Saturday afternoon and I'm still here!

I'm just putting the finishing touches to a differential for the local TVR specialist, which means I'm still here long after the shop closed! He's desperate bless him, car is on his ramp in bits and in the way, punter is on the blower every 5 minutes, etc. Not really sure what sort of TVR it's from? In another life I recognise it as a 3.89 4 stud Spitfire diff, with a strange fabricated front carrier on it? The diff he brought along that was taken from the car wasn't even worth starting with as it had been run dry. As you can imagine it was a bit of a mess inside and fit only for the scrap bin. I have to get a move on because I'm under strict instruction to get home at a reasonable time as we have tickets booked at the picture house for that film the D'vinchy Code or something, seems like a good excuse to catch up on some sleep to me!

Undiscovered 'works' 2000 turns up?

Well not quite! Actually it belongs to a good friend of ours former 'works' Triumph race & rally driver Bill Bradley. Bill brings along his 2000 every year for annual check over and MOT. In the same family from new, it's a nice low mileage example, and drives like a I remember them driving when they were nearly new. I seem to remember Bill doing a 'Tour de France' retrospective type event a few years ago in this very car, and quite competitive it was to apparently. So does that qualify it as a 'works' car?

Hmm, TR5's nice!

We have a rather nice TR6 in the workshop for a gearbox and clutch. Gearbox wasn't to bad for a left hooker that looked original to the car. Usually all the running gear in imported TR's is trashed, or buggered about with by (lets be diplomatic) unsympathetic grease monkeys. Anyway nothing to serious with this one, just the usual layshaft/laygear wear, should be back together tommrow and off my bench ready to go back in. So what's that got to do with TR5's I hear you ask? Well prior to taking the box out of the 6 I had a little test drive to see how bad the box was. The nice owner had thoughtfully delivered the car here with roof folded, the sun was out, the birds were singing, oh it were nice! On return I realised that its been some years since I last had a convertible on the road of my own, and with all of this wonderful global warming, and pleasant summers in prospect then now was the time to think about dragging one out. Easiest candidate is one of our TR5's, the car I bought when I was 15, the one that kick started this whole Triumph thing I have off. I know it only needs a couple of hours work for an MOT, so no excuses, the other TR5's are all much more involved projects. My original car isn't the best looking TR5 you will ever see, but that's good because it rubs up all the concours freaks, and speculators that have turned nearly every other 5 out there into tarted up precious things. It's very much as I had it in the 70's, paintwork has suffered though, but then again I did spray it in my Dad's garage with Mum's hoover! Oh and I was only 16 at the time, and there was no one out there to give me advice. Restore a TR5 in the 70's, what do you want to do that for? Just scrap it son and buy a Capri was all the advice I got from the 'experts'!

http://www.canleyclassics.com/triumphmuseum.asp?article=tr5twp956f.xml

Another show/demonstration chassis!

Where are they all coming from, and how many did Triumph Publicity Division commision, build? I'm refering to the ubiquitous Herald show/demonstration chassis, that every college of merit had on their books in the 60's/70's, and it seems right up until recently. We already have a MK11 type demonstrator here courtesy of Chris Allen, and have had another 3 or 4 partially stripped examples go through our hands over the years. This new one aquired last week is the rarer MK1 variety, and the build plaque lists it at number 40. It's funny but we were offered another MK1 last month previously to be found in Cardiff technical college. This one however up until recently was to be found at the Studley Castle headquarters of MG Rover (or whatever incarnation of British Leyland they had become by then). In a bit of a state having been left outside for some time, it is however restorable, and should find a home in the museum extension/refurbishment (work recommences next week!).