Our US-based motoring journalist and Brit car fan, Richard Truett has quite a fleet to keep him amused.
Here's the latest update...
The Stateside view
August 2009
The collapse of the American economy and all the wreckage that
goes along with that - the redundancies, the pay cuts, plummeting home values,
shrinking retirement accounts and two of the three American automakers going
on the dole and then skidding into bankruptcy - has been something of a nuisance
for me this year and is one reason for me being absent from these pages for
so long.
My passion for classic British cars has had to cool a bit as attending to the
serious business of life has demanded more of my attention. Indeed, there is
a fundamental change going on here in the States at the moment that I am reluctantly
taking part in. The party is over. The hangover is here. We are downsizing.
The era of endless, gluttonous consumption and living beyond our means is over.
The bills are coming due. Americans are going to become more like Europeans.
We are going to learn to make smarter use of increasingly scarce resources and
we’ll have to get used to paying more for everything which, in turn, means
we will have to do with fewer toys, such as classic cars.
For years, we Americans have had the attitude that too much is just enough.
Not long ago, I owned six cars at once and was looking for more. Today, I am
down to three, a sensible, manageable number that I hope to maintain.
My fourth car, a 1990 Rover Sterling 827 SLi, left here at 6.07pm on the 8th
July on a transporter headed back to where it came from, the American west.
Before I bought the car in December 2007, the stylish Rover had lived its entire
life California. Now it is headed to Washington State where it will spend a
happy retirement parked along side eight other Rover 827s.
The decision to sell the car came about because its value suddenly increased
by at least 100 percent. The US Government has enacted a scrappage law that
made my old Rover worth $4500 on a trade-in for a newer, more fuel efficient
car. However the program is limited to 250,000 vehicles, which should be reached
by the end this year. I thought about scrapping the Rover and trading it along
with my Mustang for something new but I couldn’t bring myself to see such
a wonderful - and rare on this side of the pond - classic crushed. The Rover,
not the Mustang. Not having the Rover in my fleet reduces my car insurance bill
by nearly $800 a year, a sum that helps ease some of the pain of a smaller pay
packet.
I put the Rover on eBay and sold it for $3500 in just four hours. Yes, in these
rotten economic times when my own net worth has been sliced by half - or more
- I gave up $1000 so that the Rover might live. I might not have done such a
thing had the Rover lived up to the reputation that some people want to ascribe
to the famous Viking ship brand. No, the truth is the Rover earned the right
to avoid going to the big car park in the sky.
For a car that was manufactured nearly 20 years ago, the Rover’s time
with me was nothing short of excellent. I paid $2000 for the car, then immediately
spent at least $4000 more correcting problems that had been accumulating for
years. After that initial burst of repair work, the car delivered the goods.
I drove it nearly 12,000 miles and never had a vehicle-stopping breakdown or
any other mechanical failure. In fact, the only repair necessary was the replacement
in May of the heater valve, which cost just $60.
Those 12,000 miles were not easy ones because most were logged in the frigid
Michigan winter through snow and over salty, potholed roads. Those 12,000 miles
would have been put on my Mustang had the Rover not been available. I could
not ask more of any old used car than the Rover delivered. The Mustang, bought
new, sad to say, has not been a very good car and 12,000 winter miles on it
likely would have seen the Mustang sent to the glue factory already.
The departure of the Rover closes a long chapter in my life with that model
car. I have loved it since I first read about it in CAR magazine sometime
in 1985. The Rover 800 lasted only four years in the USA. No failure of a car
ever caused me so much personal angst and turmoil. With Honda technology, this
should have been the car that launched Rover into the same league as the world’s
elite manufacturers but just a few small, stupid defects undermined all the
brilliant work of many thousands of people.
Because Rover cars are so rare over here in the States, I can’t envisage
a time when I will own another - unless Mr Ratan Tata decides to resurrect the
brand. The scrappage law could reduce the already low numbers of surviving Rover
800s over here even more and that would be sad. However, this final Rover of
mine did a lot to restore my respect for Rover the company. Rover workers could
build a damn fine car when the accountants or incompetent managers let the engineers
and designers do their best work.
Anyway, with the Rover gone, that leaves me with my 1981 Triumph TR8, which
is sporting a powerful 4.0-litre V8 from a 2002 Land Rover Disco, and my 1973
Triumph Stag with its original engine. That car, happy to say, is roadworthy
now for the first time since era of Thatcher and Reagan. Late in the afternoon
of the 5th July, after eight months of collecting spares and repairing, rebuilding
and replacing, the Stag awoke from its 22-year slumber and moved under its own
power out of the driveway and back among the world of living, breathing classic
cars.
This was no small job. I had to replace the timing chain and gears, the pistons,
perform the equivalent of a miracle on the cylinder heads, rebuild the steering
rack and pump, rebuild the front and rear suspension, replace the tyres and
brakes, have a new radiator built and do about 10,000 other things. (See accompanying
story on the cylinder head repairs).
The Stag is now hale and hearty and ready for its cosmetic rebirth. The trim
is coming off. The powertrain is coming out and the entire car is going to be
made to look new again. Then I will slowly put it back together and hopefully
have one of the finest Stags in North America.
January 2009
Unbelievable but true: No one had taken STAG, so for just $13 extra per year,
my 1973 Stag has 'plates
that say STAG on the front and rear.
T'S been two months since I bought
a Triumph Stag that had been laid up for 22 years in an Indiana barn. Since
that time the car has moved under its own power, though not very far. I drove
the Stag maybe 50 feet into a cozy carpeted garage, where it will stay until
Spring. Though it is far too cold now in Detroit to do any major restorative
operations this winter, it has been a busy time getting the Stag ready for an
all-out assault in the Spring that will hopefully return the car to roadworthy
condition in double-quick time.
First, I went ahead took advantage of the shift in the Pound-Dollar relationship (it has tilted our -- that is, the U.S. -- way again) and bought everything needed to rebuild the brakes, exhaust and suspension, and bring the engine into good working order. I've also bought new seat foams, carpet, rubber weather stripping and everything else needed to bring the car up to respectable condition cosmetically. Many thanks to Graham at James Paddock and Trevor Webster at Rimmer Brothers, the two Stag stockists I bought all of my new parts from. In all, I spent around $3000 on parts, maybe more, and neither business got one thing wrong. And both shipped quickly and packed everything well for the long journey to Detroit. My garage is a 1.5 car unit that has not only the Stag in it, but a pristine 1981 TR7 V8, all my tools, plus a spare Triumph Dolomite Sprint engine. There's not much room, but still I have been able to get started down that long road that will see the Stag roadworthy again. So, then, here's a blow-by-blow account of the last two months.
STAG DIARY: THE RESURRECTION OF LE21742UBW
THURSDAY, 23 OCT 2008:
Drove to Evansville, Indiana to pick up the Stag. Paid $3500 for the car, loaded
it onto a trailer and drove home 1009 miles in 18 hours. Cost of fuel and trailer
rental: $300. Parked the Stag in my driveway where she will stay for a couple
of weeks until I can get the car running and clear enough space in the garage
to move the Stag inside. No rush just yet. The weather won't turn until around
Nov. 15th. After that, any work will have to be carried out indoors.
FRIDAY, 24 OCT 2008:
Took a look under the hood and inside. Not a lot of missing or broken parts.
But some mysteries need to be solved. The radio antenna is inside the car. The
hole for it in the fender was apparently never drilled. The lever for the tilt/telescopic
steering wheel adjustment is upside down. The shifter for the automatic transmission
is bent to the left. Huh? How could that happen? The dead pedal is missing,
but was found in the trunk. Speakers have been crudely installed in the footwells.
