Bfg

While you're there can you pick up a car for me. it's in Arkansas ?

I read through Bill Piggott's book 'Original Triumph TR' again recently and recall him mentioning this, so I checked it for your and on p104 he saying the body numbers are "roughly equivalent to the relevant commission number" which in context I read to mean 'close but not the same'. So your prospective purchase is most likely correct. Bfg

Thanks again all, I've now put 'Hovis' one of my vintage (1955) Sunbeam motorcycles up for sale < here > as I need the money to fund living ( ! ) ..and to contribute towards my buying a Triumph automobile. I have another older (1948) Sunbeam and a (1973) Norton Commando, I'm likewise preparing to go to new homes, and then also my current classic motor car, a (1974) Citroen-Cimos Ami-Super. That's a lot of clearing to make room for one Triumph project ! Out of passing interest Hovis is a smart bike from just a few paces, but far from concourse. Today I had an enquiry regarding the condition of its chrome and paint., and after giving a detailed written reply I concluded with the following : On a reflective (no pun intended) note ; you might like to consider, with the chrome-work re-plated & the paintwork repainted - then you'll have what looks like a new bike. Are you looking for a motorcycle which looks new ? ..or would you prefer one with its rough edges of patina and over half a century of history ? The choice is entirely yours. I repeat this here only because I've seen so many beautifully restored cars, motorcycles, and sailing boats, and perhaps because I've attempted this work many times myself - I am filled with utmost respect for their achieving such fine quality ..but then at the same time feel a little loss. The wonderful Triumph Herald Estate, mentioned above, which particularly caught my eye - because it oozed a long history of being used and enjoyed . .and the new owner's intent is I believe to restore the car. I moved towards show-quality with a couple of motorcycle restorations and with the '66 Jaguar. And without exception the bike or car increased in attractiveness, elegance and value, but also lost the crucial element found in much-enjoyed (clearly well used) classics - fun.

The deed is done. Received the d.d. mandate, then phoned the office and Martin was glad to relieve me of my money, d.d. also now completed and waiting upon the postie. I'm now an officially a paid-up newbie. And all I need now is the money to buy a car, so ..Sunbeam motorcycle advertised today.

Following various suggestions re. CJ Auto's I looked that their website and was impressed with their 3-in-1 Tilting car lift. < https://www.cjautos.eu/NEW_3_IN_1_TILTING_CAR_LIFT_p/cl01.htm > It would seem to be handy for lifting under backbone chassis, rather than under crusty cills (or in British English should that be sill ?). True with VAT it's close to £500 but.. in the big / long term picture and seeing how it might ease and quicken so many tasks of restoration, and maintenance - it seems a reasonable price when, like some have said, their stuff is well engineered. Has anyone here used one ? ..and can give feedback. Thanks, Bfg

What's this 'finishing school technique'.. ? certainly it can't be what I was thinking !

I'm 6'-5" with size 12's and used to drive a Spitfire Mk.II when in my agile mid-20's, and never gave a thought to it. It was a great fun car which I used as my daily, and the fabric of the roof lifts as you drive along. NB the early cars had lower seat squabs and thinner back padding than the Mk.IV's. Then, some 20 years ago, I had a Tr4 .. and remember I fitted into that more comfortably. The relatively speaking high doors enveloped me better. Now I'm pushing towards mid-60's and am 110kg, and want to come back to Triumphs again.. So with this in mind I've just started to attend my local area TSSC club meet. Over the next couple of months I hope to find someone with a Tr4 - 6 who's kind enough to let me see if I can get into one nowadays. I don't have a Triumph right now but I'd like to find a Tr4A (cheap project - anyone please to restore.? ). Again the earlier TR's had lower seat squabs, skinnier backrest padding. In considering my TR wish list, I reckoned it would be feasible to raise the height of the windscreen by an inch or so, via a packer-block under it.? Like the Spitfire, the TR's windscreens sit does not sit on a raised plinth. I'm handy with wood and fibreglass so could shape such a plinth, and it would be tidy. I'm sure I'm not the first, so has anyone photos or description of such a mod. ? Thanks Bfg.

