Mister Towed on the road...

[deni]

Hi Mister Towed,

Thank you very much for your advice - detailed and very helpful as always, much appreciated.
I always enjoy reading your threads, so please keep posting.

Thanks, Deni.

[Mister Towed]

Early start this morning for a breakfast run to the Norfolk coast -



Three Spyders, a GT6, a TR6 and a Tiger Six rattled a few windows in Hunstanton -



Silly grin is compulsory -



Pleasant stop for photos at Burnham Overy Staithe before a blast home on the backroads. Sheer magic.

[Charman.tech]

Towed

That's what it's all about blast up country roads beautiful scenery with like minded chaps, worth every once of sweat blood and tears during the build.

Envious of Surrey

[lancelot link]

.....as he said .... ^^^

[phil9]

was a great day towed ....see soon

[Paul L]

Mr T - Great photos.

A couple of quick questions:
- Sorry, I keep forgetting to ask what the badge is above the bonnet lock on the driver's side?
- Did you swap the rear reflectors for rear indicators?

I remain highly motivated to join one of these runs, one of these days.

Cheers, Paul.

[lancelot link]

Me too Paul , if I can ever actually build and keep one of these long enough , I'd love to do a run out with the Norfolk Garagistas ...

I've got that badge on my watchlist since I found it a few weeks back on ebay ...its a great badge , I had the 'James Dean' version a while back on my first Sammio ....but that one is much better ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3912190383...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ORIGINAL-5...IAAOSwiYFXFi5m

[Paul L]

Thanks for the links Gary & explaining the James Dean connection too.

[Mister Towed]

Yep, Gary's hit the nail on the head there. I'd noticed that all the replica Speedsters and RSK Spyders I'd seen had one of those cut away 'Ring badges fitted somewhere, so when I found the ADAC (German RAC) badges being made in India I figured it would add to the illusion of authenticity I wanted my car to have if it had something a bit off the wall instead of following the herd. After all, who in their right mind would build a replica Lancia, paint it silver and fit German rally badges?

Anyway, get those cars finished and come join us for a breakfast blast up Norfolk way. More the merrier!

[Mister Towed]

Sorry Paul, missed your question about the rear reflectors - no, they're not indicators, the camera flash has made them look a bit orange but they're actually red reflectors. The indicators are in the oval bike lights either side of the rear plate.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-Racer-...8AAOSwd0BV4CQh

I'm happy with the new lighting arrangement, it's a bit neater now.

[Paul L]

Mr T - Cheers for the explanation & it does give you a very uncluttered look at the back.

[Scottie22]

Quote:
After all, who in their right mind would build a replica Lancia, paint it silver and fit German rally badges?

I was very tempted but will resist!!!! :-)

[Mister Towed]

Two days spent preparing my car ready for my trip to Goodwood Revival tomorrow - oil change, plugs out gapped and cleaned, etc., which threw up a few interesting things:

The switch to NOS Stromberg 1.75's has benefited the engine enormously - I'm now getting a solid 25mpg when thrashed whereas I was struggling to get 15mpg with the worn out 1.5's fitted. I also now have a nice even grey brown deposit on all six plugs rather than front three white and back three black I used to get no matter how I adjusted the old carbs.

I've also had a play with the front suspension after struggling to keep up with Phil and Barry's cars on the back roads on our run up to the coast a few weeks back.

I did a bit of research and found that most of the Triumph small chassis gurus recommend having the lower front A arms level with the ground for best results. My front suspension was set so low that I had a dihedral angle on the lower A arms giving the front wheels quite a bit of negative camber. This had the effect of making the car very stable in a straight line at speed, but quite reluctant to change direction quickly.

Yesterday I removed the front spring units and wound the adjustable shocks in another inch, effectively raising the ride height by an inch at the front and leaving the lower front A arms parallel with the ground.

I'd also asked Barry what tyre pressures he and Phil run and I think he said they're on about 32psi all round. I'd settled on 24psi front and 22 back, mainly because when I first set the car up with really slammed suspension - lowered 90mm at the front and 75mm at the back - the tyres turned to Teflon with any more pressure than that in them.

