HARRY WEBSTER TRIUMPH SPECIALS TONY’S MODIFIED GT6

SPRING /07 AND THE TTC IS CELEBRATING 25 YEARS

RAGTOP Executive Marque Coordinators

President TR2, 3 , 3A & B SUBMISSIONS Gary Brown 519-942-9949 Robin Searle 416-971-7902 Format: Malcolm Taylor 905-880-0079 ʻOn discʼ is preferred for long articles. Word Files Vice President are preferred. Typed submissions are acceptable. Ric Allison [email protected] TR4, 4A & 250 Graphics must be scannable or in a major graphics Dave Goard 905-655-7190 formats. Past President By hand: Chris Walker 905-335-0812 TR6 To any of the editors at the monthly meetings. Fred McEachern 905-627-2987 Mail: Secretary Wayne McGill 905 847-5532 112 Chestnut Ave. Hamilton Ontario L8L6K9 Brenda Campbell e-mail: [email protected] Spitfire-GT6 [email protected] Chris Walker 905 335-0812 ADVERTISING Treasurer Contact the Clubʼs advertising representative for Mike Hale 289-242-5584 Stag details of dates, and submissions. As a guide, Tony Fox Sr. 905-632-0479 submit ads as camera - ready artwork by mail or Membership courier - addresses given above. Allan Watt 705-458-1004 TR-7& 8 The advertising year is from Jan.1to Dec. 31 John Broomer 416-745-8866 A free copy of Ragtop is sent to all paid advertisers.(excluding free classifieds)

Sub-committees Event Coordinators 2007 ADVERTISING RATES Rear Cover $300 per year. Ragtop Magazine Inside Covers $275 Editor & Photographer David Burman British Car Day Full Page $250 Asst.. Editor Brian Clark Glen Donaldson 416-385-1830 Half Page $150 Proofing submissions Bill Alexander Wayne Mcgill 905-847-5532 Quarter Page $100 Contributing Editors Gregory Hertel Business Cards $50 Simon Rasmussen Canadian Classic Classifieds Free Adverising Ric Allison Dawn and Rojer Elliot Photo Classifieds $5 Process fee. Distribution Tony Grosso Flyer Inserts $150/issue (max 4pgs) 416-755-9494 Spring Fling 2007 SCHEDULE Willa and Jim Hopkinson Issue Deadline Mailed Interclub Coordinator & BBCI. rep Spring Feb 28 End of March Malcolm Taylor 905-880-0079 General Mail Summer May 31 End of June PO Box 39, Don Mills, Ont. M3C2R6 Fall Aug 31 End of September Historian/Archivist & PR. Winter Nov 30 End of December Frank Manning 905-643-2359 Membership Mail The Ragtop is published quarterly by the Toronto Triumph Club

P.O. Box1011, Cookstown Ont. Inc. (“TTC”) and is distributed to its members as part of their Meeting Committee L0L1L0 annual dues. Ken Jackson 905-683-5107 The TTC or the Editors cannot accept responsibility for the safe Brian Clark [email protected] Ragtop Mail & email return of any submitted material. We will do our best, but accidents Helmut Vorkoetter 112 Chestnut ave. do occur. Hamilton Ont. L8L6K9 We accept no responsibility for errors or omissions. Ambassador-At-Large [email protected] Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily Vacant reflect those of the TTC Executive or Membership. Web Master Copyright © 2005 by the TTC. Volunteers Vic Whitmore Non-profit groups may reprint articles from this publication, where Michael Hale 289-242-5584 [email protected] the author has not reserved rights, provided we get credited and both the author and TTC receive a copy of the publication in its Sponsors entirety. Ric Allison vice@toronto triumph.com 24hr InfoLine 416-410-4TTC Printed by Butler Printing for the Toronto Triumph Club Motorsports Web Site: Simon Rasmussen 905-853-2514 www.torontotriumph.com

2 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 3 Features Activities Harry Webster remembered Toronto Auto Show The Prez Sez The man behind our cars...... pg.22 Ric Allison is a poet too...... pg.7 ell here we go The TTC. Scrapbook Page Meeting Madness Our members can post all club info There are 2 new sheriffs in town, for another driv- and TR news here...... pg.25 Brian and Helmuth are now in charge of meetings...... pg.18 W ing season. I don’t know where all the time Triumph Specials The British Isles Show goes; I had so many plans to Simon looks at the world of custom Our club makes a big impression building Triumphs...... pg.28 at the show...... pg24 work on several car projects and didn’t even get to one of Tony’s GT6 Modified them. Our Tony is not afraid of a challenge...... pg.32 Victoria and I have just returned from our The Incredible Photo Page! vacation trip to the Philippines. While we Back again and more off the wall were there I had our 25th Anniversary grill than ever Send in yours...... pg.35 badges made. I am very pleased with the Don’t forget to do a complete check on quality of work. We are hoping to get these your cars before heading out on the road. Colour Wars are Back! out to our members very shortly. There is Check the lights, brakes and all the oil This time in yellow...... pg.42 quite a bit of weight to the whole order of levels. 500 pieces so I could only bring back 52 of them in my luggage. The executive have de- cided that they will go to the first 50 people We look forward to seeing you at an event Tech. Talk that renew their membership at Ancaster. or on a drive. Here’s to a good summer and This will also save the club some postage safe driving. fees. Show ‘N’ Shine Brian Clark hosts a new regular feature with detailing and car-care tips...... pg.9 Club Info Please check out our website there are lots The “Wedgetarian” of activities planned for our 25th anniversa- Gary Brown John Broomer’s new regular ry year. There are too many to mention now, tech. feature has all the help you The Prez Sez need for your flying wedge...... pg.13 Gary’s been busy again...... pg.5 so please take a look and see if you can fit in at least one if not more. Pre-Purchase Inspection Don’t get stuck with a lemon...... pg.16 Editor’s Corner We need spring now!...... pg.6 Thank you to the entire executive team, new and old for putting together this year’s program. New Members On The Cover: They are always welcome and this group is no “Black Is Beautiful” exception ...... pg.41 A special thanks to Brian and Helmuth for Marc Lawrence shot this perfect working on the monthly meetings. We have TR-4 at British Car Day on his way Classifieds had a significant increase in meeting atten- through town. ( see last issues piece on Recycle, someone NEEDS your stuff!!! dance over the winter. coming for England to see BCD.) Advertise it free!!!...... pg.46