They'll be coming out.
SATURDAY, 25 OCT 2008:
I hooked up a battery charger just to see what works and what doesn't. The radio
came on immediately. All the lights work. The horns work. The heater blower
works. The a/c compressor clutch is doesn't. Interior lights work. A buzzer
makes noise whenever the key is on position II. The starter clicks and probably
will work with enough power. The driver window goes up and down. Passenger window
goes down, but not up without a little help. The trunk light works. The fuel
pump does not work. I cleaned the points and now it does work. I pulled and
drained the fuel tank. There was about 3 gallons of brown varnish like goo in
the tank. The sending unit has rusted so badly that the metal arm and float
has rotted off and is in the bottom of the tank. There may be some leaks at
the seams of the tank, which is filled with varnished gasoline and a light covering
of surface rust.
SUNDAY, 26 OCT 2008:
Washed the Stag. The paint would shine up nicely if waxed. I bought two cans
of Gunk and cleaned the engine. I also cleaned the windows.
MONDAY, 27 OCT 2008:
First parts order is placed to James Paddock, and it's a big one because the
British Pound has slumped against the Dollar. Among the parts ordered: a full
poly bush kit for the suspension, a complete exhaust system, front struts, a
fuel pump, a radiator/heater hose set, tune-up parts, brake parts, seals for
the differential, etc. Total cost more than: $1000. Also, two new rear wheel
cylinders bought on eBay UK came in today. Cost: $50.
TUESDAY, 28 OCT 2008:
The Paddock order weighed too much to be shipped via Parcel Force. So, the exhaust
system will come in another order. Two parts bought off eBay UK before I owned
the Stag arrived today... a new set of rear wheel cylinders. I paid too much.
I found a place in Detroit that will clean the crud out of the fuel tank, sandblast
it inside and out and the reseal it. It'll be guaranteed to be leak-proof for
life. Cost: $400.
WEDNESDAY, 29 OCT 2008:
Dropped off the fuel tank. It should take about a week for the repair job. In
the mail today came a factory Stag repair manual circa 1977, another eBay purchase.
THURSDAY, 30 OCT 2008:
Wouldn't you know it, a Stag fuel tank in good condition turned up on eBay for
$100. I bought it. If it is good, I'll sell the refurbished one.
FRIDAY, 31 OCT 2008:
I used the £50 voucher from Rimmers that I paid $50 for at an auction
to buy a new brake master cylinder and few other parts. I should now have all
parts on order that I need for a long winter of rebuilding the Stag's various
systems. We start with the fuel system. Then move on to the brakes. Then I'll
redo the cooling system. Finally, I'll finish up with the suspension. By spring,
I hope to have the Stag roadworthy -- if the engine and gearbox are in decent
condition. But that's a big if.
SATURDAY, 1 NOV 2008:
Today was a big day for the Stag. First, I changed the oil. I drained 2.5 gallons
out of the crankcase. I guess the previous owner, Edgar Schiffer, filled the
crankcase up to prevent the engine from seizing during its long storage. The
oil was dark, but there was no moisture in it, no metal chunks and no other
foreign debris. I installed a spin-on oil filter conversion and filled up with
five quarts of Castrol GTX 20W 50 -- the first fresh oil that engine has seen
since the days of Reagan and Thatcher.
I also removed carburetors, took them apart and soaked them in cleaner. Wow. They almost look new. All the internal parts were in remarkable shape. The pistons were not stuck, the diaphragms were in fine shape and the needle valves were free. I bet I could have got the car running without rebuilding the carbs. It looks like the carbs were run out of gas before storage. In any case, I got one of the carbs 75 per cent rebuilt and will finish the other in a day or so. In taking the carbs off, I could see that the Stag was not running well when it was stored.
The centre pedestal O-ring was flattened and someone tried to seal it with what looks like plumber's putty. So, there was a vacuum leak there. Many of the factory emissions vacuum hoses are disconnected. I also changed the spark plugs. All eight of the Champion N11s that came out were very dark, indicating very rich running. I hope that's the reason the plugs are dark, and not because the engine was burning oil. The plugs also were gapped wrong and filled with large chunks of carbon. But I feel good about the prospects of being able to fire up the car once the fuel system is rebuilt.
SUNDAY, 2 NOV 2008:
The carbs are rebuilt. And they look new. There is no doubt now in my mind the
the 21,500 miles on the odometer are true, original miles. These carbs show
almost no wear and none of the gunking up inside that you commonly find on high
mileage cars. Nothing left to do now except wait for the parts to come from
England. I hope to have the engine running by next weekend.
MONDAY, 3 NOV 2008:
The first really big parts order came in from England today from James Paddock.
It totaled £674 or $1066 with shipping. But now I've got everything I
need to rebuild the brakes and suspension and get the engine running. If the
engine is healthy, then I will focus on replacing all the seals, changing the
timing chains and guides, cleaning it up cosmetically and tidying up the engine
bay. If it isn't, I'll pull it in the spring for a rebuild. The quality of the
parts looks pretty good. I also got today from eBay UK a new grille badge and
an original Unipart head gasket set. So, there's only an exhaust system on order
now. As well as a few parts from Rimmers. When all that gets here, I shouldn't
need anything else until next Spring.
WEDNESDAY, 5 NOV 2008:
Cleaned out the pickup tube for the gas tank. It was filled with sludge and
gummed up with old dead gasoline. Now I'm just waiting for the fuel tank to
be finished so that I can put the fuel system back together and see if the Stag
will run.
THURSDAY, 6 NOV 2008:
Installed the carbs/pedestal this morning before work. I cleaned some kind of
plumbers putty out of the O-ring groove, fitted the new O-ring and then tightened
the carburetors into place. Reinstalling the linkage will have to wait until
Saturday -- if the weather holds out.
FRIDAY, 7 NOV 2008:
The fuel tank is ready. The cost: $400. But rain and sleet are in the forecast
for Saturday, so I may not be able to get the car running. After work, in the
dark and working with a flashlight, I pulI out the old battery, noting that
the power steering adjustment bracket is installed backwards. With the old battery
out, I'm off to Murray's Auto Parts for a new battery and 4ft of fuel line.
Once the new battery is in, I can't resist the urge. I have to turn the key
and see if the starter works. It does. The engine turns over, but it seems very,
very stiff.
SATURDAY, 8 NOV 2008:
Just before going to pick up the fuel tank at 8am, I hook up the battery charger.
Later today, I'm going to need all the cranking power available. I pick up the
tank, and it's beautiful. All the schmootz is out. And it has been sealed and
guaranteed for life not to leak. By 8.30am, I am in the driveway with the tools
out. The tank, complete with a new sending unit, goes back in easily enough.
So does the new SU fuel pump. A light rain starts as I button up the trunk trim.
Still, I head around the corner to the gas station for four gallons of premium
unleaded. That should be enough to get it started.
Now it's time to start under the hood. It takes about an hour to install the new fuel lines, fuel filter and breather hoses. Next: out come the points for a cleaning. Then it's time to see of she'll run. I hit the key. The starter grinds away painfully. Nothing doing. The engine makes no effort to start and offers no signs of encouragement. Looking around the engine, I see fuel is dripping from the freshly rebuilt left carb. Off come the carbs. WOW. There's a huge puddle of gas at the bottom of the intake. I change the needle and seat on the left carb and re-install the carbs while the battery gets more nourishment from the charger.
