Ivan
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| posted on 6/9/15 at 02:40 PM |
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That looked like fun John - well done with the build - impressed me hugely - wish i had your talent and perseverance - look forward to the next build.
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 6/9/15 at 03:22 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Ivan
That looked like fun John - well done with the build - impressed me hugely - wish i had your talent and perseverance - look forward to the next build.
Thank you Ivan, I enjoyed it hugely. It has been twenty years since any competitive driving and what a buzz it was to get back to it. We showed a
clean pair of heels to an E Type, MiniMarcos, TVR and Morgan to name just a few and with only an estimated 80bhp to play with it says a lot for the
way the car handled.
I don't remember whether I have mentioned the engine woes along the way but if not that shows how well bred I am. But over the next week or so
I'm going to book it in for a rolling road power run so that I have a benchmark for what the engine is producing now with the current set-up. It
is then coming apart to see exactly what is wrong inside. It has always sounded like an engine that needs a rebuild rather than freshly put together
for the best that money can buy. Hopefully at the end of it all I will have a decent unit that doesn't rattle, throw oil out and produces some
decent power as well.
The most important thing for me is the suspension. My target has always been to achieve the sharpness of a Caterham and whilst I know this is never
going to be achievable it is well on the way. The car runs in beautifully and corners absolutely flat even when under a lot of pressure. The biggest
surprise was the amount of grip from the Michelin XASs; 155 R 13s. I could not unstick them even on the hairpin where a bit over oversteer would have
helped. Here are a few photos of the event.
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mark chandler
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| posted on 6/9/15 at 04:24 PM |
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The car is a tribute to the builder, your next project needs to grow oily fingers and build the new engine yourself.
Having been competing in hill climbs this year it looks like the UK cannot touch the hill you have just done 
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 6/9/15 at 05:17 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
The car is a tribute to the builder, your next project needs to grow oily fingers and build the new engine yourself.
Having been competing in hill climbs this year it looks like the UK cannot touch the hill you have just done
Thank you Mark and good to hear from you. There is still a fair bit to do to this car before thinking about the next one. The Jury is still out on
whether to paint it or not. I spoke to a lot of people over the weekend and almost without exception they said do not paint it. Problem is interfacing
the steel parts like the sills, scuttle and windscreen frame etc. The amusing thing was that nobody could walk by the car without stroking it. Even
the lady in the immigration kiosk at Roscoff leaned out of her hatch and stroked the bonnet; bizarre! I would certainly loose that amusement once
painted.
Yes the climb was awesome; 1.7 miles long and climbing all the way after the flat out blatt along the quay. There's something quite special
about racing on a closed public road. The organisation was a bit chaotic at times but overall it was a fantastic weekend that I so lucky to be a part
of.
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Angel Acevedo
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| posted on 6/9/15 at 06:28 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by John Bonnett
We've just returned from France having competed in the Coupe Florio hill climb in Saint Brieuc. We were really lucky to have an entry knowing
that anybody can apply but at the end of the day there are only ninety places and they select just the ones they want. Sadly, a dose of food poisoning
prevented my driving the final run but here is a clip of my second timed climb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-rtCbygnIM
[Edited on 6/9/15 by John Bonnett]
COOL!!
I just watched it to the tune of Kashmere by Led Zeppelin...
Beware of what you wish.. for it may come true....
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 25/2/16 at 01:09 AM |
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It's been a while since my last update but the project has been moving on albeit slowly. It was an agonising decision but I decided to have the
car painted rather than leave it as bare aluminium and the colour will be French Blue; a genuine Triumph colour. The preparation is just about
complete and painting should be started very soon now.
I've ditched the wire wheels in favour of alloys on the grounds of weight saving and ease of cleaning. This will knock 34kg off the unsprung
weight which is surprising and significant.