Tidy the paintwork if you're selling the car, do the niggles if you're keeping the car. if you do the paintwork first and then the niggles - then you're just going to upset yourself when you inadvertently scratch that new paintwork. ! But also you don't need to look for trouble, it will find you ...if it really is an issue.

Sorry if my reply is dumb ..as I have no knowledge of the Vitesse ..but have had some experience of an overheating straight-six while waiting for the Dartford crossing. 1. On that car (an old Jag) the radiator had been flushed out by a garage running a hose on full blast through it. However, I still felt the car had issues. So I took the radiator out myself and flushed it with shaking and rotating, all sorts of mineral deposits were freed from sitting in the bottom. I then went on to replace all the core plugs (done with engine in situ.) and found the same issue. The cooling system had recently been 'professionally' flushed, but still the bigger particles (many as sizeable loose flakes) of 50 years of accumulated debris were laying in the bottom around the wet liners. I used a narrow blade to lift out a lot and then a jet-wash to blast inside the jacket (via the core plug holes). I also removed the heater matrix from the car and again flushed it with shaking & rotating ..I found a similar situation to that of the radiator. 2. Not wishing to teach grandpa to blow bubbles in the bath but also., every water hose needs to be in very good condition. It's just false economy to delay replacing a perished pipe verses risking the damage overheating an engine can do. Perished pipes feel hard, even if you cannot see cracking in the rubber. Cooling pipes are an obvious but heater pipes are all part of the same system ..and often neglected. To me., it's worth working through the whole system thoroughly and systematically. OK, it is not a nice job ..but to be honest it's not expensive and it only needs doing every 20 years ! And the peace of mind is worth it. 3. I don't know on the Vitesse if is there a radiator ducting cowl (the black cardboard things we need to have on TR's, and are 'sometimes' still fitted on a Spitfire). If not then it ought to be easy enough a task to make one. Again I know from experience these make a huge difference. Personally I'm wary of electric fans because I've heard from experienced garages - they physically block the air-flow to the radiator. If you go that route then a puller fan (behind the radiator) is better than a pusher fan. On the Jag there wasn't enough room between the engine and radiator so I didn't fit one. But after my thorough cleaning out and refilling with the correct mix of Blue glycol antifreeze (..recommended by experienced mechanics for the XK engine, but I don't know what's best for the Vitesse) - I had no further issues nor worry. 4. Comfort of the occupants. Again drawing on experience with the Jag. The problem was the radiant heat from the exhaust rear manifold being little more than an inch-a-half away from the bulkhead, and then the run of the exhaust immediately under the footwell. It was nice in the winter months, and bearable at other times when driving along, but a veritable oven when stopped in summer traffic for very long. The first I resolved simply by using a 12" welding square pad (made of an asbestos-like fabric). I simply wrapped and fastened this to that area of the bulkhead. Before doing this ; the steel of the bulkhead was so hot you couldn't touch it for a second. After it was fitted I could rest my hand (from the inside) directly on the steel panel. It was warm but only 30 degrees or so. I'm surprised it wasn't fitted as standard. Under the floors should have been a pressed-metal heat-shield, spaced just half-an-inch below the floor. That was missing, but easy enough to make similar and to fit into place. I also recall on my old Spitfire MkII the amount of heat coming through where the gear-stick gaiter was split. One summer, in some desperation, I made a felt insulation pad to sit under the gaiter, to close the gap, and fitted a new gaiter. It made a terrific difference. 5. And finally, If your car is overheating in traffic then please just pull aside and wait for it to cool. I did this under the flyover northbound approach to the Dartford crossing where it was busy and hot (!) as hell. But much better I do that ..and face the embarrassment and 1/h an hour's delay, rather than risk the engine and then face all the palava of getting recovered from a traffic locked road, and then the massive cost of rebuilding it. It just not worth the risk and hassle. These cars were not designed for that sort of lengthy traffic congestion. I hope I'm out of order talking of experience with other marques and otherwise something in the above helps.. Bfg.

. I really like that Herald estate.. its a fantastic looking car in a great 'do not paint' condition. As an aside.. This evening i applied to join the TSSC .. but I've also dropped them an email asking them to send me an application for direct debit.. 'cause I don't have a printer.. Argh come on guys.. I've lived most of my life in the last century.. and I'll die having lived most of my life in the last century ..so why should I have a computer printer which still works ?