So, I've also increased my tyre pressures to 28psi all round - I didn't want to go over 30 as I've also noticed that both Phil and Barry's cars spin up their back tyres every time they pull out of a junction while mine could keep its traction even under severe provocation and I'm not into spinning tyres myself, I just see that as wasted power.

So, after three years on the road, the combination of a slightly higher front end and more pressure in the tyres has finally sorted out the handling. It now has much lighter steering, is far more willing to change direction and is really steerable on the throttle. It now feels far more like the sports racing car it appears to be.

Photos from Goodwood to follow in a few days...

[phil9]

have a great time ....richard earth is going tomorrow ....i have send his phone num to your phone....30 psi front 28 back

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by phil9

have a great time ....richard earth is going tomorrow ....i have send his phone num to your phone....30 psi front 28 back

Cheers Phil, I thought 32 would be too high. The wheelspin must be due to more power in your car and maybe a heavier right foot...

Thanks for Richard's number, I'll give him a call.

[Paul L]

Mr T - I'm always impressed by the way you keep changing/updating/improving your car's set up.

Enjoy the drive to Goodwood and I hope you have a great weekend.

With a bit of luck. I might see you there in 2017.

Enjoy, Paul.

[lancelot link]

Really looking forward to seeing your car this weekend......OH ...AND YOU ...

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by lancelot link

Really looking forward to seeing your car this weekend......OH ...AND YOU ...

Ha ha, see you at the Revival Gary, it'll be nice to catch up again.

Made it to my B&B in Rowlands Castle in good time today - about three and a half hours to cover the 175 miles from Norfolk including a couple of stops to stretch my legs.

The changes I've made to my Spyder's suspension since the last time I came to Goodwood (2014) - adjustable front shocks with 1" extra front ride height, 180lb front springs, a bit more toe out on the front wheels and higher tyre pressures - have made it feel far more agile and confidence inspiring than ever before.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't ever 'bad' but it was so stable it didn't feel as if it wanted to change direction, so it felt like I was having to force it to do what I wanted it to. Now it turns in very crisply and it's just a case of guiding it where you want it to go.

The 'new' carbs and higher tyre pressures also meant that I got 32mpg into the bargain, which is about 10mpg better than it's ever managed on a long run before, a 30% improvement! I've also finally fitted a working tachometer, a reconditioned classic Smiths 6cyl electric one, so it was nice to see that my motor's turning just over 3,000 revs at a genuine 70mph.

Early start in the morning and I'll maybe post some pictures tomorrow evening. I have a paddock pass this time so should be able to get some good shots of the cars up close.

[Mister Towed]

And here's some pictures from Goodwood at the weekend -

Wet start on Friday morning, but nothing compared to what was to come Saturday -



At least it showed that I'd polished the paint for once (the red blobs are cherries that'd fallen from a nearby tree during the night) -



Was in good company in the classic car park as usual -





Rather liked this pair of MGA 'Speedsters' -





Once inside, this was the star of the show for me, a Lancia D50 with side tanks -







Other distractions were abundant, 'oi, get outta the way, I can't see the car!'





Classic Lamborghini in Gulf racing colours, what's not to like?





D50 reeling in another scalp on the track -





Marvelous.

Friday was lovely but there was torrential rain for most of Saturday. I found out that my water resistant jacket doesn't resist water that's approaching sideways at high speed.

Once thoroughly soaked I just found an empty bit of the infield, sat on a carrier bag on the grass and enjoyed the racing, which was all the more spectacular for the cars sliding all over the place at breakneck speed.

The closest race, and also the cars that appeared least affected by the atrocious weather, was definitely the Austin A35 Academy cars. Skinny tyres and modest power combined to give them impressive grip and enough speed to look scary.

It was real head to head racing with no car having a power advantage over any other, so it's all down to the drivers. Who knew that such a pipe and slippers car - even by the standards of the fifties - could actually go so well!

It's true that the revival is now almost too popular for its own good, but the huddled masses did just that, huddled together, and didn't venture far from the bar. If you walked five or six hundred yards away from the main areas and past the chinless wonders in the posh party marquees, there was loads of space. I was also lucky enough to have a paddock pass this year so I could get close to the best cars without loads of other people getting in the way.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable event for me and I shall go back for more another year.

[Paul L]

Mr T - Great report and photos.