Now it's about noon, and I am ready to try again. This time, the engine fires a little. Now it wants to start. I fiddle with the choke and throttle while twisting the key. Almost there. She runs for a few seconds and dies. It seems as if there's a big vacuum leak somewhere. I check all the hoses and see the someone has cut off the part of the fitting for the power brake booster so the hose is just sitting over it. I change that hose and clamp it down tightly. I find nothing else amiss. Finally after more cranking, she catches and starts running at around 2,300 RPM. It's very loud and sounds a bit like a garbage truck.
The exhaust system past the downpipes must be totally rotted away. Still, the engine sounds OK under the hood. I hear no rod knocks or big end bearing noises. There's no clicking or ticking from the valvetrain. The timing chains seem quiet. I spot no water leaks. The engine is running very poorly, though. It won't idle properly. Smoke is everywhere as decades worth of caked on oil burn off as the engine warms up. I see no blue oil smoke from the exhaust, so maybe the engine is in good shape internally. I tinker with the carbs for at least 45 minutes and now she's running a little better. Now the engine starts right up when I turn the key. And its seems to have loosened up a bit. With the engine running at about 1000 RPM, I shift into reverse, and it goes in smoothly. I try drive, success again. Another Triumph-engined Stag is back among the living. Now it is around 3pm and it's getting very raw outside. Time to close down for the day. The Stag is running well enough to limp into the garage tomorrow for a long winter of reparations.
SUNDAY, 9 NOV 2008: I clean the garage, move the TR8 over to the right and clear a parking space for the Stag for the winter. She's a little cranky, but I get it started and drive it into the garage. And it turns out to be good timing, too.
MONDAY, 10 NOV 2008:
Woke up this morning to a light blanket of snow on the ground. I'm glad the
Stag is inside. Two boxes of parts come today. First, from Paddock, I get my
new exhaust system. It looks nice. Two other parts that didn't make it in the
first order, a vacuum pipe and a front caliper rebuild kit, are in today's order.
Rimmer's delivers two new sets of points, a brake master cylinder and rear axle
dust boots. So, now everything is here. The Pound is well down again against
the Dollar, and now I am thinking one more big order, this time for new carpet,
seat foams and other cosmetic and trim parts might not be so bad. Especially
if finances get very tight next year. That last order will give me everything
needed for the restoration. Probably about $700 worth of parts are needed. I
may place the order this week and be done with it.
TUESDAY, 11 NOV 2008:
With the Pound down to about $1.50, I decide to just go ahead and buy pretty
much everything else I need to get the Stag squared away, about $500 worth before
shipping. Thanks to a sales at Rimmers, an additional 15 per cent off is being
knocked off, so the cost to me is like $1.35 per Pound -- awesome prices. I
order carpet, weather stripping, body gaskets , a new timing chain set, and
many things I won't need until next summer. But there's no telling what's going
to happen to exchange rates and the economy and work. I don't want any big parts
bills next year. I want it all here so that when I do get around to working
on the car, I can just reach into my parts stash and get cranking.
WEDNESDAY, 12 NOV 2008:
During a lull at work, I go to the British Motor Heritage Web Site and order
a Heritage Certificate for the Stag. Cost of £41. I am curious to see
where this one was shipped from, what boat it came over on, where it landed
and where it was sold. All that info was on the Certificate for my old yellow
Stag, so let's see if this one has the same amount of detail.
FRIDAY, 14 NOV 2008:
Winter work begins! The radiator is out. It was too warm today not pass up an
opportunity to begin major reparations. So, I drain the cooling system and take
out the radiator. Once again, I find more evidence of improper maintenance.
I can't understand why a car with only 21,500 miles has had so much work done.
It might have been time, not distance that caused the radiator hoses to be replaced.
Whoever did the job was a two-bit hack. The upper and lower radiator hoses were
adapted to fit the Stag from who knows what.
I find one bent fan blade, wrong nuts and bolts here and there and bent fins
on the air conditioner condenser. There is still a little freon on the a/c system.
Incredible. Anyway, the fan, a/c compressor, power steering pump and radiator
are out of the car or disconnected. The paint in the engine bay looks pretty
good. It may clean up and be respectable. Next week, the radiator goes over
to Mel at Ferndale Radiator for his magic. But it probably will be awhile before
it gets reinstalled. Many items are going to be sent out for powder coating.
SATURDAY, 15 NOV 2008:
Today's work will go a long way in determining if I will pull the engine in
the Spring for a rebuild. It's time to run a compression test and see what's
going on inside the motor. At 12.30pm, it's about 46 degrees outside and around
53 in the garage, warm enough to go for it. So, I pull out all eight plugs and
here's what I find:
Left bank:
2= 120 lbs, 4= 120 lbs, 6= 105 lbs, 8= 120 lbs
Right bank:
1= 120 lbs, 3= 130 lbs, 5= 120 lbs, 7= 115 lbs
Six is marginal. The rest are okay -- I think. I have no idea how many pounds of compression is normal for the Stag's low-compression engine. I have sent out a few e-mails for advice. We'll see what happens. Next, I think the intake will come off and be sent out along with the valve covers and the air cleaner for powder coating.
TUESDAY, 18 NOV 2008:
Rimmers is having a 15 per cent off sale on Stag parts. That combined with the
giant improvement in exchange rates, means another big order is gonna happen.
I think that I will replace the water pump and timing chains, tensioners and
guides just to be on the safe side. I don't want to pull apart this engine again.
So, I spend an hour with the Rimmers Stag catalog and come up with £335
worth of mechanical and trim parts. There are just a few more things I need
now that I will get before the end of the year. 2009 is going to be the year
of saving money where possible, and I don't want too many ongoing car projects
draining my budget. I figure I will spend the money now and use the parts as
I need them.
WEDNESDAY, 19 NOV 2008:
Mel has the Stag radiator, and he is going to install a new core with extra
rows and more space between the fins. That and refurbishing the rest of the
cooling system should help keep the temperature under control. I think that
I will remove the mechanical fan and replace it with an electric unit with a
temperature sensor in the radiator. If space allows.
TUESDAY, 24 NOV 2008: I turned on my computer this morning at work and found this e-mail from British Motor Heritage Trust:
Dear Mr Truett,
Thank you for ordering a Heritage Certificate for your Stag. We have a discrepancy regarding your engine number between the build and despatch records. The build record records the engine number as LE/20457-UEBW, whereas the despatch record states the engine number is LE/21157-UEBW. This discrepancy could be down to simple human error when one of the records was created, or might signify an engine change that wasn't recorded on the build record, but has shown up on the despatch record.
If you could give any insight into this I'd be very grateful, as we obviously want to ensure we get the Heritage Certificate right.
Regards
Richard Bacchus
Certificate Officer
BMIHT Archive
I wrote back telling Mr. Bacchus that I would check the engine number when I got home from work. After taking Frankie, my intrepid dachshund, for a walk, out to the garage I went. I located the serial number behind the distributor and sprayed the area with brake cleaner and scrubbed it with steel wool. Then I could read the number. It was LE 20457-UEBW. So, the car has the engine it was built with, and there was a paperwork mistake.
I sent the following note to Mr. Bacchus:
Richard,
I can now confirm that the Triumph 3.0-liter engine in my 1973 "Federal" Stag is the one on the build record, LE20457-UEBW.
Perhaps you are correct about the human error for the discrepancy.
Thank you very much for your earlier note; this should now clear up any confusion.
