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"Beans"
posts: 5682
Netherlands
joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006

FHC resto nr. 97; Front bumper
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Went in search of a FHC front bumper yesterday. Those who follow this blog might be slightly puzzled here! And that’s because I had prepared both a front and a rear bumper for the car a few years ago. But I didn’t pay enough attention here and put too much trust in the experts on the social media 😜 So when I found out that my only spare FHC front bumper needed a fair amount of welding, I hoped that using a DHC bumper bar on the ’76 FHC indeed was an easy solution. Well, I have to admit it can be done but you either have to drill new holes in the bumper mounting plates of the car’s body, or you have to cut open the steel armature to change the mounting plate inside the bumper bar. The difference between the two mounting points should be clear from these two pictures:

DHC bumper

FHC bumper
As I didn’t fancy drilling holes in the body, nor cutting up the nicely coated bumper bar to change the mounting plates, I went for an easier option. I visited a friend yesterday, who also has a reasonable stock of TR7 spares. And he did have a few FHC bumper bars to choose from. Turned out one of these also was a DHC bar, despite coming from a FHC. But inspecting that car’s shell, showed they indeed had drilled extra holes to fit the bumper to the car. Luckily the other bumper was a proper FHC bumper. And after removing the side lamps and bumper covers it turned out to be in pretty good condition. No welding needed, just light blasting and coating!




So this will be dropped off for shot blasting hopefully soon. And the DHC bumper I prepared? Well that will be put in storage for when I want (or have) to fit a euro style bumper to my DHC.
And I also found a more or less intact exhaust to gearbox bracket. Though this one also needs a bit of reshaping and some remedial welding to strengthen it, before it can be coated.


 posted Sunday 5:01pm
"vitessesteve"
posts: 2359
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Isle of Wight group
joined on Mon 16th Oct 2006

Triumph Vitesse / GT6 rear rotoflex set up shims
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I was very pleased to track down a supply of shims to rebuild the rear hubs on my Triumph Vitesse.

Do you remember Jigsaw Racing?  Well their workshop may have closed down but you can still buy stuff via their eBay store.

Now I just need to get my workshop built so my Vitesse can receive some long delayed attention.
A blog post from vitessesteve
 posted Friday 9:03am
"vitessesteve"
posts: 2359
Website Administrator
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Isle of Wight group
joined on Mon 16th Oct 2006

Triumph Herald 1200 Twin Carb conversion
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I have recently been sent a scanned copy of  - Triumph Herald 1200 Twin Carb conversion - part 511037 fitting instructions.  Here is a paragraph from the booklet.  The booklet was originally published by Standard Triumph and was scanned by Paul Cattrell.

TWIN CARBURETTOR CONVERSION KIT
Part No. 511037
Introduction
A twin carburettor conversion kit contains all necessary components
for converting a Herald "1200" engine of, 8,0:1 compression ratio, from
the single to the twin carburettor condition.
To achieve maximum performance conducive with safe operation of the
engine, when twin carburettors are fitted, existing main bearings, valves,
valve springs, ignition distributor and camshaft must be changed.
Existing cylinder heads must be machined to raise the compression
ratio to 8,5:1. Polishing the ports is unnecessary, but if undertaken care
must be exercised not to destroy the abutment faces for the manifold
locating sleeves.
The whole document is available to view and download from my box.com account at:  https://app.box.com/s/o3hq8rip7n2eo6wh6kgb54w145s6h5s6
A blog post from vitessesteve
 posted Tuesday 11:33am
"Beans"
posts: 5682
Netherlands
joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006

MOT: next in line
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Last week the DHC got a certificate of good health during her biannual MOT. And this week it was ‘t Kreng’s turn. But not before I checked a few items that might cause trouble during the inspection last weekend. I started under the bonnet. First in line for a closer look were the carburettors:


Everything fine there. The linkage was still smooth and the inside of the throats also looked nice and clean, with no visible signs of back firing. Also the K&N air filters, the fuel hoses and all fuel connections were in good condition.
A further inspection of the engine bay showed nothing obviously wrong. No leaks and all levels on the mark.
The spark plugs and the brakes were not touched as the car behaved rather well during her first, and so far only, outing this year! And the rest of the engine bay also looked quite all right. Actually for a car that has been in more or less constant use since 1997, it doesn’t look too shabby!


Last in line were the front wheel bearings. Here I found the biggest problem, a slightly loose left hand front wheel bearing. But that was quite easy to rectify (or should be), using my tried and tested technique:

1. Remove the wheel to access and remove the bearing dust cap;

2. Refit the wheel, making sure it is firmly clamped down to the hub.
This way it is easier to detect any play in the bearing and to turn the wheel,
to listen for rumbling noises;

3. Make the necessary adjustments, until the wheel turns freely, and without any noticeable play. After which the nut retainer (21H5129) and split pin were refitted.

4. And finally the dust cap was refitted to the hub (sorry! I forgot the picture).

But I have to admit that one way or another I wasn’t quite happy with how the bearing felt. But maybe I am just overly worried, hearing rumbling bearings everywhere 😜. Luckily I had no time to inquire any further. So I decided to leave it for the professionals to judge during the biannual inspection!