4 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 5 The TTC at the 2007 The show is over, aren’t ya listenin’ Editor’s Corner Canadian International Auto Show Outside the dome the snow is glistenin’ A horrible sight not happy tonight Driving in this winter wonderland s it spring yet? As you can see from my When I was asked to jot down a few words for the Rag- top with respect to our participation at the Auto Show I latest photo I don’t have any snow tires was stumped. Do I write about the fact that we were less A little snow, hey what’s the big fuss for my Spit project. I can’t wait until than prepared, about the fact we had the usual trouble at- My TR3 is wired my Lucas I It don’t like the wet, snow will be far worse I bet tracting volunteers to man the booth, or the long hours of those warm fresh spring days return. Lazy Stalling in this winter wonderland days with lots of cold beer. That’s why we standing around the cars with only the “tire girls “ walk- ing by once in a while to break up the day. put ourselves through all this isn’t it? I need Can you measure the benefit of these types of public (Chorus) to get back up to the Walker Garage and displays? Was it worth the effort? The answer is yes. It In the dark I plowed into a snow drift Recently I received a email from a reader about how was worth it. Hundreds of people stopped to photograph Not white and fluffy but all dirty brown turn some wrenches on the Spit project. My much he enjoyed our British Car Day issue. Turns out he has the cars or ask questions. It was an opportunity to share The snow shorted out my brand new starter quite a history of racing MG’s and still races motorcycles! original deadline of this British Car Day may with others our love of the cars and surprisingly there Oh… no man The Ragtop hopes to do a feature on his story soon. So if The battery is beginning to run down. have been derailed by a few health issues, but any of you out there still are waiting for your 15 mins. of was a great deal of interest by younger people. Fostering that’s a long and boring story I’ll save for a fame, here is your chance. Contact us at the club or email interest in these cars with the next generation will help few unfortunates. me [email protected] and we will get your story in the ensure that there will be people to care for and promote magazine. the Triumph in the future. Head lights, wipers and ignition This winter Chris Walker and I stripped off the Here is Les’s letter: Not an enviable position body and power-train right down to the frame. It’s Alone in the dark with an ever-weakening spark actually not too bad, the rear of the frame rails Misfiring in a winter wonderland Dear Editor, where some old repairs are needs cleaning up but basically its ok. The engine had never been fully Just read the Winter Edition of Ragtop. As usual, it is a Finally home, I did conspire apart as far as we can see and the block is good. The really fine magazine - colour cover and, Lo and behold, a As I warmed by the fire crank will need to be turned and new cam and lifters colour centre spread of a field full of ...... MGs!!!!!!!!!!!! Of sunnier things are required. This will be a great time to do a bit of Now, don’t get upset, I’m not writing to complain. Rather, I Like classics and spring flings am writing to boast. What other club do you know of with the And the odd trip north to Canada’s Wonderland upgrading in that area. The head doesn’t seem to be tolerance and open mindedness to feature the “Other Brand”. cracked but I will have it checked out and rebuilt to It is a tribute to the type of people who preserve and drive the be sure. best sportscar in the world!! (No partisan feelings here!!) Your Spring/07 Ragtop has some exciting new features. Brian and Helmuth have become your new Good on yer Ed!! Les Campey, meeting co-ordinators and will be doing write ups Member #1531 Photo By Brian Clark on all the meetings for the Ragtop. What better way I can’t complete this with out mentioning the contribu- to demonstrate to the members the calibre of our tions of Brian Clark who displayed his beautiful 1973 meetings. If you are unable to attend a session this TR6 and Glen and Malcolm for helping man the booth. will also keep you up to speed with the club. While standing around the booth may have been a little John Broomer will be tackling a regular and long tedious at times the drive home in the Triumph the last overdo feature on the wedge cars. Be sure to read his night in a blizzard was needless to say nerve-racking. piece, its very detailed and full of useful info. Set to the tune of Winter Wonderland the trip home went All the regular departments and picture pages are something like this…. ( it’s actually okay to sing this out loud ) back, better than ever, check them out. And Simon has supplied us with two great stories of brave souls who have put the torches to their Triumph’s and created very some different machines! Thanks Les, but MG’s aside it was the best picture we had Ric Allison Former Ragtop editor Bob Bieler does the first that captured the spirit of the event. So get those Triumph’s part of a story on Tony Grosso’s modified GT6. Tony out and enjoy the spring when it does arrive, and if you have is the man behind Pillar Direct the folks that make something interesting , send it in. sureyour Ragtop is always in the mail. Ric turns out to be quite a poet, soon the whole club will be Don’t miss it! David Burman humming Ric’s catchy little tune. editor

6 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 7 SHOW & SHINE Meguiar’s Tip of the Month Paint Cleaners We may not all be master mechanics when it comes to taking care of our Tri- - Always follow manufacturer umphs but we all have to clean an polish recommendations them to make them look the best we can. - Always use least aggressive method This is usually one of the more enjoyable possible (NO RUBBING COMPOUNDS) chores of taking care of a vintage car and there are many different procedures and - Use correct method of application per opinions on the best ways to make them product (hand, orbital or rotary) sparkle. This new section of the magazine - Work one section at a time will concentrate on some time saving tips and procedures to accomplish that sought - Work evenly and thoroughly, letting the after sparkle and will the help of all mem- product do the work bers will become a regular section of the - If one application doesn’t remove Rag Top. defect, a second application is sometimes needed To start the section of in proper style we contacted Meguiar’s who are an ongo- - Use separate 100% cotton terry cloth ing sponsor of the Toronto Triumph Club to towels or Mirror Glaze Ultimate Wipe for give us some tips on cleaning and maintain- wipe off of cleaners, they tend to get the ing automotive paints and bright work. It dirtiest is hoped that members will follow up and assist the section by forwarding in tips and ideas that can be passed on to pub- lish in the magazine. Any tips or ideas Member Tip you may have and would like to share with the club, no matter how small or how in- For cleaning aluminum wheels or any volved, for the article can be forwarded other bright work, try the Magic Eraser to Dave Burman [email protected] or sponges from Mr. Clean or other similar Brian Clark at [email protected] There product. has to be a ton of ideas out there that we Use them in the kitchen first and then all do to when detailing our vehicles that save them for duty on your classic. They we picked up from various friends or shows also work great for marks on the glass. that can be shared with fellow members, so how about forwarding in your favorite tips for publication in the Rag Top.

Brian Clark

8 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 9 Motor Works

B s rit ian ish nic Trained Tech -Early or Late Models- Your total source for Triumphs -Maintenence -Engine Management -Parts Supply -Fuel Injection Service -Carburetor Overhaul -Electrical Diagnosis -Body/Metal Fabrication -Parts Fabrication

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10 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 11 Does your project need to be put in gear?

