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The wheels and x3 pair of seats have gone, only the TR6 hood with frame is yet to be sold. Pete

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Now listed on Ebay. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

TR4A - TR6 Parts As I'm hoping to move apartment next month so I'm having a bit of a clear out. These parts were (unless otherwise stated) in Katie (TR4A) when I bought her and were serviceable and acceptably tidy for attending local car show events.. o x3 TR4A Seats plus 2-pairs of seat runners ; There are two RH seats and one LH. Original black vinyl with white piping. Used unrestored condition (in my car and used for car-shows). The seat back’s cover on one RH seat is marked and the seat base cover on the other RH seat is marked, so the two would make again one tidy drivers seat . The LH seat cover is in good condition. Seat runners & frames appear to be in good condition but would benefit from paint. Seat back boards are a little scuffed but these are hardly seen in a TR4A when the hood is folded down. Seat foams appear mostly OK but the rubber and under-seat springs might best be replaced. £60 for the three including runners o Carpet set - black, which looked tidy enough when I bought the car. ie., hardly faded. Was screw fastened and bonded to the car and so some places not so good, but I think still would still be tidy enough for a driver. £10 o TR6 vinyl hood (..previously fitted on my TR4A) complete with frame ; The hood is Black vinyl, with zipped back window which is in pretty good condition. The hood’s fit would benefit from the velcro strips along the side window being replaced, and also one tensioning web. The frame has been weld-repaired but its very tidy and serviceable on the car. It's a perfectly usable top, and of course only seen if you use your car in the wet. On my TR4A it lived under a hood cover and I only used it a few times, when caught out by heavy showers on otherwise sunny days. I understand this will also fit the Triumph TR5, TR250 and TR4. It was fitted to my 1967 TR4A but I now use a Surrey top. As you can see it's a black vinyl hood, with a zip around its rear window. It is, I understand, from a TR6 and so has a different frame and front latches to the TR4A. This frame has rubber door seals for the top of the door glass. Although it was in service on my TR4A since the car was restored in 2000, I guess for most of its life, it's been folded away under a hood cover on the car. It appears lightly used and in generally good clean condition. The hood-frame's side rails and fabric cover each have velcro strips, so as to secure the hood cover tightly above the door glass, and those velcro would benefit from being renewed. The hood works as it is but it could be a little neater. Also one of the frame's tensioning webs needs replacing, as it's very nearly broken through. I'm guessing the webbing (seat belt straps like) straps are original to the frame. The hood frame itself has had welded repair on a couple of corners, but is perfectly serviceable. The pin-joints are typical of an unrestored hood frame, insomuch as they are not as tight as new, and some have been replaced with nuts and bolts. But it all works. The plastic rear and three-quarter-rear windows are reasonably clear and perfectly serviceable, but would benefit from a gentle clean and then leaving (hood erected) in the sun to smoothen out in the warmth. The hood cover has, to my knowledge always been handled and folded with care, but the folding design does mean that they are not flat when stowed. In short ; This hood looks acceptably tidy when up and serves to do its job ..as well as any 1960's - 1970's soft-top might be expected to. By the TR6 the folding hood design and its sealing was pretty good. This one has been perfectly adequate for this car's generally light use, since restoration. Most of the time it was out of sight anyway, under a hood cover (not included) and so has not noticeably suffered UV damage.. Please note that the front bottom corner press-studs on either side, just behind the door shut, had been removed (from the body) for my fitting of the Surrey top's back-light - so in the photos those bottom corners are not being pulled as tightly down as it had been. for both frame and cover £175 o Steel wheels x4, standard 4J x 15” for TR4 / TR4A - used and looking rough, but they appear to be pretty straight. Would definitely benefit from blasting and paint. These were not used on Katie. I bought them for the car, but then found a set of five steel wheels already painted. £40 Also ; o pr of Mini Metro seats and door cards. good condition in grey velour £40 o pr of Caterham seats (they're narrow enough to fit most any derivative or replica / kit car). Fix back, Black vinyl with yellow piping. good condition. £40 Please pass the word to any of your TR owning friends ! Collection only.. from Ipswich IP1 6TJ., or else the TSSC club meet on the first Tuesday of the month at the Sorrel Horse - Norwich Road, Barham, Ipswich IP6 0PG .. East Saxon club meetings on the last Thursday of the month (The Cricketers, Ash Green, near Marks Tey, Essex). Please call me (oh seven nine five eight one-hundred six double-three) if interested, Cheers, Pete

more piccies . . . ^ It was a spectacularly beautiful flying display of the c.1937 Slingsby Kirby Kite. In 1935 WW1 veteran redesigned the German Granau Baby II, which was a boxy glider, and used thin sheet ply instead of canvas. He altered the formerly straight wing to be gull shaped with pronounced dihedral at the centre section and refined in plan. The prototype then won the Wakefield Trophy for a flight of 54 miles. The glide ratio was 1:21 (which means it drops 1m for every 21m travelled. Today's gliders have glide ratios up to 1:60, but in 1937 and for such a gorgeous design it was excellent). During the war many gliders were commandeered and used as advanced trainers at Haddenham. And a Kirby Kite was used during the war for radar trials, being towed by the collection's own Avro 504K. ^ In the hangers there were children activities, like young 'un pedal planes, colouring pictures, and plastic model kit building. The pedal lane seen above was privately made for the child by his father who flies a Pitts. The child pedals and then steers with the tail-wheel. Alternative varieties of pedal machines were also to be seen roaming around ..at a gentlemanly pace. Extractor exhaust system was on a number of these radial engines. I guess it was not only efficient but also collected the exhaust gases to one exit pipe that was not in the pilots face. As you can see it was perfectly OK to get up close to these aircraft, and although volunteers were there in the background I never once heard "don't touch something you can't afford lad". ^ does that chap on the left need such a long lens on his camera when he's so close ? I like the old tractors being used to move period aircraft about. ^ old aircraft they may be, but many are still flown just as the designers intended. ^ Their Shuttleworth steam engine, and just some of the collection's cars and motorcycles came out to enjoy the sunshine. It was good to see Edwardian cars with their bonnets open and an enthusiast to answer any questions. They set off on a parade show off their grace, if not pace. The aircraft and car collection was started by Richard Shuttleworth, who was heir to the family fortune of steam engines and agricultural equipment. He was killed during a night training exercise in 1940. The (blue above) Railton was one of his favorites.. ^ Dogs are allowed on the airfield too ..but not dog fights ^ in their engineering workshop are spectacular scale / working models (my hand shown as a reference to the scale) alongside, in this instance an original Bentley rotary engine. Restorations / refurbishment / work to air worthiness certification, is happening on three aircraft at this time. Pete

A selection of photo s taken. . . ^ The event posters from the early days of aviation are particularly colourful and fun. Flash photographs bought out their vibrant colours ^ Frolic and frightful ..the second extraordinary photo shows a burning hurricane's pilot climbing out onto the wing. ^ Beautiful and in flying, or at least airfield hopping condition. They were programed to do so, but this past weekend it was too gusty for them to fly, ^ some fantastical clever designs were destined never to fly at all, but other pioneering designs did ..thanks to relatively lightweight engines like the Antoinette. In leaps and bounds, box kites and the Bleriot type monoplanes became aircraft that served leisure and military roles. ^ although departure gates to a horse and buggy or launch might seem odd to us now. ^ one cannot dispute that the era had glorious helpings of style. Where has that gone in today's world.? ^ perhaps it was lost in the 2nd world war ?