Cheers,
Richard Truett
Berkley, Michigan
P.S. I also have a 1990 Rover (Sterling over here) 827 fastback. Can I order a certificate for that one, too? I think this is a rare car, 1 of 7 that were called "Silver Bullet."
...and received this reply:
Richard
Thank you for clearing that up, we can assume that it must have been around 4pm on a Friday afternoon when the despatch document was made out! Your certificate will be with you soon.
Regarding your Rover Sterling, I'm afraid we do not have the build records for these and are therefore unable to produce certificates for them.
WEDNESDAY, 25 NOV 2008:
A huge box of parts from Rimmers is sitting in my living room. Door handle gaskets,
taillight gaskets and a new lens, engine parts, electrical parts. It's all here
and looking pretty good. I'll work on the car as the weather allows, but real
progress won't be made until the Spring. A nice, reconditioned chrome trim piece
for the front panel above the grille from eBay UK also arrived today.
SATURDAY, 28 NOV 2008:
It was about 37 degrees today, warm enough to pull the intake off the engine
and have a look inside. The manifold bolts came out OK. They were not uniformly
torqued, though. I see no stripped threads, a good sign. I pulled the water
pump cover off and took out the pump. It is rusty and scaley in there. I hope
that is not indicative of the water passages in the rest of the block. One bothersome
surprise: The engine was last run without a thermostat. It must have had cooling
problems.
Imagine that, a Stag that can't keep its cool. Well, I will sort that out. Next project: get everything packed up and ready to go off to be powdercoated. That would be the intake, valve covers, air cleaner assembly and a few other parts. Next to come off the engine: exhaust manifolds and exhaust system. I don't know if there's room to do this in the garage. If not, it'll have to wait until Spring. Those exhaust manifolds are going to get jet-coated black to help reduce the heat in the engine bay.
An e-mail came tonight from Rimmers. Now free shipping for the next two days. I may have to revisit the Stag catalog and make one final order. I need seat foams and a few other things.
Here's the Stag engine with the intake removed, rebuilt water pump installed
and heads cleaned.
Next: intake manifold will go back when it warms up.
WEDNESDAY, 3 DEC 2008:
The new seat foams from Rimmer came today. That was another $300, but the shipping
from England was free. Mel at Ferndale Radiator called. Good progress is being
made. The new high efficiency core is in and the rad should be buttoned up in
a couple of weeks. Just a few more big expenditures left...the steering rack
will need to sent to Atlantic Enterprises for a rebuild. And new tyres will
be needed.
SATURDAY, 6 DEC 2008:
The STAG license plates came today, and they look great. Also, the final package
from England, two new brown furflex door seals and a water pump rebuild kit
arrived from James Paddock. So, now all parts needed to revamp the Stag are
here. But it's just too damn cold to work on the car.
MONDAY, 8 DEC 2008:
Mel at Ferndale Radiator called. The Stag radiator is rebuilt with a new, high
efficiency core that is about 1/2 inch wider than the old one, has more tubes
and fins. Cost: $406. I'll pick it up later in the week. Next big project, remove
the power steering rack and send it off for a rebuild.
I have a magician friend named Mel who owns a radiator shop. Mel has cured cooling
problems in every
Triumph that I've owned that needed such help. Mel builds high capacity radiators
that hold about 1/3rd
more coolant, have extra tubes and that have fins spaced further apart to let
the air pass through quicker
and easier. This is the Stag radiator that Mel made for me, cost $406.
SATURDAY, 13 DEC 2008:
It's 37 degrees today...warm enough to crank up two small electric heaters in
the garage and get some work done on the Stag. The water pump is first on the
list. It was no trouble taking it out of the block, but the brass cage has been
left behind. Bugger. After an hour's struggle, I finally fashioned a crude tool
and got the cage out.
Specifically, I bent a rather large washer in the vise, put a long thin bolt through it and then worked it into the brass cage at an angle so that when straightened, the washer would be under the bottom of the cage. Then I used the claw end of a hammer to pull the cage right out. An hour later, the water pump was cleaned, rebuilt and ready for reinstallation. But not before the V section of the block got a good cleaning with steel wool, gunk and carburetor cleaner. At about 55 degrees inside, the garage is tolerable and the work goes smoothly except for a nasty gash on my thumb that won't stop bleeding.
THURSDAY, 18 DEC 2008:
The British Motor Heritage Certificate arrived from Gaydon today. I have bought
one for all of my British cars, and they always make for interesting reading.
The Stag's is no exception. Several interesting things jump out. First, the
Stag was built 31 January 1973. But it didn't leave Great Britain until almost
three months later. It was shipped out of Southampton on 27 March 1973. Why
did it sit for nearly three months? Was it on the docks, soaking up salty air?
If so, the body and undercarriage do not show it.
Even though my Stag lived its entire life in Evansville, Indiana, a tiny town some 600 miles southwest of Detroit, the Heritage Certificate shows that my Stag has been here in Detroit once before. In the early 1970s, British Leyland had a field office in the Detroit suburb of Mt. Clemens. And that's apparently where it went when new. The selling dealer is listed as British Leyland Motors, Inc. Detroit. The original colors, trim and equipment and engine and gearbox numbers match up with those of the Certificate, further lending credibility to the 21,500 miles on the odometer.
As with other Stags bound for North America, mine has a fairly comprehensive list of factory equipment and options. Automatic transmission, hard top, air conditioning, alloy wheels, laminated windscreen and inertia reel seatbelts. One thing not listed, curiously, is a radio. Indeed there isn't a hole in any wing for the antenna, which is inside the car. Mystery solved. I think. I have never seen another Stag that didn't have a factory fitted radio and antenna. Mine didn't for some reason. The radio in it now is some newer model with a cassette player. But a search of eBay turned up a correct BL AM/FM radio from the early 1970s with the British Leyland logo across the dial. All for the agreeable price of $63, including shipping.
SATURDAY, 20 DEC 2008:
Despite the fact that it is 24 degrees outside, on go the heaters and off into
the garage I go. There's a foot of snow on the ground, making the roads dangerous
and nearly impassable, so what else is there to do but bundle up with layers
of warm clothes and hit the garage. The water pump cover is cleaned, measurements
taken and then it is reinstalled and torqued into place.
My next task is to remove the exhaust manifolds, but here is where I hit a brick wall that could complicate things in a very nasty way. The first problem are the downpipes. The nuts holding them to the studs on the manifolds are rusted badly. So are the protruding sections of the threads on the studs. They'll easily snap off, meaning that the exhaust manifolds will have to come off the heads to rectify that situation. And this is where things could really get ugly. The exhaust manifold bolts appear to have never been off since the Stag was new. That's almost 35 years. The bolts are rusted and seized to the aluminum threads in the head.
One bolt feels as if it is about to snap, so I decide not to try and remove it. Break one of these bolts off, and the head has to come off the engine to fix it. The heads appear to also never have been taken off. I decide to stop right here and consult some experts. Meanwhile, an attempt to change the sending unit for the water temperature gauge also meets with failure. Not only can I not determine what size wrench it takes, but also there is almost no room in back of the cylinder head for me to get a wrench on it.
Time to quit for the day. And maybe the rest of the winter.
| Feedback: |  |
October 2008
That's me on the left (with glasses) in the blue striped shirt with Edgar Schiff,
owner of the Stag since
1977. The car is loaded onto the trailer and I am minutes away from the 489
mile return trip to Detroit.