A n ew regul ar fea tur e

By TTC m ember John Br o o m er The Wedgetarian

At British Auto Sport you will get the right parts to bring your sports car to top working condition at a price that won’t make the veins in your forehead begin to bulge. Give us a call or drop in and feel the energy and see the commitment to getting the job done.

TOOL FREE 1-888-485-2277 Come out and see us at our Local at 905-627-9995 NEW location 24 hr Fax 416-410-6479 1565 Hwy.#5 West, RR#1 E-mail: Troy, Ontario, L0R 2B0 [email protected]

12 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 13 So what follows will be a miscellaneous rambling fresh transmission in your early 5 speed car you can to be fed through the circuit. Some of you prob- The Wedgetarian of my own experiences, items of interest to the fra- change it over to ATF provided the gear oil has been ably didn’t realize that there are in fact two common ternity and so on. Before I start, perhaps I should thoroughly flushed out. Some of you may be sur- types of fuses and interchanging them can be very riginally I thought “Wedge World” frame the context of my experience. I have a 1980 prised since ATF is so thin compared to gear oil but bad for your wiring harness. but visions of Mike Meyers in a TR8 dhc, purchased in July, 2005 after a long (10 this is now quite common in modern gearboxes. Of Obasement kept me searching for an- year) drought without a “fun” car. Previous to that course, BL didn’t change to ATF because they were Our cars require International Electrotechnical Com- other name. I struggled at least twenty-eight I owned a 1975 MG Midget (another maligned car, on the cutting edge of technology, it was because the mission (“IEC”) fuses. Some of us have probably seconds more to come up with a title for what it was rubber bumpered and harvest gold) for about use of 75 weight oil in a transmission which had a used National Electrical Code (“NEC”) fuses. There 7 years plus a couple of daily driver Minis between pump circulating the oil didn’t fare very well in cold is a vast difference between these fuses in the way I hope will be a continuing column running 1983 and 1989. temperatures. After many complaints of hard shift- they act and react to current. Briefly (and using a in the Ragtop. ing (or none) in chilly weather, and no doubt a bunch 35A fuse as an example): British Car Day of warranty replacements, the change cured these It seems that we’ve reached some kind of turning initial issues. There are a variety of fluids available IEC fuse: point in the history of the TR7/8 in as much as this It was a beautiful day in September and another which meet the original BL specification but it seems th past October marked the 25 anniversary of produc- great turnout in general with over 1,000 cars but that the consensus (from my sources, anyway) fa- • will carry 17.5 amps continuously tion ending at the Solihull plant, recently we’ve had in particular for wedges. There were lots of 7s and vours GM transaxle fluid (part no. 12345349) which • will carry in excess of 17.5 amps for a specified a lot of the new members at our meetings standing many 8s, seemingly more than last year (particularly is a synthetic oil formulated for GM cars with manu- time period which is inversely proportional to the up and announcing that they are wedge owners and 8s). My car was relegated to 2nd place for the second al transmissions. amount of excess amps and then open (or “blow”) there seems to be more interest in our cars in gen- year in row. I think only fresh paint will bring the or in other words will carry 20 amps for “x” time eral. While I find it hard to believe that we will ever ultimate award to me. On the other hand, previous Braking 101 and then open or carry 30 amps for “y” time and get rich off our investment (not like those cursed cars were never even in the running so I can’t com- then open (x being a greater length of time than y) Hemi ‘Cuda owners) at least it appears that people plain. I had the distinction of serving my volunteer Another well known issue the wedge is a propensity • will open immediately at 35 amps are starting to appreciate wedges and not just trash- duty out at the main gate of the park waving all to dive under braking. The rear brakes are notorious • measures 5mm x 20mm ing them. Because of this, and, being tired of only the British cars down the road to the maintenance for providing little of the stopping power of the car receiving solicitation for cheap Viagra from the gate. It started out slow but built and mid-morning due to the forward bias of the system as a result of NEC fuse: [email protected] mailbox, I thought it would brought an onslaught of cars and best of all I got to the proportioning valve being far to generous with be nice to reach out and show how much we really see all sorts of stuff rolling by. front line pressure. There are two ways to deal with • measures 0.25 inch x 1.25 inch (6.35mm x 31.75 care about the often maligned wedge. this. The first is obtaining a modified proportioning mm) and explains why they just don’t seem to fit What’s in your tranny? valve from TS Imported Automotive in Ohio (www. right in that fuse panel tsimportedautomotive.com) which is operated by Ted • will carry 10% in excess of its rated amperage be- While most of our Schumacher, a long time wedge enthusiast and racer. fore opening (i.e., 38.49 amps) brethren (including 4 A second method, for those not up to opening up the • will not open at anything less than 38.49 amps speed wedges), use gear brake system, is to install spacer blocks under the (which is well beyond the capacity of the wire in oil of some type in their front anti-roll bar mounts, which effectively changes the wiring harnesses of our cars) transmissions, for the the relative position of the bar to the front lower • will make your wiring harness the fuse in the most part later wedges arms which in turn creates more resistance and re- circuit, or in other words, the wiring will burn with the 5 speed trans- duces the dive on braking. A variety of well known through in order to open the circuit to save your mission developed for part sources can supply these kits. fuse! the Rover SD1 use auto- matic transmission fluid. Don’t re-fuse your Triumph what it is due Feel free to now run out to the garage to see if you Beware though that have a ticking time bomb in your fuse panel. early 5 speeds used gear We all have either experienced or heard the stories of oil and while Leyland unintentional smoke releases from our Lucas electri- Next time records indicate a serial cal systems. People just love to blame the Prince of number break where Darkness for all their woes. The following describes Winkin’, Blinkin’ and Nod – does this describe your they changed you should why it may just be your (or a PO’s) fault after all. headlights? double check what yours has in it before top- Everyone is familiar with the automotive fuse. Little ping up. In the event cylinder of glass, wire strung between two metal John Broomer that you are putting a end caps that melts when we ask for too much power

14 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 15 PRE- PURCHA SE INSPECTION T hese R a g t op file photo s serve Wil f E den t o illust rate Wil f’s poi nt Hub 94 Car Repa i r s Triumphs…

