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.

What have I done?

I've only gone and bought yet another Acclaim. At £100 with a short tax and test it was well worth a punt and I would say that it is between condition 1 & 2 which makes it worth a lot more that I paid. The car runs perfect and starts first time on the button. There are a few minor niggles that I will deal with but the car is usable as it is. The previous owner had a brand new exhaust fitted which cost more than what I paid for the car. The only thing that I'm not happy about is the 15 inch alloys but the tyres are good and I can sell the alloys later on. I have a few spare steel wheels which will need fresh rubber but I can use Becky's front wheels as the tyres are good. (I've already robbed the back wheels for Margaret) I'm sure that Becky II (as I've called the car on account of the plate) will pass another MoT without any major grief as the car is virtually rust free and is in better condition than Margaret.

Good news, bad news

The good news was that I was able to renew my insurnce with Footman James for only £291 which is well worth it for all 4 cars. (3 Acclaims and the Dolomite) The bad news was that I've 3 points on my licence and £60 lighter (ouch!) which isn't nice considering that I'm unemployed. The other good news is that it won't affect my insurance premium. It happened back in November when I went down south. It was on the trip to Bournemouth. As I was coming out of Sailsbury I'd been snapped by a mobile camera doing 37mph in a 30mph limit. I never saw the van and I thought I'd been following speed limits. The evidence was there to view online and the photo was a good one showing me and Anita who was in the front passenger seat.

Earlier on this week I towed Blue from in front of the garage to further up the drive and parked it in a position to where I could jump start it from Margaret. This has the added advantage of being able to jump start Brown of which more later on. I tried to jump start Blue and with the last of my EasyStart the car would fire up so ignition problems have been ruled out. I removed the fuel pipe where it goes into the carbs and cranked the engine. Nothing. The problem is with the fuel pump. This car is going through fuel pumps like nobody's business. I might end up replacing the fuel tank as well as the pump. The fuel line is fine as most of it runs through the interior of the car so it is well protected from the elements. The first thing I'm going to try is to remove the fuel pump and operated it by hand to see if it works before I condemn it.

Brown had new points and condensor costing me £8. They were fitted and the points gapped. With Blue out of the way I was able to attache jump leads from Margaret but Brown wouldn't fire up. I'm going to start again from scratch and use the "dizzy out" method to set the points gap. This has the advantage of being able to clamp the dizzy in the vice which makes it easier to se the points gap otherwise I'd need several pairs of hands to do the job.

My planned trip to liberate some Acclaim parts has been put back because the owner of the car has been delayed by work commitments so it has been arraged for Sunday which is better for me as I'm kept busy during the week as the family taxi.

Trying to get Brown running again...

Last night I had a try at getting Brown running again. Staring from scratch I set up the static timing and the points gap but the car refused to start. I removed the points and upon closer examination they've seen better days so I'm going to get replacement points and condesnsor. When I was in the garage I noticed the courtesy light switches that I'd salvaged from a scrap Acclaim and I decided to turn my attention to Margaret instead. The courtesy light switches for the rear doors were corroded and getting them out had proved difficult because the screws were also corroded. I was able to get the passenger side switch out and fit one of my spares. The driver's side was a bit more difficult because the screw just wouldn't budge but the courtesy light will now work on the rear passenger door so I've got one more thing working on Margaret.

Clutch troubles

In my last entry I said that Margaret's clutch didn't feel right. After reading the Haynes and looking at Becky I realized that Margaret's clutch cable wasn't fitted correctly. Once that was rectified and the cable readjusted the clutch pedal feels a lot better. The road test has shown that all is well. The heated rear window does work so I'm on my way to eradicating all of Margaret's minor niggles.