This past weekend Katie and I popped across to Old Walden Aerodrome, Biggleswade, SG18 9DT, for the Shuttleworth Collection's 'Around the World 2023' Air Show. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, the Shuttleworth collection specialises in early aviation / pre-second-world-war ..so the pioneering days and also air racing and passenger aircraft of the 1920's and 30's that helped develop flying from the bicycle shed to international travel. The biplanes of the first-world-war are of course very much part of this era. Although rare, the collection is not unique in this specialty, but rather because most are maintained in airworthy condition and are frequently flown (wind and weather permitting) off the grass field. Of course some of the aircraft are unique because they are original, and others are because they are accurate replicas. I happened to have lived quite near Old Warden when I was teenager, riding motorcycles and learning how to handle my mum's Mini Clubman or Simca 1000, but that is some 50 years ago now and both I and the museum's collection have grown larger since. The museum used to be in a couple of small hangers and an engineering shed, now it has five hangers plus one of those sheds and the engineering workshop. The other shed is now a good sized cafe. On Saturday afternoon the original car park and cafe were busy with what appeared to be the good natured Motor-Guzzi (motorcycles) V-twin owners club's visit ..perhaps fifty to eighty bikes having come along ? ^ There was also a gaggle of half a dozen very beautiful Gordon Keeble's accompanied by a TVR and an exquisite Bristol 403. Otherwise of note was a very tidy Volvo Amazon (H-reg), a very appropriate Bentley 3ltr, a rather too clean Morgan plus-8, and a fantastically restored Suzuki 'kettle' GT750 (late 1970's triple cylinder water cooled motorcycle) and a stunning Ariel Square four (motorcycle). . . ^ Oh and did I say.. there also a rather purposeful looking TR4A here too. On Sunday there was another TR in attendance, but I didn't see it in person. it may have been a 4, a 4A or 5. There was also an early Mazda Mx5 and an interesting Morgan plus 4 with a 2.5ltr pinto engine, and twin webbers, said to be developing about 170bhp at its rear wheels. Nice chap to talk with and very informative about the different aircraft. ^ Within minutes an interesting fly-in visitor was ready for departure. Note the motors and undercarriage are on a lower wing. Long live tail dragging bi-planes ! ^ and a (Ruski ?) visitor along with an RAF chipmonk were doing some circuits. ^ just sitting there waiting for someone to jump straight in were a couple of biplanes including this Tiger Moth and also an Avro C19 Anson (built ; 1935-52) And that was all in 15 minutes before I'd stepped into the museum to pay my money. ^ Inside the museum was better than I might have hoped for. The exhibits were in airy skylight lit hangers and on the ground close enough to touch. These being hangers rather than static displays of the more typical museum hall - the aircraft have of course to have room to be moved in and out. And those aircraft moved outside for flying or ground display leaves more room inside to stand back and actually see the aircraft. I love Duxford museum, but it has so many aircraft, all tucked in between each other with others hanging above, that it's somewhat cluttered ..a totally different to what I found here. ^ up close and in personal space with the truly gorgeous de Havilland DH88 Comet. This is one of the three aircraft ordered in February 1934 ..to be ready on 20th October that same year to race from Mildenhall, England, to Melbourne, Australia. The first of the three was first flown by de Havilland's on 8th September and received its airworthy certificate the following month. The certificates for the other two were issued on the 12th October. This very Comet 'Grosvenor House' (entered by AO Edwards the manager of that hotel) was winner of the speed prize covering the course in 70 hours 54 minutes. Outstanding ! After evaluation trials by the RAF (and several accidents) it was sold as scrap. Fortunately it was bought and restored by an enthusiast F.Tasker and the Essex Aero club at Gravesend. Then, in 1937 it achieved fourth place in the England to Damascus Air Race ..and the same year set a new record for the out-and-back time to the Cape. It also set a new record from England to New Zealand ..and back, in just 10 days, 21 hours, 22 minutes. Bearing in mind there was no GPS in those days, these are incredible feats of ground crew logistics, navigation between fuel stops, as well as reliability, endurance and air speed. This aircraft was all but abandoned then, at Gravesend, until it was restored for hanging-from-the roof-beams static display at the 1951 festival of Great Britain in 1951. It was given to the Shuttleworth collection in 1965 and a program of restoration to flying condition begun. After almost half a decade she flew again on Sunday 17th May 1987. Based at Hatfield until its closure in 1994 'Grosvenor House' returned to Old Warden where the airfield was too short for safe operations. That was lengthened in 1999. After suspension damage in 2002 the design was found to be faulty for certain conditions. Certificate of approval was granted for modifications to that suspension / structure, and since test flights on 1st august 2014 she become a regular and somewhat spectacular performer at these air shows. ^ 'Grosvenor House' was in the museum one day, and then on the next is up flying alongside a guest.. the polished aluminium 'silver Spitfire' (Mk.IV I think - 1943) which having seen extensive active service, has (in 2019) flown 22,138nm around the world "taking in some of the most famous landmarks on the planet from the Grand Canyon in the west to the snow-capped peak of Mount Fuji in the east". It was promoting the ‘Best of British’ worldwide & showcasing the nation’s heritage in engineering excellence. In the photo's background is a little white racer c.1936. it's the Percival Mew Gull owned by the collection, which won the 1937 Folkestone Trophy at 210mph, and then re-engined and with various other mods won the 1936 King's Cup at 236 mph. Again re-engined and with radio and long range fuel tanks fitted - it then broke the record for the out-and-home to the Cape in February 1939. Taking just 4 days, 10 hours, 16 minutes to do so was 'not bad' for there and back in a pre-war aircraft, including fuel stops and navigating yourself to sometimes isolated air strips. That record held for over 70 years. After being hidden in France throughout the 2nd WW, she was refurbished in time to win the 1955 King's cup ..again 'not bad' for a racing aircraft which was even then almost 20 years old. ^ I make no apologies for my photography using an old Panasonic Lumix camera, when the Comet was 'giving it some' in a flypast. Naturally I took others, in which I managed much better composition, but then the aircraft was further away or heading towards from us. I guess I took about a thousand photos over the day and a half I was at Old Warden, but I'll refrain from boring you with a whole lot of nerdy background histories. After my lunch I'll post a selection of photos for those who enjoy such things. In the meantime I'll leave you with these two, to illustrate the variety and beauty, of seeing these museum exhibits in their own element ..the engineering prowess of the restorers, and the bravery of pilots who really do use them . . . Pete