I f you a r e i n t he m a rket for a clas sic Br it i sh c a r, a p r e - Built to be d r i ven pur cha se i n s p e c t ion i s a mu st. A s a me cha n ic w it h over forty yea r s of exp e r ienc e i n t he bu si ne s s , I’ve lea rne d t h at t h i ngs t h at m ight se e m obviou s a r e neglec t e d i n t he ex - Toront o Triumph Club 25t h Ann ive r sa ry cite me nt of find i ng ju st t he r ight ca r. D rive Around La ke O nta rio A p r e - pur cha se i n s p e c t ion shou ld p rovide a t horoug h exa m i n at ion of b ot h t he struc tur e a nd t he me cha n ics of Date : Fr iday Septe mbe r 21 – Su nd ay Septe mbe r 23, 20 07 t he veh icle. T h i s r e q u i r e s putt i ng it i n t he a i r a nd r e mov - (a nd possibly Mond ay Septe mbe r 24, 20 07) i ng t he whe els. Exa m i n i ng on ly t he out side, wh ich i s of - t e n t he c a se, i s not e noug h . You c a n r e p a i r a nyt h i ng i f We w i l l meet at t he i nte rcha nge exit # 410 at Brock Road a nd t he 401. At approx i m ately 8:0 0 a .m. on Fr iday t he b a sic struc tur e i s sou nd but look s c a n b e de c eivi ng. a nd hea d clock w ise a rou nd t he La ke. T he picture sque route w i l l t a ke us t hroug h Cobourg, Br ighton on Hwy Not so long ago, a cu st ome r of m i ne b roug ht i n a T R6 for c e rt i ficat ion. Befor e pur cha si ng t he veh icle he h a d a n ap - # 2 , P r i nce E dward Cou nty a nd K i ngston via Glenor a Fe rry. We w i l l t hen t a ke the Wolf Isla nd Fe rry t o t he p r a i se r che ck it out. T he re p ort wa s golden . At fi r st gla nc e U.S.A. v ia Cape Vince nt (we suggest you br i ng your pa ssp ort s) . We a re i n t he pla nn i ng st ages of some side t h i s se e me d t o b e true. It wa s a b e auty. Whe n I put it on tr ips along the way. t he hoist for i n s p e c t ion , however, it wa s a whole d i f fer e nt T h i s T R-6 w a s p r i c e d fo r sa le i n t h e a ve ra ge p r i c e ra n ge We w i l l ove rn ight Fr iday in Sacket s Ha rb our a nd conti nue t he dr ive on Saturd ay morn i ng at a rou nd 9:0 0 a .m. st ory. A c over- up r e p a i r job h a d b e e n done on t he fr a me fo r s olid c le a n c a r s, e x te r n a lly i t lo o k e d fi n e . It wa s h o w e ve r We w i l l stop Saturd ay aft e rnoon i n Ca n a nd aigu a a nd st ay ove rn ight arr a ngi ng a spe cial d i nner eve nt th at t o h ide se r iou s det e r ior at ion. Whe n I wa s che ck i ng it, I h i d i n g m a n y s e r i o u s a n d p ote n t i a lly d a n ge r o u s fa u lt s. S h o w n n ight. T he dr ive on Su nd ay begi n s w ith a dr ive t hroug h Mum ford to Bat avia a nd we w i l l re - e nte r Ca n a d a put my b a l lpoi nt p e n t hroug h t he fr a me i n a c r it ica l s p ot. h e r e a r e o n l y tw o of t h e m o r e t h e n te n t h a t w e r e fo u n d . t hroug h Niaga r a Fal ls. T he front e nd a nd b r a ke l i ne s wer e i n s uch p o or shap e Above: a s s e e n fr o m i n si d e t h e le f t fr o n t fe n d e r w e ll . t h at i n c on scienc e I c ou ld not c e rt i fy t he veh icle a s roa d Fr o n t a p r o n d a m a ge d i n p r e v i o u s c olli sio n n ot p r o p e rl y r e p a i r e d , a ll oth e r fr o n t sh e e t m e ta l fi t p o o r a s a r e s u lt . O nce con fi rmed , we w i l l prov ide you with t he det ai ls t o b ook your a c com mod at ion along the route a s well wort hy. It wou ld t a ke fa r mor e t h a n t he c a r wa s wort h t o g ive you i n form at ion on t he schedu led d i n i ng locat ions a nd pit stops. b r i ng it up to st a nd a rd . Not i c e t h e ra d h o s e cla m p o n t h e ste e r i n g ra c k b o ot . Be low: as s e e n fr o m u n d e r n e a t h a t t h e r e a r. Ma n y p a t c h r e p a i r s t o t h e r u sty fra m e , m a k i n g i t w e a k a n d p ote n t i a lly REQU E ST FOR I N T ERE ST Some ap p r a i se r s do c onduc t a t horoug h i n s p e c t ion but d a n ge r o u s t o a n u n s u s p e c t i n g n e w o w n e r. obviou sly t h i s i s not a lways t he c a se. A me cha n ic w it h I f you a re i nte re st e d i n join i ng us on t he dr ive (eve n i f you a re not sure),we nee d a gener al idea on nu mbe r s so t he exp e r ienc e a nd tr a i n i ng t o know v i nt age Br it i sh c a r s plea se complet e b elow a nd subm it th is form pr ior to Ju ne 1, 20 07 t o: i s your b e st b et . He w i l l know i mme d iat ely by t he m a ke, model a nd yea r, what to look for. So, for your ow n prot e c- Robin Se ar le t ion , m a ke s ur e t h at who ever i s doi ng t he p r e - pur cha se 1016-424 Yonge St r e et , To r onto, Ont ar io, M5 B 2 H3 i n s p e c t ion knows t he se Br it i sh ca r s. Fa x 416- 977-5 0 91 Ph[ E] 416 971 79 02 E - mail [email protected] A p rofes sion a l p r e - pur cha se i n s p e c t ion w i l l look at t he gene r a l cond it ion of the veh icle. Is th i s a turn-key ca r, one t h at ne e d s some r e p a i r s or one r e q u i r i ng m ajor r e st or a - Name ______Passenger ______TTC Member Yes [ ] t ion? It w i l l det e rm i ne how well t he c a r h a s b e e n m a i n - No [ ] t a i ne d . I f r e p a i r s or r e st or at ion s h ave b e e n done, t he i n - Address ______City______ON, Postal Code ______s p e c t ion w i l l t ell you whet he r t he se h ave b e e n done p rop- e rly. O ver t he yea r s , I’ve se e n r e p a i r s t h at wer e done so p o orly t h at it wa s i mp o s sible to m a ke it r ight. Phone Number (daytime) ______Phone Number (evening)______It w i l l c o st money t o h ave a t horoug h p r e - pur cha se i n - s p e c t ion done but it i s money well s p e nt. Li ke a ny s p e - E-mail address ______Car Make/Model/Year: ______cial i st , a v i nt age c a r me cha n ic wa nt s r ei mbur se me nt for h i s yea r s of tr a i n i ng a nd exp e r ienc e. He m ay not b e t he Once numbers are confirmed, a more comprehensive registration form and details of the weekend will follow. che ap e st but you a r e goi ng t o get t he job done p rop e rly. A Costs will be for accommodation, fuel, meals and possible side trips only. p rofes sion a l p r e - pur cha se i n s p e c t ion w i l l help t o e n s ur e t h at you w i l l b e dr ivi ng one of t he fi ne st s p ort s c a r s ever bu i lt i n t he c ond it ion it dese rves.

