The day of the MOT

Wed.08.07.09. This day has been quite memorable or should have been?

Chris had arranged a rendezvous at 2.00pm at Robinson and Douglas for an MOT. The garage is that of Slick or Kevin which is his proper name. This would have been the Burlington’s first ‘real’ journey of 7 miles down the road to Coppull. We left Westmead approximately 1.45pm with trepidation; plus a mild sense of excitement. 

Curiously, I felt neither exuberance nor concern, the reasons for this lack of ‘buss’ still remains, couched in confused, muddled notions. The car drove extremely badly. Both of the front wheels screamed as if they didn’t really know which direction they should be travelling, the back end responding to every pot hole by lurching left or right. It felt quite unsafe but we did manage to arrive on time for the test.

Under the guidance of Kevin, young Danny would execute the various tests, which add up to the sum total of the ‘ticket’. After punching in the chassis number of the vehicle the response from the computer was that of instant denial, the car did not register with the DVLA. The test could not continue without this vital detail or the date of the original registration. 

Much to our relief a quick call to Jo with the request to recover my photocopied documents revealed that the final two letters of the chassis number were missing from the ‘commission plate’ that Chris had earlier fashioned. Also, the first date of registration, again vital for the test to commence, could be easily accessed.

So close!

Mon.06.07.09. Chris has punched out the ID plate for the car. It only remains to fit the rear number plate bracket and lights so that an MOT can be carried out at ‘Slick’s’ on Tuesday.

Arriving back from London I was pleasantly surprised that a letter from Haydn Davies endorsing the ‘history’ of the vehicle had landed on the mat alongside the details of the inspection at Manchester DVLA on Thursday. I have also been offered a quote from ‘Adrian Flux’, the original insurers of the vehicle back in 1980. A fully comprehensive policy with both UK and European cover is only £174.04.

If the car undergoes its MOT tomorrow, but more importantly, provided that there are no more hidden fuckups we should be able to make the rendezvous on Thursday. Oddly, Mr Femi has recommended that it would be wise to bring trade plates so that I can safely return to Standish without being ‘pulled’ by the police. “It’s a fine state of affairs when I am requested to present the vehicle at the DVLA for identification purposes, a vehicle that I have owned for the past 31 years when it is legal to drive the car there but not to drive it back; fuckin bonkers!” I am beginning to sound too much like Chris but I can now also fully understand his total distrust of this organisation; supporting the premise that ‘it does not seem to think or act logically’. If this final hurdle requires supreme grovelling I am more than happy to bend over and be fisted.

Tues.07.07.09. Last night, in the Oak, Salty was organising his annual ‘backslapping’ tour to the Lake District. Various venues were discussed but all had the ever-present drawbacks. No doubt the ‘Captain’ will have the last word. I can’t believe that the event has come around so quickly. C’est la fucking vie. Returning to the minor issues of the car I have successfully located the illusive distributor/coil clips at Ledsons. This is very ancient stock. I had previously been informed that it would be impossible to find such items as most modern leads are constructed from carbon fibre as opposed to an inner wire core. These clips will now enable Chris to shorten the HT leads making the unit much tidier.

We were due to go to ‘Slick’s’ today for the MOT but the rain descended so the visit had to be called off until tomorrow. Bummer. 

Getting closer

                                  Burlington Diary July 2009.

Weds.01.07.09. I have spoken to Mr Alim at Manchester DVLA, who at present is the vehicle inspector, but who, frustratingly, hands over the controls on Friday to a new person. To ensure that the verification procedure of the Burlington is performed before July 15^th I must call back on the 3^rd to see if the ‘new guy’, who could be a total ‘arsehole’ would want to inspect on Friday 10^th of July. The quandary of choosing the fresh arsehole is that he or she could be either an apposite, pedantic, officious, frightened fucker or just a dumbshit greenhorn who may pass the vehicle without a problem: but I do suspect he would have the disposition of the former. 

Fri.03.07.09. Jo and I have travelled to London to spend some valuable time with our wonderful grandchild, Samuel: but, whilst being there I have phoned Mr Alim in order to speak directly to his predecessor. His name is Sami Femi Osipitan. He sounds quite genial expressing the view that there should not be a problem with the inspection. Since I have owned the vehicle for 31 years, the car has a rolling chassis rather than a monocoque structure therefore eliminating the threat of the dreaded ‘cut and shut’ procedure as well as given that the engine identification numbers have remained exactly the same, I should not fall foul of the regulations. We have made a provisional meeting for 10.30am on Thursday the 9^th of July. In the meantime, the vehicle should be examined for MOT purposes and also insured.