1. I often use pizza or cereal packaging card for masking, or the end-of-roll vinyl wallpaper. It can be folded and better holds its shape without draping. I find blue masking tape better than the cream coloured stuff. It's less sticky but holds everything well enough for the duration of painting. However, when painting in the engine bay - it's also worth covering the underside of a felt insulated the bonnet ! In short, consider where dust, fluff, flies, rain, coffee mugs &/or children's sticky fingers might come from. ☺️ 2. remove or mask over any fittings that weren't painted, painted over screws, nut and bolt heads, and plastic parts. Likewise mask up wiring and rubber hoses, seals etc. When painted over they make the whole job look tacky and cheap. NB. a decent pair of kitchen scissors to cut the masking tape makes detailed masking so much easier than trying to tear the tape. And wash your hands frequently throughout the whole preparation and painting process ..because fingerprints are naturally oily and acidic. Personally I can't get on with wearing gloves ..as I rely on tactile feel as much as the visual Also, applying masking tape when wearing gloves is to me like giving Data a Chinese finger puzzle ! (Trekkies will know what I'm talking about). 3. once the area is scraped and roughly cleaned, wire brushed, treated with rust eating chemicals, and the so forth - I use aerosol carb cleaner and clean tissue to remove oil, grime, and other fluid, acidic, and polish contaminates. < EDIT : I guess this ought to have been #1 because scraping and cleaning is done before masking. Sorry, I was answering your question and only then carried on to explain ' the process ' I follow > 4. Whenever sanding / rubbing down focus first on the inside of corners and awkward / difficult faces. Don't rub down the high spots first ..because when you're working the difficult places you'll probably be scratching those places again. So inside and difficult first and then ..only with the finer grit of wet 'n dry go over the whole. 5. once sanded through the grades to say 400 grit, I like to use cold-galvanizing aerosol spray. This is zinc and so helps prevent further corrosion. I use this to fill in any light rust pitting and the edges of chipped original paint. NB. Any Painting is best done where there's no breeze and where the air temperature is above 15 deg.c. If you're forced to paint outside then cardboard boxes can be opened up and used as screens. Damming around car's underside will help prevent a breeze from coming upwards. Drying time depends on air temperature & humidity, and also the temperature of the area / metal being painted. ie. it can take ten times as long for paint to dry on a cold foggy day (because the drying evaporation of paint is so slow). Even if you are using two-pack paints which cure by chemical reaction they are sensitive to cold. This is worth remembering especially when painting vertical surfaces ..where the paint might tend to run. Pre-warming the area / the metal up will accelerate the drying process and prevent runs. 6. Because cold galvanising is light grey in colour, it's easy to see where a light smear of filler will smooth out any fill deeper paint edges and pitting. Fine-paste filler is useful for these shallow areas. Once that's dried (also subject to temperature) it will also need rubbing down. Inside corners first again, and using a wood or rubber block whenever you can ..even if that's only the size of a pencil eraser, will help you keep the edges straight and surfaces fair. 7. then respray those areas with another coat of zinc, or if you prefer a base colour primer. 8. Any paint you've recently applied will not be that hard, and primers and zinc rub dow easily anyways so only use fine wet 'n dry 400 then 600 grit. NB. most primers are not moisture proof, so they do need a top coat. 8. many paint suppliers also sell tack-cloths. These are used to wipe the rubbed down surface off, to get ride of any fine dust particles. 9. spray your top coat colour, spraying into the corners and difficult places first.. Not too much paint. It is better to apply very light coats in quick succession (so they chemically adhere to each other). The object then is to apply just enough paint to get a wet look. Then stop. Allow that to dry for a short while, and repeat. Do this as many times as is needed to get an even colour. 10. Let this dry for 24 hours, and then if there's bloom (dullness) from over-spray then that might be very carefully rubbed smooth (corners first, block, etc) using 800 or 1000 grit wet n' dry with water and a drip of washing up liquid (to lubricate the action). 11. tissue dry and assess whether another top coat is needed. If so, then use a clean tack cloth first. Alternatively you might consider a clear lacquer if the paint's colour is good. I've used petrol resistant clear lacquer to good effect. I also find clear lacquer to be a better moisture barrier than most paints (rust proofing). 11B. If you decide you're not going to apply any more paint, then any dullness from the very fine rubbing down can be polished out with colour restorer. Again remember that freshly applied paint is still soft, so don't be too aggressive with it. 12. Leave for as long as you can, for the layers of paint to harden, before refitting bulkhead ancillaries ..minimum of 48 hours if you can. Otherwise you'll see washers imprinting themselves into the paint. Gentle heat can be applied simply by closing the bonnet (after the paint is surface dry) and placing a fan heater on a low-setting under the engine bay. NB. When the area to be repainted is under / need brake fluids or the battery you might consider using an epoxy paint, or a petrol tank sealant like POR-15. These are a thousand times more resilient to future chemical / acid damage than most car paints. Hope that helps, Bfg.

