Contrition

Weds.06.09.06. I have spent the morning mindlessly rust proofing the remaining suspension brackets principally the rear vertical links: throughout the exercise I had sufficient time to contemplate my day of contrition, utter misery total uselessness.

But, the prospect of re-locating the engine and box to a much more central area producing improved handling as well as advanced balance has lifted my spirits. It will mean further logistical difficulties but the potential advantages certainly outweigh the understandable time delays. Having had 24hrs to absorb the suggestions and advice of Chris and Colin these enhanced alterations must be attempted. The sheer amount of effort that has been spent developing the chassis together with establishing the lines of the perfect body cannot be devalued by simply ‘throwing back’ the original drive train. Once the modification had been recognised it cannot be ignored, the proposals must be energetically pursued with the exact same vigour as the earlier constructional tasks. A dry build must be undertaken to prove the theory. The crank, pistons and cam need to be removed from the block to lighten the load facilitating manoeuvrability. There will be alignment as well as space difficulties but a dry build should reveal all of these obstacles.

I had been fortified with the prospect of these imminent improvements but was quickly brought back down to earth when upon arriving at the workshop I noticed that the engine panels had been re-modelled. “We couldn’t have those shoddy bits of crap in the car, could we?” This was an instant reminder of ‘my bad day’ my penitence had served a purpose but I had not been totally cleansed. Chris had re-formed the panels removing the wavy, curly edges to produce straight parallel sides with symmetrical rounded corners. At this rate I shall be soon joining the rest of the fuckwits in the ‘fuck off bin’, but I know that if I don’t cough to the crime I may at least avoid humiliation.

Later in the afternoon I called at ‘Triumph Nuts’ for a closer examination of the wire wheels that were on offer at £325.00. I had earlier telephoned Peter Rhys of ‘Classic Wheels’ who provided precise information about ‘poor or proper, out of the box wheels’. 

The spokes of the wheels, 60 in total, are tapered towards the nipple end so that when they cross they do not chaff. Inferior wheels have simple steel rods which can touch often causing breakage in the future. The spokes are made from stainless steel covered by chrome, as are the nipples; this prevents rusting at the attachment points on the rim. The hubs are turned on the original ‘Dunlop’ machines, which Peter actually owns’ as are the spinners being finer yet sturdier than foreign imports. He boasts to have been in business for thirty years having had very few complaints about the product over that period. He can supply four and half inch chrome wire wheels for £155.00 each, hubs for £45.00 and manganese spinners for £100.00; the total package for £1050.00. This makes Steve’s five wires for £325.00 sound like a bargain. But the Chinese proverb of ‘good not cheap’ must be heeded. Armed with a better insight into the makeup of a superior product I inspected the wheels at ‘Nuts’. Sure enough there were signs of rust at the nipple ends and the spokes were not tapered. I have no choice but to bite the bullet and buy the best. 

However, the overdrive box offered at £250.00 is a possibility. Steve assures me that he had tested the gearing as well as the overdrive unit before stripping the car. He can personally guarantee that it is in full working order. Peut etre.

I left Westmead with another list to chase up, a box of suspension brackets to clean then paint, together with the hint of suspicion that Chris actually knows that I was responsible for the hatchet job on the panels. I hope I have got away with it.