Katie seems to be afflicted with annoying (to me !) little issues, one after another. . . ^ the spring coming out from under the gear-lever cap was one of them.. The car still driveable like this but with a very floppy gear change. I removed the rear cup screw and just loosened the pin going through across-wise and was able to wind it back in using a pair of long nosed pliers and a screwdriver (to hold the bottom end of the spring up ..so it could turn clockwise without snagging). I hadn't touched it, when I had the gearbox cover off to adjust the solenoid relay's lever, so I can't explain why it happened, just that it did. ^ this was another.. The high-tension lead between the coil and the distributor cap (aka the 'king lead') has a slit in it, or more correctly several close together although just the once was cut down to this lead's silicon core. I spotted it a week ago, when I had the spark plugs out to clean them, which I needed to do to assess their colour in accordance to the carburettors' adjustment. This in turn followed comments that Katie smelt like a TR6 - when I turned up into our local group's breakfast meet several weeks ago (ie., Rich suggested - it was running rich). This in turn was subsequent to fitting the reconditioned carburettors. so I'd borrowed a flow meter and tried to balance the SU carbs. At the time I just taped it up, but now I replaced the lead for a new one (with copper wire core). Last Thursday when I went down to the East Saxon group's club meeting, the car appeared to be running pretty awfully ..but then it was also p***ing down with rain, and I had the roof on. That's 23 miles for me, so it's the furthest I've driven the TR with a roof on (either the fabric one or Katie 's fibreglass Surrey top). With unfamiliar noise levels it was difficult for me to assess anything much regarding carburettor tuning. On the way back from the meeting the roads were wet but the rain had cleared. Nevertheless some of the finest brains in Essex had decided to close the A12 again, whereby all traffic is diverted into the north of Colchester, around it, and then out the north-east side of the city to Ardleigh, Manningtree to cross the River Stour, before cutting up to the south side of Ipswich. Of course I live on the north side of Ipswich, Suffolk.! It was only another 8 miles added to the journey (a third as far again !) but it takes another 20 minutes more because of the nature of those country roads. I was not in the most relaxed of moods, in part because this diversion has happened to me half a dozen or more times too many ..over the past two years of going to this group's meeting, but also because I happened to be the last to leave the pub. I'd lost the car keys. I eventually found them wedged behind a radiator, next to the seat where I'd original taken my coat off. Hey ho., Pete's a plonker. And then, just because Essex is such a nice an d welcoming place.. the assigned diversion route had a mobile police speed-trap. I was one of a stream of cars driving along at 34mph (when checked on the gps) through a sleepy country village. Of course the next village has a 40mph speed limit ..and all the houses otherwise along that stretch of road cope with a 60mph. But here where it 30mph we ought to have been watching our speedometers rather than the wet and dark road and any pedestrians who might be dancing along from puddle to puddle at 11:30pm on a cold and miserable night. Perhaps Britain's finest think it lessens traffic noise, with the car in 3rd gear.? Anyway, bottom line is that again I couldn't sensibly assess the carburettor's tune during that drive. As it happens last week I'd decided to try Katie with a new set of plugs. I'd not changed them in the two years since I bought the car and as I was trying to assess the carb's tune I thought it easier to start with bright steel. The plugs fitted were NGK BP6HS and as she's always been just a little sooty, I opted to try a set of BP5HS. Without changing anything else driving across to and back from Hedingham again yesterday, and following the rough running on Thursday evening, I wasn't expecting any improvement, but a new set of plugs following a 65mile round trip ought to give me a much clearer idea of what was going on. . . The car was frustratingly lumpy driving across there, but the weather was nice and the driving across country pretty easy. However.., after an enjoyable day there I headed back, again in no rush. Just a few miles later the engine cut out completely. The place that happened was soon after a sharp left handed corner, up an incline through a cutting between fields. With no more that 50 foot visibility in either direction it wasn't a comfortable place to stop and absolutely no grass verge to get off the road. If I'd tried to roll back down the hill, then I'd be rolling down to that blind hard left-hander corner. It's at times like this you're glad you've fitted hazard warning lights and LED bulbs. Open the bonnet, again a useful thing that it's bright red, and there's fuel in the pump, fuel in the in-line filter inbetween that and the carbs, and no fuel flooded out anywhere. There's also no oil nor water all over the place or under the car. Electrics then, the HT leads and low tension leads on the coil all appear to be fine, unclip the cap and there appears to be no spark happening at the points. Power to the ignition, if I remember correctly comes from the ignition switch. I try to twist under the dash to have a look, but I don't want to be sitting there with my legs out in the road for very long. I can't see anything wrong but I try the car and she starts. Let's get out of this cutting and off the side of a hill. Of course as I pull away a car comes right up behind. The instruments check OK except of the ammeter which is now reading off the scale - over charging. I can't do much about it in that situation, so not wanting to melt wiring nor boil the battery I put the headlamps on and then also the heater's fan blower to burn off some of the current. With a car up your jacksie it's not terribly easy to find somewhere to pull off, and in any case there were only small private driveways to be had. a mile later I spot a turning into a field on the other side of the road, hastily indicate and finally get to pull off the main road. Big, deep water filled pot holes don't make it a smooth landing. Open the bonnet, check the dynamo's wiring connections, tucked in behind the exhaust down-pipe's heat shield. Naturally they are hot but no signs of looseness nor melted insulation. I feel the battery leads for excess heat. Nope they feel fine. Next I've got a piece of carpet out and am kneeling next to the driver's foot-well, trying to see if anything is amiss with the connections on the back of the ammeter. I'm glad to be carrying an LED lamp, even though the evening is light there's not a lot of light behind a dashboard (..aside from the red glow of the oil warning and ammeter warning light bulbs). Nothing seems astray, nor any sign or smells of melted insulation. 30 miles to go, 5:30 in the evening, I decide to carry on back with the headlamps and heater's fan blowing as required to try and save the battery. Keeping the engine revs down as low as I can, I head off and the ammeter is still reading high, but at least it's not off the scale. Things settle down at 40mph in top gear and overdrive and I turn the headlamps off. after another couple of miles I turn the fan blower off and the ammeter settles back down to reading its normal 5amp charge. It's then fine all the way home even when pushed to 3500rpm. Today . . ^ Number 1 plug is sotty, #3 a little too sotty still but just starting to turn brown, #4 plug a little less sotty still and turning brown. Oh yeah.. #2 light soot around the steel threaded rim but otherwise pretty much unused. There's a clue there somewhere ! ^ number 2 HT lead as it was in the cap. I think the dark marked hole through the orange insulation was where it had been fitted sometime in the past, and the dark marked hole through the white insulation was where it had been refitted, and has been like this since I bought the car. As I said I've not touched the distributor or the HT leads, aside from routing them more neatly, since I bought the car, although I did fit new connectors to the low-tension wires. I might only guess that when I had the cap off, to get to the forward two cylinder's spark-plugs I mush have pulled the lead, the end of the split orange insulation has broken off and the lead was loose in its hole, although when I pulled on it it didn't appear to be. For anyone who doesn't know, it's important to undo the pin screws (on the inside of the distributor cap) all the way when you refit these leads. Only when the screw is right the way unwound, and after you'ved checked there no debris inside the hole, should you push the lead in, hold it securely pushed into the cap, and then refit and tighten the grub screw. If however the screw was still partly in, and even you push the lead hard into the cap, then the sharp end of the screw can catch the insulation and the lead doesn't go all the way in. It only just held there. Even when tugged it feels secure, but over the years the lead is also twisted and that can break it out. As has happened here. Those grub screws by the way can fall out of the cap when they are fully unscrewed. they look like this . . . ^ you can just see the pointy ended screw (..just a little down from the centre of this photo) which I dropped (i being the twit who inverted the cap) ! It dropped down by the oil filter to the chassis (silver painted on this car). For those astute enough to notice, that screw is above the brake pipe ..and there's no shadow from or around it. That's because it is suspended in space. No, it wasn't that I was incredibly quick with my camera ..it's simply caught in a cob-web. It might be worth remembering this image next time you drop a small screw or washer and you simply cannot find it anywhere on the ground. Moving on, with the end of this HT lead cut 1/4" shorter and carefully refitted, I have since retried the car down the A14. When first started the ammeter shot around and off the scale, but tapping it and turning the lights on again restored it to read normally. I guess the control box is forewarning me that it's about to die. Engine ticked over more smoothly and at all speeds things are back to normal again ..running on four cylinders. Vibration of the engine is still very noticeable above 3000rpm, so I guess there's a still a little more carb tuning to happen, as well as a difference in compression between each cylinder. That is something I am not going to check because I do not want to know ! As 3100 is 70mph I can live with some vibration as I work through the gears, and otherwise it is not a problem. It is noteworthy that the vibration period of the engine has moved from 3000 - 3200rpm to now peak at 3300 - 3400 rpm. This I might attribute to the points gap being 0.008" ..which I've now corrected to the handbook's specification of 0.015". The gap effects exactly when the points open (when the spark happens), so by increasing the point's gap by another 0.007" .. I've retarded the ignition a little. This in turn can be felt as a slight drop in the engine's gusto, as well as in the rpm change of its peak vibration. Why the engine cut out completely ..and when checked there appeared to be no spark across the contact breakers - I do not know. I think that intermittent faults reveal themselves in time, or else I've corrected something without knowing it. It's my local TSSC club night tomorrow, at The Sorrel Horse, Barham, so we'll see if she runs OK for that. Frustrating issues these past few weeks, but all in all really nothing very major. One thing to be noted here is that ; while my focus was on carburettor tuning, having previously (..and deliberately) changed absolutely nothing to the ignition side of things, aside from cleaning the spark plugs - the engine's rough running after I adjusted the twin SU's mixture.. was mostly due to my inadvertently twisting the one poorly attatched HT lead. Pete

For whatever it's worth.. Last year I bought a tube of Carlube 'Copper' multi-purpose grease, which 'helps prevent disc brake squeal' it says. It came as part of a 3-pack with a tube of Carlube 'Silicone' multi-purpose grease and a Carlube 'LM2' lithium-based multi-purpose grease. The content of the Carlube 'Copper' tube was of low viscousity (when we were younger we used to use the term " knat's pi.." to describe stuff like this). Conversely, the contents of the 500g tin of Molyslip branded 'Copaslip' is really good stuff with substance. I tend not to be a follower of fashion &/or named brands, but in this instance the real 'Copaslip' is very much worth having, whereas the alternative stuff is for the bin. Pete

That brings this forum pretty much up to date with my activities. To be honest I've very much lost enthusiasm or even stubborn motivation for working on the car. Although I've never been good with cold n' damp weather, this year it seems to have effected me more than before. Next winter I'm determined to go abroad for a few months, as it seems that life is now way too short to be hibernating in a small apartment for four months of each year. Most likely I'll just park-up the car and get on with life for a while without it but i must admit that I've again been wondering whether it's time to cut my losses and give up on classic cars altogether.? As they say in american movies "I'm getting too old for this sh..." Yesterday was awful weather here. i hadn't booked us into any drive-it day so we didn't venture out. My mood was not helped by the clear polythene sheet of the polytunnel succumbing to UV light and tearing apart in the wind, and the rain running in. Despite Mathew very kindly lending me his carburettor flow meter, and my getting Katie's low speed running a little better, I'm far from happy with this engine. There's a distinct tappin' and more condensation inside the engine than I feel there should be ..although the water level only very rarely needs any topping up. Anyway this afternoon, I dragged myself outside and retorqued the head yet again, and adjusted the tappets. As that took me to rush hour I decided not to try the car, so we'll see what tomorrow brings. Pete