A couple of more probems fixed

I've managed to fix a couple more of the niggles on Margaret. It all began when fellow Acclaim owner Craig was having problems with his car. He's now got a CityRover as a daily hack so the Acclaim as been out of use. I fetched some tools, jump leads and some EasyStart and we managed to get the car running. I took it out for a spin (he's swapped his insurance over to the CityRover so he's not covered) and lo and behold it ran perfectly. It even started up again on the button so all is well with this car. One thing I noticed that the clutch is light but Margaret's is stiff. I wonder if the cable's not been refitted correctly or is still maladjusted. He gave me the clock out of his Acclaim for Margaret so I now have a working clock! After I fitted the clock I decided to swap the rear glass. I didn't have any major problems but the finishing strip took AGES as you need to take your time to avoid any scratches as I was only using a screwdriver. Eventually, I got it in without mishap but I won't know if it has worked until the rear glass steams up next. The seal that came with the replacement glass was in better condtition than the one that came out so it is still an improvement. Paul has got in touch with me about the Acclaim that he'll be scrapping and I've arranged to go over next Friday to liberate the bits I need. Craig will be coming with me as he's after some bits as well.

New battery bought

I bought a new battery for Margaret and it has cured my starting problems. I can leave the car overnight safe in the knowledge that it'll start the next morning. I've even tried starting the car with the headlights on and it doesn't let me down. The instrument panel looks bright enough with the lights on so all is well. I need to get in touch with Paul who has an Acclaim which I can cannibalize for spares. He's been in Egypt on business since before Christmas and he said he would be back around this time so I need to give him a call soon. I can then sort out Margaret's remnaining niggles and have her 100% working.

Running again

I was able to get hold of a clutch kit for Margaret for £42 from Champion. Working outside in the sub-zero condtions I was able to get the gearbox off in just over three hours. While it was off I took the opportunity to clean it up with the wirebrush attachements for my drill and it looked a lot better. The release bearing was a absolute pig to remove and I ended up cutting the old one off with my angle grinder. Replacing the clutch was the easiest part but getting the gearbox back on was just as bad as removing the release bearing was. With the help of an extra pair of hands I got it back on and it was plain sailing from there. When the time came for starting the car it wouldn't even turn over. One of the terminal for the starter motor wasn't connected properly but once that was rectified Margaret fired up without any problems. I still wasn't able to get up the drive and I ended up getting towed out by a 4wd pickup truck which was being driven by the guy who helped me with the gearbox. He was a big help and I couldn't have done it without his help. Margaret's battery was put on charge when it was off the car and after letting it stand overnight after I'd finished charging it I checked the voltage and it had lost some charge so it defintely needs replacing. I've also noticed that if she stalls there's not enough power to start the car when I have the headlights on so I have to turn off all the electrics (heater, radio, etc) and sometimes that's not even enough. Fortunately, Margaet has a manual gearbox so I can bump start her. With all this cold weather I need to get a replacement battery sooner rather than later.

Disaster!

Last night when I was about to set off for work I couldn't get up the drive due to the icy conditions. To top it all the clutch has burnt itself out. I've had a look through the service history and there's no record of a clutch replacement so Margaret was probably on the original clutch and I've brought forward the inevitable. The clutch kit won't be too expensive but the hard work will be removing (and replacing) the gearbox. They weigh a ton and I haven't forgotten the time when I had to replace Becky's gearbox in May 2006. I'll have to do the work outside because Brown's in the garage, Blue's parked outside the garage doors with an immobilized Margaret in front of Blue but I'm no stranger to working outside in the fresh air.