HE problem with the first Stag
that I owned was its colour: Yellow. Specifically a blindingly bright shade
of yellow Triumph called Mimosa. I don't like yellow on cars. To me, yellow
only looks good on an ear of corn. So, I sold the yellow Stag, despite the fact
its mechanically challenged OHC 3-litre engine and twin exhausts made the most
wonderful automotive sounds I have ever heard in anything less expensive than
a Ferrari.
I let the yellow Stag go knowing full well that I would miss the car's beautiful styling. The Stag's dimensions are just about perfect. And there's not a bad angle or line of the Stag. It just looks great. It is automotive work of art. But I am very particular, not only to colour but also to the Mark I and Mark II versions. I only like the 1973 and later cars. But 1973 was the last year for the Stag in the USA. Only a few hundred were imported, and they are very hard to find here. But every now and then, they do turn up.
And so while at work on Sept. 13th, between projects and while the boss was looking away, I conducted my usual search for interesting Triumphs for sale on the Internet. I spotted this ad:
"1973 Triump Stag that is all original. This car has been in storage for the last 20yrs. Has the original v-8 engine, interior is in excellent condition. The car is totally unmolested, with only small surface rust due to being in a climate controlled pole barn. We have not tried to start the car, but with minor work from someone who KNOWS Triump's would be a fantastic start. Has less than 22,000 original miles. Asking $7000.00"
The ad contained three photos that showed a very clean looking original dark blue car with a chestnut brown interior -- an excellent colour combination. Better yet, all the parts were where they were supposed to be. There is no one in the USA that stocks spares for the Stag, so restoring one is an expensive undertaking because everything has to be shipped from the UK.
The $7000 asking price, was of course, a sum I was never going to pay, especially for a non-running Stag. So, I didn't do anything right away. I kept my eyes on the ad just to see if the car would sell. About a week later, I sent the owner an e-mail asking for more pictures and then called him. About this time, the world economic situation started taking a very drastic turn. When stock markets are plunging and home values shrinking and retirement funds are disappearing like a mirage in the desert, buying classic cars falls down life's list of priorities.
After protracted haggling, the agreed upon selling price was $3500. When it comes to buying a car for cheap, the person I admire most in these matters is Keith Adams. I've never seen anyone end up with more perfectly usable classics for less. I felt Keith would nod in approval of me getting the owner to knock 50 per cent off the asking price. But, considering the dismal economic nature of the world today, $3500 still is a very fair price for the car.
Now, all I had to do is get the Stag to Detroit from its home since new in Evansville, Indiana, some 489 miles away from Detroit. Having a non-running car transported was out of the question. That would have been around $1000. That left with me with just one option: Go and get the Stag myself. If I did that, I could have the Stag home for around $300. Looking at the time and distance, I figured I could do the job in one very long day. If all went well, I could leave home around 8.30am meet the owner as just he returned from work at 3pm load up the car and then be back in my driveway by around midnight.
I had the time off from work. I could borrow the truck needed to tow car-hauling trailer, which I could borrow from a friend in the Detroit Triumph Sports Car Club. So I decided to go for it. Preparations were simple: I packed a huge bag of sandwiches, snacks and drinks. To save time, I was only going to stop for fuel and to drain my own radiator, if you know what I mean, and I think you do. I set off on my mission to rescue the wayward Stag on Thursday, Oct. 23.
Here, then, is how the day unfolded:
8.46am I ease the big Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD out of my
driveway to go and pick-up the trailer from my friend Blake Discher.
9.15am Arriving at Blake's, I find his trailer and my truck
hitch are not compatible because the truck has a Class 5 or heavy duty hitch
and the trailer is Class 3. Bugger, as they say.
9.44am Now I am headed out of Chet's Rent All with the proper
trailer and $112 fewer dollars in my bank account. But I am on my way. Traffic
in Detroit is moving well. I set the stations on the Satellite Radio to the
'60s, '70s, '80s and deep album tracks. There will be no Michael Bolton, Kenny
G or Yanni corroding my ears on this trip. Satellite radio, which is not yet
available in Europe, works like cable TV. There are 275 or so channels with
every type of programming, most commercial free. I also turn on the Navi system.
Now there's nothing left thing left to do but sit here for hours and turn when
I am told.
11.50am I am in Ohio, 108 miles east of Dayton, when it is
time for the first fuel stop of the day. Diesel fuel is $3.39 per gallon. The
truck is using about 1 gallon every 15 miles, not bad.
11.57am 15 gallons and $51 later, I'm off again.
12.01pm The first of three ham sandwiches disappears.
3.05pm Fuel stop number two of the day comes in Interstate
71 near Louisville, Kentucky. 16 gallons of diesel costs $57. The land out here
is flat and boring. America's middle west -- at least this part of it -- doesn't
offer much in the way of interesting things to see. Even the automotive scenery
is on the dull side. I've seen just one British car all day, a new MINI Cooper.
No Jags and certainly no old BL products. Not even a Land Rover. The closest
I come to finding anything with even a remote connection to BL is a sign for
Triumph brand chewing tobacco.
3.14pm Back on the road. Thank goodness for Satellite Radio.
On the regular radio, there's nothing but Jesus talk and country and western
music. The Stone's classic Get Off My Cloud never sounded so good.
The dosh changes hands. $3,500 is cash paid for the Stag
5.45pm I turn the truck into Edgar Schiff's driveway, and there's the Stag. Looking over the car, it seems to match the description over the phone. There are no major surprises. But I see that it has suffered from poor upkeep. And that's understandable. Even in BL's best days in the USA, there wasn't a Triumph dealer or a pair of factory trained hands within 200 miles of Evansville, Indiana/ This small town is buried in the middle of endless rows of cornfields smack dab in the middle of nowhere. How exactly did the Stag end up spending its life here? "I bought it from the doctor who bought it new," said Schiff, aged 82. "I drove it until about 1987. Then I bought a Corvette and I just parked it." He says the car never overheated. But I see that many of the cooling hoses have been changed and that the intake has been off the car. After only 21,960 miles, that doesn't speak well for Triumph.
The Stag on the trailer behind the truck, all ready to go. The drive home was
safe, but long.
6.20pm The car is loaded onto the trailer. I see
power steering fluid is leaking from the bellows as I chain the car down to
the trailer. But the dosh changes hands. I have been given the title to the
car and the keys. The truck and trailer are turned around. It's getting dark.
I am about 500 miles from home. But I am happy. The Stag is a blank canvas for
me. Since it is all there, I can take it apart, restore and put it back together
again. I could put a Rover engine in it, perhaps or leave it original. Thinking
of the possibilities will consumer hours of my time on the long drive home.
7:15pm The mind gets restless on long road trips. Calls to
girlfriends help break up the monotony. But my thoughts are with the car behind
me. I wonder: If it were possible to add up all the miles all the Stags ever
built have travelled I bet a disproportionally large number of those miles would
be just like now, with the Stag on a trailer or being transported some other
way.
8.27pm I am running low on fuel. There's less than 1/4 of a
tank. And I am in the middle of nowhere. I pull off the road in some small town
in Kentucky and find that both gas stations don't sell diesel. Back on the road
and starting to worry. This could get ugly.
8.52pm Thank goodness for British Petroleum! I see the familiar
green BP sign and the word "Diesel" coming up at the next exit on
Interstate 71. 17 gallons and $63 later, I am back on the road and getting ready
for the final 312 miles stretch home.