18th April ; Nigel C piped up with the suggestion ; "have to say I thought tick over might be a problem for pressure....but I only have limited knowledge of A types boxes anyway " ..as did Charlie C ; "When I first tried my overdrive after a 40 year rebuild it did not work. I removed the filter, cleaned it up and it worked for a bit and then stopped again. In frustration I just switched the switch up and down like a madman for 30 seconds while driving along and it sprung into action, and has worked ever since. However, after only 2000 miles it seems unlikely that a clogged filter is your problem. But you never know. Charlie" Later in the day I replied ; Thank you Nigel and Charlie, and again to Stuart and Peter, to my friend Rich who phoned me in support, and especially to Tom Cox who I called again today for a second round of advice. GREAT NEWS is that the overdrive now appears to be working, albeit spinning away inside a breeze shaken and quite chilly poly-tunnel rather than yet tested on the road. Today, Following clearer advice in the Haynes manual, I fished the operating valve out with a bent piece of wire . . . ^ That to me is an odd looking valve, but I'm sure there's good reason for that. The bottom end, of the plain shanked length, is closed off but the drilling inside this tube otherwise goes all the way to the bottom. You'll see the small hole by my index finger which needs to be clear. After blowing through that, and it appeared to be clear, I washed it out inside and out in petrol. It is possible that a tiny flake of something was laying across the inside of that hole, but I cannot say for sure. ^ While that was out, I found a length of clear pipe with a sleeve of rubber pipe on the valve-cap-hole's end to seal it, and ran the car up to speed in top gear. Fine bubbles came out but surprising little trickle of oil, even at 2500rpm ..I was getting braver doing that sort of speed (50mph) in such a confined space with a garden seat and brick wall in front of me. This is when I phone Tom again. He reassured me that ; oil coming out showed the pumps was working, and they tend to work or not. And that the slow rate did seem rather slow but it was pressure rather than flow which counts. Next, if it didn't work.. would be to find a pressure gauge and check what it read. Above 100psi and it should just about work, 200psi would be much better. And if the pressure was Ok then things pointed to a mechanical fault ..and most likely the circlip (item 21 in the parts manual, page 2-302) on the thrust race which has failed or come out. Without that - the thrust ring assembly (item 19) can move rather than it engaging the overdrive. It's so helpful when a kind man explains what should be happening and why it may not. Thank you Tom. I'm close to the end of my tether after a catalogues of 'experiences' with this car. I'm surprised at the dirty state of the oil after just 2000 or so miles, so I'll order some more and change it very soon. In the meantime, I reassembled the operating valve and tried it again ..using the lever on the RHS, and with the solenoid lever still disconnected, the overdrive engaged.. and although the revs didn't drop (because there's no load on the spinning rear wheels) the speedometer showed a marked increase. As you might imagine I was delighted. So what was the issue ? . . . I get the impression that the solenoid's operating lever was not moving far enough, just a tad out of adjustment, perhaps having slipped on the cross shaft. One of the solenoid's two mounting screws was a little loose. It tightened up, by screwdriver, more than 1/2 a turn. I'm not sure where it came from or if it were part of the problem, but I caught a fleeting glimpse of a tiny metallic flake inside the operating valve, when I was flushing it out in petrol. I think Nigel's observation that tick-over rev's might not give sufficient pressure (to overcome the eight springs on the thrust ring assembly) might be right. Taking the engine up to 2000 rpm, in top gear - clearly registered the overdrive engagement on the speedo. I'll now reset the solenoid's lever and try the car on the road. I need to shop for groceries anyway. In case that lever needs slight adjusting, I'll just rest the rear half of the gearbox cover in place while I do that. My gratitude to those who supported and educated me through this episode. A tid-bit of information from here and there and between us we got the hoped for result ! Thank You. Pete - - - Postscript : the overdrive now works again on the road. According to the Haynes Manual one might have checked the current across the solenoid to ensure that when switches the current reduces to a 2amps holding current, rather than 15 - 20 amps as the solenoid is activated. I don't know how to do that measurement, but the ammeter is not showing a discernible discharge when the overdrive is engage ..which I would expect it to if there were 15 or 20 being drawn, so I guess then the solenoid's lever arm is now adjusted OK.

17th April (..later in the day) ; I've just had a good conversation with Tom Chatterley-Cox, who was very patient with me and helpful in his explanations of the operation of these overdrive unit. He's explained that the hydraulics are not wholly a closed pressure system and as excessive pressure is shed by the valve - it would not be unusual for bubbles to come out from it. Still he has suggested that it would OK to pump more oil out of that valve's hole, and we spoke of a clear pipe inserted into the threaded hole to pump through perhaps 1/4 litre of gearbox oil in case any debris was causing or contributing to the problem. Furthermore and encouragingly, he's suggested the issue may simply be that the solenoid lever may have slipped around on the shaft just a tad, and so although the electrics and hydraulics are good - the lever simply isn't moving quite as far as it should. This of course corresponds with what Stuart was saying about the gasket under the solenoid effecting the adjustment. He, Tom, has recommended I undo the solenoid's operating lever and then to test the overdrive's operation by pushing forward on the LHS operating lever. This can be done with the rear wheels off the ground. If the overdrive works again, then it would just be a matter of readjusting that lever. The solenoid not having a gasket under it is not a problem, and may only have been there as a shock absorber, perhaps noise insulation so that owner's didn't hear the clunk of engaging. Anyway I'll try what's been suggested and let you know. cheers, Pete and then ... Tried that and the overdrive is still not working. When pushing the RHS lever forward, one can feel a little free play (light spring load) and then firmer pressure. The lever moved very much further than with the solenoid's lever connected, which was stopping against the bottom of the solenoid. Tom had also talked about a circlip inside, possibly having come out of its groove. I guess looking at the exploded diagram this might be either of those retaining the trust race. Must admit - I was hoping that whatever the issue was.. it wouldn't have involved pulling the gearbox out yet again. I'll try pumping oil out via the valve hole in the hope that it may help. And then I'll try the overdrive at road speeds to see if tick-over speeds isn't enough oil-pump pressure. And I'll read what Buckeye suggests ..but otherwise I'm wide open to options right now. Thank you, Pete

17th April ; Tom Chatterly-Cox piped up with suggestions, to which I replied . . . "Hi Tom, what is, and where is the accumulator. I cannot see it listed in the exploded parts diagram, so I assume it to be a number of components which when assembled go by that name. ? The lever is the one on the RHS of the overdrive. I appears to have about 1/8" movement against light pressure and then it doesn't move any further. Doing this while looking over the gearbox to the solenoid - it's clear that this RHS lever is directly connected to the lever activated by the solenoid. Although I've not adjusted the LHS / solenoids lever - it's now making sense, as it's this RH one which aligns with the 3/16" hole. So when pushed forward on the RHS lever it duplicates the action of the solenoid's lever and then cannot come any further because of the solenoid unit itself. Understanding this helps me make sense of what Stuart said about the solenoid's gasket being left out. There appears to be no gasket under the solenoid on this overdrive unit. But it had been working great for the past six months. cheers, Pete" Peter-W also posted a with a link to Buckley Triumphs webpage, https://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=69372 https://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=69371

16th April ; Stuart, on the TR Register forum pointed out the thge A-type overdrives can otherwise be actiavted by the 'setting lever' on the RHS. I replied . . . Thanks Stuart, Might this happen after a couple of thousand miles ? or would the gearbox oil level being that bit low, possibly be a factor ? Yes, I can see the lever on the RHS. It's retaining dowel-pin can be seen in the photo showing the operating valve cover. The lever is inclined to about 45 degrees, and I can easily reach it with my finger to push its forward-end forward and down. Statically it seems to move just 1/8". Does it need to go further than that ? As there appears to not be an electrical problem with the solenoid, would you think it reasonable to presume that the brake's electrical fault / fuse blowing and the overdrive not working is just a coincidence ? Or would an electrical power cut, while it was engaged, contribute to the problem ? As always, we all very much appreciate your prompt advice, Pete he replied ; Just try when your driving with the cover off and overdrive engaged to just push that lever slightly forwards and see if the overdrive does engage. Obviously oil levels do affect overdrive operation but it wasnt down that far was it? Stuart. And the following day I in replied to him ; Hi Stuart, thank you again. No the gearbox oil level was a little down but only by 30 or 40 ml, measured with a family size syringe. As you suggest I've tried pushing forward on the operating lever, but with the back wheels off the ground rather than when driving down the road. I tried this in each of the three upper gears, pushing hard forward with a screwdriver blade on the operating lever, but the overdrive did not seem to operate. There was no suggestion of the drive-shaft rotating at a different rate and although the speedo was only reading 10mph, there was no sign of rev's dropping when overdrive solenoid was activated. Having read of an air-lock, but having not yet identified what an accumulator, nor where a choked air bleed might be ..in must be the worse workshop manual I've ever used, I've subsequently tried to bleed the bubbles out of the operating valve hole. If only because I reason that anything hydraulically operated doesn't work very well with air bubbles in the system ... Without the ball valve in place, I've been running the engine at tick-over speeds in forth gear, with and without the overdrive switched in. The book tells me that it is correct that oil wells out of this hole if the pump is working. Using the syringe I've been pulling out what comes up. After doing that three times I tried the overdrive again, with the ball valve, plunger, spring and cap back in place ..but still Katie's overdrive doesn't appear to be working. Lifting those components out again, I started and engaged overdrive in forth and clearly are still bubbles in there. Surely that means there are bubbles within the closed hydraulics from the pump, &/or else the pump is sucking in air ? . . . ^ mostly the bubbles are smaller than these, but any bubbles don't seem right to me. Admittedly I might be on the wrong track so I'll now try reading the Haynes manual. Perhaps that's written in clearer English than Triumph's own WSM. I'll also do a search through this websites pages and see what else I can find. The link I saw to Buckeye threw my old computer into a right wobbly (..opened numerous tabs), so I'll need to dig out the horrid HP with its later windows version on it before I try that link again. I don't know anything about overdrive units, or how they work, so please excuse me if I'm not asking the right questions or otherwise seeing the obvious. Pete