16 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 17 First Toronto Triumph Club meeting of 2007 Our 2nd monthly club meeting of 2007 A good time was had by all, and the plan is to have a steady increase in club event participation. This We began the 2007 season with our first monthly As most of us hibernated during the last couple of club belongs to all of us. PS. As you are reading this in the Rag Top, there is a meeting at the Toronto Aerospace Museum in months, the organizing committee was wondering good chance that if you do not visit our website on a Downsview on Tuesday, January 16, with approxi- how quickly our triumph club members would wake Our next meeting, titled ‘Dinosaur Warning’ is regular basis, you will have missed the March meet- mately 25 members in attendance. Considering the up to anticipate spring, which is just around the cor- planned for March 20th , and promises to be of inter- ing. To ensure that you don’t miss future meetings, weather, this was a better turnout than expected. ner, and in the process give some serious consider- est to all of us. After all, our Triumph engines use we would suggest that the club (Vic Whitmore) has The topic of our meeting was car insurance; the ation to attending most, and in some cases all meet- flat tappets / cams (my apologies for the less techni- your email address, so we can send you a meeting pros and cons of regular and classic/antique insur- ings and get-togethers we have planned for 2007. cal members), which suffer from the lack of specific invitation a few days ahead of the meeting. Please ance. The speaker was our own Wayne McGill. lubricant additives that are no longer present in the make sure your email address is current. We are sure that our members fall into both insur- We were off to a good start with our January meet- modern oils that are formulated for the design of ance camps, regular or classic/antique. ing (25+ attendees), and were pleasantly surprised On the surface classic insurance appears to be about the increased attendance / participation in the least expensive, although the restrictions that the February meeting, which again was held at the come with it may not necessarily be what you have Toronto Aerospace Museum. The date was Febru- in mind, as most of us like to drive our Triumphs ary 20, and attendance had climbed to 45+. This whenever possible. Taking liability insurance off in included some ‘significant others’ as well as a couple the winter time may not provide the right coverage of visitors, who had asked to speak at our meeting for you either. about a weekend tour through the Muskoka country Wayne used some interesting examples to illustrate site. The planned event, titled ‘The Trillium Tour’ what can happen if one selects the wrong insurance is June 1st to 3rd at the Delta Grandview Resort in coverage. Here’s one of them: Huntsville. The presenter was Rob Tanner, and he Someone who’s taken liability coverage off can be contacted for additional information at 705- for the wintertime, while his car was stored in 769-3263 or through the internet at rtanner@vianet. a farmer’s barn with 50 other cars. The farmer ca. The event is planned as an annual event, and for allowed people to come in and start their cars oc- the inaugural one Jim Kenzie, who I am sure most of casionally. This person did, but unfortunately his you know from the Toronto Star’s Wheels section, car caught on fire, the fire spread, the barn burnt will be the guest dinner speaker. down.-----I am sure you can guess the outcome. Prez. Gary opened the meeting by giving his intro- The moral of this example, speak with your insur- ductory speech, in which he outlined the evenings ance agent or broker. Make sure he / she is knowl- agenda, which consisted of: edgeable about the insurance options so you receive • Welcome to new and born-again club mem- the correct information on which to base your insur- bers and their reason for attending our meeting. ance decision. • Introducing the aforementioned speaker . • A guided tour through the museum. I summary, this was a meeting worth attending. • A wine and cheese setup to loosen us up to Getting ‘cheap insurance’ may not always be the engage in conversations with fellow club mem- right decision. bers and guests. It was a simple, but effective agenda. The museum We urge you all to attend as many of our monthly tour was excellent, as our tour guides, both of which meetings and outings as possible. We’ll all win and are volunteers at the museum, had the experience have a good time doing so. and credibility to illuminate the otherwise stationary modern engines. We have invited a guest speaker objects with stories, facts and background informa- from ‘Pathfinder High Performance Specialty Lubri- See you all at the next meeting. tion, which provided us with an appreciation of our cants, who will enlighten us on what the problem is Canadian aerospace industry, both military and civil- all about and how it can be prevented. Your meeting coordinators: ian. Brian Clark and Helmuth Vorketter See you all at the March meeting. Your meeting coordinators: Brian Clark and Helmuth Vorkoetter

18 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 19 March Meeting Write-Up Engine lubrication and filtration is quite an interesting and somewhat controversial subject so you may want to check out the The March meeting was labeled our “Engine Lubri- following web sites for further informa- cation” meeting and our guest speaker was Mr. John tion. Day from Pathfinder High Performance Lubricants. 1./ Pathfinder High Performance Lubri- The meeting commenced however, with a presenta- cants www.daydistributing.ca tion from John Kersley and Randy Smith inviting members to participate in the second annual Cana- 2./ Website On the basics of engine oils dian British Classic Charity Run. The run will take www.bobistheoilguy.com place September 21-23, 2007 and will depart Cam- bridge for a demanding 700 mile drive around south- 3./ Chart showing Triumph Spin On oil ttp://members.visi.net/~kohout/Spi- western and south central Ontario. Each team’s goal filters h is to raise $500.00 the charity drive. The money nOnOilFilters.html raised will be donated to a very worthwhile charity, the Canadian Diabetes Association. The run is lim- 4./ Oil Filter Study comparing various ited to 50 cars so sort out your schedules and contact manufacturers filter their web site at www.cbccr.org for complete details designs http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/ oilfilterstudy/oilfilterstudy.html The idea of having an engine lubrication meeting The machine that measures the friction of two metals rubbing together and allows the oil additive was to address the so called “Dinosaur Warning” (ad pack) to make the oil even more slippery. In that has been recently been outlined in many articles. John Day of Pathfinder High Performance Lubicants was on this picture, the weights are about 3 times more The warnings have outlined many failed vintage en- Oil is on all classic car owner’s minds these days. It seems hand at the meeting to help the club understand more about oil than without the additive = more slippery oil. gines with flat tappets due mainly to the reduction of it may not be as good for our engines as it was in the recent additives and there importance to classic car owners. See his oil additives in the recently modified API rated en- past. Look for more info on this slippery topic in an upcoming ad on page 42. photo’s on these pages by Mike Hale. Meeting Below: The bar holds the test metal. Ragtop tech. article. gine oils. In an ongoing attempt to keep emissions report by Brian Clark. Look close you will see the wear on the metal where the oil without the as low as possible and to prevent contaminating additive caused the notch. catalytic converters, manufacturers have been put- ting tighter and tighter limits on how much phospho- rous and zinc additives can be in a motor oil. Failed engines have been reported both in the vintage car hobby as well as the American muscle car hobby as both sectors have flat tappet engines.