It's been some time since I last brought a car in from the States but the cheapest way was to have the car taken to a RoRo (Roll-on Roll-off) port. An internet search will find you companies that operate from Jacksonville or Brunswick rather than from New York or Boston. However please note ; the rules were that the car had to be driven onto the ship (like a huge ferry) ..even if that were only at 5mph. (but often cars have to be towed off the ferry ship because they wouldn't start). The other important restriction was that no parts or anything not belonging to the vehicle were to be transported within it. This ruling was because at one time dealers would buy an old van and pack it with engines and the like, rather than crating them up and shipping them separately. But of course when a van door's broke open during a storm, these heavy lumps crashing around caused havoc among some very nice cars.! Insurance claims and health n' safety were not impressed. So nothing but what you'd normally have in the car when driving locally around. Anything else is not allowed, not insured, not open to discussion, and easy pickings for dock workers. The alternative, and in particular for very expensive or non-running cars with a pile of bits is to put it into a container. There are companies who 'consolidate' your bits into a larger container, so yours & five other cars might be packed into a 40ft container. This of course needs securely packing (done by the consolidator, not you), but is then only handled once on and once off the container ship, so costs are reasonable and shared between various owners. A container usually takes longer because of the packing and shipping / customs paperwork. It may be an option if you have valuable spare parts and/or household bits to ship as well, or if you can link in with someone else shipping at the same time from the same place. Whichever route you choose, the shipping agents will handle the paperwork. There are companies which also handle the customs paperwork, but I've done this myself because ; the customs guys are decent to deal with and help you with any questions, and that a British-made classic car or motorcycle was charged no VAT and a nominal fixed rate for import duty. EDIT : I've just phoned a shipping company and they say it's 5% VAT and no import duty.. so I must have remembered wrong. The 5% VAT is charged on the value of the car + the cost of shipping freight (not overland transport). Then there's usually a fixed administration rate to pay to the company doing the packing and handling the consolidation (this is not the same company who actually owns the ships / does the shipping). The company I last used, to bring a Norton Commando back in 2011, was Schumacher Cargo Ltd, who have an agent here in Needham Market, Suffolk. Ian is the chap to speak to and his number is 01449 723576 or email < Ian@ScLUK.org > Perhaps you might mention my name ( Peter ) to him as I'm presently considering buying a non running car, in bits, with its engine apart, and with a spare chassis from Arkansas. I may well have to have the engine packed into a crates attached to a pallet, with all the loose bits of trim inside the car. These would then need to be road transported to their US depot, for consolidating into a container, which would then be shipped from Huston, Tx. But I'd certainly be glad to hear of a cheaper way to get car in bits and spare chassis back from Arkansas USA to Felixstowe, UK. ? Bfg

