Jason's Blog

I must be getting good at this, just took the Sixfire for an MOT, passed no problem. I think the tester likes the car, we always have a good chat about the engineering of it and what's different to standard etc. The testing station are really good, no nonsense and they have respect for the cars. If you're in Berkshire I recommend them - the Sun Garage, which is on the main A4 Bath Rd at Woolhampton Tel: 0118 971 3237 - tell them I sent you :-) The cars going really well too, handling is much improved, I just need to find the new limits now! Jobs that I can see having been crawling all over the thing are that there appears to be a coolant leak somewhere, very slight - I suspect the radiator which is annoying as it's only a year old, will have to have a word about warranty. I saw Ben Hutchinson today, "Hutch" off the CT messageboard - he was after those 5.5J Spit wheels I had, good to see them go to be used. I also took the hardtop off the Vitesse, just trying to fi...

I have a growing collection of old car magazines, I get them for the World Cup articles but I'm usually too tight to pay eBay prices plus postage unless they are very cheap! Anyway, I was making a note of what I've got and scanning the articles to create a separate reference source - I know, I am anorak - but then if you've read this far, so are you! So I'm scanning a rather delicate 35 year old magazine page (it's already fallen out) and I'm flicking through what's left of the mag only to find this article on the Traco Rover V8 - that could just have been the engine that went into car No 1 from the World Cup Rally. Legend has it that there were spare engines, a shamed rally car and a lot of chaps with the know how and time on their hands to create a monster - the car was known for being a monster in it's later short life on the road and drag strip.

I've just relaised that by using my fingers to just the gap I have opened the subject up to smut and ridicule, especially when describing the car as "she" - so rather than try and reword, help yourself and crack a smutty joke :-)

  This is before I lowered the rear. The gap is three fingers plus a bit of slack.    It's now down to just 2 fingers and that's quite tight. 

Ever since we got the Sixfire I've been unhappy with the handling and the "attitiude" of the car - it sits far too high at the back and is too soft at the front. As it's Claudia's daily driver I haven't been that fussed about it and she has never really ben intereste din handling. However over the winter she experienced it's evil handling in the wet and came home telling me to get it sorted out! So I got myself a Canley Classics lowring block and thought I'd drop the rear 3/4 of an inch. Now what to do about the front? I had some 330 Lbs springs from the abandoned Vitesse project so I though I could use those but as it happens I acquired another set of springs with some old Konis. On close inspection they looked OK. They are a bit scabby and I thought I could paint them but then I thought, what the hell let's just clean them up and fit them. I also wanted to replace a slightly dubious track rod end so I picked up a pair a week ago when passing Canl...

Greeks In Oz Just a quick plug for the dearly deported Graham Reeks who's down in Oz and Blogging his Triumph trials and tribulations. Australia is a place I'd really like to visit, looks dry and sunny with quite a few Triumphs around - maybe one day!

I've had a few emails asking what's happening with the TSSC message board thing and why haven't I responded to the statement. Well here's what has happened - David Aspinall reinstated my message board access and I am now back on and active. David, as General Secretary of the TSSC has issued a statement on the board, I'm not yet happy with it and so I drafted a response and slept on it. I have now sent that email privately to David and the Club, I have asked for some things to be done and I will wait for a response. I won't say anything more so that David has a chance to consider the contents and my requests. If TSSC members want to join in the debate, please do so on the TSSC board, if you're not a member then I think you can get a "guest pass" or post a comment here - comments here can be posted anonymously. When there are developments I'll report them here or on the TSSC board as appropriate.

I love the web, it's instant publishing. I love email, it's written communication in an instant. Of course sometimes you can overtake yourself and publish things before your email has been read or events can over take you - your email is out of date before it's read! A written note is a snapshot in time - the situation as it stood at the time you pushed the button, out of date in an instant. Amongst the flurry of emails was one from Jon Binnington, aka Binman of Supersix fame, a green homebuilt Gitfire. Now Jon's email was sat there waiting for me this morning and as I was eating my cornflakes I dashed off a reply - at that time I couldn't get onto the messageboard so I asked Jon if he could post for me when he had a minute. About an hour or so later and before Jon posted, I got a call from David Aspinal, we chatted for over an hour, again a good natured discussion. I don't think we're ever going to agree on everything but we can hold a civil debate. He'...