Mr. Day outlined the changes that have been made to the new engine oils and that most modern oils only consist of 10% additives in the base oil stock. He demonstrated the shear strength of several oils and how adding the Pathfinder additive package dra- matically improved the oils shear strength without modifying the oils viscosity. He outlined the differ- ences between petroleum based oils and synthetic oils and talked about the desired viscosity oils to use in our cars. It was a very informative presentation on an important subject to all vintage car owners.

22 SPRING 2007 20 RAGTOP arry Webster, who died on February 6 Webster (a fast and enthusiastic driver) would often drive Haged 89, was a much-admired and re- from Coventry to Turin and back in a weekend to confer with spected automotive engineer whose team in- Michelotti about future products. Because Webster was so successful with his new products, spired the birth of successful Triumph sports and could always convince his bosses (Alick Dick until 1961, cars such as the TR2 family the Spitfire and Stanley Markland and Donald Stokes thereafter) of their the Stag, and was also responsible for the worth, that generation of new Triumphs showed much innova- tion. In 1959 there were several types of new Herald, with a Michelotti’s sketch of Barb indeed shows many similarities Herald, Vitesse, 2000 and 1300 family car taxi-like turning circle. The 2000 saloon brought real refine- with the earlier proposal, but translated into a four-door, six- ranges; in the same period, he supported the ment to the middle-class sector, while the TR5 was the first light scheme. The first full-sized model of the car produced by British sports car to have fuel injection as standard equipment. Michelotti looked remarkably similar to this rapidly produced A pre-production Triumph 2000 undergoing final testing at building of special cars which raced At the same time Webster’s team produced TRS racing sketch. The tail was lengthened, and a “peak” was added over MIRA in the months leading up to its launch successfully in the Le Mans 24-Hour race. sports cars which won the Team Prize at Le Mans, and later the rear window (by Standard-Triumph) at the insistence of developed sleek, very fast little Harry Webster Although all these cars have Spitfires which also won their now become icons of the clas- capacity classes at Le Mans. sic car movement, Webster Webster was director of en- always insisted that this was gineering at Standard-Triumph never the intention when they for more than a decade. After were designed. the formation of British Ley- At left Michelotti: He once remarked: “Can land he was moved to Long- you imagine a product plan- bridge to bring order to the his inspired designs faltering engineering operation ning proposal of the 1950s and remain as timeless 1960s saying that: ‘Finally, in at Austin-Morris. examples of the some making this proposal, I expect to receive an avalanche of But his six-year term was of the finest sports greetings on my 80th birthday’. hampered by a lack of corpo- cars Britain produced After all, I was only doing my rate vision and by industrial Above: the TR-3, below: the TR-6, and nothing can top job.” advertisement action, so in 1974 he moved on the interior of the TR-4, but these beauties really need no Henry George Webster was to become group technical di- introduction in this club. born on May 27 1917, and rector of automotive products educated at Welshpool County in Leamington Spa. He retired School. Aged 15 he was ap- in 1982, then was chairman of prenticed to the Standard SKF Steel UK for five years. Motor Company in Coventry. A modest man, Webster After spending six years in was astonished to become an Standard’s aircraft engineering icon of classic car enthusiasts. operation as an inspector dur- Three years ago, when the two ing the Second World War, he oldest TR2s of all were reunit- returned to the chassis design ed, he was enormously proud department in Coventry in to have them parked outside 1945 and rose rapidly through his house at Kenilworth for the ranks. commemorative photographs By 1948 he was chief chassis to be taken. engineer, and from 1952 was So popular was he among responsible for the design and refinement of the Triumph TR2 his former colleagues at Stan- sports car which, along with its successors, was a great sport- dard-Triumph that a thriving appreciation society was founded ing, commercial and export success. in his honour. He was appointed CBE in 1974. Having become director of engineering in 1957, Webster as- Above, a clean MK111 sembled an enthusiastic team which produced a series of char- ismatic new models to near-impossible development schedules, Harry Webster married, in 1943, Peggy Sharp. She and their Spitfire even though investment finance was always very limited. daughter predeceased him. left the famous “m” It was Webster who discovered the mercurial little Italian on the bonnet latch. stylist Giovanni Michelotti in 1957, signed him up as a consul- tant to Standard-Triumph and ensured that a new generation of Triumphs would have much more flair than their ancestors.

SPRING 2007 23 RAGTOP 21 he Toronto Triumph Club participated in the British Isles Show from March 2 through 4th 2007 at the Toronto CNE grounds. Attendance to Tthe event was heavy and the three Triumphs and Austin Seven were very well received. Much interest in British Car Day and the cars themselves was expressed by those in attendance. Many of the crowd remenised about the cars that they had owned back in the U.K. when they were younger and many of the younger people were quite taken by the cars as they had never seen cars quite like these, having been brought up with modern cars. The club members who staffed the booth answered many questions about the cars and British Car Day and distributed flyers to the attendees. It is expected that the interest shown will generated an increase in attendance at British Car Day year in September.

Cars on display left to right: Ric Allison’s TR-3, Gary Brown’s Austin 7 Wayne McGill’s Triumph Herald and TR-6

Inset photos and text by Wayne Mcgill Excellent turnout for the show, fun with the Coronation Street players, and a big bear hug!