8.54pm The Clash's "London Calling" comes on the
radio. The volume goes up. Way up. The second ham sandwich disappears. The adrenaline
is flowing. I am really happy. Things are going great, and physically, I feel
pretty good. It's so nice to look in the rear view mirror and see that Stag
back there. I will make it into a beautiful car.
11.24pm Last fuel stop. I'm near Dayton, Ohio again and winding
down physically. It's been a really long day and I am starting to feel it in
my 47 year old bones. Only $36 worth of diesel this time. I am 198 miles from
home. Two old guys standing near the fuel pump are talking about some sort if
illicit affair. "You really should find a woman more your own age,"
says one. "Maybe I should put my line back in the water," says the
other. Though that is distracting in prurient, voyeuristic way, I find that
I can block that out by thinking of the Stag engine's myriad engineering deficiencies
and ways they might be cured or at least made more robust.
2.24am I turn the Chevy into my driveway. I am mentally drained
and physically shattered. Looking at the odometer in the truck, I see I have
covered 1096 miles. But I am thankful. There were no close calls. No gnarly
hours-long traffic delays. No speeding tickets or unwanted attention from the
law enforcement community. And I have a Stag again. Life is good. Oh, yes it
is.
Not much in the way of BL machinery spotted on the way to get the Stag. All
I saw was a sign for
Triumph chewing tobacco.
August 2008
The TR8 is nursed all the way back to health thanks to four huge boxes of parts
from Rimmers
T took less than 24 hours after
the arrival of my new TR8 before the boys at Rimmers over in Lincoln were packing
boxes of spares to send across the water.
Yes, you can still get many spares for the TR8 in the USA -- and that makes sense since most of the TR8's 2700 or so production run were sold here. However, Rimmers have some parts that can't be bought elsewhere, such as the non-catalytic converter down pipes that came on the few UK market TR8s. All the TR8s that came to the USA had big, heavy, cats fitted right under each exhaust manifold. Those things generate so much heat that they eventually fry the wiring harness on one side and the starter on the other.
After 27 years, the cats on my TR8 probably weren't very effective anymore anyway, so off they came. Let me back up a little, though, before I go on. If you've seen the blog entry, 547 miles in one day in a TR8, posted a few weeks back, you'll see how I ended up with this rare factory fuel injected TR8. After getting home from that trip I had a pretty good idea of what it would take to rectify the car's mechanical problems. There weren't many and most were related to age, not abuse or neglect, so the reparations started with replacing the steering column bush, a 90-minute job that took the slop out of the steering column.
That done, I had a look at the wiring going to the myriad sensors connected to the Lucas-Bosch EFi. I found a wire to a solenoid valve disconnected and, worse, two wires to the thermo time switch simply came out of their protective rubber boot. Those two things were rectified easily enough and, once done, brought to the great Rover V8 the proper level of smoothness that EFi is noted for.
Here is my newly rebuilt 4.0-litre Land Rover Disco engine for my 1981 TR7.
Horsepower is around 250...
Having a look underneath, I saw the exhaust system was rubbish. The thing that attracted me to this TR8 in the first place, besides the low price (a trait I clearly share with a certain K. Adams), was the fact that the TR8 is startlingly original. The rear half of the exhaust system, though, had the original rear boxes removed and glass packs welded in. It gave the car a nice rumble but, looking underneath the car, I could see that the over-the-axle pipes had more holes in them than a cheese grater. The centre mufflers, too, had rotted and were leaking so off the whole system came and on went the new stainless steel Falcon exhaust, which looks pretty, but is a poor fit. Only a hacksaw, a file, a Dremel and a steady stream of expletives saw the new system finally installed.
Next up, was to tackle a genetic problem all TR8s were born with: soft suspension. I installed a new, stiffer, set of springs which lower the car by an inch and also stiffen the ride. Since the front end was apart, I put in a new pair of gas-charged dampers, replaced all the rubber parts and installed a new set of ball joints. I also fitted a needle bearing front strut kit to smooth out the steering system.
Other minor maintenance included changing the oil and filter and flushing the brake system. Oddly enough, after the new 20W 50 Castrol GTX was circulating through the engine's veins, the low pressure oil warning light on the dash came on whenever the engine dropped below 1500 rpm. That sent me into full panic mode, although the engine made no dangerous noises or exhibited any symptoms of low oil pressure. Luckily for me, only the pressure switch was defective and a new one from a Land Rover of early 1980s vintage cured that problem. So, for the past two weeks, the TR8 has been doing well. Before she goes out for a respray, I plan to install a pair of modern and more efficient electric cooling fans to replace the original factory units and will have a professional take a look at the air con system.
Harris Mann, if you are still out there, you'll like this: I took the TR8 out for my weekly grocery run and, as I was walking out to the car, an elderly lady, who was looking at it from across the car park, called out: "That sure is a neat looking car." I said: "Thank you very much. It's old, though, and could use new paint." She replied, "Yeah, but the styling is great." Indeed it is.
The TR7 Sprint saw its most road time in the last two years but, for the first time ever, put me on the side of the road not once, but twice, in a four-day span. For some reason, the coil was getting so hot you could fry an egg on it. That was causing the engine to die. I took out the electronic ignition and re-installed some good old-fashioned points. That made the car run better, but still the coil was getting hot. I tried a new coil but to no avail. Something funky is going on with the ignition system. It may have to do with the in-line ballast resistor. Still, I trusted the car on a date with lady whom I hope to have a future with. The TR7 again showed its bad side but, in doing so, it let me shine. On the way back from dinner, the fuel pump croaked.
It was 9.10 on a Thursday night but an auto parts store a few blocks away was open until 10. I found the last electric fuel pump in stock on a shelf. That, a flashlight and some quick ties and $56 gave me one shot at a roadside repair. Failure would result in a bruised ego, the appearance of a tow truck and further damage to my credit card. Success meant I could be a hero to my lady friend, a knight in shining armour. Twenty minutes later, the TR7 was purring again, and we got home without incident, ego intact.
The hub is off the left front of the Rover 827 Sterling and the Haynes manual
is nearby
The TR7's days as a four-cylinder, however, are over. Sitting in my garage on an engine stand is a freshly built 4.0-litre Land Rover Disco engine. I now have all the factory original parts to make a clean, professional, conversion. I plan to do the job in a three-day span in later this month and then run the car for a few thousand miles on its Edelbrock carburettor, before switching over to fuel injection.
What can I say about my 1990 Rover Sterling 827 fastback? She's been almost completely perfect. Last month I replaced a noisy front wheel bearing and haven't opened the bonnet since. I am worried about something, though. I think the dreaded dash lift is starting. The windshield acts as a magnifying glass on the dash and, on a hot day, you could almost fry an egg on that as well. No wonder, then, that the dash warps and comes apart on 800s. I have been keeping a heavy towel over it and, while that has helped to keep the heat down, there are still two areas which are starting to deform slightly.
