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South West, North Devon Area news
N.Devon June News
This gave me an opportunity to look over Mike’s car to get a few reference photos for when I start to put my own back together. Whilst I have taken hundreds of photos during my rebuild, there’s always something you forget to capture. Chatting to Mike about when he restored his MK4 led to talking about the front quarter valances, for which I only have the fibreglass ones that came with the car. Mike has a couple of pairs of steel valances in varying conditions which he has kindly donated to my cause, they need some TLC but that’s no problem. This isn’t the first thing he has donated to my restoration, I also got a new engine coolant drain tap, so thank you Mike.
The engine bay of Mike’s car is quite something, not sure I have seen a Spitfire with quite so many shiny bits. It even attracted some of the pub locals over who couldn’t stop saying how good it was. I think Mike must have too much time on his hands to keep everything quite so clean.
As Mike and I were chatting Nigel Kenneison arrived in his Spitfire, who is another donator to my restoration cause with coolant hoses (not purple), washer jets and quite possibly some stainless bonnet catch plates....thank you Nigel.
Nigel has recently fitted the Trunnionless Front Uprights as sold by Canley Classics to his car, for those that have not seen these they replace the sometimes troublesome front trunnions with a rose joint. Nigel likes them and says it gives the steering a more positive feel, the kits are well over £300 so not the cheapest of upgrades, but interesting to see them in the flesh.
With the 3 of us still in the car park, my fellow AO Andy Luckhurst and his son Matt arrived, not in a Triumph, but one day we hope this will happen! Andy is making progress on his TR4 project, but has been trying to achieve better gaps along the windscreen pillar. Like many a panel gap on a Triumph he can’t get them perfect, but they are now perfectly acceptable so he can now move on to the next job. A few days after our meeting, Andy did share a video of his car moving under its own power for the first time in around 30 years, so it being on the road is getting tantalisingly close. The need for food and drink finally outweighed the need to look at the cars, so we ventured inside to get fed and watered.
Geoff and Dawn Wheeler then arrived, not in their Stag as this is in dry dock for the moment with a leaking clutch slave cylinder, this had unfortunately stopped them attending our Drive it Day run on the previous Sunday. Mick and his wife arrived about the same time, Mick seems much more mobile than the last meeting, so seems the new knee is bedding in nicely.
With Lee Williams and Malcolm & Mandy Huxtable coming in their cars, Spitfires easily outnumbered any other car in the car park. Simon Whenmouth was the last to arrive, though not in a Triumph. There was one other Triumph in the car park, a TR3 driven by a local chap who decided to stop and say hello, sadly I didn’t get to speak to him.
As is now a North Devon tradition, Malcolm arrived with his show and tell object, this month was a bit of a variation on a theme as once again it involved a tube and a plastic bottle (see pic). Once my suggestions of an implement to balance a single carb or a home enema tool were discounted, Andy (I think) came up with the correct suggestion that it was used to fill your gearbox or diff with oil...obvious really!!
Much of the talk was about our trip to Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre as part of our recent Drive it Day event. This was organised by Mike Crewes from the Cornwall area, so with cars from over the border and both Devon areas we had a healthy turnout of around 30 Triumphs. Dingles itself was great fun, with many a ride from when we were all a lot younger along with slot machines, stilt walkers, tight ropes and much more. Shame the weather was a little wet, but as the whole attraction is under cover it didn’t spoil the day.
The June meeting will be back at the regular venue of The Crealock Arms, though unfortunately I can’t be there as I will be travelling to the Laon Historique, on the same weekend is the Lynn Valley Classic which a number of Devon members will be attending. Lots of events coming up now, you can look here http://tssc-devon.org.uk/events/calendar.html for more information.
That’s it for this month.
Date of Next:Â Thursday 6th June
Darren