centre spread photo courtesy of William C. Smith

24 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 25 Seek and ye shall find The TTC Scrapbook Pages-- Joy Rainey reports on last weekend’s Beaulieu International In association with the MG Car Club of Toronto, the TTC presents News, Rambling, Info and Stuff Autojumble Like all the best sales, an orderly queue starts to form Spring Fling 2007 several hours beforehand. Equipped with shopping trolleys, The executive would like to thank all members canvas bags or anything capable of carrying large items, who provided answers and comments to the ques- thousands of car restorers and collectors are waiting in joyful Friday to Sunday May 25-27 2007 tions provided in early March. The results were very anticipation of finding a rare part or bargain. When the gates open at 10am, the throng quickly dissipates, disappearing into favourable and well thought out and with a response avenues of almost 2,000 stands spread over 17 acres in the In beautiful St Jacobs Country rate of almost 14%; the data should provide the ex- Hampshire grounds of Lord Montagu’s Palace House, home of ecutive with great opportunities to improve on how the National Motor Museum. www.stjacobs.com the Toronto Triumph Club works for its members in It was here at Beaulieu, back in 1967, that the great British the up-coming years. autojumble was born, with just 80 stall-holders present at a one-day event. Who would have thought that, 37 years on, Dust off your vintage Brit, cool off your spring fever and come join hosts Willa and Jim Hopkinson for some The questions were related to membership renew- it would be one of the roaming and socializing in a wonderful part of Southwestern Ontario! als, Ragtop publications, the TTC website, monthly biggest events of the meetings and special outings. To ensure that the year, held over two days Friday evening – top off your spring evening drive to Waterloo with refreshments in the Spring Fling Hospi- process of handling all of the data in a professional and attracting almost tality Suite manners, it will take time to analyse and format into 30,000 passionate motorists from around actionable items that the executive can review. Once the world? Saturday morning – experience the spring breeze in your hair with a drive through beautiful St Jacobs Coun- this has been done, a formal report will be published try and the rolling farmland of Waterloo Region, ending with lunch followed by Participants’ Choice judging with the overall results and action items. Hopefully of our British classics this can be accomplished for the next edition of the As seen in the Ragtop. London Telegraph: Saturday afternoon – continue with a leisurely drive through the country back to the hotel to relax by the Thanks again for all the positive comments and Wayne Mcgill searching pool, or cut out for some browsing in the unique shops in the Village of St Jacobs or the nearby colourful for bargains on one especially the prompt returns of the survey. We are of his numerous trips Farmers Markets or Outlet Mall. looking forward to a great and successful 2007/2008 across the pond. season. Saturday evening – reunite with your Triumph and MG friends at our delicious Spring Fling Banquet at the Allan Watt hotel

Sunday morning - Sleep in, get up early to sneak back to the Sunday Farmers Market, or join our entourage headed for the Wings and Wheels Heritage Festival at the Toronto Aerospace Museum at Downsview Park Parts Sourcing www.torontoaerospacemuseum.com. By Tony Fox Register NOW using the insert enclosed with this Ragtop, or go to www.torontotrimph.com to download or I visited a parts business in NY State recently, just east of Rochester. It’s named British Car Parts print a copy of the registration form. and is in Macon NY. It blew my mind to see the inventory of British cars there, they claimed to have 600 cars and I could believe that claim. Rows of TR7s, probably 30 to 40, MGB’s galore, Metropoli- THEN, book the hotel ASAP. Rooms are limited and the hold on our block reservation ends on Friday April tans (a few) Healeys both 3000’s and Jensens. A good size row of Marinas and Minis in the Austin 13. Ask for our special Spring Fling 2007 rate of $145 + tax. section. The list goes on to the odd ones such as Minors, Jaguars, various including E Types and even a ZB Magnette. I haven’t listed all the different makes and models there but I bet there is one The Waterloo Inn and Conference Centre of most cars from the 1950’s through 1970’s. It would be nice to have a photos of the area but the 475 King Street North, Waterloo, ON weeds were too high to really see the cars from an overall view. If you are interested in visiting give Reservations: 1-800-361-4708, 519-884-0220 a call and I’ll direct you there. I must warn you though, it is hard to find and the track into the field is www.waterlooinn.com muddy and rutted and around a quarter mile long, but if you need that long sought after unplated dubrey end flange this could be your final stop. See you there!

Another celebration of the Toronto Triumph Club’s 25th Anniversary

26 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 27 But for some this is not enough. They Triumph Specials. may have a desire to personalize their car, even to create a unique statement of how by Simon Rasmussen they feel a sportscar should look and drive. This may mean replacing mechanical or most of us, driving a Triumph is an experience quite different from using a modern car; components, or even designing and build- Fthere is more direct feedback through the steering wheel and pedals, the car is agile and ing custom bodywork. responsive, the sounds mechanical music. Triumphs are especially suited to this type of modification because their sepa- rate chassis design means the existing body can be removed and replaced by something completely different. While “specials” were created in the 1950’s and 1960’s usually as an inexpensive entry to motorsports, some modern specials are more like works of art.

The TR6 based special shown in these photos taken by Alan Meyers of San Di- ego, California. The bodywork was creat- ed over a period of about 10 years by one of the employees of a customizing shop, Moal Coachbuilders of Oakland Califor- nia, as a personal project.

Various influences can be seen in the aluminium bodywork, but the theme is clearly similar to competition cars of the 1935-1955 era, especially some of the Al- lards, or possibly Mercedes Grand Prix cars. (Photos and information provided by Alan Meyers.)

28 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 29 Another Triumph Special. The basis of the special was a rusty GT6 whose body was discarded. The centre section of the chas- he car featured in this article is owned by the husband and wife team of Jeremy and Yve sis was then cut out, with the front and rear sections Rivers Fletcher, and is used in hillclimbing competition, a traditional motorsport event. welded up into a “ladder” style unit, to which tubular T hoops were welded for strength and to support the The name Rivers Fletcher may sound familiar; Alec Rivers Fletcher, Jeremy’s father, raced at bodywork. Brooklands, and was one of the “Bentley Boys” who achieved such success at LeMans in the A TR6 engine converted from fuel injection to late 1920’s and early 1930’s against the French Bugatti team. He was also an associate of Mal- carbs was installed about 18 inches further back, colm Campbell, later knighted for his world speed records on land and water, and was involved using a shortened propshaft. The steering rack was in motorsport as a journalist and documentary film maker. modified using universal joints an special pieces unique to the car, such as the gas tank, had to be fab- Jeremy very kindly sent an email describing how the car was created, together with several pictures. ricated.

The fiberglass and aluminium body is from a “Wheatcroft Classic” racing car, basically a style similar to single seat racers from the 1950’s.

Early testing showed the handling to be “really dan- gerous” until the rear suspension was replaced with a live axle setup from a Reliant Scimitar, which solved the problem. The entire project took a year to complete; the car is shown in action at Loton Park.