The engine has been a big disappointment for reasons that I'm not going in to but it has just been rebuilt and ready to collect from the
builder. I did have a power run done on a rolling road before it came out of the car so it will be interesting to see how it compares with the new
spec on the same rolling road.
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HowardB
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| posted on 25/2/16 at 07:12 AM |
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it is going to be a beautiful sight,.. can't wait to see more pictures
Howard
Fisher Fury was 2000 Zetec - now a 1600 (it Lives again and goes zoom)
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nick205
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| posted on 25/2/16 at 08:59 AM |
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Hi John,
Really impressed with your work on this, it looks a labour of love for sure!
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 27/2/16 at 06:27 PM |
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Thanks Chaps, all moving along well now. Please don't be fooled, It's not me doing the preparation or the painting. I've left that
to the expert and all is progressing very well. He is hoping to have the colour on this week so more pictures when that happens.
The newly rebuilt engine is ready for me to pick up so everything is coming together nicely.
Thank you all for your interest.
rgds
John
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mark chandler
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| posted on 27/2/16 at 07:16 PM |
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I,m sure it will look wonderful when done.
Bare aluminium does not weather well so this was expected
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02GF74
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| posted on 6/3/16 at 08:33 AM |
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NO!!!!!! Why!!!!
Raw alloy body and wires made it look special, now it will look like some blue car.
Its your car and you had good reasons but imo it was better unpainted..... plus youll adda couple of kg in weight.
Re engine, is it on twin SUs, 1 1/2? Is easy to convert to twin 1 3/4,
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 6/3/16 at 03:08 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
NO!!!!!! Why!!!!
Raw alloy body and wires made it look special, now it will look like some blue car.
Its your car and you had good reasons but imo it was better unpainted..... plus youll adda couple of kg in weight.
Re engine, is it on twin SUs, 1 1/2? Is easy to convert to twin 1 3/4,
Why? Okay, here goes. First of all it was a very difficult decision and I anguished for months over whether to paint or not for the very reasons you
mention. However, my panel work was not good enough to polish and the steel to aluminium interfaces in some places looked unfinished. I do use my cars
in all weathers and nothing corrodes more quickly that aluminium in a salt solution. Against that, the car in its ally state looked what it was; hand
built, and absolutely nobody could resist stroking it as they walked by. Even the lady in the passport control kiosk at Roscoff leaned out of the
hatch to stroke it. That will never happen again because it will as you say look just like a painted classic car. The decision was not an easy one but
I finally came down on the side of painting because I knew that the bodyshop could improve shut and panel gaps and take the car to another level. And
this they have done. I am absolutely delighted with the result, I love the colour and I'm really looking forward to getting it all put back
together. I've made a good start already.
The engine has been rebuilt to a high spec which includes a fully gas flowed, big valve cylinder head and a 244 profile cam. 11.4:1 compression,
bespoke forged pistons and a pair of brand new Weber DCOE40s. The builder is going to run it in on his rolling road and I'll report the
comparative figures between what it produced before and now.
The wire wheels have gone and have been replaced by Minilites with a net saving of 34kg. I shall be replacing the window glass with polycarbonate and
the cast iron rear wishbones for aluminium ones. Paint and filler will have taken their toll but the above weight savings will, I hope bring the car
in at under 800kg.
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907
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| posted on 6/3/16 at 03:55 PM |
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quote. "Even the lady in the passport control kiosk at Roscoff leaned out of the hatch to stroke it. That will never happen again because it
will as you say look just like a painted classic car." end quote
Hi John,
Can I just ask a favour?
A route map to Roscoff please. I've never had mine stroked. 
O, and another please; if ever you hear me talk of paint please drive up to North Essex and shoot me. 
All the best
Paul G
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 6/3/16 at 04:26 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 907
quote. "Even the lady in the passport control kiosk at Roscoff leaned out of the hatch to stroke it. That will never happen again because it
will as you say look just like a painted classic car." end quote
Hi John,
Can I just ask a favour?
A route map to Roscoff please. I've never had mine stroked.
