two fuses. This site says that you should ensure that " the load current does not exceed 70% of the rated current"! Fuse characteristics | Fuse outline | Automotive Fuses｜PEC (pecj.co.jp) My multimeter won't measure above 10A, but you may have a better one. Well done, Team 139 and iani! For common sense fixes, and respect for having a spare alternator! But still, I wonder about the range, size and weight of the comprehensive set of spares that includes an alternator! Normally a reliable ancillary, wouldn't a testing it before you go be a better way? I'm sure that when ST did the run in the day (if they really did!) they would test it beforehand! John

More Ace cures! I love the Apollo 13 comparison! And that web of zip ties, however ineffective, is most ingenious! All done with minimal, small, light items from the 'repair box'. Excellent! Andy5, I would have searched - the car, or my memory of it! - for another bolt that it would be safe to rob and secure the alternator. I don't presume to tell you which, and anyway, I don't know the saloons, but they must use as many 5/16" bolts as the earlier Triumphs! John

Don't be snippy, Radders! I was making a constructive suggestion! Especially as if you look, many dippers available have a ball joint on the back, so they might be compatible with yours, and would be a simple clip on mod!

I agree, but there's not much you can do about someone else's lights. May I suggest a "Dipping" rear view mirror? These can be flicked to tilt them, directing the full glare away from your eyes, but keeping a dimmed image in view for safety. See: dipping rear view mirror - Google Search John

You took - GASP! - a whole windscreen with you as a spare? I've heard of other bulky and heavy items carried, but this wins the prize! When fold-up "Emergency Windscreens" can be carried in a cardboard tube? All the other reported faults and fixes -

Spam, What a useful post! This is the "Reliability Run" after all, commemorating (allegedly) ST's own testing route. So documenting and analysing failures and their solutions is valuable. So, I hope, will comments from us armchair and past participants. On your incidents: 1/ Bad luck, it's almost impossible to check an electronic component without specialist kit! And well done, for having a spare! A contact breaker set would be a cheap, small and light alternative. 2/ A blown fuse makes me nervous - why has it blown? I suppose fuses age and go eventually, perhaps fit new ones for a 'reliability run'? And labelling! I have fitted an eight way fuse box, and made a small sticker to indicate which is which. That is stuck to the inside of the windscreen where I can read it from the engine bay, while the sticker stays warm and dry. Anyone else prepared to confess? John

It seems to catch many people out, that they should not tighten all the bolts to the moving parts of the suspension, until the car's weight is on it. With tight bolts, the bushes grip the parts and hold them in a lifted position. Get under, loosen all the bolts, then bring the car down. To make access easier, support the car with axle stands under the wheel uprights, so that its weight is on the suspension. Bounce it a few times then retighten. CARE! Pile the rear wheels under the car, as a safety measure while you are under, or else bouncing! I'll be surprised if the ride height doesn't improve. John

Well done, Cookie! At £690 and the total (so far) £69K (reported below), you are well ahead of the average! Jhn

I don't know the Girling caliper pistons are made of but often they are aluminium. Not good in an electrolysing bath with iron! Or do you take them out Standardthread? And rely on the seals to maintain the lands they sit in? I genuinely admire your article! We are only discussing fine detail! John

What an excellent account of electrolysis! Like the author, I've found the process very useful, although it's a bit messy and needs some setting up, so not for the occasional small part. I'd add some points: As said in the above, electrolysis works best 'line of sight' between the electrodes, but rotating the part increases mess! For a large piece, like a caliper, I'd suggest using several anodes (the positive, sacrificial part) in a ring around the part to be cleaned. Just link them all together by a length of wire. Also, electrolysis not only removes corrosion, but takes metal from the anode and deposits it on the cathode. For something with areas that need to stay a precision size, shape or finish, such as the bores in a caliper, those should be masked with insulating tape, else they will acquire a rough coating of fresh iron. I'd not say that the amount of hydrogen released is trivial! Recently, I demonstrated this to Grandson No.1, when in only ten minutes I collected less than 1ml of gas in a syringe, which he then set light to. The POP was loud enough to alarm his parents, and reinforce my reputation as an irresponsible grandparent! John

Well done, Shepsy! Well done your Vitesse! Now, you are both set for the 10CR next year!

Save your money, use insulation/gaffer tape, like this: Spitfire Aces Tour, CLM, 2006

Correction: "In France overall, car theft rate is a third less than that of the UK." But that's significantly less! John

I drove (The TRansit not the the Vitesse) nearly 2000 miles around France this summer after CLM. Much of it I avoided Les Autoroutes, but when I did, they insisted on a credit card! The pay stations were unmanned. I didn't have a passenger to plug the card in, and anyway, the TRansit's height is just between the low slot for cars and high slot for lorries, so I had to get out and walk around! Good for the legs! Damage? Theft? If it is evidence of being free of low level criminality, France has almost no graffiti or litter. I think that in La France Profonde, the rural France that you may want to visit, you will be quite safe. In France overall, car theft rate is a third that of the UK. But you do see a lot of cars being driven with bodywork damage, so as Rosbif says, Take Care! John

Absolutely right! Bring back clogs, who needs shoe laces?

I'll try that, although mine is Android.

Gosh, Tim, I have exactly the same problem! Left me incommunicado on my 'tour de France' this summer. But the phone is well charged on a domestic socket. Just blow out the phone socket with an air line? Or a more elaborate method? John