John Bonnett
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Posts posted by John Bonnett
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You have really found some pretty exclusive parking Roger and in good company to boot. You're obviously having a whale of time with Mrs Roger and not to mention the signorinas that seem to be blighting you today. That and the blue skies and sun; must be very difficult
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I've just looked at the map Roger. You really have covered an impressive distance in a relatively short time. And what weather. Let's hope it holds for CLM.
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Nice 1500 spitfire what year is that one?
My guess it's '81
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Thank you for the daily fix Roger. What an amazing place built in a basin. And people live there. Do you speak Italian? If you do I'm sure it must be fascinating talking to the locals and finding out how life really is there. It looks as if time has passed it by. Another wonderful batch of pictures.
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I'm sure I'm not the only one thoroughly enjoying your holiday Roger but I guess everyone else has been rendered speechless. I love the garage parking and I'm sure the Spitty will be quite disgruntled when you finally move on unless you have any more surprises up your sleeve to better that one..
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My tailgate has at least one drain hole in the bottom. Perhaps that isn't standard and has been fitted by a PO. I'm sorry I got the wrong end of the stick.
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It is a very good idea to fit drain tubes in each corner of the tailgate aperture and that's what I've done as has I believe Alan C. In my case I machined up a couple of fittings and welded them into the corners. These terminate in 7mm stubs onto which I've connected some plastic tube which exits through the boot floor. Actually there is a worse water trap on MK3 GT6s and MK4 Spitfires in the corners of the windscreen frame. Water sits there undetected slowly eating away at the metal. Fortunately having the earlier screen I don't have that problem. Here's a picture of the drain in the tailgate aperture. I hope this helps.
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Stunning; absolutely stunning. No other words to describe it. What a fantastic holiday Roger and I guess you are barely half way through. Please do keep the photos and reports coming. I'm really enjoying them.
rgds
John
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I've really had enough now and I'm not going to read any more of this Roger. It's been eleven degrees and miserable here today and there's you and Mrs Roger living the life of Lotus Eaters in a land of Ambrosia (and I don't mean the creamed rice made here in Lifton) . Am I envious- you bet your life I am! You've obviously put a great deal of thought and planning into this holiday and it really has and is paying off. Actually I can't wait for the next instalment but you'll have to go some to beat these pictures.
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Fantastic Roger. Those pictures absolutely capture and convey the peace and tranquillity; what could be better? And all for £47.00!
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Hello All
Day 5 so must be in Sonnino just past Rome and 1450 miles covered and no bits fallen off car on these poor roads in places!
Bit of a rough room and car park but what can you expect for £47 for 2 with breakfast?
Off to Pompei tomorrow only about 100 miles (so a stroll in the park)
Roger
Methinks you've been spoiled Roger. The room looks very nice and not only that you've got a balcony and views to die for. And it has to be said that your wife looks to be in excellent health particularly after her labours of yesterday in trying to stand the tower up straight.
So all very good with you I would gather. Well done all of you. What a team!
rgds
John
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Stunning pictures Roger and another epic journey for you. Nobody could ever accuse you of not using and enjoying your Triumph. So glad all is going well. Did you ask to go down on the deck with the commercials? I sometimes do and it is better because you have more room and get off the boat first.
Bonne continuation!
rgds
John
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but the short ones defy logic relying on grip on a film of paint
My thoughts entirely Pete and I can see absolutely no reason not to use the standard mounts. The thought of the rack moving rather than the wheels is too awful to contemplate.
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Dave it is almost certainly a bad earth and nothing to do with a dirty reflector or the lamp.
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James I would never use these clamps. I know many do but they only rely on friction and as you've found out they can let you down with terrifying results. Take my advice and throw them away and fit standard clamps with Polybushes. The rack cannot move sideways with the standard clamps fitted.
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My GT6 ticked over much better after I'd sealed off the carbs and ran the rocker cover breather through an open ended pipe.
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Hi John, yes very nearly there now. Will order the coil tomorrow am. All fluids in tomorrow, meeting auto elec to define all the many fuses wednesday, a few more minor bits then circuits debug by the weekend. If nothing blows up - have bought a fire extinguisher - then I'll try to start her. Interior all done and pleased with the seats and dash. Wiring the dashes and switchgear connections went together really quickly thankfully. Will email you a few pics once I've taken some better ones. So hopefully she'll be on the road in 2-3 weeks. And to think I started the resto March 2007!
Hope your having fun with yours, have you decided on a new project or are you having a break from building cars?
Roy good to hear from and so glad you got and are pleased with the seats etc. After the seven hundred miles or so we covered in France the seats in my car are becoming more and more comfortable as the leather stretches and the foams take on more shape. Initially I was sitting too high and there was insufficient back support which gave me neck ache mainly through sitting too high. Most unpleasant.