O, and another please; if ever you hear me talk of paint please drive up to North Essex and shoot me.
All the best
Paul G
Paul, you are a knock out. I love your humour. Very good to hear from you and I hope all is well. I fear a drive up to North Essex may be a step too
far but all being well we'll be at the Silverstone Classic. It would be so good to meet up and if Saint Trev could join us my cup would truly
runneth over
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 7/3/16 at 03:52 PM |
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Front view wit a few bits bolted back on.
[Edited on 7/3/16 by John Bonnett]
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adithorp
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| posted on 7/3/16 at 04:26 PM |
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Looks great John. Leaving it polished would have been nice but constant work to keepit looking good and there'd always been bit's that
annoyed you.
"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire
http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 7/3/16 at 05:12 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
Looks great John. Leaving it polished would have been nice but constant work to keepit looking good and there'd always been bit's that
annoyed you.
If it were up to Trev's standard I probably would have polished it but there really were a lot of flaws; hammer marks, highs and lows all of
which would have leapt out at you had it been polished. I'm very pleased with how it looks painted and this undoubtedly was the right
decision.
Once it's all back together I'll have to wheel up a pair of patterns for the perspex headlamp covers. Unfortunately they are not an off
the shelf item and will have to be made specially.
[Edited on 7/3/16 by John Bonnett]
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 15/3/16 at 07:53 PM |
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I may have said that I'm replacing the chrome wire wheels with Minilites in the interest of weight saving and ease of cleaning. Unfortunately
the standard wheel studs are too short for the alloys and so they must be changed. I'm using the opportunity to go over to the much stronger M12
Freelander studs. The fronts are easy enough to change but the back is a bit more fiddly. Either the hub has to come off or make a hole in the back
plate and feed the stud in that way. For the time being I'm ignoring that little problem and getting on with the rebuild. Today saw the engine
go in which was a major step forward. I'm hopeful of having the car running by the end of the weekend.
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 11/5/16 at 07:17 PM |
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Just to finish off this thread, I would like to thank each and everyone of you who have helped me with encouragement and advice along the way. It has
been very much appreciated and a great help.
The car is now finished and I have to say that I am absolutely delighted with the result and well worth all the blood sweat and tears lavished on it.
I shall be using it during the Summer after which I will put it up for sale to fund the next project.
Here are a few pictures.
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rdodger
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| posted on 11/5/16 at 07:25 PM |
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That looks sooooooo good John. You should be very proud.
Selling it!? Must resist, Must resist!
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 12/5/16 at 06:54 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by rdodger
That looks sooooooo good John. You should be very proud.
Selling it!? Must resist, Must resist!
It has come out a lot better than I could have hoped for and it is a shame that I've got to sell it. But I need a project more than I need the
Triumph and the next one is not going to be cheap. There are a number of much cheaper options but having had thoughts on this particular one I can
think of nothing else.
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TimC
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| posted on 12/5/16 at 07:16 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by rdodger
That looks sooooooo good John. You should be very proud.
Selling it!? Must resist, Must resist!
Amen to all of that.
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mark chandler
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| posted on 12/5/16 at 08:48 AM |
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That,s an enormous amount of work to move on John, good luck with the new project when the time comes.
I thought about flogging my locost a couple of years ago to raise funds, I could not bring myself to do it but then the value is low so it was not a
compelling argument.
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John Bonnett
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| posted on 12/5/16 at 11:49 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
That,s an enormous amount of work to move on John, good luck with the new project when the time comes.
I thought about flogging my locost a couple of years ago to raise funds, I could not bring myself to do it but then the value is low so it was not a
compelling argument.
I need to get a decent price to be able to start but I have absolutely no idea what mine might fetch because there is nothing to compare it with; not
like a Sebring Sprite replica for example which seem to go for 25k plus. But that's in the future. there's the Summer ahead and plenty of
enjoyment to be had.
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