To strengthen my claim of authenticity Chris also feels that if I could obtain a written statement from Haydn Davies explaining the provenance of the vehicle together with a brief description of the construction techniques, importantly on letter headed note paper, this may go a long way if the DVLA decide to dig their heels in, forcing us down the route of the infamous ‘Q’ plate. 

The car is finished?

                                    Burlington Diary June 2009

Mon.01.06.09. The new boot lining has been tested in the car. With the removal of the extended 10mm rear edge the box fits perfectly. The ‘C’ spanner is the wrong size and needs to be returned to Demon Tweeks in exchange for the correct 1.9 inches model. The fabrication of the seat belt brackets has been undertaken by Catterall and Wood, but the ‘milling’ of the rear suspension block has been offered to ‘Holly Farm’ who specialise in such work. The block will retain both profiles but will be reduced from 20mm to 10mm. Both units will be available tomorrow for £10.00 and £25.00 respectively.

Unfortunately we leave for Tarascon in a few days to tie up the loose ends from the sale of the house, so I suspect that progress will be suspended.

Mon.29.06.09. On a separate issue we have returned from France with all the legal worries behind us, the bulk of the furniture has been stored at the Blanchesserie, sold or given away. The Gilberts are now not moving in, as originally planned, the date for the final ‘acte’ has been changed to the 24.07.09 ten days after the initially proposed appointment. Our new house in St. Martin du Tartre in Burgundy is almost habitable; there is a simple WC and wash basin with the possibility of a ‘camping-field’ kitchen plus ‘candle’ light there should be sufficient facility. Fast Eddie has his feet almost under the table with an American woman adding to the posse of ladies he has scattered over France and Spain: Lola of Horadada, Rumunia of Latvia and now perhaps Catherine Tate of Vallebregues. The promise of free labour in exchange for sustenance encourages these transient liaisons.

But, more significantly Chris has informed me that the car is finished.

Tues.30.06.09. A visit to Westmead confirmed this fact. Most of the detail has been completed: the cockpit tidied, the bonnet fasteners attached, the re-assembly of the boot space, the number plates are fixed, but more critically, the ‘drop tests’ for wheel alignment with the final technical corner weighting has been almost achieved. There are the obvious road tests, the dreaded DVLA approval, the MOT, plus undoubtedly other minor snags, but essentially the car is in fact ready for the road. The events in France over the past year together with the growing belief that we would never reach this stage dulls the moment, but I feel sure that sometime in the very near future the realisation will sink in.

Unbelievable progress

Fri.29.05.09. Throughout the night the trim had dried ensuring that the leather was firmly bound to the hose. At either end was sufficient rubber to enable both joints to be butted tight to the existing trim.

Colin had arrived at the workshop to accurately measure how level the car was standing. By calculating the angle of the drop of the wheels he could determine the preferred amount of camber on the rear wheels. This exercise exposed an over acute angle at the rear wheels, which must be amended. Each corner of the chassis was within 2mm of being square but the rear wheel arch was 15mm lower than the front. His findings revealed that the front suspension should be lowered whilst the rear lifted. A balance between the two must be achieved. 

The front of the car can be lowered by adjusting the height of the spring platforms but to raise the rear of the car it was necessary to remove ‘road race’ leaf spring block of 16mm and replace the unit with the original ‘Hadyn Davies’ 8mm block. Once replaced the vehicle lifted to a more suitable clearance level of 14cms as opposed to 10cms when the ‘racing’ block was fitted. Until the front platforms can be adjusted by using a ‘C’ spanner the ‘true’ density of the rear block cannot be accurately calculated. The ‘race’ block can then be cut down to the appropriate depth by Catterall and Wood to be fitted later into the car. The ‘race’ block has been machined to a greater standard than that of Haydn’s’ having a recessed floor and a raised top both of which ‘faces’ fit snugly over the spring, preventing lateral or vertical movement. A middle section can be cut leaving the remaining two halves with the correct profiles: both of which can then be integrated into the suspension assembly.

