Trouble with my horn, I think it's an age thing

Connect both and they don't work. Trace the circuit and it all seems OK - horn push and "pencil" work, connections are OK. Unplug one connection on a horn and the other works fine, unplug two connection and nothing work. Swap the horns around, same thing. Power up the horns independently with some wire from the battery and they work OK. WTF is going on?

Replaced my steering coupling with a Canley Classics "uprated" one - in fact it's a 2000 UJ type version. The old one was sloppy, the new one is tight and big! New one on the left below. The old one was a recent replacement not a Stanpart one - they don't last!

The new one took some fitting, it's much longer than the original and generally beefier - I fitted it and the bolts I used obviously fouled. I took it off and cut the bolts down, it fitted BUT caught on the suspension turret - I cut the bolt down a little more, took a smidgen of the face of the nut and smidgen off the faces of the coupling - it fitted great! What a bitch of a job!

The coupling is often sold as an uprated Herald item, it is in fact a standard Triumph 2000/2500 non-PAS coupling - part number 145377 and available from Canley's for £22.50 or Rarebits for £25 - they appear slightly different - the Canley one is cast, the Rarebits pressed but they do the same job. The added bonus of using this type of coupling is that you don't need a separate earth strap so your horns should work without one.

My horns still didn't work - I left them.

Had a look at my new headlights and fitted them all up with the new blue 100 watt main and 90 watt dip "cobalt blue" lamps :-) Lovely! The left hand inner was a pig to fit, the seating ring where the reflector locates with it's three lugs was wrong - it just would not seat. The three slots were not the same as the other slots in the other headlamp bowls - bizarre. I pulled a couple of spares from my collection and they were OK, the reflectors fitted fine. I cut a new slot and made the reflector fit! Job done and they look good too - will have to take it out for a night driving test now.

After three "trial" fittings of the steering coupling I was a bit fed up but at least that job's done. I never did get round to the wheel bearings - next weekend!

My co-driver Joe turned up for a chat and to see the car, he's definitely up for the run and looking forward to it. I just need to sort out the insurance for him, it's all agreed in principle with Footman James so I'll ping them an email and get it done tomorrow.

Unfortunately neither of us can make the driver's briefings so I'll have to pink Ellis an email and get some T shirts ordered and a copy of the route so I can plot it on my holidays :-)

Polls and RSS Feeds - oh and some tinkering

Well Blogger is getting easier and easier to use, I've now added a poll function and an RSS feed - not sure why or what for, perhaps just because I can :-)

Today has been a good day, I've re plumbed the PI so that the low pressure spill from the metering unit returns to the low pressure fuel filter union and the higher pressure spill from the PRV is totally isolated from that circuit and returns direct to the tank. I was concerned that having this high pressure spill joined to the low pressure in a "T" and then routed into the tank could allow the metering unit to become pressurised again. A pressurised metering unit will at best run rich and at worst, as we found out, run full rich and cause unnecessary but spectacular flame splitting form the exhaust!

Still looks like a rats nest in there! Once I'm happy with the thing I'll tidy it up!

Running the car with the various spills disconnected showed me that although the pressure is not great there is significant fuel coming from the PRV, indicating a healthy pump. There's very little coming form the metering unit indicating a healthy metering unit - it's new so it should be!

I also replaced the passenger side weather strip on the door, what a shitty job! I may not do the drivers side one! I even have the right tool for the job but still it ain't easy!

I managed to trial fit my new K&Ns - hmmm, some fabricating needed here. They fit BUT the middle one is tight (acceptable) and the forward one fouls the throttle linkages (unacceptable!). There's shed loads of room there so I think I am going to see if I can find some thin wall Ali tubing with a 48mm outside diameter and fabricate some ram pipes to connect the filters to the throttle bodies but in a stand off way so they don't foul.


If I can get the right tubing it'll work and may well help - I won't be able to get bell mouths in there but the filters housings are rubber so maybe I could squeeze some in?





Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can fit up the new headlights with their fancy blue bulbs :-) I also need to go for a long test drive and see whether my plumbing has improved things! There's also the small matter of renewing the front wheel bearings and the steering coupling and and and....

Where have all the Mk1 Rally cars gone? Oooo - there' s one!

I've been running up and down to Newcastle recently, the location is closing and I'm the guy doing the work and people movements out. Something of a bitter sweet job as the people are great, have done everything I've asked of them yet they are still out. The good thing is that most of them are into new jobs and we have a big party next week :-)

Anyway, Mk1 rally cars - I love 'em, they are so superficially similar to production cars yet so different when you start to look. I've got loads of period photos and will always look for more but there's nothing quite like the real thing. So when I was passing Canley's yesterday on the way home from Newcastle I was well pleased to see that Bill Bradleys' Mk1 FHP993C was in the workshop for a bit of a fettle. Dave did a lot of work on the car when Bill originally acquired it and this has stood the test of time well. It's got a bit of patina about it and isn't concourse perfect (no rally car should be perfect!) but it is a thing of beauty and so very correct in the finest detail.
I crawled all over it and took loads of pictures, they're all here, crap photos and all.