So, the big question. Are you coming to the Silverstone Classic? It would be great if you are.
During the trip to France I did actually bond.with the car and have now decided that I'd be a bit sad if it were sold. There has to be another project but if I choose one that is less expensive than an Elan on which I had set my sights I should be able to keep the Triumph. I have located something; not a Triumph but it does have Triumph front suspension and steering rack. It has a fibreglass body which I could use as a buck on which to form one in aluminium.
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Getting close now Roy. All very exciting. I'm running a 12V Lucas Sports coil whatever that might be but it seems to be okay. I guess your wiring is now finished. I'd love to see some pics.
Do you have any idea when the car will be on the road because I'd really like to meet up.
rgds
John
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We are of course home now and have an opportunity to look back and reflect on the holiday. Because there were more than just Sue and me we had planned everything very carefully beforehand and that as it turned out was the key to making everything so relaxed and enjoyable. Each of us had a road book in which were given, as well as the routes, fuel and coffee stops and places to meet if we became separated. Our research was made so much easier by Google Streetview which allowed car parking and cafés to be identified, saved with a screen shot and included as pages in the road book.
We met some really nice people on our travels and some particularly are quite memorable. The two ladies in Honfleur with their little dogs, the waitress in the café at Pegasus Bridge and the Café owner at Saint James who joined us for a photo. All so nice and friendly adding the so important human touch. The cars attracted a lot of attention wherever we went and initiated many conversations. The lovely French couple in the restaurant Les Alizés. He had owned a TR5 and was really interested in our cars. He to was having lunch in the restaurant and we had a message from the waiter that he would like to buy us all coffees at the end of our lunch. How kind was that? The Border Force Ofiicer at Plymouth caused quite a tail back when after checking Jerry & Judith's passports leaned out of his cabin and said how much he had always wanted a GT6 and proceeded to have quite a long conversation with them. All priceless moments which make wonderful memories. Here are a few photos which will may convey a little of the bonheur of the holiday.
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Hello John.
Just to let you know the July issue of Classics Monthly (having just popped through my letterbox) has a six page article on your GT4.
Not read it yet, but looks in-depth and an excellent read.
Well done.
Regards.
Richard.
Thank you for the heads up Richard. I picked up a copy of Classics Monthly yesterday and I'm very pleased with the article. It's well written and apart from one or two errors it's spot on.
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It's going to be another fantastic trip for you Roger. Please keep us posted with words and photos.
rgds
John
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Hi Aidan,
You will need to take off the door card which means first removing the window winder handle. This is done by pushing out the pin. The inner handle escutcheon plate also needs to come off. Then the door car can be removed. Now, it may be that the glass is tight in the guides because they are not adjusted correctly. Try slackening off the rear guide by loosening the retaining screws on the face of the door. There is also more adjustment on the right angle bracket at the bottom of the guide. Slacken this off to and you should then be able to move the guide in and out and up and down. The winder mechanism itself but I think the glass guides are the more likely cause.
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Yesterday we visited the Parc Floral near Fougeres which we all enjoyed even more than Monet's Garden. Set in fifty acres it is on a much larger scale and the sheer variety of the planting is stunning. But more than that it was the peace and tranquillity that was so impressive. It must be one of France's best kept secrets. We were almost the only people there.
http://www.parcs-et-jardins.net/index.html
Last night we stayed at Treguier in company with half a dozen Morgans en route to Le Mans.
So what of the cars. How have they behaved? So far, we've covered about six hundred miles since leaving home and none have developed any serious problems. Roger has discovered that the sun roof on the Gilbern leaks and over the week it has shipped an impressive amount of water. Fortunately rust will not be a problem. Jerry's GT6 is still work in progress and there are still a few things to iron out; principally the overdrive which cuts in and out randomly. I'm pretty certain this is being caused by the gear lever loom shorting out. Suspension bushes and engine mounts need replacing which should eliminate all the clonks and bonks. My own car has done really well and its performance is better than I could ever imagined. It is not a restful car to drive because of the noise but the engine is a sheer delight and the car is so quick through corners; everything I wanted.
So it's back to Roscoff this morning and home on the afternoon ferry
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What a good trip this has turned out to be with another day of superb driving and sightseeing at Mont Saint Michel. We seemed to drive for miles on end on straight roads without any traffic and plenty of opportunities to stop off for a coffee whenever the need arose. Tomorrow we leave Normandy and slip over the Border into Brittany to visit the Parc Floral.
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We're off on a jolly
in Out and About in my car
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I'm very pleased to report that stage one of the bonnet repair has taken place. The dent has been knocked out and miraculously the shut lines restored. Just needs a skim of filler and paint now.