Larryjc
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Posts posted by Larryjc
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Three events this weekend, Werrington, Curborough and Gurston down with over half the Championship competing. Plenty more to come
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Just a shame that quite a few are not registered in the Championship.
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The year's competition came to an end with an excellent day at Castle Combe. It's been a great season over all with 36 competitors, a good national calendar and record attendance at some meetings. looking around it seems to me that we are one of the largest (if not the largest) one-make championships in National Hillclimbing. Next year we will be doing much the same but also running four events in Scotland as well.
We also seem to be growing in numbers and several new people have already expressed an interest in joining us next year. Anyone else interested - I can be contacted through the web site and I'm more than happy to chat. Come and have a go and use your TR for something more than going down to the pub!!
So for this year's results:
1st Overall: Len Olds
2nd Overall: Hamish Roscoe
3rd Overall: Jim Giddings
Class 2:
1st Chris Smith
2nd Larry Jeram-Croft
3rd Howard Holdcroft
Class 3:
1st Nick Smith
Best lady: Elizabeth Wakefield.
Best competitor under 30: James Small
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Just posted on our FB page with some video and photos. A great day with a record 18 entries.
Larry
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Just had the entry list for Gurston on 16 April - we've got 17 cars entered which is exactly half of all those registered and possibly a record. Should be a good day. Spectating is allowed and there is a good cafe and other facilites. So why not come along and watch??
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For all of you north of the border, I am looking at possilbe rounds there next year, the problem with Bo Ness is that for some weird reason MUK won't let championships run there - makes no sense to me.
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Just to let everyone know that we have now had our regulations for the 2022 season approved and they will be updated on the web soon. I've attached them here in case anyone wants them in advance. Also before they are udated on the web, feel free to use the 2021 registration forms as they haven't actually changed. We now have 30 rounds to compete in this year with several new venues incuding the Lotus test track at Hethel, and the race circuits at Cadwell Park and Lyden HIll. If you were thinking of having a go, now couldn't be a better time.
Larry
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Yup did it with my V8. I also put a decent temp gauge to replace the naff Triumph one. You will need to remove the console and get out a drill and saw and cut out a great deal of the plastic that holds the gauge in. Most replacement gauges come with a u clamp that holds the gauge in place. Its actually quite hard to fit this in so I didn't bother. You will almost certainly have to file out the hole that the old gauge peeped through and fit the new gauge from the outside. If you are careful you can make the hole a good interference fit and that's enough to hold everything in place (a little contact adhesive can help). Its a bit fiddly but quite doable. By the way I used a mechanical gauge rather than an electrical one so that I get a reading even if there is an electical problem (same with the temp gauge).
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I would agree with Mick and remove the plugs and spin over with the starter motor - see if you get oil pressure even a few psi will be a good indication. If the engine has done many miles (more than 60,000) I would consider a cam/lifters and timing gear replacement - all can be done with the engine in the car (have to remove the radiator). Would also be worth removing the heads and checking valve stems and seats. However, if the engine is reasonably low mileage then put it all together and see how it runs. You can prime the engine with oil by removing the distributor and spining the oil pump drive up with an electric drill. Real Steel do a tool that will fit over the oil pump male key and fit on a drill.
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Best way to bleed them is to go to Halfords and buy one of the Gunston pressure bleeders that you connect to a tyre so you don't need to do the up/down thing with the pedal and upset you other half in the process. It also much better at driving out air bubbles. I always start at the lowest one first to chase the air 'uphill'.
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I bought my current TR7V8 last year and after a few years doing other things was particularly surprised at how heavy the steering was. Maybe its age and being used to modern cars but it was really bad particularly when parking and at low speed. As I am hillclimbing the car, hairpins have been a real pain - just getting the lock on and off. I put roller top bearings in and gave the whole system some TLC with the grease gun but it made little difference. I started to look for power steering and found the old hydraulic system to be just about impossible to source. I then looked at electric systems and found two. I plumped for a system from a company called 'Easy Steer' it only cost £550 which was by far the best value. I've just fitted it - took me about 4 hours. All you have to do is remove the old column and replace it with the new one which has the motor attached. There is also a control box and a variable sensitivity control knob. It a bit of a fight to get it under the dash as there is a lot of wiring in the way and the tube for the air vent but it does fit. The wiring is straightforward only needing a good main 12v supply, earth and switched 12v supply.
I've just taken it out for a drive and the car is completely transformed. Frankly, it's the best money I've spent on the car so far and that's including all the money I haven't told my wife about!! If anyone wants to know more just ask or PM me.
Larry
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Hi Spec Motorsport do a 285 mm disc and lightweight 4 pot caliper set up. Beware though when I ordered one, despite asking for assurances up front they still managed to send me a TR6 set !! Not cheap either but pretty good. In the end I stuck with the Capri brakes that the car came with but using Ferodo f3000 pads which I personally love - they work from cold and are very effective.
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Thats the tool that Rimmers sent me but it was virtually useless as when you pull up the clip it tends to force it shut. I've now solved the problem by bending the V shape into a U that merely holds the clip. I also just tease the clip open a little with a screwdriver first so that it has the slightest chance of going over the door flange and the rubber. You have to be careful though as its quite easy to overdo it and snap the clip in half.
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That describes the tool that Rimmers supplied. I'll give that a try. Thanks
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Can't find the answer to this with a search so sorry if its been asked before. But does anyone know how to get the silly little clips into place that secure the rubber weather strips along the tops of the doors that stop water going between the window and the door? I've got the clips and a 'tool' that Rimmers supplied. It looks like a bent piece of tin and for the life of me I can't see how it works. The spring clips are sprung shut and have to be opened enough to go over the internal lip of the door and the bottom of the rubber strip. - and then clipped from the far side. I assumed the tool would hold them open so you can get them in place but I've clearly failed the intelligence test here. Oh and the window is in the way of most of the area anyway and won't wind down clear. Did Triumph do this deliberately just to drive owners mad?????