16th April ; On another note ... Overdrive not working. Professionally rebuilt just last year / 2000 miles ago, I don't know what's wrong. It was working fine until last weekend when I had the fuse blow due to a fault in the brake light circuit. Since then, although the solenoid clicks and seemingly operates fine, I have no over-drive in any gear. Following previous advice to other owners having the same or similar issues - I've checked the gearbox oil level, and it took a topping up of between 30 and 40ml. The oil is Dynolite Gear 40 non-hypoid & non-friction modified gear oil. I've also check the solenoid's operation (audio and then visually only. I have not made any adjustment to it). It seemed to be working fine. and while driving I can just about hear it disengaging and reengaging as I change gear. ^ peekabo for overdrive perverts ^ off and.. activated ^^ Note. I can hear this, and could see it from underneath the car, but I've lifted the rear half of my gearbox cover off, because i wanted to visually check what-was-what under there now, and to access the operating valve. ^ Following the suggestions in the workshop manual - I've removed the valve operating cover (the top of which is painted red, centre of this photo), pulled and checked the spring, it plunger and ball. As expected of it having been professional restored, the ball's condition looks brand new. The spring wasn't broken, nor did it appear to be unduly weak. With the ignition on, but the car not started ; I engaged a higher gear and clicked on the overdrive switch. The ball lifted (against a 1/4"-drive-socket screwdriver) as prescribed. I haven't measured it but it seemed more like 1/16" to me rather than the 1/32" specified in the book. Is too much travel an issue ? or perhaps the solenoid's lever arm needs to taken down a bit ?? ^ To test the operation of the pump, which is inside the overdrive unit ..with the rear wheels of the car lifted (timber blocks under the trailing arms) and the front wheels chocked, I started the engine and engaged 4th gear at engine tick-over speeds. When the overdrive switch was operated.. oil very quickly welled up to fill and overflow the valve cover flange. According to the book, only if this doesn't happen the pump is at fault. However, I did note a ring of small air bubbles inside the hole's oil. Perhaps there was air in the pump and/or the valve that has stopped the overdrive unit from working ?? That's as far as I've got. I have not subsequently driven the car to see if the overdrive is now working or not ..but aside from letting those air bubbles out, I can't see that I've actually done anything. The car is still up on the blocks with the rear wheels lifted 1/2" off the ground. And I'm very much open to advice as to what to check next. Thanks, Pete

My post of 16th April on the TR Register forum - prompted more than a few owners to share their 'multiple fuse solution' to not having to do those first steps of switching one thing on at a time diagnostics, which I did to hone in on the brake light circuit. One chap has now 17 fuses and five relays on his TR6, and yet if his brake lights failed he still wouldn't know about it. A couple of responses said that their and my opinion was that the wiring loom's three fuses were inadequate. To which I replied . . . Semantics perhaps, but I never said that the original wiring design was inadequate, I simply said "Are more than just three standard fuses such a good thing ? Perhaps yes.. I think.. " In my mind, anything which has served well for 55+ years, on tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands of vehicles of all marques, and which has generally been neglected from maintenance, cannot honestly be said to be inadequate. Could it be improved ? .."perhaps". But then one might possibly say that about any aspect of any vehicle ever built. My Sunbeam motorcycle has just one fuse from the battery, and 70 years on it still starts easily, is remarkably reliable, and in a worse case scenario is usually easy to fix at the side of the road, as was Katie when this fault occurred. I did go home to fix it, but only because we were just a few miles away and I was carrying an inadequate number of spare fuses with me. My objective with the car was to make it as reliable for touring - as economically and time-invested practical. But then to be prepared for roadside repairs for those other niggles. i failed in the latter respect, as that type of fuse is no longer stocked by most filling stations (on a bank holiday Sunday). As an aside ; other things like fat tyre valves, the wide fan belt, and a selection of bulbs, all need to be carried - if even minor roadside / modern garage repairs are to be made. I look at Nigel's and Rob's, very neatly done, eight fuses and think of the latter - where's one or two for the lights ? - it or they must be on yet other fuses. And then I think what is the real benefit of having that many fuses ? If your own car's brake light fuse blows - then would you even know about it ? This is surely a deficit to be balanced against the benefit of it not having effected other circuits. So., could those multiple fuse wiring systems be improved ? " perhaps " The benefit of multiple fuses it seems - is in isolating and therefore in tracing the fault to a particular circuit. Seems a lot of effort to save me putting a new fuse in and then trying one switch at a time ? That is after all - all the diagnostics came down to ..in tracking the fault to the brake light circuit. And if I hadn't found the fault - then I could simply have pulled the brake-light's wiring connection off ..then all the other circuits still worked fine. What am I missing ? - - - This then prompted the comment that "ALL modern cars have multiple fuses ..so it must be right". - - - I replied to that with a long list of electrics that even my 2002 Chrysler Voyager has ; with engine management and fuel injection, fault sensors on all sorts of things, and limp-mode, electric windows, mirrors, fobbed central locking, electric side and tailgate doors, six interior light plus one under the bonnet and another two in the boot, plus rear screen wash and wipe, and two dozen other things, which account for its addition fuses ..and a host of diagnostic fault codes - None of which I want on my Triumph. - - - Nevertheless the conversation carried on and I did learn that the Triumph lighting fuse did not actually include the headlamps ..which remain unfused. That to me is unacceptable so I will add a fuse for those, and I'll use a lower rated fuse for the sidelights. I'll not add the headlamps to the side-lamp's fuse because I wouldn't want to loose all lights at the same time. On reflection ..because I do actually listen to other people's opinions, I looked at how this car's wiring was protected and how it would be a nuisance if for example the brake-light fuse blew which stopped the windscreen wipers from working, or vice versa. Still, I liked the fact that within just half-a-mile, my Tom-Tom turning off alerted me to a fault (my brake lights not working), but things like the indicator / hazard warning light might easily be on a separately fused circuit - because they do of course have their own tell-tale light. . I'm presently thinking . . . I don't want a voice activated or any other diagnostic computer telling me, or the car, what to do Nor do i want more complication than absolutely necessary. I like NASA's philosophy of KISS. my car's headlamp wiring and its switches are not fuse protected. That to me is unacceptable. But it'll be best not to have the headlamps on the same fuse as the side lights, as I'd not like to loose all the lights at once, The side-lamp's fuse (presently 35A) is way too high for this car, which now has LED bulbs. I also think it would be prudent to have the brake lights and indicators / hazard warning lights on different fuses. As the indicators have their own tell-tale then it seems logical to leave the brake lights on the same fuse as the instruments, because those instruments not working would alert me to the likelihood of brake light failure. The Indicators / hazards can have their own fuse, which again because of the LED bulbs can be a low rating. Having the screen wash, wipers, heater blower and cigarette lighter (aux power to Tom-Tom and phone charging) all on the same fuse as 'safety items' ..like brake-lights and hazard warning light, also doesn't make good sense to me. I think it would be worthwhile to fit another two fuses for those four circuits. probably screen wash and heater blower on one, and wipers and auxiliary chargers on the other ..as Tom-Tom will alert me to any problem in the wiper's circuit ..even when they are not turned on. . So, I must admit that I've moved to think that perhaps six to eight fuses might be wiser. Katie already has three and so a block of just four more would not be difficult to fit in. Pete

11th April ; This Easter weekend Katie and I visited Hedingham Castle, Halstead, Essex - built around about 1140 by Aubrey De Vere, the eldest son of a good buddy of the former Duke of Normandy, aka William the Conquer. The property remains the home of one of his ancestors (..well he, his wife and three children live in the somewhat more comfortable mansion house built c.1719, within the grounds. They don't actually reside in the castle's keep). The above photo was taken on Monday afternoon, belying the reality that the morning was miserably wet & quite chilly weather (hence the other half of the roof also being on). Nevertheless.., it was a great day out, and I met some other chaps there who were celebrating their Triumph .. ^ Spring Joust with Knights of Middle England

