Another Triumph

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Lozzo belched forth and ejected the following:

Hey, I didn't say I knew what I was talking about or what it was worth,
just what I reckoned it would go for

I remember saying some scooter that DP was asking about was worth 2,100
when I'd never even heard of the thing

 

I always liked the looks of the things.

 

Quite a common complaint on the six cylinder Triumphs. I'm pretty sure
they were pretty much the same engines in the 2000s [1]

It was basically a Triumph Herald [1] - a car that started out as a late
1950s 30hp shopper and ended up 100+hp with few fundamental changes - so
it not being able to cope as a sports car comes as no surprise.


[1] Of which I've had a few ...

 

I didn't thing the floor was a *major* problem, given that the body
isn't really a structural part.

I love the looks, too. A mate had one when we were in 6th form /
university. Wasn't mint, but was 'OK' - until some dozy bint t-boned it.
Had a happy ending, though, as he ended up with a rot-free and repainted
body from her insurance company.

 

Ah - happy memories. I learned to drive in a 12/50. Once let loose
unsupervised I found the propensity for the 'hinged' rear suspension to
suddenly flip when cornering hard far from amusing.

As to shitfires - wife#1's sister had one aeons ago which I drove a
couple of times. Good seat of the pants fun, but mechanically fragile.
Both times I drove it something managed to break.

--

+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Moto Guzzi Mille GT/Squire RS3 Gilera Nordwest |
| Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+

 

It's a major problem when you can see daylight through the holes. The
trouble is that when they start to rot it the rest follows very
quickly.

 

It's not major in the same way it would be on a car of monocoque
construction.

Pop rivets and a Duckhams' oil can was the solution of choice on my
Heralds.

 

That's a bit flash, innit?

I've seen it done with plywood and self-tappers in the past.

 

SteveH said...

Some new Porsches still have a hardwood toeboard in the passenger
footwell under the carpet.

 

Well, that or a couple of rubber floor mats from the scrap yard.

 

In

BMW M3 CSL has a papier maché boot floor....


--
Pete M - The Corporate Penguin.
Renault Safrane 2.5 Executive,
Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 *For Sale*
OMF#9

"This is not 'Nam, this is bowling. There are rules"

 

I just cut out the rotten bits and welded plates over the top.
Underseal on the outside and old newspapers under the carpet to fill
in the dips finished the job. Fine if you can weld but shit if you
have to pay someone to do it.

My first attempt caused a minor fire because I didn't bother taking
the carpets out.

 

Heh. I think I'm responsible for >20 Sierra floor pans rotting on the
passenger side.

One year, E?, had a problem with windscreen sealing and the water would
run past the windscreen seal, down under the carpets where it would
accumulate finally soaking through the passengers carpet.

At the time I was managing a few fitters who were fitting car phones.
Unfortunately for me, Ford would always point at the carphone antenna
and blame the leak on that.

My solution (once the customer was gone) was to drill a few holes
through the floorpan to let the water out... They were all contract
hire so by the time they rusted out they'd be gone!

 

The footwells on mine went on both sides, in a Flintstones stylee. I
just bunged loads of fiberglass in it - job's a goodun!

Best car I've ever owned, BTW. Highly recommended. Not particularly
quick, not particularly reliable, but easy to work on (even for a
mechanical numpty like me) and *massively* oversteery and therefore
brilliant fun. Sideways is the only way to corner in a Spitfire. And the
1500s do look really nice too, much nicer than an MGB IMHO.

Mine was a shit heap, but it wasn't too unreliable overall. Apart from
the footwells, I had to put a new clutch in it (easy), and got the
Vauxhall dealer over the road from work to replace the leaky brake
master cylinder (which they loved doing - makes a change from working on
anonymous plastic vauxhalls all day, I suppose).

I don't like that blue colour much though.

 

Wot 'e said. On all counts.