6th September 2015, Tetbury Classic Car Show

Nice day out last Sunday at the Tetbury Classic Car show, its a local show less than 20 minutes drive from home but is well supported with over 500 cars this year.  We belong to the GLAVON group of the TR Register and we had 13 TR's on display including two TR7's, both unusually with Sprint engines. Our group leader has a very nice red TR7 coupe fitted with a Sprint engine and power steering. I have offered to buy it from her but she loves the car and drives it almost daily. 

GLAVON TR Register stand being set up.

 You can see from the picture it was a beautiful day and we found all kinds of interesting cars to look at. Our cars attracted quite a bit of attention and there was also a lovely row of Healeys opposite which were much admired.

Big Healy row.

Few pictures of various other nice stuff at the show.

Mod heaven.

Nice Karman Ghia and Alpine, both GLAVON members.

Pretty tidy Avenger Tiger. Don't think its a replica.

Nice row of Imps.

I know its a Marina, but it is in superb condition.

How does he keep that exhaust manifold looking so good?

Flat Head hotrod, the guy drives it regularly but is it road legal?

12th May 2015, Steering column lower bush

According to various owners replacing the bulkhead steering column bush is one of those TR7 jobs that can be a bit of a swine. Folks have resorted to all kinds of tricks to get it done or to avoid doing it.  Unfortunately the time had come to do mine so I ordered the kit from Robsport.

Robsport Steering Column Bush Kit.

 The new ones tend to be made from polyurethane these days and are pretty durable but the material is quite hard so not easy to install.  One of the suggested tricks is to boil it in hot water but that seemed to make no difference at all to my new one so a mechanical method seemed to be the next option. Before all this however, it was necessary to remove the column to gain access to the bulkhead.  In the BL Workshop Manual it says to take my note of the positions of the two washers at the lower end of the shaft. The problem was that there were no washers at all on my car ! Luckily I had kept the ones from the old car I scrapped recently so I could use those. The top bushes just below the steering wheel had been replaced before and were in excellent condition so I left those alone.
The lower bush has to be inserted from the engine side of the bulkhead and as my car is complete and running, access space to the area is limited by carbs, brake pipes, etc.  I tried the usual ways to insert a grommet like using a flat blade screwdriver or starting one spot and twisting it in like a screw etc. but all these attempts proved fruitless.  It obviously needed a way to hold the bush in position and push it home at the same time.  Enter Special Tool no.2.

Special tool no.2. Steering column bush inserter.

It only took 5 minutes to make the tool shown in the picture. Its just a piece of wood about 6-7" long with the end shaped to go through the bush and hold it in place. The washer is the actual one that goes next to the bush and provides a smooth flat surface when pushing it in.  I just held it in position and used another piece of wood about 2 feet long as a lever against the engine mounting bracket and the bush popped in quite easily.
Obviously this will not work for you guys with a LHD car or a TR8. Sorry.

Special tool no.2 in use. The larger piece of wood
is used as a lever against the engine mounting bracket.

With the new bush in place it has transformed the driving experience, no vibration or rattles from the steering wheel now. Just wish I had done it sooner!
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17th May 2015. GLAVON  May Blossom Run

I belong to the GLAVON group of the TR Register (as well as the TRDC) and they had organised a nice little run out last Sunday 17th May.  It was a "convoy rules" run so no navigation required which meant my other half could enjoy coming along as she gets ill if proper navigation is required. Twelve assorted TR's set off from Tetbury on a lovely day covering a 70 odd mile route around the Cotswold lanes ending up at a fellow members house near Bisley for an excellent outdoor lunch. We had a mixture of TR4's, TR5's, TR6's and two TR7's.  We certainly got a lot of attention as the convoy passed through some of the Cotswold tourist spots like Buscot, Coleshill and Bibury. I think we must be on a hundred pictures taken by the Chinese tourists in Bibury alone!

The new steering bush means the TR7 is pretty civilised now, and I am very impressed by how it rides on some of the bumpy roads we have in this area. According to the receipts I have from the previous owner the springs are uprated ones from S&S and dampers are KYB. It gives a nice combination of handling and ride comfort, just what I would have chosen myself for everyday motoring. It would be too soft for any serious work but that's not what I want the car for.

Some of the GLAVON cars at the lunch halt.

September 2014 - Engine transplant

My planned new uprated motor project is still delayed, holidays are approaching and the Blue car MOT is due soon - but it has no engine so what to do?
Answer: Swap the Sprint engine out of the old red car that will be scrapped soon.

Here it comes.

Sprint engine in its new (temporary) home.

We actually took the engine and box out in one go and swapped them straight into the blue car with only a pause for a cup of tea in between.  The car passed its MOT next day and went to the Tetbury Classic Car show the day after that.  Couldn't have been too bad because our club got the award for the best club stand at the show!

GLAVON group TR Register stand.

Since the show I have tidied up a couple of more items and swapped it onto the Minilite look-alike wheels that I intend to use.  The old Montego criss-cross ones have been sold.

Sort of finished look.

 Another "little" problem I forgot to mention is that the hood will not fold down because it fouls on the roll hoop. This is very annoying because it means the hoop will have to be repositioned/lowered to suit. Not an easy task as it will mean re-drilling the side mounting plates on the hoop.
I had naively thought that those pre-drilled holes in the hoop and the existing captive nut in the body are supposed to go together - but it seems not.
Luckily with winter approaching the top can stay up most of the time for the moment. I have enlisted a couple of friends and they will help realign the hoop while it is re-drilled to a new and lower position. Needs a nice dry day when we can all get together but no rush for the moment. 

September 2013 GLAVON day out in the old car.

GLAVON group cars at Rodmarton Manor

Away from working on the cars we had a nice Sunday afternoon out at Rodmarton Manor. Its a local manor house built in the early 1900's in the Arts and Crafts style developed by William Morris. It was all made from local materials and is still complete with all the original furniture made for the house. Amazingly it is also still owned and occupied by the Biddulph family who commissioned it. The latest generation Mr Biddulph was there to welcome us, he seemed genuinely interested our cars and asked lots of questions.

From our point of view it also made a great place to show off the cars in front of the house.

Nice line up with my TR7 nearest the camera (one of the members came in his Lotus Elan +2)

 To end our visit we had a wander round the garden which was also laid out in the Arts and Crafts style and an old Canberra then proceeded to give us a diplay fly past. The aircraft is based nearby at Kemble and we think he was trying out his display for the Goodwood Revival next week.

Canberra fly past

 The week previously the red TR7 had decided to play up. The clutch master cylinder leaked most of its fluid down the bulkhead and then the new(ish) fuel pump started to leak as well. There was not time to change the master cylinder and the clutch still worked OK so I just topped it up and put a bottle of brake fluid in the boot - just in case.  The fuel pump leak turned out to be just the top loose so I was able to nip it up gently and that fixed it.  Did start to wonder though if the car was getting a bit agoraphobic, or maybe it realises its days are numbered so it is showing off?

On the day The TR7 behaved itself perfectly, Then on the way home it rained quite heavily so I got to try out the wipers in anger and the headlights worked as well. Magic.