2nd April ; Katie suffered an electrical affliction on Sunday morning, insomuch as soon after I drove off to go to Hedingham Castle - a fuse blew. The first I knew of it was that Tom-Tom's power was cut and a screen notice came up asking if I wanted it to shut down or resume. I then noticed that the fuel gauge read zero, despite the tank being filled the previous day, and also the temperature gauge read zero. I then discovered the indicators didn't work and nor did the overdrive ..and yes, I did check the power lead connection into Tom-Tom Ooh, this was annoying, not least insomuch as I was booked in (read ; pre-paid) to an jousting event at the castle (an hour's drive away) rather than my usual day out in the sunshine of getting in the car to go somewhere where I'd pay on the door. Naturally, the main event was going to happen at midday whether or not I was late. In addition, I was faced with a car that worked but which without instruments and indicators wasn't roadworthy. One cannot blame Katie for this, it must have been something the plonker (me) who checked the wiring didn't do right. I pulled into a filling station and checked. Yes, it was the fuse for green wires (..ignition switched-on power). There was no wire obviously shorting out to be seen under the dashboard, so perhaps it was just an iffy fuse that had blown. I had two spare. I replaced the fuse and all seemed fine Now, with with just one fuse as a spare - any diagnostics would require a methodical approach.. A fuse blows when the component draws too much power too quickly or else when the wiring circuit shorts out to earth. The latter is more usual, particularly on a car that had been reliable for the passed 2000 miles in six months. So., with the new fuse in and the engine started . . . The fuel gauge was now working, as was the temperature gauge. I had not used the wipers, the screen wash (converted to an electric pump on this car), nor the heater's blower. So the blown fuse was unlikely to have been caused by an overload through any of those circuits. The indicators flashed ..all is good so far ! I put the car into second gear (foot on the clutch) and even though were were still parked I could hear the overdrive's solenoid click to activate. So that too was OK. I touched my foot onto the brake pedal and the new fuse blew. The fault, by deduction my dear Watson, was somewhere to be found in the brake-light circuit. Following this simple but systematic approach - I very quickly knew where to start looking for the fault ..it was going to be somewhere in the brake-light circuit. Because i was still nearby, and although I had the tools in the car - I drove home to sort it out ..and to replenish the car's spare fuses . . . ^ This photo (turned on its RHS because it seems clearer that way around) shows the ex-motorcycle brake light switch I'd fitted in Katie's footwell, not far from the fuse box which along with the voltage regulator is now also under there. This switch is a very simple pull-the-rod ..connected, via a spring, to the brake pedal, to bridge the electrical contacts. The green wire to the right (middle of photo) into the switch, is the green switched-power from the fuse lead. That was not going to be at fault ..because the fuse doesn't blow until the switch is activated ..so the fault must be in the switch itself, or anywhere thereafter ..all the way back to each brake-light bulb (which btw are now low-amperage / high luminosity LED's on this car). The switch's bracket attachment of the brake-light-switch had fluff in the screw hole (centre of photo), which at first I thought must be fine wire filaments that would short from the electrical connection to the screw / to the bracket / on the underside of the bulkhead / to the car's body / to earth. My screwdriver's blade attracted the fine filament, which again implied magnetic. However when pulling the filaments out I found that they broke, and were mostly trapped under the screw head.. They were probably filaments of the felt underlay, I'd used over the gearbox tunnel, and were most likely attracted to the screwdriver blade by static rather than magnetic. Even when pulled out and the surrounding area wiped clean (..of Vaseline smeared into the wiring connections), the next fuse I tried also blew. The fault was not there then ! I pulled the switch and visually inspected it, ensured that its body was clean and not cracked (..which can cause electrical tracking). I refitted it and tried again. Another fuse blown, so the fault was not there then either. Nevertheless, the methodical approach of working my way along the circuit made good sense, if only in eliminating the power feed wire and the switch itself from being at fault. Nevertheless, although I'd just traced the wires between the fuse holder and the brake light switch ..for obvious sign of fault, I checked them again. Satisfied with my logic, I proceeded to check the wiring, wrapped as part of the loom, as it drops down the front corner of the bulkhead and then back along the inside sill corner of the floor (under the carpet). No fault could be identified in that stretch of the circuit either. Thereafter the wires disappear up behind the B-post's trim panel. The wiring harness is next seen is within the top corners of the boot space, as it leads from behind the fuel tank covering board to the rear lights. Again all looked fine. I then pulled each rear light bulb to check for anything obvious (like a bulb that had half fallen out or otherwise blown to bits ..and those bits were shorting against the bulb holder). But no each were very clean, and the bulb holders lightly smeared with Vaseline to minimise corrosion. There was no tell-tale sign of anything having arced an electrical short. The one connection I couldn't see was that hidden by the boot / fuel tank covering board. This is a double-bullet-connector which splits the brake light circuit to both left and right hand rear lamps of the car. So out with my overnight bag and the car cover (which I take to hide the car under when I'm parking overnight away from home) to unscrew that end of the covering board. With that pulled forward on just that one side I could, ease the wiring connector into the boot space. I had replaced & Vaselined that double-connector just last year and it looked fine. I made sure that each of its three bullets were thoroughly pushed into the connector and refastened the lining board, but this time with the connector still inside the boot space, rather than hidden behind the board. When checked the brake lights now worked again ..without blowing the fuse. Success ..but I still don't know for certain where the fault was. It may have been one of the bullets into that rear double-connector was just touching / shorting against the angled bracing under the rear deck ..in there besides the full of petrol fuel tank ~ which on reflection is not at all a happy prospect.! Or was it that in pulling the rear section of the car's wiring loom out of the corners, and twisting it to inspect all around its insulation for a fault, that it was shorting in some other place. I cannot be certain. I'll sometime revisit this wiring. in the meantime I wanted to get to the Spring Joust at Hedingham Castle. I was almost 2-1/2 hours late and so just missed the first bout of jousting, but still in good time to see the castle, and other attractions before the second bout of the day. - - - Although long-winded, I've written this episode out - in the hope that it may be helpful to those who are less-than-comfortable with vehicle electrics &/or those of us who can generally fix things ..if only they can find / identifying the fault or faults (ie., what to fix). Methodical approach ..checking one thing at a time in order, and then as required changing and retest before moving on. It may seem slow and laborious but in the end it's inevitably quicker and less frustrating. So ; When several things are not working - what's the common factor to those ? - in this instance ; it was the power feed that came from the same source ..one fuse in looking for the fault - start by looking for where there was not a fault. ie., eliminate what you can, so then you can hone-in on where the issue is. In this example ; the things least likely circuit to draw heavy electrical current, and also the least likely to be faulty, were the instruments. With a new fuse, turn the ignition on and start the engine ..with nothing else turned on, and check the gauges worked. No fault there then. You can also mentally eliminate (check off ) those things that were not being used (in this instance ; the screen-washer pump, the wipers, and the heater blower). Then systematically try other things... Indicators = check. Overdrive solenoid clicking in = check. Brake lights = FAIL. Acknowledge that the brake lights caused the fuse to blow only after the brake pedal's switch was activated. So the fault was not before the switch ..otherwise the fuse would have blown when the ignition was turned on. So - after the wire, which feeds power to the brake light switch, comes the switch itself. I checked this and then checked again to see if the fuse still blew when the brake lights were switch. They did = FAIL ..the fluff seen in the screw hole by to the wires terminal-connector was my chasing a rabbit down a blind hole ..It happens. But take heart ..not finding a fault is progress, as it eliminates that component. I then methodically followed the wires and any connectors, looking for any sign of fault (cracked, slit or otherwise broken or chafed insulation) or perhaps signs of arcing (very localised burn marks on adjacent metal) ..all the way back to the bulb holders and the bulbs themselves. I couldn't find any sign of fault, and so I retraced the route back to the one connector I couldn't see, without first undoing pulling it out from behind the boot's trim panel. Had I not found the fault then I would have gone back to the start and gone through the process again, perhaps with better lighting &/or with my reading spectacles, to see what I'd missed. If you are not intimately familiar with your car's wiring, then please do carry a diagram ..that you've previously checked is accurate to that particular car. Note ; having a diagram doesn't tell you the route of the loom as it runs through the car, so have a look beforehand and then also recognise that certain coloured wires only go to certain places. Lucas tracer-colour wiring codes are particularly easy to work with, and it's worth becoming familiar with those colours ; for your own car's primary earth and live wires, for each of the different light & indicator circuits, and for the horn. Any of the others can be looked up, if and when you need to know what they are. In the meantime those tracer-colours you are familiar will allow you to say, " it's not that wire because it's an earth wire, or for the headlamps, for the side-lamps, the horn, the indicators " which immediately eliminates 50% of the wires in the loom. A compact torch is necessary to see clearly in the footwells, under the dashboard, and into darker corners. I keep a small (waterproof) flat but adjustably bright rechargeable LED one (..a beanie-hat head-torch) for such purposes in my car's tool kit. A lesson I learnt - was to carry lots of spare fuses (..of the right type for your car). Although a multi-meter (which I do carry with me) can be helpful to trace faults (in this instance ; it would be used across the fuse holder to see if there is an excessive spike in power when different things are switched on, when the fuse blows). I'd say that fuses are easier, cheap, small to pack into a corner of the car for touring ...and absolutely definitive. When this happened, I immediately kicked myself that I hadn't fitted a multiple fuse holder, allowing one for each circuit. But then I thought, well if the Tom-Tom's power hadn't been lost, and then I'd been alerted to the instruments not working, then how would I know that the brake lights had stopped working ? Or the windscreen wipers ? ..which I mostly I use when it's miserable weather ..and not a time time when I'm happy to trace a wiring fault. As it was - I was alerted to something being wrong within half-a-mile, when Tom-Tom didn't (audibly) tell me which way to go. Surely that's an aid to road safety.? Isolating each circuit with a separate fuse wouldn't have done that. It's useful to note ; that had I been unable to trace the fault, to get back on the road - then I could simply have pulled the wiring connector to that particular circuit off the fuse box. In this instance ; I would have had no brake-lights, but everything else would still work, to continue the journey &/or until I was in a better situation (perhaps in an illuminated service station if it had been at night) to trace the fault. So I now ask myself - Are more than just three standard fuses such a good thing ? Perhaps yes.. I think.. If so is it best to add more fuses, for individually fused circuits, after the existing main fuse holder (which has a 10amp fuse in it). ? Katie's wiring has (deliberately on my part) not been complicated with additional relays. She now has just one horn (and it's loud) so no relay is necessary for that (the original one I've removed along with a few meters of wiring and their x-number of connections). I think now, only overdrive solenoid has a relay in the circuit. - - - Katie has driven a hundred miles since this incidence, including some pretty horridly wet weather where the instruments, brake-lights, indicators and wipers were all on at the same time ..from that single 10amp fuse - and it hasn't blown again. Unfortunately since however the overdrive has stopped working, despite the relay or solenoid clicking. That's on the menu as the next job-of-the-day. Hope the above notes are useful to some, Wishing you happy and reliable motoring, Pete - - -