Pre-Christmas update

I was able to procure some of the parts I needed to start tacking the niggles on Margaret. There was an Acclaim in Derbyshire that I was able to liberate the bits I needed and better still it was free (apart from the cost of the petrol but was worth it) I got the front door glasses with the all-important holders, the front grille, the lower trim strips off the front doors, the front grille, the headlight surrounds, two steel wheels, and the door panel for the passenger side rear door. I was able to fit the door panel without any problems but in the process I found out that MK1 & MK2 interior rear door handles are different. Well, they're not actually different. They were swapped over. The driver's door glass went in without any trouble so I can now wind the window up and down. The front passenger side wasn't as easy because half of the holder had rusted away so I tried to bolt the remaining half to the winder mechanism but it wouldn't work and I ended up bending the winding mechanism. Fortunately, I've been offered bits of another Acclaim that's in Leeds (from one of my Triumph friends) but he's woring in Egypt until mid-January. I'm not desparate so I can wait. I tested the heating elelments in my spare rear glass with my multimeter and I'm getting a resistance reading so I'm confident the heated rear window will work. If it hadn't been for this snow I'd have had the glass fitted. Ideally, I'd have liked to do the job in the garage but Brown is in there with Blue parked outside the garage and both of those cars are refusing to start. Brown is turning over but there's no spark so I'll have to set the points and that means a "distributor out" job. If I mark the position of the dizzy & and the rotor arm everything should be tickety boo. With Blue I replaced the fuel filter but fuel doesn't seem to be getting to the carbs. To get to the fuel filter the left rear wheel has to come off so while that was off I gave the wheel a coat of silver Hammerite smooth and it looks a LOT better. One down, three to go.

Margaret has been giving good service but I suspect that the battery could be on the way out as it is difficult to turn the starter over of a morning. I've topped up the cells and I'm getting 14volts across the terminals when she's running. I need to get the battery tested before I splash out on a replacement. I have considered fitting Blue's as that is a known good battery and has plenty of life left in it.

Taxed!

Margaret is now taxed and in daily use. After more than a year of autos I'm running something with a manual gearbox. I don't mind autos but cog-swapping is a better driving experience and I've had no problems with swapping back from autos. There's just a few niggles to sort out but I should be able toget hold of the parts I'll need. (more of that later on)

With Blue being relegated to the backup car I can now tackle a few issues that I've been putting off. The wheels will be taken off and given a coat of silver Hammerite to smarten them up. There's the fuel filler vent to sort out. The radio aerial needs replacing. There's an Acclaim in Derbyshire that's being broken and the owner is offering parts for free so I'm hoping to go down to liberate the parts I need for both Blue and Margaret.

She passed!

Margaret now has an MoT. I picked her up today £215 lighter but I now have that all-important piece of paper. Just the tax disc and then I'm road legal with this car. The quality of the welding is good. The sill has had an invisible repair done and once it has had the topcoat it will look like it was never welded. All in all I'm quite pleased.

A run out to Berkshire

This week on my week off from work I went down to deepest Berkshire in Blue. I'd recently fitted a new fuel filter and when I filled up before setting off I put some STP fuel treatment in the tank. The journey down went without a single hitch and when I filled up again at the Sainsbury's in Newbury I was pleased to find out that I'd averaged 40.9 mpg. I'm back and I clocked up a total of 600 trouble-free miles. I've got a couple of jobs to do on Blue. I need to top up the engine oil and sort out the windscreen washers.

Margaret is still not ready. Good thing I'm not in a rush.

I've managed to revive Brown. I put her in the garage before going away. I'll probably have to jump start the car so I reversed into the garage to make it possible.

A few issues to sort out.

I've been having a few problems with Blue's fuel system so it is time I addressed these. Since I changed the fuel tank I've had problems when filling up. If I fill up too fast the petrol filler neck overflows. According to the Guru this is due to a blocked vent pipe. Also, Blue sometimes runs like a bag of spanners. I'm sure that this is due to rust & sediment in the fuel lines. When Margaret is on the road I'll be able to deal with these problems. The windscreen washer pump has packed up so I'll have to rob the one from Becky.

I'm going to do some prep work on Margaret before I take her in for the repairs & retest to make life a bit easier for the garage and (hopefully) to save myself a few quid.

It failed...

...which wasn't much of a surprise. Fortunately it was only minor things. A brake pipe and a few small bits of welding so I'm going to bite the bullet and get the testing station to do it all so Margaret is booked on for next Monday (the 16th) for the repairs and retest which is convenient for me as I can't afford to tax the car until my next payday in December.