And today was judgement day, so I again visited a friend’s workshop to present a car for her biannual test (or APK as it is called here). As usual the test started on the brake test platform. Sadly due to an injury (and partly old age J) the tester couldn’t get in the car. So I had to perform that part of the test for him. So no pictures of the three readings. But the car passed with flying colour with the following average readings; front ±4750N, rear ±1700N and handbrake ±1600N. The emissions test was next, and as expected this was also spot on, with a reading of just above 3,0 % vol. CO. (yes I was a bit too quick to take the picture, so I missed the point where the meter levelled out!).


The last part of the test was the visual inspection of the engine bay and suspension. And despite my slight worries all turned out to be fine. Another clean health declaration for the next 2 years!


And last but not least, at the end of this month my daily LaRo Defender will be the last in line! In that case it will be a full service and its annual inspection.

 posted Wed 1st Jul 2020
"vitessesteve"
posts: 2359
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joined on Mon 16th Oct 2006

Jag 3.8 Vitesse
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People have been tuning and modifying the Triumph Vitesse for many years. Hot Car magazine May 1969 featured a Vitesse that had a Jaguar 3.8 engine in it.

The car was said to do 130mph and to have 250bhp. It was built by the well known Downton engineering. Based on a shortened Jaguar XK150 chassis.  The Triumph Vitesse body was altered to fit.


A blog post from vitessesteve
 posted Tue 30th Jun 2020
"Beans"
posts: 5682
Netherlands
joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006

Another MOT for the DHC
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This morning the DHC was presented at a friend’s workshop for her biannual safety and environmental inspection (or APK as it is called here). Most important (for me that is) part of the inspection were the readings from the brake test and the emissions test.


To start with the brakes. With the readings [N] shown above (left to right Front, Rear, Handbrake), it was a clear pass. But I am still not really happy with how they perform. Maybe I am just spoilt because my two other cars (‘t Kreng and a late Land Rover Defender) both have discs all round. And as such have a much better pedal feel. Especially when compared to a 40 year old front-disc and rear-drum set up!


The emissions test was a fail, though that didn’t come as a surprise. The workshop owner guessed that already, during my last visit to him with this car in November last year. And he was proved to be right: with a CO percentage of 6,17% it was slightly rich. Nothing to worry about as it only needed adjusting both adjusting nuts by one flat to get the readings well below the maximum of 4,5%. Another pass!


All the other checks and the general visual inspection revealed no further problems.


So another clean sheet of health for the next 2 years. Turned out that since the previous APK the car covered nearly 7000 kilometres. Not bad considering a general lack of time and three other cars to spent time on! Time to kill some more time with a scenic tour on the way home (including a short photoshoot) to enjoy the fine early morning weather!


 posted Wed 24th Jun 2020
"Beans"
posts: 5682
Netherlands
joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006

DHC: Pre MOT check and first drive
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Due to the current Corona pandemic I haven’t spent much time on the DHC so far this year. I only swapped the brake light switch while in the shed earlier this year. But as she is booked for her biannual safety and environmental inspection (or APK as it is called here) soon, I thought it a good idea to check if everything still was functioning properly. And that is what I did yesterday.
I started with the lights, and in particular the brake lights. And that’s because I changed the brake light switch earlier this year. I needn’t have worried, the brake lights worked. As did all the other lights. But I was in for a little surprise, as the lights in the instrument cluster (converted to LED last year) were burning in a different pattern now (the middle LH bulb was now on strike, instead of the one on the extreme left). Looking at the picture below I think it is safe to say that when I remove the two middle LED’s, there still is plenty enough light to clearly read all the gauges in the dark. Oohh … and I almost forgot to mention that the clock stopped working and the fuel gauge now reads ¼ full permanently!


The wipers, screen washer, heater and horns also did function properly. Time to move over to the engine bay. All levels still were as I left them almost 7 months ago, and no traces of oil or coolant in the rectangular hole underneath the water pump. Only the level for the carburettor’s oil dampers was low. But that was to be expected. And pretty easy to solve with the small oil container I carry in the engine bay for this reason!.


But not everything was as it should be. Despite a new front pulley and oil seal, which I fitted a few years ago, there still is an oil leak there. Will probably have to look at the markings on the dipstick. As it could be caused by over-filling the sump. To be continued one day when I find the time to calibrate the Dolomite dip stick to this engine.


As the suspension and brakes were thoroughly checked and refurbished last year, in preparation for Club Triumph’s 10 Countries Run, I decided to leave these alone. So I finished the inspection with the tyre pressures. They all had dropped a little, from 2,0 to 1,9 Bar to be precise. Easily rectified with a tyre gauge and a bicycle pump.

This afternoon I took the car for a short two hours’ (or 100 kilometres)  drive to see if everything else was OK with the car. It looks like! But more importantly it was nice to be driving with the wind in the hair again.