Picasa Web Albums - Jason - FHP993C - At ...

I just love the way it's all trimmed, carpets and headlining etc. There are no back seats as you would normally recognise just a flat base and back trimmed to look like seats - I guess you could sit on it but it would be most uncomfortable! In use it would have had two spare wheels strapped behind the front seats.

This is a PI equipped full works rally car, with all the knobs and whistles of the era - aircraft instruments and weird switches in strange places - I love it!

I hope you can see the special altitude compensating metering unit in the engine bay shots - a real rarity! I'd love to find one :-)

Anyway, take a look at the album, they are all the photos I took.







UPDATE



Just found this old advert from 1984.

Hope you can read the next one.

Old News - La Carerra Caledonia video

I got sent the link for this ages ago and never watched it, I find many of these DIY videos a bit boring to be honest. However, this one's actually quite good and show La Carerra in a really good light. A real diverse bunch of cars and drivers enjoying things despite the weather!



This is an event I will do again, really enjoyed it despite the car troubles or is it because of the resolution of the car troubles?

Little jobs done, loads left to do!

Didn't get much time atthe Vitesse tonight but felt I had to have a go

• Fitted the new boot seal - 2 mins job, looks nice, the old one was falling apart.
• Fitted a new Lucas 18 ACR alternator - 43 amp jobby
• Fitted a cleaned (sand blasted) set of sooty plugs and opened up the gaps a little, I want to see what happens to them, will they foul like the others?

Still to do

• Change the oil and fuel filters
• Clean the inside, I can't remember the last time I vacuumed it out!
• Fir my new K&N filters - I need to sort out the rocker breather if I do this.
• Need to have a check over for UJ wear and have a look at the driveshafts, 10CR is a demanding drive.
• Fit new front wheel bearings
• Fit new weather seals on the doors
• The horn seems rather feable, must have a look at that
• Get some Anti-Freeze, I'd prefer some water wetter
• Change the headlights - just to try these fancy blue bulbs!
• Fit new steering coupling
• Check and adjust the wiring for the power outlets, it was misbehaving on La Carerra
• Had an idea on the rich running, I want to re-plumb the spills from the prv and metering unit - at the moment I think the prv spill is pressuring the mu spill as they are both going in to the same return pipe.

Alternative filtration

Whilst idly wondering about how best to provide the PI with clean air I saw these K&N filters and thought they might be a good idea. Having friends in the States and parents who go over there regularly meant that buying in the US and getting the stuff back here is seldom a problem and it's really a lot cheaper. Especially as K&Ns are really expensive here. Anyway, these turned up today - I've just laid them on the intake log to see how they fit - they are smaller than I anticipated but look like a perfect fit. They are black rubberised and not super shiny chrome which to be honest I prefer. The only down side is that they don't come apart otherwise I would add some trumpets inside - I may yet try that but as the bell end of a trumpet is by definition bigger than the end that fits the throttle body, I won't be able to get them in! Never mind, I'll figure something out.

I think I'd like to sort out some seriously big cold air trunking to them, maybe even build an air box or just a big head shield?

Oh and yes I did get it all back together and went out in it Tuesday, in the rain :-)

Beaten!

Well that was a bloody epic, had to dismantle the starter solenoid and remake it all, then came the fun of reassembly from memory, that's not too good. even after only 30 mins - duh! Thanks to Steve for the TR6 manual which gave me the diagrams and helped me understand how the damn thing works too - always a bonus!

Got it sorted in the end and thought I'd take a look at the clutch hydraulics - wadda mistaka to maka!! I ended up remaking the line and re-siting it which also involved pulling the slave out to get the armoured hose to line up - really fiddle work. I never got round to checking or changing the plugs or putting the tunnel and interior back in. That's not to mention renewing the alternator and the seals I bought - oh and forget the new headlamps!

I did well yesterday to spend my Wedding anniversay in the garage but it didn't last as we were out to dinner with neighbours and didn't get in until early this morning. I got up to attack the car again but it's obvious I won't complete it in time for the 10:30 meeting as I also have to go through some school work with my daughter - I did promise :-)

So it's Sixfire to the rescue again, I'll take the wife's motor out for a blast. Shame really but there's no point in risking the Vitesse without any testing - been there before!

Note to self, don't leave things until the last minute - next week I will get it finished and do those nice jobs of fitting new bits.

Right, now then Hitler and his part in Crystal Night............