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John Bonnett

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John Bonnett last won the day on October 8 2017

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About John Bonnett

  • Birthday October 22

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Whiddon Down Devon
  • Cars Owned
    I've been involved in and have thoroughly enjoyed motorsport all my motoring life. I suppose the pinnacle was being employed by Jonathan Palmer as an instructor at Bedford Autodrome and being paid for something I would have happily done for nothing.

    I have built two cars from scratch; a Seven type racer and a rear engined trials car.

    I took up metal shaping very late in life and I find it really satisfying to create a beautiful double curvature panel from a flat piece of sheet. My current project is the GT4 Lightweight which is now on the road and providing a lot of enjoyment. Over the Winter, it will be painted. This has been a difficult decision; whether to paint or leave in aluminium but the decision has been made and I am happy that for me it is the right one.

    And so it is. Now it's finished, I'm thrilled to bits with the paint job and to my mind the colour suits the car down to the ground and I feel the Minilites go better with the colour than the wire wheels.

    The car has been finished since April and I'm already suffering withdrawal symptoms from the lack of a project to exercise the mind and body. I do have something in mind which is quite ambitious but in order to fund it the Triumph will have to be sold. I'm planning of using the car and enjoying it this Summer and advertising it in the Autumn.

    My other interest is speaking French which I do at every opportunity. My wife and I really enjoy our holidays in France and being able to speak the language and communicate adds another dimension to the experience.

    I loath the craze of texting, don't do Facebook and I certainly would never dream of Tweeting. A Luddite, me??

    As of now, July 2016, I've lowered my sights for the next project so that I will not have to sell the Triumph. During our week in France the little car and I bonded to such an extent that at the moment I cannot contemplate selling. The sheer performance and driving experience has far exceeded my wildest dreams and best of all every bit of it is Triumph.

    Fast forward one year; July 2017, and the love affair continues. More insulation is planned to make the car less tiring on long journeys but performance and handling wise it has delivered straight out of the box and is a sheer joy to drive.

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  1. John Bonnett

    Miscellaneous

    Images added to a gallery album owned by John Bonnett in Members Albums Category

  2. John Bonnett
    No I haven't Clive. Stephen very kindly sent me the photos when I was considering putting a two and a half in the Lightweight. I think he posted under another name. I'll have a hunt.
  3. John Bonnett
    Not a MK3 Spitfire but hopefully these photos will show what needs to be done. (credit Stephen Attenborough) John
  4. John Bonnett
    If you are determined to insure the Herald, the general opinion is to avoid all Firms who specialise in insuring classics. Go to mainstream companies who will give you the best deal. Insuring young drivers is completely beyond my comprehension. Our 17 year old grandson has just insured an 06 plated 140bhp Audi A4 S-Line Estate for less than he was offered on a 2000 1.4 Astra. How does that work?
  5. John Bonnett
    One thing I'm sure of, is that the Government will bear in mind the multi billion pound classic vehicle industry that brings revenue into their coffers and I doubt there'll want to risk jeopardising any of that income by effectively killing off large parts of it by introducing more legislation. In addition, there's a huge number of classic car owners and I question whether they have resources to mail everyone with a questionnaire and send outsourced inspectors to look at each vehicle that has been in any way modified from standard. The 8 point rule has been in force since the '90s and when the dust has settled I have a feeling that not much will have changed and that that rule will still be the yardstick by which they judge what goes where. But let's wait and see.
  6. John Bonnett
    I think I have a spring lifter somewhere and also a hub puller. These won't be needed now so if I can find them both are for sale.
  7. John Bonnett
    Well, my suggestion Neil is next time you come down our way we take your car into Berrybrook Morgan in Exeter and they do the job while you wait. I found them very obliging when they balanced up my my wire wheels (before I changed to alloys)
  8. John Bonnett
    Neil, have you thought of getting your local Morgan dealer to balance them up for you? They do wire wheels all the time on their cars and should have no problem with yours. regards John.
  9. John Bonnett
    My recommendation would be to go direct to Owen Springs in Rotherham. They make them and you cannot do better than a Sheffield spring. In addition to the standard springs they will at no extra charge uprate to your specification. Nice people to deal with too.
  10. John Bonnett
    Same as Dave, I've got a 1500 engine free to anyone who can collect it. A few GT6 bits as well.
  11. John Bonnett
    Nice to hear from you Aaron, The GOC forum is closed to members but I am also writing up the G15 rebuild on Club Torque, the Club Triumph forum. It's in the Specials section. Anyone can read it. Seems odd to be Triumphless after quite a number of years but one thing is certain that I definitely will stay in touch with all the good friends I've made here. Best regards John
  12. John Bonnett
    It certainly was a bit of a wrench Gully but I desperately need another major project. I don't have the resources to sustain two classics so the Lightweight had to make way for the next one. The G15 is an interesting exercise but being fibreglass it hasn't satisfied the need in me to make a body. It's early days yet and I haven't decided what the next move is going to be. In the meantime I can start assembling the suspension onto the G15 chassis for the final time which will be nice knowing I'm on the last lap.
  13. John Bonnett
    I was delighted to hear from Steve (the new owner) that he and Tim had an enjoyable and uneventful drive home at a steady 70mph. The sound deadening exercise has clearly been a great success otherwise he would have he would have been totally deaf after sustaining that speed for over an hour. Great news and I'm so pleased the car is in such good hands.
  14. John Bonnett
    I'm really looking forward to seeing you both tomorrow and I'm pleased to see that the forecast is for a very pleasant day. The car will be ready for you together with quite a few bits and pieces to go with it. I'm also looking forward to seeing your workshop and TRs when we come down to Heligan in the very near future. Safe journey. See you tomorrow. John
  15. John Bonnett
    That brought tears to my eyes Adrian. Thank you so much and thank you too to everyone else for your interest and encouragement that I received during the highs and lows of the journey. Along the way, I have made some very good friends and been knocked over by the huge amount of help and advice so freely given by people far more knowledgeable than I.. There is a heading for non-Triumph cars on the forum so I'll write the next one up there. The G15 that I'm currently building is a pretty car and with BMW power should perform well. However, because there has been no metal shaping involved I've not found the project particularly satisfying and I intend to move it on as soon as it's finished. Very early stages yet but I'm thinking as my next project, building an aluminium bodied Sebring Sprite fixed head coupe. I'll pop a couple more photos on when the car leaves on Friday and we can shed a tear together
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