I'm not going to follow suit with a couple of the guys who've emailled me and call it the "Jason Incident" - makes me sound like a deviant. Anyway, message board access not yet sorted, David Aspinal sent me an email to apologise for not yet issuing his statement, he says it'll happen today. Not sure whether David wants to do that first before letting me back or whether, as I suspect, it's just circumstances with him being away from a computer or on the road - from what he say he's certainly all over the place - bit like me I guess, I was in Norwich yesterday. Anyway, thanks to the guys reading this Blog some of what I'm saying is getting onto the board and being read by the members. I'm pleased that this episode is being talked about and has raised interest. I've got over 90 emails about it and that doesn't include the discussions raised on other boards. I do hope we can learn some lessons and have some more open debates without fear of bei...

I thought my access was "sorted" today but it needs some manual intervention at HQ to restore everything and that will have to wait for the staff to come in tomorrow. I do hope my profile, photos and info remains intact. I've had another chat with David tonight, he called to say that he will be putting up a statement on the message board and I will be restored. He did say he'd run it by me first, I'm working at home tomorrow so I should be able to give it some attention. I've said that taking down posts without explanation and without addressing the issues raised doesn't answer anything and leads to the kind of anger and frustration that I experienced. The questions that have been raised remain mainly unanswered so I hope David's statement addresses them - saying "this is not the place to raise it" doesn't really work and as I consider the TSSC board IS the place to raise issues I will continue to do so. If people aren't allowed to ai...

Well that was good, an hour on the phone with the guy who took my posts down, David Aspinal the General Secretary of the TSSC. Seems the issue was not solely down to what I had said but also down to what Tim Scrivens, ex-Council of Membership had said in his posts, I think David will take that up with Tim. David feels that a discussion about trade advertising should not be had on the message board, he feels it's "not about Triumphs" - I disagree. I think it's very much about Triumphs and the club that supports them - very much about what the message board is for. We agreed to differ on that. David said that the minutes were erroneously typed and that it was never the CoMs intention to ban traders from advertising on the web if they were not advertising in the courier. The intention was to favour traders who advertise in the Courier with first call on web advertising space, this is to encourage web advertising and thus generate increased revenue for the club. In my opi...

I can receive posts on the TSSC board but not make. I've just read this - now I am interested in my "previous history" and the implications of such a statement. I can recall one message board incident where a trader sent what I felt was a threatening letter to my home address when I dared to pass comment on his customer service when participating in a thread. So please DO discuss my previous history and in great detail, in fact spare nothing, I insist. I will do likewise. Here's what I went onto the board, a board I still can't access Julie Sewell - http://www.tssc.org.uk/profile.asp?profile=68887 Has added a post to the clubchat MessageBoard - In reply to previous post: I would like to make the following points: Please be aware that the decision on advertising was I am sure a very careful one at board level, both for the club, Traders and members alike. Personally, I can see why this decision has been made. It is only a very small minority of members who use the ...

I've just had to dash up to Malvern to see my Grandmother who's been taken into hospital, come home and my wife's had to dash off to see her Grandmother who's also been rushed in to the local hospital! So I'm really in the mood to follow up on this, posted in the commenst on my Blog Posted By : Trudi Prettyjohns, 05-Apr-2006, 1:21pm The reason for the removal of the thread titled "Web and printed advertising" was due to inaccurate statements and in part, a breach of confidentiality. Some valid questions were asked but unfortunately they became caught up in the deletion. Questions and issues of this nature should be directed to Council Officials so that factual answers can be given and not aired on the messageboarad. The messageboard is not the medium to use when seeking information of this nature. Contact details: David Aspinall, General Secretary 01986 895633 (between 7pm - 9pm), TSSC HQ 01858 434424, Julie Sewell, Public Relations Officer 01986 894805 (b...