And after that she was tucked away again in the shed. Though not for 7 months but till this Wednesday, when she’s booked for her biannual APK inspection (TüV Prüfung for the Germans or MOT inspection in the UK).


 posted Sun 21st Jun 2020
"Beans"
posts: 5682
Netherlands
joined on Sun 5th Mar 2006

FHC resto nr. 96; Starting on the wiring
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Since cleaning the body harness already a few weeks ago, I compiled a list of all the connectors, wires etc. I think I am going to need for the renovation of the various wiring harnesses for the car. And to help me with this  I used the list from when I restored the DHC 10 years ago. Most important parts are modern (so called super seal) connectors to replace all important connectors outside the cabin and boot area.


But I also will need a few rolls of (non-adhesive) wrapping tape, PVC insulation sleeves, and some lengths of correctly colour coded wires to adapt the later harnesses for a roof mounted interior light.


And with all the correct tools at hand it was time to start with the first harness. For this I choose the simplest harness on a TR7, the gearbox harness UKC 9200, together with the matching reverse light switch. Yes I know, that combination wasn’t fitted to a 1976 TR7, but my car will get a 5-speed gear box and the later 12 fuse main harness! And despite it being a very simple combination, it was in need of some proper tender loving care as the two pictures below clearly show.



After a close inspection of this harness it was decided that the wires (all three of them) were good enough to be reused. And as expected the connectors were heavily contaminated with oil, road grime and showed clear sign of oxidation. Also the protective sleeve had seen better days. So this too was discarded. This left me with the wires only, and these were cleaned thoroughly. Time to get the wiring tools out, to remove the old connectors and fit the new ones.


And with the correct tools the removal of the old, and crimping on the new contacts was the proverbial piece of cake. The only challenge (If you can call it that) was using the correct connector block for the wire’s ends, and put the wires in the connector blocks in the right order. To help me with this task I used the many pictures I took during the restoration of my DHC, some 10 years ago. Call it standardization!




Though small progress it is a start. The remaining wiring harnesses are next in line. I presume it will be a few weeks before they are all refurbished …

 posted Wed 17th Jun 2020
"vitessesteve"
posts: 2359
Website Administrator
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Isle of Wight group
joined on Mon 16th Oct 2006

West Central Garage Ltd of Wolverhampton - Triumph Car Dealer 83A
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This short post is about West Central Garage Ltd of Wolverhampton.
West Central Garage Ltd Wolverhampton Compliments Slip
West Central Garage Ltd Wolverhampton Compliments Slip

West Central Garage Ltd Wolverhampton advert Autocar 18 October 1957
West Central Garage Ltd Wolverhampton advert Autocar 18 October 1957

West Central Garage Ltd Wolverhampton dealer address stamp
West Central Garage Ltd Wolverhampton dealer address stamp
Gracesguide website is a great source of information and includes these 2 sections.

West Central Garage

of School Street, Wolverhampton.
1953 Car and Light Commercial Vehicle Stockists. Directors: Norman H. Dawkins (Joint Managing). E. G. Dawes, T. L. Millard. (Service)

Thomas Millard (b.1912)

Thomas Millard (1912- ) of West Central Garage
Born Sedgley, 1912.
Apprenticed to Clyno Cars Ltd., Wolverhampton and was later in charge of service Department of local Garage.
1953 Director, West Central Garage Ltd., Wolverhampton. Joined staff of West Central Garage Ltd. as foreman and became service manager in 1946 and joined the Board of Directors in 1950. Married; one son.

Details of Triumph car dealers in Wolverhampton can be found in my blog post about Hewitts Garages Ltd of Wolverhampton.

Plea for information

If you have any more information or recollections about West Central Garage Ltd such as photos of window stickers, dealer badges or sill plates etc please let me know. I can be contacted via the comments to this post or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephen.weblin

Further information and sources

Link to the other articles in this series.

Link to blog post about Hewitts Garages Ltd of Wolverhampton

Link to face book page: Triumph Car Dealers.

Link to my Triumph Car Dealers Flickr group which includes many photos of Standard Triumph garages etc from my collection and many other contributors .

I have a collection of Standard Triumph car dealer directories: http://vitessesteve.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/triumph-car-dealer-directories.html

Picture credits: All 3 images in this post are from my collection.
A blog post from vitessesteve
 posted Sun 7th Jun 2020
"Radders"
posts: 1637
Essex group
joined on Mon 17th Nov 2008

31st May. A run out at last!

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With the restrictions eased slightly I finally got a chance to take Gertie2 out for her first test drive since fitting the new camshaft and other bits and pieces. 
The sun was shining and the weather was hot, so a nice drive over to Wallasey Island was planned and good friend Gavin joined me as well.
Due to a lot of engine parts being new, I didn't give the car a thrashing but did get some good mileage on it. (Although I still want to do a bit more before I re-torque the cylinder head and change the oil). It definitely runs a lot better now and also a lot smoother, so I'm pleased with the result of the recent hard work and expense. I just cant wait for the restrictions to be lifted fully so we can all go back to normality and enjoying our car events again. Hopefully we'll still be able to fit some in this year. 


 posted Sun 7th Jun 2020
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