Taxing times

Becky II's tax disc runs out at the end of this month and because I still had enough money from the sale of Margaret I bought a 12 month tax disc so I'm road legal on this car until next year. I wish the weather would get a bit wamer and drier. I woke up to yet another dusting of snow. Things aren't much better in the garage. The replacement fuel tank for Blue is getting under my feet and because it is so cold I don't particularly fancy doing any spannering on Brown. Once I'm earning a decent income I can lavish some money on getting this car back on the road again. Getting her running again would be a big boost for my "mojo" but it probably won't happen without some spending of money.

It passed!

Becky II has passed the MoT without even having any advisories so I'm pleased about that. I was quite confident that she would pass but not having had a good look underneath was the only worry I had. Barry had a good look on Friday at the Club Triumph Pendle & Pennine meeting and he identified a future problem. It'll give more something to do when the summer comes. Brown will be next for MoT when I can get that car running again.

Time for MoT

I've booked Becky II in for MoT for 10.30 this morning. I can't see her failing on anything major but there was one thing I had to attend to. The front passenger door handle had broken off (before I bought the car) so to get by I took a door handle from Becky and fitted that. Becky is a MK2 car but Becky II is a MK1 so the door handle is different to the others but it will suffice until I can get a MK1 door handle from the Guru. According to the current certificate there were no advisories on the last test and the car's done about 7,000 miles since so that bodes well.

Wish me luck...

Getting tanked up.

Among the haul of parts I got from the stripping down of the Acclaim last weekend was a petrol tank and filler neck. The tank that's in Blue has a ropey filler neck so rather than messing around with rusty fixings it is easier to drop the whole lot and fit a replacement. I had to leave the tank in Paul's garage becasuse I didn't have enough room to take it with me. I collected the tank this morning from Paul and on the way back I called in at the local Bodge-it (B&Q) and bought some black Hammerite smooth and some thinners. When I got back I made a start on painting the tank. I wirebrushed the top half by hand to remove the muck and loose rust then I brush painted it and it already looks better. Once it has dried I'll do the bottom half and when the weather gets a bit drier or if I can free up the garage I'll fit the tank to Blue. I'll flush out the fuel line and hopefully the fuel system will be finally sorted. I've been having problems with it since I bought the car nearly three years ago.

The key to it all...

Becky II's key had snapped and as it was the only one I had a solution had to be found. Margaret's original Triumph key opened the driver's door and worked on the ignition so that gave me some time to get a replacement key cut. I'd tried a couple of branches of Timpson to no avail but at last night's Club Triumph Pendle & Pennine meeting one of Barry McGrath's mates (Dan) was having problems with his Acclaim. It was due for the MoT and the nearside rear wheel arch was rotten and with no chance of getting through the MoT in time a replacement Acclaim was needed and Barry asked me if any of my Acclaims were suitable for Dan. Becky was ruled out as she's in worse condition than his car (Boo). Becky II was ruled out because Dan hated the colour (Opaline Green), Blue was also ruled out because she's a Troimatic and Dan doesn't like Troimatics. Besides, Blue has 46,000 miles and she's too nice to have the miles put on. That left Margaret which is the same colour as Boo and like Boo is a MK1 Acclaim. She was sold for £325 and I left the remainder of the tax. Dan has a solid base on which to improve the car. I'd sorted out most of the faults and the car has left me in better condition than when I bought her. I'm glad she's going to a good home and I can use the money to get Becky II through the MoT and I can re-tax the car at the end of the month.

Anyway back to the story, because of the sale of Margaret I had to get a key cut for Becky II. I tried one more branch of Timpson without success but the answer came in the shape of a market stall that does shoe repairs and key cutting. The stallholder had a box full of older key blanks and he came up with one that was perfect. £5.50 lighter I had a key for Becky II which works.

A productive couple of days

Yesterday was the day I went over to fellow Triumph enthusiast Paul Darbyshire to liberate some bits from his Acclaim that he was scrapping. With the help of Acclaim Guru Barry McGrath we got the car stripped down to a rolling shell within 6 hours and I got all the parts I needed inlcuding parts I'd robbed from Becky. Most of the parts I've got were for Margaret most of which I've already fitted. Becky II needed a boot seal and a set of steel wheels. Blue needed a fuel pump, petrol tank and a radio aerial. I rescued the battery and put it on charge last night and it is now on Blue. The firstthing I did when I got back was to fit the steel wheels on Becky II and she looks more like and Acclaim. They have nearly new tyres (Paul found the receipt when we stripped the donor) so I'm quite pleased with the result. Today I fitted the fuel pump and got Blue running but I'm still having problems. The Guru said that the fuel line could be the problem so I'll have a go at flushing it out. This will be done when I fit the tank which is still in Paul's garage. Tonight I replaced the steering column stalks (wiper & indicator stalks) and the steering column shroud and everything is now working perfectly. The fact that it also looks better is a bonus. I've got the air cleaner to replace the existing one which looks a bit shabby. This is purely cosmetic but it gives the impression that the car is being looked after. I've also got the cables and levers for the boot and fuel filler flap releases. I thought that Becky II's fuel filler flap release wasn't working but it is fine. I might fit it on Margaret as she only as a boot release. This is a very easy job which just requires the cable to be fitted and the lever assembly to be swapped over. I've got a few bits for other Acclaim owners and they will be winging their way in their respective directions.