After the good news comes the bad, in the form of a slight accident when Chris tumbled out the car landing squarely on the boot box, which now lies as a pile of matchwood in the corner of the workshop. Bummer.

Sat.30.05.09. The top coat of the boot lining has been replaced by another piece of plywood, 4mm x 55cm x 86.5cm, glued, screwed and painted. Not a big issue so get on with it. 

Sun.31.05.09. The Tatton Park Classic car and auto jumble occurred this weekend. It has been a very hot beautiful day, the place was packed. Speaking to the guys on the Triumph owner’s club stand most were in favour of ‘minilite’ as opposed to ‘wire’ wheels. 

The constant maintenance in the form of tightening the spoke nuts, the endless cleaning, possibility of only 13inch size along with potential poor provenance are the considerable factors against wire wheels. The sturdy period design, minimal maintenance, various available sizes and guaranteed build quality favour the minilites: end of debate!

I managed to purchase a bracket to mount the flasher unit but failed to find a ‘C’ spanner with the appropriate 90 degree upturned lugs. But tomorrow is another day as well as another month.

A momentous day!

Thurs.28.05.09. The clumsy attempts to weld the extra length of hose to the existing failed miserably. There was little choice but to purchase another section of pipe to re-start the exercise. Using brush steels to open the robust hose enabled the leather to be glued in position without having to wrestle with the natural ‘coiling’ motion. The outer flaps were then glued to the interior of the hose. Now that does sound like one of Cockney Mick’s sexual predilections.

Meanwhile at Westmead, much more momentous deeds were being performed. Colin had visited in the morning to assist with bleeding the brakes, since the re-build of the callipers. Once the wheels had been fitted the car was then dropped from the axle stands to test the ‘springing’ at each corner. Because of the racing standard ‘counter camber’ block on the rear the car stood very low, offering only 4inches of  clearance, whilst at the front of the vehicle there is sufficient movement in the adjustable spring platform  to achieve a level height. The lower profile encourages a much more aggressive appearance, certainly very different from the original posture. Whether this is at all practical remains to be seen, but for now it is planned to lower the front to correspond with the rear before any conclusive decision is made.

In the afternoon a visit from Dick prompted an even bolder statement. “Let’s run the car up the street to see how she settles!” Which is precisely what happened. 

With Dick at the helm Burlington 001 carefully manoeuvred out of the workshop and then slowly plodded up Westmead. The car has never moved under it’s own steam for thirty years. This has been a very special day. There were smiles all round: Dick claimed that gear changes were exceptionally smooth, the car felt tight, responsive extremely sure. It must be time to open a tin of Chunks: I was beginning to think that this day would never happen.  

Goods delivered

Weds.27.05.09. I proudly delivered the swag from yesterdays shopping spree. Everything was greeted with refreshing approval, especially the re-assembled front ‘Doli’ springs. The next task was to purchase the replacement decorative hose that forms the trim around the cockpit of the car. Hosetech’ supplied the previous 4.75 metres of ‘reinforced fire engine’ hose for £2.45 per metre, but today’s price was an astonishing £9.87. Worst was still to come as in my haste I managed to cut the pipe too short: remember always ‘measure twice, cut once? Haste makes waste! I faced the music in the afternoon when the piece was delivered to Westmead for the fitting. Sure enough it was short by 4cms. 

The possible solution could be to ‘rubber weld’ an extension to make up the shortfall: more than just ‘sexual predilections’ this operation could save a further £22.00.

The car glows magnificently: I had forgotten over the past three months how elegant the vehicle stands. I had suspected little or no work had been concluded but I could not have been more incorrect. Apart from today’s labours, re-building the callipers, fitting the new front suspension units the previous months have seen even more development. Obviously the engine has been re-installed, still sounding wonderfully aggressive, the dash has had to be removed again just to fix the loose three way light switch, the new bonnet hinge together with the spring loaded locks and striking Burlington badge have been attached, the seat rails re-modelled to ensure greater solidity, the boot rack, wheel ‘docking’ system are both in place, but, more significantly, the multitude of minor tweaks, slight re-routing, final securing’s, gently soothing and caressing all complete the sum, but are similarly illusively difficult to record. In short, the vehicle is so very close to completion.