It's been a busy but happy month. I do now miss my Dolly Sprint, which I sold last month, but I am completely happy with my three classic BL and Rover cars so, at the moment, life’s good.
| Fleet update | |
| 1981 Triumph TR8 EFi | |
| Mileage: | 60,839 |
|---|---|
| Amount Spent: | new exhaust system, $650; two new oxygen sensors, $50; four new uprated springs, $145; new front dampers and sundry rubber parts, $190; oil pressure switch, $8; steering column bush, $14; new front brake pads, $30; needle bearing front strut kit, $35; sundry fluids, filters, wire connectors, etc. $50, new ball joints, $40 and uprated General Motors alternator, $100 |
| Engine: | Rover 3.5-litre V8 w/ Lucas-Bosch EFi |
| Gearbox: | LT77 5-speed manual |
| Horsepower: | 147 est. |
| 1981 Triumph TR7 Sprint | |
| Mileage: | 52,335 |
|---|---|
| Amount Spent: | $39 for new ignition coil; $49 for new electric fuel pump |
| Engine: | Triumph 2.0-litre SOHC 16-v 2.0-litre with TriumphTune 2-inch SUs, STR091 cam and 0.40 pistons |
| Gearbox: | LT77 5-speed manual |
| Horsepower: | 185 est. |
| 1990 Rover Sterling 827 SLi | |
| Mileage: | 106,092 |
|---|---|
| Amount Spent: | Nil |
| Engine: | 2.7-litre SOHC 24-valve Honda V6 |
| Gearbox: | Honda 4-speed automatic, unfortunately |
| Horsepower: | 163 |
June 2008
Not your average Detroit driveway...
F someone had told me 15 years
ago, when I last owned a Rover 827, that someday I would say that these are
great cars, I would have immediately suspected that person of ingesting some
sort of mood modifying – and possibly illegal – substance. But I
say it now to anyone who will listen: the Rover 827 is a great car. And no,
I have not ingested some sort of mood modifying – possibly illegal –
substance. I am of reasonably sound mind.
My experience back in the late 1980s and early '90s with this particular Rover wasn't good. None of the three USA-spec Rover Sterlings I owned back then ever suffered a vehicle-stopping breakdown. But air conditioners never worked for more than a month at a time. Speedometers broke. And certain trim items didn't stay attached to the car.
And yet, nearly 20 years later, when time and more than 100,000 miles should have made my latest Rover, a 1990 Fastback, even more prone to that sort of trouble, I am finding it isn't so. Quite unexpectedly, my Rover Sterling has been forced into daily service, no easy job on the mean, potholed streets of Detroit. On 2nd June, on the way home from work, I crashed my 2005 Mustang while travelling around 60mph on the highway.
A red Honda suddenly changed into my lane about 5 feet off my front bumper and then the driver immediately stood on the brakes. I don't think I was even able to slow down much. It was a tremendous hit, enough to set off the air bag. And yet, I am thankful. I am so glad it wasn't my Rover or one of my classic Triumphs that met up with the rear end of the Honda. Because then I would have been angry, Pulp Fiction, getting medieval on someone angry. My Mustang can be easily replaced. My British cars cannot.
No one was hurt - and Richard's relieved he wasn't in the Sterling when the
Honda pulled out in front...
I have been using the Rover as my main mode of transport while the Mustang has been in the bodyshop and it has been nothing short of superb. And it has been nothing short of superb. A new driver's side window relay finally cured the intermittent nature of the thing, and now the window responds all the time in both directions when a driver's finger touches the buttons. The power seats are also now fully functional thanks to some cleaning of wire connections and wiggling of fuses under the dash. I am down to one final electrical problem: the rear window defroster doesn't work. However, I recently bought a new rear control unit from a UK-based Rover breaker and that should cure its ills.
I have one repair upcoming: the left front wheel bearing is a bit noisy. After 100,000 miles, it's entitled to be. I was able to find a new replacement bearing easily because it is the same part as used on the Honda Legend. Cost: $67. I had one minor mystery to solve since last month's Running Report: oil consumption was somewhat high at a quart every 1000 miles but there was no smoke coming from the tailpipe and no leaks under the car. I found a loose oil filter when I changed the oil and, since then, I have not had to add a drop.
My TR7 Sprint, despite my best efforts and a new oil pan from Rimmers, continues to have a minor oil leak. This is very disheartening. I can't find the source of the leak but it is coming from somewhere near the right front of the engine. In any case, I won't have long to worry about it because my TR7 soon won't be motivated by a four-cylinder engine. I am currently having a Land Rover Disco 4.0-litre V8 rebuilt and that is going to be transplanted into the TR. I want to do an authentic and professional conversion and so have been picking off the original factory TR8 parts needed on eBay for the last nine months. I have the subframe, PAS system, bellhousing, instrument pack, exhaust and cooling systems and all the other parts. I am planning to yank the Sprint engine out sometime in early September. There will be a full feature article on that job later this year.
This Discovery 4-litre V8 engine block (and all the rest) is about to be shoehorned
into Richard's TR7.
My TR7 Sprint, despite my best efforts and a new oil pan from Rimmers, continues to have a minor oil leak. This is very disheartening. I can't find the source of the leak. But it is coming from somewhere near the right front of the engine. In any case, I won't have long to worry about it. Because my TR7 soon won't be motivated by a four-cylinder engine. In for a rebuild at this writing is a Land Rover Disco 4.0-litre V8 that is going to be transplanted into the TR. For the past nine months, I have been picking off the original factory TR8 parts I need on eBay to make a professional conversion using authentic, original parts. I have the subframe, PAS system, bellhousing, instrument pack, exhaust and cooling systems, and all the other parts. I am planning to yank the Sprint engine out sometime in early September. There will be a full feature article on that job later this year.
I've done this job once before on TR7 VIN 408366, the 168th to the last car off the line. The job was so well done, not even the sharpest eyed TR8 fanatic could tell it was a conversion. Over the years, I have come to regret selling the car. Earlier this year, I asked the buyer if he'd sell it back to me but he said no and so now I am planning to do the job one final time.
My Rover V8 is being built by Mark LaGrue, one half owner of D&D Fabrications in Almont, Michigan north of Detroit. D&D is North America's headquarters for the Rover V8. Dan LaGrue, the other half owner of the business, is a former GM engine engineer who pioneered much work on the Rover engine. D&D sells rebuilt high performance Rover V8s in any state of tune and with whatever horsepower is wanted to customers all over the world. A full feature on the business is upcoming but, if you want to see what D&D is all about, check out the company's website at www.aluminumV8.com.
I guess that, with my Dolomite off to spend its retirement years in the warm Georgia sunshine, the TR8 conversion scheduled for this summer and with my Rover Sterling tamed and a pleasure to drive, things are going pretty well. My bank account is back to normal and I should be fine – as long, that is, as I stay off eBay and continue to ignore that beautiful 1997 Jaguar XJ6 Vanden Plas in Pennsylvania with just 45,562 original miles.
Thing is, I can have that car for the Buy It Now price of just $9998...
Mark LaGrue of D&D Fabrications and a completed cylinder head for Richard's
TR8 conversion.
| Fleet update | |
| 1977 Triumph Dolomite Sprint | |
| Mileage: | 53,989 |
|---|---|
| Amount Spent: | $2800 for body repairs and to repaint bonnet and fenders. Car now sold. |
| Engine: | Triumph 2.0-litre SOHC 16v 2.0-litre with mild road cam |
| Gearbox: | 4-speed manual with overdrive |
| Horsepower: | 140 est. |
| 1981 Triumph TR7 Sprint | |
| Mileage: | 51,799 |
|---|---|
| Amount Spent: | $75 for new oil pan and gasket. |
| Engine: | Triumph 2.0-litre SOHC 16-v 2.0-litre with TriumphTune 2-inch SUs, STR091 cam and 0.40 pistons |
| Gearbox: | LT77 5-speed manual |
| Horsepower: | 185 est. |
| 1990 Rover Sterling 827 SLi | |
| Mileage: | 107,362 |
|---|---|
| Amount Spent: | $50 for synthetic oil and new filter; $50 for good used window relay; $67 for new front wheel bearing. $30 for good used rear window defroster/radio amplifier unit and sundry trim items |
| Engine: | 2.7-litre SOHC 24-valve Honda V6 |
| Gearbox: | Honda 4-speed automatic, unfortunately |
| Horsepower: | 163 |
May 2008
Not your average Detroit driveway...