Thanks chaps. I got to the Eastern, Suffolk Section meet last evening and met some of the most amicable guys you'll ever likely to come across. Even without presently owning a Triumph I was made very welcome indeed. That may not be a big surprise to you all, but I've attended three other classic car clubs in this area, only one of which I attended more than half a dozen times. Likewise motorcycle clubs (as I'm also into two-wheeled classics), where I attend one only for the duration of taking my advanced motorcyclist test, and the other two just a couple of times. Note., I never had any issue with them, nor was I asked to leave, but I just didn't seem to fit in. Those I spoke to, of this club section, were kindly attentive to the sometimes-perhaps-over-zealous enthusiasm of this newbie quizzing them about their collections of cars, and blabbering on about my pipe-dream / hopefully next TR project.. I was particularly struck by there being a GT4, a wonderfully eccentric Spitfire, a truly excellent Herald Estate - which sounded purrrfect and was delightfully scruffy 'as used and enjoyed', and a beautiful Triumph 2000 in attendance on this frosty evening. There may have been more Triumphs there at some point, but as one of the last out of the hostelry, those are the ones I got a glimpse of. Best of all was the diversity of Triumphs being enjoyed (not at all a dry conversation) ..from the most excellent Heralds to the more powerful and sporting, and that non-standard was discussed but not in the slightest frowned upon. Lots of friendly expertise to tap into here, not to mention some good advice and insights into driving in Europe soon. As a former design engineer I cannot help myself but to change things a little. Not (I hope) detracting from the nature of the original car or classic motorcycle, but often numerous minor details to improve livability, reliability &/or longevity ..and sometimes just because I prefer the look. Case in hand was when I owned, just a few years back, a '66 S-type Jaguar. I rewired the engine bay, moved electrical components away from the radiant heat of the manifolds, added an expansion tank for the radiator, and changed to a modern X300 air filter which I situated under the RH front wing. Gone was what looked like a hammerite-painted pressed-steel exhaust-silencer sitting over / hiding the line of those glorious alloy rocker covers (and which sucked extremely hot air from over the manifolds), and gone was repetitive topping up of engine coolant. The air filter you see above is a plenum chamber (closed to the engine bay) simply used to divide the air being drawn through the duct (through the RH inner wing) from the x300 air filter - which takes its cool fresh air from under the front of the car. The radiator expansion tank was situated under the left wing (there was no expansion tank originally on these cars), so all one obviously sees of that was the overflow pipe. The steering fluid reservoir was moved forward, so as to be away from the radiant heat of the exhaust, as was the voltage regulator (now on the front face of the heater matrix box). The screen wash bottle, clutch fluid reservoir, and wiper motor were each distributed accordingly. It may not be original but this layout was very much more practical to live with (much easier access to reservoirs, spark plugs, distributor, etc) , was more efficient (cool air induction) and with improved engine-bay cooling (..without having the exhaust silencer-type air filter filling it - there's better air flow through and a larger clear volume ), it helped keep extremes of heat away from the electrics and their connections, and in my opinion is much neater (uncluttered) ..to better show one of the most beautiful engines ever made. The original air filter etc were all kept so that it might be changed back to original if a future owner preferred. The thing is that the S-type Jag was one of the least fashionable models (compared with the Mk2 jag for example) and many were being scrapped when I bought this one. As such there was little financial-investment pressure to keep the car standard. Fortunately at this moment in time some model of Triumph are still just about there, ie., the plentiful and less desirable models, and those uneconomic to restore back to original - so I'm hoping to be able to personalise a car ..to my personal want, needs, and tastes. Meeting the guys at the club venue last night confirmed that I wouldn't be alienated and/or burnt as a witch if I did so.! And I cannot rightfully express how much that motivates me I really hope to have found a club where I might fit in and simply enjoy these cars, in my own way. Thank you.

Just a brief hello. I'm Bfg and live in Suffolk, near Ipswich. I was brought up with what we now call classic cars and have enjoyed owning a few Triumphs. I presently have a 70's Citroen which I imported from Europe and mechanically restored, but really I'm just too tall for it. So, after months of scratching my bald patch ..considering what I really want next (and might also sensibly live with) - I've come back to wanting another Triumph. Until the Citroen is sold and a couple of old motorcycles too, I'm in no position to buy anything - but I reckon without money burning a hole in my pocket - that's a good time to look around and to talk to owners, perhaps get a test ride or two to see if a TR is still a realistic proposal for my stature and early sixties age. Anyway that's enough from me right now as I understand there's a local club meet at Sorrel Horse, Norwich Road, Barnham in 40 minutes, so I'd better get my skates on. Bfg.