2024, April. Handbrake Compensator

2024 April, FHC Handbrake Compensator Bush

I always struggled to get a good handbrake on the FHC. Despite everything being new it never had a really good bite.  Even after giving the shoes enough mileage to bed in and manually adjusting the automatic adjusters it still did not work as well as I wanted it to. I even have extensions on the levers kindly supplied by Bruce Trundle as well.  When I saw some brass replacement compensator bushes for sale by S&S that seemed another good modification to add.  These replace the standard rubber ones that fail quite quickly.  Talking to my good friend Henry Brown who is a wizz at making stuff about them he said he would make me a set.

S&S brass handbrake compensator bushes

I sent him a spare compensator and sure enough, a little parcel arrived a couple of weeks later with the new brass bushes added.

Standard rubber bushes

Henry's brass replacements.

Fitted on the axle.

The compensator now moves perfectly freely - but I am not convinced it has improved the handbrake a great deal!

2024, February. Headlights

 2024, February.  Noisy headlight

I had noticed the drivers side headlight on the FHC had become a bit slow raising and lowering, it was also a bit noisy operating sometimes.  Closer investigation required taking the whole motor and light assembly off the car so I had been putting the job off.

Ready for testing

 With the whole thing off the car and on a workbench I could run the motor for testing and sure enough it was jerky and noisy. When I disconnected the link to the motor the motor itself ran smoothly, so the problem was in the linkage.  The manuals say to keep the linkage lubricated but mine looked very dry and unloved.  I tried copious lubrication but that didn't inprove it much so it needed to come apart.

Why did they make it like this?

The turnbuckle link needed to come off but to remove it you have to take the actual light pod off the aluminium bracket because the screw head is hidden - see picture above - and that means you lose all the settings!  Obvious mod is to make a notch in the steel light unit carrier so it will be accessible in the future without removing the pod. 

After all this I found the bush where the turnbuckle link fixes to motor crank bush was seized. Again lots of lubrication didn't improve it well enough for my liking but mysteriously just turning it over made it work perfectly! Weird because it looks the same both ways, but I will accept the win.

The culprit

With it all apart I took the oportunity to check the motor and gears as well. It all looked in remarkably good comdition so I could just clean and regrease it.

Nice and clean

Electrics all look good

So it all went back together for a bench run before putting it back in the car and the mechanism ran nice and smoothly.  Excellent.

Just needs a tidy before the light unit goes back in here.

Took a bit of fiddling around to get the assembled unit back in so that the light pod sits nicely in the car but it all works perfectly now.

2023, September 11th. Ally Hickman Drive Your TR7 Day

 2023, 11th September. Ally Hickmans Drive Your TR7 Day

This is an annual event to remember a valued member of the TR7 community who died suddenly in 2007. 

Ally Hickman was a young woman who shared her battles with the various issues on her beloved TR7 with us all on the TR7 Forum   (  https://www.tr7triumph.com/forum )

She did most of the work on her car herself and, like most of us, would frequently seek advice on the best way to resolve problems. She was engaging and funny so was well liked by everyone and when she died suddenly it was a huge shock to us all. 

We drive our TR7s on this day - with the lights on - to remember her.  Lights on because that is one of the infamous TR7 problem that she struggled with.

Ally Hickman   RIP

 

 

2023, August/September. Valleys and Villages Tour, Route 77 Run and Tour of the Cotswolds

 2023, 6th August. Valleys and Villages Tour

The Valleys and Villages Tour was again based in Royal Wootton Bassett and took us out into Wiltshire and Salisbury Plain area.

some nice cars at the start

The Duckworth's lovely TR8 was out again.

 

From the rugby club in Royal Wootton Bassett we headed west to a coffee stop at the Flying Monk Brewery near Hullavington then on to a picnic lunch stop at the Atwell Motor Museum at Calne.  This little museum has a surprising number of interesting cars and is well worth a visit.

Wide open spaces of Salisbury Plain

I suspect the road here floods in the winter!

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2023, 3rd September.  Route Seventy-Severn Charity Run

This is a new event to us that has previously clashed with our holidays but luckily this year it didn't. Run by the Severn Vale Rotary Club and starting from the Jet Age Museum at Gloucester it is another one right on our doorstep.

