Graham Robson
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Posts posted by Graham Robson
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Well, if you got the registration number right - it should be HKV 20 - matters might not be as confusing ....
Hon. Pres.
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Anorak's Corner here :
** No standard Dolomite Sprint had a limited-slip differential.
** The rear track of the Dolomite Sprint was 4ft. 2.4in.
Hon. Pres, and previous Sprint owner.
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In my day (yes, OK, stop sniggering in class), my 'works' drivers used to want the co-driver to act as a 'corner-finder' on unpracticed special stages by keeping one hand on the interior handle, and swivelling the lamp towards the fast-approaching bend. Worked a treat usually- unless the stage was bumpy, in which case the beam would be all over the place !
Hon. Pres.
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Just to kill this thread stone dead - none of the five 'works' TR3As which competed in the 1958 French Alpine rally were widened - not even by a fraction of an inch.
How do I know ? :
1) FIA regulations were quite clear on the fact that modifying bodies in any way was banned at this time.
2) There is actually a head-on picture of VRW 221 in the French Alpine rally of 1958, on page 79 of my book THE WORKS TRIUMPHS, where the body shell is demonstrably in standard-shape/condition.
Hon. Pres.
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For related subjects, see under 'Perpetual motion machines' ....
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A simple question ?
Would it cost you more (labour costs, etc , etc) to have an aged chassis frame 'restored' , rather than to pay for a new one ? Have you even asked your preferred supplier about that ?
If so, I think I know what my recommendation would be ....
Hon. Pres.
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Nick Webster has got the Stromberg-SU scenario exactly right. The basic reason (as told to me by both Alick Dick and Harry Webster) was that SUs were manufactured by a company owned by BMC, Standard-Triumph was clearly a competitor of that combine, and the commercial implications of that situation were obvious.
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It was good to see so many hale-and-hearty Triumphs of all types at Pimperne this PM.
Especially happy to see a representative of the Guide Dogs organisation (sorry, I don't know the official title), not only with a beautiful, sleek, Labrador Guide Dog, but being led by a charming blind girl. Made me so happy to know that I, along with many other Triumph people, are supporting such a good cause this year.
Hon. Pres.
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The Castrol-based collection ? Haven't a clue and, by the way, Triumph was never sponsored/supported by Castrol.
Hon. Pres.
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It's the 1958 event, by the way, not 1959.
Hon. Pres.
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OK, to get the story absolutely right, the so-called '1972' Capri engine illustrated by John R.Davies was a 1974, the '3.0-litre' Cosworth version was a 3.4-litre, the road-car engine was pushrod OHV, and the race engine was twin-cam-per-bank, and that usage was purely for racing. A few engines had Lucas, but the Germans rapidly substituted Kugelfischer instead.
Hon. Pres.
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Not only was that PI cylinder head on the Mini-Cooper S cross-flow, but it was eight port too. Development work was carried out by Eddie Maher's little team at the BMC (Morris) Engines branch in Coventry and not - as some stories tell us - by Downton. It was used in racing Cooper Ss, but not 'works' rally cars, from 1967.
One or two such engines and their cars still exist, and are known to the Mini Cooper Register.
Incidentally, and AFAIK, the 'works' Capri race cars (built in Germany) almost all used Kugelfischer fuel injection (not Lucas), which figures, for all the obvious political reasons ....
Hon. Pres.
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But it wasn't - in fact it had been available in the USA since January 1975.
Hon. Pres.
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Knowing the author (David Knowles) well, as I do, and by referring to his very detailed treatment of the TR7 in a previous book, I think this will be an excellent treatment.
Hon. Pres.
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And just to kill off another silly rumour. Some sources claim that the cross-flow head was 'by Weslake', which isn't true. For proof, I cite chief engine designer David Eley's narrative, given to me in a lengthy profile of him published in TRIUMPH WORLD in the late 1990s. He made it very clear that the design was 'in house'.
And, and by the way, where was the distributor on the cross-flow headed car ? On the standard Standard Vanguard engine it was on the nearside, where the twin carburettors of the revised head were placed. Answers on a postcard please ....
Hon. Pres.
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OK .... I'm intrigued. Russian fighters, but precisely what, and where ?
Hon. Pres.
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Regarding the wheel sizes, Gatso always insisted (personally to me, and often to other people) that they were 16in., but other factions usually denied this. Gatso's reasoning was that there was a better type of 16in. racing tyre available - and in any case he wanted to see the car have higher gearing.
60 or even 72 spoke wheels ? Yes, definitely, but I can't recall which ....
Hon. Pres.
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That is Ken Richardson at the wheel of OVC 276 before it left to take part in the 1954 Mille Miglia, when it would be driven by Maurice Gatsonides.
The background is of the Banner Lane factory in Coventry.
Hon. Pres.
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To everyone who believes in aftermarket kit/claims for fuel economy ....
Do you also believe in Father Christmas, the tooth fairy, perpetual motion, and unicorns ?
Hon. Pres.
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Sorry, try again ....
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Yup, they are a new print run - probably printed in India. Well done Bill.
One of my Herridge books (WORKS ESCORTS IN DETAIL) was also reprinted/shipped from India at the same time.
Hon. Pres.
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...And let's make it totally clear - the new Standard diesel engine which powered Ferguson tractors and (a few Standard Vanguard diesels) from the mid-1950s, was a totally different power unit from the wet-liner petrol engine.
Hon. Pres.
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Were there any diesel conversions of wet liner TR engines ? No.
Hon. Pres (with researcher's hat on ....)
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Concurring with Alec - and here is more detail.
When we were re-opening the 'works' department in 1962, we chose powder blue as the 'team colour' for the TR4s, and the rally Spitfires which followed them.
White was discarded because it gets mucky quickly, and advertising agencies complained. Dark blue tended to look like dirty green in pictures. Red was fine, but BMC already used red on their Big Healeys. As for yellow - well, no-one could warm to that ....
We had to use BRG on the Le Mans Spitfires because the organisers demanded the use of 'National' colours on their International event.
Hon. Pres.
Triumph TR4S 1960
in TR4/4A Forum
Posted
Oh dear, we've had this discussion before. All I would like to repeat is that during my time at Triumph (in the years during and after the active life of the TRS cars), no-one in the factory ever referred to them (or wrote internal memos about them) as 'TR4S'. As to the ACO archives - well, I would rather trust the people who were close to the cars - who of course included Alick Dick and Harry Webster himself - than anyone else.
[in fact when the TRS cars were active in 1960 and 1961, the real TR4 road car was still under development, and universally called the 'Zest' ....]
Hon. Pres.