Thanks for the messages of support on this from members and ex-members of the TSSC. If you don't like the sound of what happened to me, post a message on the TSSC board and ask HQ what's going on. Of course I cannot do so now as I have been kicked off without explanation. I came home from my TSSC Area Meeting, that I run for the club that's just kicked me off, to see Craig Gingell online. Now as Craig built the site I wondered if he'd been instructed to pull the discussion threads off the board. He's been at the hospital all day with his wife and premature born son, Callum (who's doing really well). He was unaware of what had happened and couldn't tell me any details - he's in a tricky position and I don't want to compromise him by pressing for info. Suffice to say he told me no more than I already know and I didn't ask. So, who is making decisions and what are they trying to supress?

Yet more revelations from the TSSC messageboard, I've now had my access revoked and cannot get on! This is amazing, no communication direct from the Club, no reasons, no explanation. I've been a member for 20 years and this is how I get treated, I wish I knew what provoked such a response - I've said nothing defamatory, abusive or in any way contrary to the rules of the messageboard or the club. It really looks like it's time to leave the TSSC along with the many other long term members walking away. I thought the club was about the preservation of our cars - obviously I am mistaken but I would like an explanation. Right, email written to the TSSC to ask for an explanation and now I'm off to get the hardtop off the Vitesse and go out to ..... the TSSC Area Meeting! Yup, I'm the Area organiser so I'd better ask my fellow TSSC members to post on the board for me :-)

It's weird, I started a thread on the TSSC messageboard because they sent me a copy of the minutes of the Council of Membership (CoM) meeting. Now whether I should have had them or not I do not know but there was something in there that made me thing "What's that about?" The CoM have decided that traders who don't advertise in the Courier, the TSSC magazone, should be banned from advertising on the TSSC website. I thought that was a bit of a silly thing to do and so I started a discussion thread about it. All very adult and amicable. A few people joined in and all was well with the world. Until the thread disappeared. So I reconstructed it and put it back up, it was taken down again. So I put it back :-) No one has explained why it gets taken down and I am now wondering what in it has provoked someone at TSSC HQ to watch for my posts and take them down - I think I'll publish it all here now I said - I've just read the Notes of the Council of membership mee...

Jason's Blog: Curious yet exciting I thought my post might throw up some comments and it did, seems 305 was crushed by dropping a metal skip on it at Abingdon or so a third party told another third party :-) Until I see proof I'm still dubious and I know the people who tell me it was crushed believe it and are trustworthy but I want fact, unequivocally fact. I know I whilst I don't get it the dream is alive :-) Apparently there were quite a few spare panels made, not surprising as they had a team to support over a 15000 mile rally and you'd expect a few accidents and some damage to a rally car. I'm told the late John Mark acquired a set, they subsequently made it onto a road car. Of course these panels could be a similar set, acquired off a car as spares and subsequently fitted to a competition car. Oh the intrigue!

I've been away on business in Manchester and I'm on my way back home. I usually call in and see Dave at Canley Classics, either collecting or delivering some piece of Triumph oily metal but always for a chat and to put the world to rights. So, picture the scene, I pull up at Dave's to see Karl and Dave putting a Triumph 2000 bonnet into the back of Dave's Herald Estate, nothing weird in that. However, the way they are handling this bonnet shows that it's not a standard item, it's far too light. It's matt black on the outside and white on the inside - the skin is riveted on - it's an aluminium Works bonnet! And that's not all, there's a smooth boot lid in the workshop and a door, I think. I say "I think" because there are so many ex-works parts in Dave's place it's like a reincarnation of Abingdon in late '69 early '70! These parts are rarer than a rare thing elected Rare Thing of the show at the International Rare Things...

Canley Classics - Triumph Desktop Calendar This is great, Craig Gingell and Canley Classics have been putting these up for a while, I have one on my PC and now it's a World Cup Rally themed wallpaper from some of the photos I've acquired over the years. Thanks Craig and Dave.

This is great, Craig Gingell and Canley Classics have been putting these up for a while, I have one on my PC and now it's a world Cup themed wallpaper from some of the photos I've acquired over the years. Thanks Craig and Dave.