2nd April ; Final Tolkienian doors update . . . ^ Today the sun was glorious but still there's a cold northerly breeze, and so I've swung the Chrysler around to divert the wind as I sealed the end grain of the plywood with thinned boat-varnish. ^ rehung, albeit with just one screw in each hinge. The side door, which when closed just looks like a fixed panel - I've repainted blue (because rain water poured down it last week) and have given it two coats of thinned varnish to help seal the wood. That door is useful though.. because when the Chrysler is parked back in place, the two muralled doors cannot be opened. Because the doors edges were still tacky-wet with varnish, I'll do their finally adjustment and add other screws to the hinges next week. In the meantime the neighbours are beginning to notice, but no one has complained yet.! Pete

My apologies for not posting more on this forum. I'm that mostly comes down to not liking the computer or the windows operating sytem that this website requires I use. Nevertheless in case it is of interest I'll copy across some of what I've been doing in the past month. . . 27th March ; Exceptional spring weather today, such a contrast to yesterday, and so I was pleased to make noticeable progress. . . ^ The surround, in cornflower blue-grey is quite like the Royal-Air-force blue I grew up with. This fence/shed preservative took three coats (with a roller) to cover, but I guess that was deliberate by the manufacturer to encourage users to apply three coats for protection as well as looks. ^ just starting to fill in the background colour around the roots. Assuming three coats to cover, cutting in the edges is going to be rather time consuming. ^ I finished (at this stage) soon after 5pm today. My neighbour came home from work and started talking. He's a nice chap but.. I'd have otherwise filled in the background around the roots on the Rhs. The mural's design is now very apparent, and it might at least be a topic of conversation &/or critique ..and I'm certain not to everybody's refined taste. Still, imo much better than broad expanse of cheap plywood, whether painted or not. I suspect with this painted on.. people will now like or else dislike it ..but they'll not even notice the plywood it's been painted onto. Pete

Oh man .. you really must learn to control your temper.. she'll not forgive you, you know !

Not much happening this weekend for Katie & I, but during the week I replaced the polytunnel's end flap ..a sheet of heavy duty black plastic, which I folded and clipped up every time I pulled the car out and put it back in again. It was tiresome but tolerable, however the wind and it flapping around for the past two years had taken its toll and it was falling apart and generally looking pretty crappy. ^ As this is rental apartment and whatever I do is, at best, temporary, and at worse unacceptable to the landlord - I opted to make the replacement doors out of plywood. . . ^ crude but for the time being quite efficient (ie., they were quick to make, cheap, and they work !). However if I were to leave them like that, then within weeks of spring showers they would soon look stained with black mould. I needed to seal them, and because they look like exactly what they are, I thought to pretty them up. I spent a good amount of background thought, regarding painting on what would look like a nice garage door frame, but in the end decided - that too would look just like it would have been .. pseudo timber garage doors made out of cheap plywood. So I'd just to paint them. In the back of my mind I'd decided on a colour so when out and bought some cheap paint. Actually although it was inexpensive it's Ronseal Fence-life plus, which recons on +5years before the wood turns to look like something found in the bottom of a muddy lagoon. After an afternoon of thought, helped formulate thanks to a bit of internet inspiration, together with the backside of an old boat drawing - i started by removing "the garage doors" to turn them to face inward (ie., out of the wind and rain).. And then began painting . . . ^ 6-30pm ..well I only had a small paint brush ! ^ 6-47pm Ah ha, some dark secret is coming out of the woodwork. ^ 7-45pm close of play ..working by extension lamp lighting wasn't brilliant and I was getting cold. Being an old fart of a single fella., Sunday morning is a time to either get out and go somewhere in the Triumph, or else to just have a lazy morning in bed - with leisurely time to drink good coffee and read an inspiring book. This Sunday morning was dribbling with rain, that being neither drizzle nor rain per se ..just miserable consistent dribbling. So i opted for ground coffee and set dpwn to reading The Hobbit for my first time. But then when I was ready - I reviewed the design. And it very much came down to one of life eternal questions . . Yin or Yang ..or not ? ^ After much deliberation I went for yin or yang, and inverted my makeshift template . . . ^ 2-30pm There's a lot of symbolism in this drawing ..which was just beginning to take root ^ 3-38pm Woah, how much work have I let myself in for ? ..the tree-of-life was reaching new depths. It's all downhill from here. ^ 6-pm today.. I don't yet know if this design will work but it's been an interestingly creative weekend, and something I've never done before. There's a whole long way to go still ..with outside / surround and background colour to be added (timber/fence sealant), and the tree ..a twisted willow (stylistically of course) is presently just in a light wash. So I don't know if the idea will even work .. but we'll see. And if it doesn't then I'll just paint over it, with nothing but a few days of my retirement years lost in an enjoyable experiment. Btw., The golden colour is yacht varnish, which I happened to have on a bottom shelf. I'm hoping it has soaked into the plywood and will dispel / shine through the back-ground wash. That's it for today. I hope you've also had an enjoyable weekend and I bid you good evening, Pete p.s. please disregard the TR4 estate car under wraps in the first photo. you didn't see that !

This passed Sunday I went for a drive to go for a walk (..not least because I've been getting unfit and fat these past couple of months). And so looking on the map I opted to drive across to the River Alde (as in Aldeburgh), Suffolk. The Alde, I'm guessing, used to flow directly into the sea, but that river's mouth was eventually closed off by a shingle beach - which is now Orford Ness. In doing so, the bottom end of that river's name changed to become the Ore, on which there was a shallow crossing and a small fishing village called Orford. This in turn is where Henry II had a castle built and developed the village into a port. Up the river Alde there was of course a bridge (..for many centuries just a crossing ) and a small village of Snape - which, according to the doomsday of 1085 book, records 49 men, and a church standing 8 acres valued at 16d (old pence). A thousand years before that though - this place had a settlement and there was a Roman site for salt production. Later on the Saxons favoured Snape as a burial ground. And then the small port from Snape bridge shipped coke, as well as corn and other grains like barley, around to London ..on thames barges. And then (c. 1846, I gather), the malting house was built. Within just a few years they were shipping 17,000 quarters of barley a year from Snape. However by the 1960's - the malting process at Snape had come to its end, and by coincidence the nearby and fashionable port-town of Aldeburgh's music festival was outgrowing their Jubilee Hall. The composer, a chap called Benjamin Britten, had the vision to see the largest of the now unused malt-houses, which literally overlooks the saltings (the salt marshes and the River Alde) as a possible site for a concert hall. In 1967 HRH Elizabeth II formally opened Snape Maltings as the now internationally famous concert hall. Well, although I did drop in there for a cuppa, I actually wanted to go to Iken, and to walk along the river path. . . Iken Church is at the end of a one track lane to nowhere and yet is rather special, insomuch as although it looks very similar to so many Norman churches, this one traces it's history back some 400 years earlier to Anglo-Saxon times. The chronicle for the year 654 records " in this year Anna (the Christian king of the East Angles) was slain and Botwulf (Botolph) began to minister at Icanhoh" . Although other sites lay claim to this, it is widely believed that 'Icanhoh' is now Iken, and where he built his minister. This makes Iken one of the earliest centres of Christian activity in East Anglia and one of the pioneer Benedictine religious communities in England. It was a nucleus of worship, witness and learning for a wide area with a community of monks or priests from which missionaries traveled to spread the faith and establish satellite churches. The seventy-five or so English churches which bear (or have once borne) St.Botolph's name may give some clue to the extent of their missionary. These include sixteen in Norfolk, four in Essex, and six in Suff0lk. Botolph apparently traveled broadly but then remained Abbot until his death c.680. In 870 invading Danes destroyed the monastery, and it is believed that shortly afterwards, the faithful marked the site with a stone memorial cross, part of which may be still be seen inside the church (see photo below ). Although the timber church was probably rebuilt around 900AD, later, c.1070-1110 it too was rebuilt in stone. The existing, early Norman flint-rubble nave (in the photo above) has plastered walls - over which is there is still a thatched roof (although that was renewed after a fire in the 1960's). The small slit windows of those walls were in part replaced or enlarged with larger windows. At the back of the church the wall shows one of these (now closed off) slit windows and also a closed-off arched door. In the mid c.15th the western tower was built and three of the four bells were cast c.1465 with the forth around 1507. The porch was also built and the present font installed. . . The remains of stone memorial cross, which may be still be seen inside the church, dates back to 870 - 900 AD. It was originally twice as long (some 9-foot tall). And the beautifully carved but much later (late c.15th) Christening font. The benches were given by to St.Botolph by the cathedral of Bury St.Edmunds. They were designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott for the cathedral restoration in 1865-69. The altar carved from English-oak dates back to just 1959 and it's reredos are based on Leonardo de Vinci's painting of 'The Last Supper'. second photo is looking back towards the open bell tower. It's a modestly sized but beautifully presented building, with the exposed stonework and architectural features of the early Norman period retained, but still very much a contemporary church that serves the community as a spiritual home and with regular services. On the walls are brass plaques to the fallen and in the church yard are both ancient and very recent gravestones, and a simple wooden cross (for two persons, died 1998 & 2016) . . . - - - ^ Katie with 'The Sandings' and the River Alde in the background. Although said to be 12-deg.c. and forecast to be dry but overcast all day - it was not too busy to make finding a parking spot difficult. Suffolk coast and AONB (areas of outstanding natural beauty), and protected habitat .. a veritable haven for sandpipers, oyster catchers and host of other coastal wildlife ..and a great place to just go for a quiet walk. All in all, a very pleasant afternoon out.., a little spiritual reflectiveness for the soul, a whole lot of history for the mind, and some exercise for the body too. Hope you had a good weekend out with your Triumph this, almost spring time ?, weekend ...before the roads become overly busy with holiday traffic. Pete p.s. Katie & I are booked into. . . Hedingham Castle Spring Joust (Knights of Middle England) on Sunday 9th and Monday (Bank Holiday) 10th April. the Ipswich to Felixstowe classic vehicle run on May 7th MG & Triumph 100, Silverstone on 10th and 11th of June The Adventure Travel Film Festival, Hatherop Castle, GL7 3NB, in the Cotswolds, on the 11th – 13th August IWM Duxford - All Triumph Day on September 10th We'd be glad to see you there.

