Intermission 2 - Rocky's Link

Whilst searching the web for anything Triumph (that in itsself produces some interesting sites), I located Rocky's Triumph from New Zealand. If you are not a purist, have a look http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/lghrnrm/

New history of my Triumph will appear very soon

Another Intermission

Whilst looking at my adventures, why not give my friend Andy's Blog a view at http://www.tiz.st/MiniBlog/

Intermission

Check out the new site link - Car Ads (These are very much 'Tongue in Cheek')

Thanks for the material Ian

If anybody has others like this please contact me

History - Part 5 - 2nd Catastrophe

House Move July 1998

As our family had expanded, Liz & I decided to move house. After a few months of searching we finally found our current house and we eventually moved 30th July 1998.

Whilst moving, we needed a storage space to store the packed boxes and the garage was deemed the best place, the only problem being that the herald sat there doing nothing.
However, a friend kindly agreed to house the Herald as she had an empty garage. (Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I should have left the car there until I was ready to do some necessary work)

The house move was successful and before I moved the car decided to install some wall cupboards to so that any tools, parts, manuals, Junk etc. was out of the way. The garage looked tidy, I spent many a weekend in there complete with portable TV and beer fridge making a nice home for 'Hattie'. Liz calls this 'Caving' and the male species has to do this in some guise to survive. I call this 'getting away from the kids bickering and wife nagging'.

A week left on the MOT, during August 1998, I decided to move the car into her new home.

'Hattie' was happy for a few weeks.

Liz & I was watching TV one night and heard what seemed like someone, breaking in through the back door, obviously, I sent Liz to investigate as I was well into watching one soap or another. She found nothing !

A week a so passed and one of my pet hates happened, a light bulb blows, which in turn takes out the rest of the lighting circuit. Why does this always happen, when its pitch black and you trip up on one of the kids toys, that they have strategically placed.

So, to the garage I go, to reset the fuse box, and you can imagine my horror, once the lights come back on, to find that one of the cupboards that I had put on the wall, had fallen and embedded itself firmly across the bonnet, and the petrol can, I had put on top the cupboard and leaked its contents over the bonnet and the paint was bubbling.

After shouting a few explitives, I closed the garage door and thought I'll deal with that another day.

The following weekend, I recovered, the car from the garage, replaced the wall cupboard with stronger screws and plugs and wheeled the car back in and that is where she sat for just over 2 Years.

History - Part 4 - Obvious Way Forward

Problems so far;

1. A very noisy straight through, twin Exhaust pipe
2. Windscreen wipers that don't work
3. manual washer pump in efficient
4. Fuel gauge starts from half full and moves towards full as the petrol diminishes
5. When turning on the heater, the car pisses water over the floor
6. Speedo Milometer doesn't move
7. Speedo shows you are doing 30 miles when you are parked
8. Doors fly open, going round corners and roundabouts ( However, cured the right hand door - With problem No 10.)
9. Dented Bonnet
10. Twisted Bonnet Stays

The obvious thing to do was leave the car in the garage, let the MOT expire and hope the problems rectify themselves.

Did I do this ?

You bet I did, however, I also wheeled the car out occasionaly to tidy the garage, but with the hood down, the car made a perfect store cupboard.

Bring on the quotes from Liz (my Wife). If I wanted a skip in my garage, I would have only forked out £80.00

La La La La La was my response for months.

History - Part 3 - 1st Catastrophe

May 1998

I was backing the car out of the garage, I caught an old door which was being stored with one of the bonnet catches, which was sticking out.

The door came tumbling down and the handle hit the top of the bonnet, making a small dent.

I continued to reverse (god only knows why) to free the car from the door, but the bonnet catch was still firmly embedded in the door.

The final result was :

1. The car was free from the door (yippee !)
2. The car had a small dent in the bonnet (not so good)
3. In my stupidity to carry on reversing I had twisted the bonnet stays and I now have a gap of approx 5 millimeters between the bonnet and left hand door and the bonnet rubbing on the right hand door (put your own swear word in here)

History - Part 2 - Discover what the gleaming paint work hides

After getting the car home and 'showing off' to the neighbours, I find the following problems on the car;

1. Windscreen wipers don't work (how did it get through the mot)
2. You need to press the manual washer pump at least 20 times to get the smallest of specs of screen wash on the windscreen
3. Fuel gauge starts from half full and moves towards full as the petrol diminishes
4. When turning on the heater, the car pisses water over the floor
5. Speedo Milometer doesn't move (Great if you are on a limited mileage insurance)
6. Speedo shows you are doing 30 miles when you are parked
7. Doors fly open, going round corners and roundabouts (Other road users find this alarming)

Welcome to the new Money Pit

History - Part 1 - In The Beginning

Hattie (Family name for XKF 947J) & I was united on 2-10-1997, my fortieth birthday.

I was given the choice of a scanner, a party or a Triumph Herald for my birthday and of course I chose the latter.

So my wife Liz and I scoured the local papers for classic cars and found the new addition to the family, only 3 miles away in Haywards Heath, West Sussex. I Immediately fell in love with the recently restored 1971 signal red Triumph Herald 13/60 Convertible, which came complete with a new white hood - Cost £2,250.

I was going to have this car at all costs and It did (see later posts to see why) as the colour was perfect (matches my favorite football's team colours - see my profile).

So XKF 947J & I was one driving down the Country Lane (Rocky Lane - for any one who knows the area) with the biggest grin on my face, showing off my new pride and joy.

It really was (still is) a header turner, especially as the previous owner had installed a straight through, twin Exhaust pipe, which was louder than any Status Quo concert I had been to.