ITH Spring in full swing, I took
a week off from work and dedicated it to getting the Truett fleet ready for
a busy summer show season. This is going to be a special year. In August, the
biggest Triumph gathering in North America is taking place right here in the
Detroit area. It's the North American Triumph Challenge put on by the Vintage
Triumph Register, America's oldest and biggest Triumph club. Last year, nearly
400 awesome Triumphs attended the event in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. At least
the same number of classic Triumphs are expected this year.
I have a real shot at bagging two major trophies this year in what must be the toughest show competition for Triumphs outside of Great Britain. Last year, I agonized over which car to bring. My restored Silverleaf TR7, VIN number 407912 -- one of the last 450 cars built -- had just gotten a fresh Sprint engine and engine bay respray, but wasn't fully sorted. Cosmetically, I was sure no other wedge at Valley Forge would touch it.
And that, in my judgement, was a correct assumption. In the end, I decided to take my 1977 Dolomite Sprint. The Dolomite, though not as fresh cosmetically, I knew I could trust on a long, hot road trip. I had spent two years sorting every niggle in that car. An older restoration, possibly done by the legendary Dolomite restorer and somewhat eccentric Brian Kitley in the UK in the mid 1990s, was holding up well enough for major competition.
A little repair needed...
So, this week, the front bumper came off the Dolomite as did the spoiler and some other trim items before she went off to the body shop to correct some minor cosmetic flaws, the worst of which was about a 6 -inch gash in the right front wing where the Dolomite met the garage door last fall during a careless exit by me. I haven't received the bill yet for the body repairs, but that will show up on the next report.
Anyway, right after the front bumper came off, I tackled a problem I had long been dreading: removing the driver's seat and replacing a broken rubber seat diaphragm. The 1300 miles to and from Valley Forge last year were terribly uncomfortable. With very little lower support because of the broken diaphragm, the driver's seat was nearly unbearable after more than an hour or so. It was like sitting in a bean bag chair. To make matters worse for me, the caravan of cars I drove with to and from Valley Forge stopped only for fuel and food, meaning that I logged more than 650 painful miles a day twice in a week's time.
The reason for Sprint-bound discomfort...
It seemed oddly appropriate that The Beatles' Help came on the radio in my garage just when I was struggling to install the diaphragm. I needed help. When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anyone's help in any way to install something as simple as a seat diaphragm. But my 47 year old muscles and bones don't seem to handle the stress and strain of sometimes violent mechanical encounters as well as they used to. And so I struggled trying to stretch the heavy rubber diaphragm so that I could pull the clips that hold the upholstery to the seat frame. And then I realized I was doing it all wrong. By undoing the clips that hold the upholstery to the seat frame, I could peel back the cloth and put the metal diaphragm clips in their holes much easier. After that discovery, the job went quickly and smoothly.
The Sterling 827 also saw garage time this week. She can see clearly now. The old, original headlights had started to fog up from the inside. And so, needed replacing. But this is no quick fix. You see, the headlights used on the Federal Sterling 825 and 827 were far different than those used on European Rover 800s. They are smaller and have a separate, external parking lamp right next to the front sidelights. And, of course, there are no longer any new Federal spec Sterling headlamps available on this planet. The only alternative, then, is to fit the European lights.
Sorting the headlamp wouldn't be the work of a moment...
But that requires some serious work because the headlight bulbs and wiring are different. To get the new headlight assemblies mounted, I had to use a Dremel to grind away about 4mm of the inner lip of the bumper cover. With that done, the new lamps dropped right in and mounted flush with the sidelamps and hood. Then I had to snip off the wire connectors from the car and from the new headlamps and make my own connections. Luckily for me, Dale Charles, The Sterling Fixer, sent me a diagram showing me how to connect up the wires. Everything works perfectly. The European headlights make the front of the Rover look cleaner and more streamlined.
While fitting the new headlights was successful, my attempt to fix the intermittent driver's window lift was a complete waste of time. I took off the door panel and tried a good used switch I bought on eBay UK. It looked identical to the original, but was from a newer Rover 800 and had a different part number. I plugged it in and no windows worked. So, I just cleaned the connectors on the old switch and harness and put it all back together. Sometimes the driver's window goes down and sometimes not. I guess I will just have to live with it. In any case, the car continues to perform brilliantly.
The TR7 Sprint was scheduled to get a new clutch and gearbox this week. I bought what was advertised as a completely rebuilt LT77 five-speed 'box on eBay over the winter. Judging from the external appearance, it sure looks like a reconditioned unit. And yet, I now have grave doubts. The magnetic drain plug had metal shards stuck to it. The front and rear seals were old and brittle. And yet, the box turns smoothly and quietly and shifts easily into all gears. But it is such a big job to change a TR7 gearbox by yourself from underneath the car, that now I am not sure I want to do the job until I have someone take apart the supposed rebuilt 'box to have a look inside.
I guess that's the danger of eBay. You never really know what your are getting. I may end up just changing the clutch. The five-speed 'box in it now has just over 51,000 miles, but the bearings are noisy and shifting up into 2nd gear brings forth a disturbing crunch most of the time. When I put the new motor in last year, I also installed a new clutch. The only one available these days for a TR7 is a Quinton Hazel unit that is listed for both four-speed and five-speed cars. It's a terrible clutch that doesn't work well, at least with the five-speed 'box. I was lucky enough to track down a NOS AP five-speed clutch set, which I know will be fine.
Last year at Valley Forge, my Dolomite scored 387 points out of 400 in the concours class and came third. This year, she should do even better. I am also expecting big things out of the TR7 Sprint. And yet, neither of those cars are my favorites any longer. Though I have been a Triumph man since the mid 1980s, my heart has been captured -- make that kidnapped -- by the Rover. I love every minute I spend behind the wheel. Do I feel like a traitor to Triumph? Not really. There are Triumph genes in the Rover 800.
You'll recall it was styled and engineered at Canley by both Triumph and Rover personnel.
| Fleet update | |
| 1977 Triumph Dolomite Sprint | |
| Mileage: | 53,738 |
|---|---|
| Amount Spent: | $10.60 for a oil pan gasket; $25 for a good used seat diaphragm from the Triumph Dolomite Club |
| Engine: | Triumph 2.0-litre SOHC 16v 2.0-litre with mild road cam |
| Gearbox: | 4-speed manual with overdrive |
| Horsepower: | 140 est. |
| 1981 Triumph TR7 Sprint | |
| Mileage: | 51,335 |
|---|---|
| Amount Spent: | $500 for a supposedly rebuilt gearbox. |
| Engine: | Triumph 2.0-litre SOHC 16-v 2.0-litre with TriumphTune 2-inch SUs, STR091 cam and 0.40 pistons |
| Gearbox: | LT77 5-speed manual |
| Horsepower: | 185 est. |
| 1990 Rover Sterling 827 SLi | |
| Mileage: | 106,092 |
|---|---|
| Amount Spent: | $250 for two new and complete European headlights, all new bulbs and various wiring sundries; $40 for a used window switch pack |
| Engine: | 2.7-litre SOHC 24-valve Honda V6 |
| Gearbox: | Honda 4-speed automatic, unfortunately |
| Horsepower: | 163 |
| Have your say... | |
Please let us know your thoughts...