Henry Brown TR7V8 next to us at the start.

Flagged away from the start

 Their route took us up into Herefordshire before turning back south into the Forest of Dean and a coffee stop at the Hopewell Colliery cafe.  

Severn Bridge

 From there it was across the old Severn Bridge and back to the finish and a buffet lunch at Frampton on Severn Sailing Club.

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2023, 10th September. Tour of the Cotswolds

This is another local run that had previously clashed with our holidays but this time we were ok. It is run by Cleeve Motorsport and is based in Cheltenham so again very local, start and finish was at Cheltenham Town Football Club.

The route used many familiar roads to a coffee stop at the lovely Rococo Gardens in Painswick. This is a very interesting destination in its own right and there were many "civilians" there who were not part of the tour. From there we headed up into the north Cotswolds with a lunch stop at the old Northleach Prison and a trip through the Kineton ford before heading back down to Cheltenham.  

Altogether an excellent day out.

Surprising what you meet in the lanes!

Kineton ford is always fun.

2023, July. Aquae Sulis, Dursley Rotary, Two Rivers Tour and Bobby's Tour

2023 9th July.  Aquae Sulis Tour

Excellent day out with nice weather in the FHC. The route this year was based around the Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire area, including a lunch stop at Chavenage House.

Blue cars at the start

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2023, 16th July Dursley Rotary Cotswold Tour

This tour starts about 100 yards from our house in Dursley so you can't get much more local than that!   This year the route took us up to the North Cotswolds including a lunch stop at Batsford Arboretum before returning to Dursley for the finish. Weather started out nice but deteriorated with a wet afternoon.  

Babdown in the rain. Picture by Phil Johnson

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2023, 23rd July. Two Rivers Tour

The Two Rivers Tour is organised by the Forresters Car Club who include many old friends from my rallying days. As a serious rally club we are always assured of a good route and an excellent roadbook. Start was from the David Broome Equestrian Centre near Chepstow and we actually met David himself who lives in the farmhouse there.

Start at David Broome Equestrian Centre

Amongst the cars taking part was one of the very rare RHD TR8 cars driven by James and Trish Duckworth. It is one of the only 18 RHD TR8s ever made by the factory so really nice to see it out and being used. 

James & Trish Duckworth's TR8

Morning coffee stop was at Dingestow village hall where we were entertained by the Abergavenny Borough Band whilst we enjoyed some excellent home made cake!

Abergavenny Borough Band at Dingestow

An excellent day out.

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29th July.  Bobby's Tour

Nice little charity run of about 80 miles with a car show based at Ruardean in the Forest of Dean. It raises money for the Childrens Opportunity Centre in Coleford which supports children with additional needs.

Cars at the start in Ruardean

The weather was a little threatening so we took the FHC but it improved and was really nice later on. The organiser John Brain is a born and bred forester so knows all the local roads and always provides some surprises along the route, such as taking us to one of the last Free Mines still in production. These are operated by the Free Miners who have the right to dig coal and iron ore by an ancient decree going back to the Middle Ages. They have to be born within the Hundred of St Briavels, be over the age of 21 and worked for a year in a mine within the Hundred. It is hard, dirty and dangerous work so not many still want to do it now.

Morning coffee stop at the Childrens Opportunity Centre

After refreshment the route took us back to Ruardean village hall and playing fields where more cars had arrived to take part in the show.

Lovely Audi Quattro

Rare sight - two Integrales

RS1800 rally car

                                                (Pictures above taken by Melvyn Wilkins)

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2023, May. Bluebell Run and Triumph Centenary Picnic

 2023, 13th May Bluebell Run

Bluebell Run is a favourite little tour based in the Forest of Dean so local to us. The weather was kind with a lovely warm sunny day so we got some nice pictures from top photographer Chris Huish.

TR7 in the wild. Pictures by Chris Huish

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 21sy May, Triumph Centnary Picnic

This was held at Walton Hall near Wellesbourne and was a baking hot day so perfect for the DHC. We didn't know quite what to expect but drove up in a convoy with about a dozen members of our TR Register Glavon Group. Approaching down the tree lined drive it was obvious that this was a big event with cars from all over Europe present. We had a super day wandering amongst a lovely collection of fantastic cars.  See some pictures just to give some idea of the day.