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Ah
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My race engines always had the centre of the thermostat taken out but I also had no heater. For a road car its not really a good idea. By the way - what is the restrictor you mention?
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Thanks guys. I knew about the limitations of the laser pointer thingy. I certainly seems to me that the flow is all wrong. The system I have uses a standard v belt but I'm going to strip it all down and look. I raced these engines for years in TR8s and I've rebuilt several from scratch and never seen anything like this. I also have two cartons of radiator speed flush in the wings.
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The plot thickens. I received my remote laser temperature gauge and fired up the engine this morning. Firstly it seems the engine temp gauge is pretty accurate as its showing the same as the remote. Before the stat opens everything makes sense. When the stat opens the temp shoots up to 100 and thats the same as the thermostat housing. However, the radiator whilst hot all over is down at 65 degrees except right at the top hose area where its more like 80. So point 1 - It seems the rad is not getting the full water flow when the stat opens.
Now the really weird thing. The heater has two pipes. One from the back of the manifold which logically is the supply pipe. The return pipe goes to the water pump inlet. So why is the return pipe running 10 degrees hotter than the inlet??? I thought maybe the pipes are the wrong way round (the one from the manifold goes to the top heater pipe) but then again why should it make that much difference if the flow is the wrong way through the heater? The heater runs warm but no more than that. For the 'return pipe' to run hotter than the supply sure means that the flow is going the wrong way. A blocked or air locked heater matrix would limit flow but not heat the water up! It seems that the heater matrix is not getting enough flow and what there is, is backwards. This could also be why the radiator is not getting any real flow.
Someone at RPI told me that there were some water pumps made with the return hole blocked and I noticed that TR8Ian mentioned having to drill a water pump . Ian what were the symptoms you experienced? So I guess the next thing is to strip the pump and see if there is something odd going on there.
Ho hum, then the car needs a new hood, new brakes and new diff so should be a busy New Year.
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has run there's loads of pressure in there.
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Done the lifting the car thing, as I said I'm pretty certain this isn't an airlock issue. I heard that some time in the past they issued a load of water pumps with the return pipe at the top not drilled out but it looks to me as though the pump has been replaced recently. That said its on my list of things to check out. Haven't been able to go on the road since I fitted and accurate temp gauge. But previously it didn't boil so I'm hopeful no damage has been done.
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I'll be able to answer some of those once the temp gauge arrives and I've taken the car up the road for a blast in a few days. My thoughts are that If the rad were blocked it wouldn't feel hot all over once the stat has opened. I'm pretty sure I have no airlocks as I left the car for 24 hours with a very tall funnel filled with water so the level was at least two feet higher than any part of the system. I also bled the pipes at each junction. The Offy has the pipe at the back of the manifold as the supply to the heater and the return comes to the top of the water pump as per the photo.
What is still baffling me is why the temp goes UP when the thermostat opens the coolant circuit to the radiator.
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I know this has been covered a lot here and I've read loads of post on various forums but my issues seems to be an odd one. I've just bought this 7V8 with a new 3.9. I suspect it was a short engine as the front cover certainly ain't new although its clearly had a new water pump (much shinier metal). I also took out the thermostat and the centre had been removed. So had the previous owners been chasing an overheat? Quite possibly because the radiator had been bodge mounted to clear the front pulleys and was leaning at an angle so was probably not letting air through it properly. I've remounted the rad properly but it is a standard TR7 one not an 8. I checked with Ropbsport and they tell me that both rads have the same cooling capacity just different hose mounts. Others here may know better but that's not the main problem. I've made sure the system is filled properly - using a large funnel well above the height of all the hoses and I'm certain there is no air bubble in the top hose. I 've fitted an 85 degree thermostat and drilled a hole in it and a Racetech electric temperature gauge (sensor in the Offenhauser manifold). When hot, the engine runs at an indicated 95-100 degrees and the large electric fan does little to reduce this. The heater only produces warm air not hot but as I've run race engines with the heater blanked off I don't see why this should be an issue. Now the weird bit. When it starts up it takes about 5 minutes to get to about 80 and then shoots up to 95 within about 20 seconds, presumably this is when the stat opens. As I understand it, the closed stat keeps water circulating in the engine only but with a bypass to allow the water pump to flow which comes from the manifold to the top of the water pump and presumably also the heater circuit. Once this water reaches the temp of the stat, the stat opens and allows water to circulate through what should be a reasonably cool radiator and hoses, hence maintaining the temp. On other cars I've seen this as the temp comes up quickly and then stabilizes. Or even goes up and then drops slightly. I've never seen it shoot up 15 degrees once presumably a large amount of cooler water is available. Can anyone shine a light on this? I've ordered a remote infra red temperature gun from good old Amazon which should allow me to track real temperatures and I'm going to try a cooler thermostat but any other ideas gratefully received. Oh and happy Christmas to all.
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Thanks for that - I'll look to borrow one from somewhere £60 is a tad expensive!!!
2024 Hillclimb season now ready
in TR Motorsport
Posted
For anyone interested in having a go with the TR Register Championship this season the regulations and entry forms are now available on the TR Register website. There is also a getting started guide giving advice on safety equipment, car preparation and the format of events. For those who didn't know, due to sponsorship changes, the formal name of the championship is now 'The TR Register Triumph Speed Championship' and this is in part deliberate to make it clearer that the series is open to all makes of Triumphs not just TRs. On that point, we have introduced an 'invitation' class to allow cars with any sort of Triumph pedigree to come along and have a go even if it is not fully eligible. So any of you with a V8 TR6 or Spitfire with a Ford engine come and have a go.