That's it with the updates, copied across from the TR Register's forum ..which I can still access with my old computer which uses Windows XP. I'm sorry to anyone ..who might have otherwise been interested, that I haven't been participating on this forum, but until I get my mind around, and my fingers to work with the HP computer and its operating system - it really is a chore. And a chore is not a pleasure. And what is not a pleasure - when mojo is low and weather and health niggles leaves you uncomfortanble almost every day - is perhaps best avoided. I wish you well though, and look forward to spring sunshine on our backs. Best regards, Pete

9th March ; Happy Anniversary to Katie this week. It was during a brief gap between covid restrictions ..start again... It was on a bright and sunny day (although it rained during our test drive) two years ago, on the 5th March 2001 (..which also happened to be the anniversary of my Dad's birthday) I'd driven across to Bury St Edmunds to view and agree to buy Katie < posted about here > from Bob & Pat Bell. And then, on the 8th March, my new TR register friend Rich C-R and I went across to collect her ..and we only broke down once or was that thrice on the way back. Although we've seen just 3410 miles on the clock since then, it's been a long journey with many up n' downs in that time. And so we've she's had to make some changes . . . ^ ^ ^ to cite but just a few ! ...but Katie and I are still together and I'm sure things are all the better for it. And thankfully we've recently been seeing more ups than downs . . . .... and so on .. Happy Anniversary to Katie ..who I think now looks younger than she did ...and an especially BIG THANK YOU to all who supported and helped us get this far. Pete. p.s. hopefully these piccies will encourage others who, with their Triumph, are on such a journey.

moving on (also posted on 4th March) .. My intent was to revisit Clare, a historic market town on the north bank of the River Stour in Suffolk, that I'd come across and briefly stopped at on the way back from a very hot n' dried grass Saffron Walden 'Car Show on the Common' on Sunday 14th July 2022 (blogged on August 23 '22). I had only visited the church of St Peter & St Paul when I was here last July, but had otherwise noted the abundance of listed buildings, and I'd also been recommended to visit the priory sometime. And so (last Saturday afternoon) that's what I hoped to do. Rather than just quaint old buildings - Clare was more interesting that I'd imagined. . . it seems to be a town on the way to n' from nowhere, but its history (which interests me) goes back to the old stone age (paleolithic era) with flints and stone axe heads of the neolithic period also found within Clare Priory's grounds. Apparently, and supported by archeological finds, it was occupied and fortified by the Romans. The Domesday Book records it as 'always a market (town) of 43 burgesses' (free-man possibly aristocrats). This is from a period when many if not most Suffolk towns & villages had no free men. It records that the lands around Clare belonged to a Saxon Thane. William the Conqueror re-granted the land to one of his closest supporters Richard fitz Gilbert, who in turn made Clare Castle the capult of his feudal barony (ie. his administrative centre). Clare castle, I didn't even know about but it is first recorded in 1090. . . There's not much left of the castle ..but the motte and curtain wall embankments are still very impressive. To the left of the first photo is the River Stour, diverted to drive mills, and to the right (inside this section of curtain wall) is a moat. This castle and this town's defenses were taken serious ..Just imagine trying to cross rivers and marsh beds, and then scaling up those slopes in full armour under a heavy and continuous downpour of long-bow armour-piercing broad-head arrows. The influential links and support of religious fraternities began before the Norman conquest, and the titled Earls thereafter related to this town and its surround rich arable land read as a medieval who's who of courtiers, Earls & Barons. In short, it was a power house and very prosperous seat ..sometimes fighting for and with the crown, and at other times trying to keep the King in check. Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hereford, and his son Gilbert were two of the 25 barons appointed as guardians to the Magna Carta of 1215. Political marriages and their leverage, wealth and sheer military might, were benchmarks of the power held by these feudal Lords. And religious piety was sought ..and bought by means of founding as supporting priories. And after all the battles and the bickering - those names, the riches and their power are mostly lost ..to anyone but the history buff. Still, the town, castle ruins and the river embankment are wonderful. ..which are well worth a visit should you be passing by in your TR. The town and citizens of Clare maintain them both as a historic and as a nature park, complete with its Stour Valley line's station (and coffee shop) of the Great Eastern Railway ^ Katie parked behind the old goods-shed, which I think is now partly a museum. Behind her you can see the River Stour. There is excellent signposting throughout the town, up on the castle, and through the park. Car parking was just £1 per hour, which I was happy to pay as the castle and park was otherwise free. ^ Motte embankment to the castle left, with the diverted River Stour serving as a moat. It's nice here. ^ the carved wooden sheep are clearly popular with the children, but probably confound the Welsh. Bearing in mind that wool was the most valuable export in the Medieval days of Chaucer.. these little sheep are a fun monument to the wealth of Clare's former residents. The wool was of course used for clothing and bedding, as well as for tapestry screens and wall hangs, multiple layers packed under chain-mail and armour, and mutton was an important meat. The bits inside were also food and 'skins' for carrying fluids &/or for for villagers to kick around the field. The oil from the sheep's wool was valuable, and the skin was soft leather. Even the bones were boiled to make glue, used for implements, and otherwise shaved into thin wafers before glass became commonplace. And apparently around ten sheep produce much the same amount of milk as a single cow. Not many people know that ! With access from the car-park, but not really obvious, is a path to the priory . . . ^ although the gardens and the church is open to the public Clare Priory is still a priory occupied by the religious order of Augustinian.. They live in the house and they now have a beautiful modern extension to the old church which is open for respectful contemplation and prayer. Most of the ancient priory buildings and its walls have gone and what used to be the cloisters is a now a walled garden. ^ Even the gates are pretty old, although judging by their shape being different to the arch in the wall I suspect they may be have previously been elsewhere. ^ Within the walled garden, formerly the cloisters (which would have been partly covered) there is this stone plaque. On the other side of the wall is the easier to read, but somewhat sanitized version. The priory and its gardens are also the last resting place of its patrons. And so with a rain shower stretching across the skies as a vibrant rainbow, it was time for me to close the gate and go home. The drive home, about 30 miles was good, the evening was fresh but clearing, and Katie's new carburettors added a spring to our step ..after-all my breakfast with TR friends was great, the unscheduled stop at Earls Colne an unexpected pleasure, and my afternoon in and around Clare - rather exceptional. It's only sad to think that some people had to go shopping on Saturday ! . . . Bidding you a good evening and a pleasant weekend Pete