Simon Rasmussen

30 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 31 Many of you may know Tony Grosso, as he had The $52 dollar question was: “would the Celica 20R The 20R engine seemed like the prefect swap for Tony’s GT6– been the treasurer of the club for several years and engine & transmission fit under the hood and body of the GT6 powerplant. At 280 lbs, it was far lighter his company; Pillar Direct Marketing, mails the mag- the GT6 without too many modifications”? (read be- than the original 450 lbs. stock Triumph engine. It azines to the members each quarter. Tony has re- also puts out 120 bhp (stock), but can be taken up to slightly stored many cars over the years, including a ’73 TR6. 180 bhp. That project was really assembling 1 car from 2 do- nor cars. He as also done many other restorations of The 20R 2200cc engines were the most popular North American classic & antique cars, so it should US Toyota engines. For 20 years, 1975 to 1995, these modified come as no surprise what he is up to with his latest motors served as U.S.Toyota’s dependable workhorse project… a slightly modified GT6. engine. These engines powered the popular Celicas until 1985, and the unbreakable Pick-up models used these engines until 1995 (in commercial models). The engines are OHC design, with hemispherical combustion chambers. The cross-flow head was very efficient, short of a 2 or 4 valve (per cylinder) twin cam. The long stroke provided a lot of torque at a

tween the lines, don’t touch the hood). This question would take a while to be answered, as the ‘car’ was sold to Tony in pieces, (bits & pieces, several trips of bits & pieces in fact). At least it made it easy to mea- sure things, as there was no body to get in the way of all those (weeks & weeks) of measurements & chin scratching. After many drinks & expert opinions, all indications were it would fit quite nicely, with suf- ficient room for the existing pedal box and foot well area, battery box & wiper motor, radiator, etc. In fact, the only visible modification to the body can be

reasonable RPM range. The engine responded well to all the tuning tricks.

In 1985 Toysport raced a 22RE Toyota Celica GTS in the Macao Grand Prix. The original plan was to use an 18RG, but since the vehicle had US serial #’s Tony had been working on building a Lowcost they were forced to use the U.S. engine the 22RE ’ll start this article with a 7, a ‘build on your own workbench from ‘plans’ in (similar to the 20R). They qualified at the last min- a book’, Lotus 7 replica car. Having completed the ute, and started the race in the last half of the grid. disclaimer to all Triumph frame and sourcing a drive train courtesy of a 79 At the finish the Toysport Celica placed 3rd- behind 2 Toyota Celica, Tony decided to abort the Lowcost 7 BMW Motorsport prepared 6 cylinder BMWs! This purists…. Read no further. project before it turned into a Highcost 7, in terms of is the highest finish achieved by the 22RE in inter- I time & money. Seems he had a few other things on national racing competition. Can you imagine how But for the rest of you, please nd the go, as he was having a 2 story put on his house. seen only when the hood is open, as an inch & a half well this drivetrain will propel a GT6, that is 1,000 read on. So when a GT6 body & chassis became available at a of material was removed where the engine meets the lbs lighter than the Celica. reasonable price, he jumped on it. He’d always liked body/firewall shelf. Inside the car, this is concealed those cars, and this would be a way to get one. by the dashboard.

32 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 33 The carbureted engine develops 185-195 HP. The secret is in the torquey characteristics of the power The Incredible Photo Page band. The limiting factor of this engine is also its Wayne McGill strongest point. The long stroke limits RPM capabil- really likes this ity to about 6200 maximum, but the bottom end will page and never fails to find interesting take a lot of abuse. The crankshaft is forged. stuff! I always though I But now the neat part, the stock 4 cylinder 20R puts wanted big Mudder out 20% more horsepower than the existing GT6 en- tires on my Spit gine, and it is 200 lbs lighter. Engine & transmission but now I’m not so placement within the GT6 frame can be further back sure. behind the front wheels vs. the stock engine/tranny, Below we see what he would like to so weight distribution will actually be a little more do with his smart balanced front to back. That extra power will be de- car. Do any club livered through the existing GT6 differential & rear members have a big This is Liv Haasper’s 1967 axles. rig tractor the can MKIII Spitfire and “Nugget” lend him? At right is a cool On a warm winter day, Tony Spitfire pickup... had a few friends over to trial cutting torches fit the body & hood, while the required to copy engine was in its final position this one. mounted on the frame. It took a couple of tries to figure out how much, if any cutting was re- quired to have the body & hood where they should be, and after a little trim, everything lined up as it was intended. Now that question has been answered, the real work begins.

The body was removed, and the frame will be completely New member Harry DeYong was keen enough to send in disassembled, blasted, treated & these two interesting photos. Below is a puzzler, a yield sign painted. A custom drive shaft in the remote regions of the Yukon. And on the right a “white knuckle” road with a huge rock overhang in the south east of will have to be manufactured, to France. I don’t see a “danger falling rocks” either. match up with the Toyota trans- mission and the Triumph differential. New brakes, suspension bushings & seals will be installed on re- Because the transmission is slightly wider than the assembly. GT6’s, the inside of the frame was trimmed slightly and reinforced with 1/8 inch plate steel welded to the This is expected to be multi year project, so I’m outsides & bottom of the frame. As well, a couple sure you will get to read about its progress in future of cross-member brackets were bolted on underneath issues of the Rag Top. the transmission.

Bob Bieler

34 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 35 36 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 37 Where you park your Investment can be Your ticket to savings

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38 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 39

RAGTOP 39 NEW MEMBERS

David and Lorraine Rice Barrie TR6 1973

George Moncur Hamilton

Kieren Smyth & Claudia Cuttress Etobicoke SPITFIRE 1500 1981

Nicholas and Jennifer Hope Campbellville TR6 Looking

Dave and Kathryn Penn Oakville SPITFIRE Looking

Harry and Liz Deyong Mississauga SPITFIRE 1975

Greg Wellings and Jody Peirson Caledonia SPITFIRE 1500 1980

John and Kay Verdone Guelph TR3B 1962

Doug and Michelle Barclay Milton TR4 1963 TR4A 1967 TR6 1974

The TTC. is pleased to wel- come these new members and their wonderful cars to the club.

New members are critical to our MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL FORM survival as an organization and PLEASE LIST YOUR TRIUMPH CARS Model:______we thank them for their support. Date:______Year:______Commission No.:______Name:______Model:______Spouse:______Year:______Commission No.:______Club Meeting Ideas Required Address:______In and effort to bolster meeting turn outs and to make the meetings as interesting as City:______Annual dues are $35.00, due on May 1 every year. Payment may be made by cheque or money order (Canadian funds), possible for next year we would like some membership feedback on meeting topics and payable to the ʻToronto Triumph Clubʼ. outings. The meetings that have traditionally drawn the most support in the past are Province/State:______Postal Code:______If you wish to pay your membership fee with your VISA card, please complete the following. either social events like the BBQ in the summer, or organized outings like the welding seminar for example. Phone Home: ( )______VISA NUMBER: ______If you have any topic ideas that would be interesting to the club we would like to hear Work: ( )______EXPIRY DATE: ______Fax: ( )______NAME on CARD: ______from you. If you have a particular skill you would like to learn about, let us know so we can source out either the information or arrange for a company or specialist to put on a SIGNATURE: ______e-mail:______seminar or a facility tour. The more ideas we have the better we can formulate an in- PLEASE DETACH AND MAIL YOUR APPLICATION TO: teresting line of events for the upcoming meetings. AL WATT MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN Please forward any thoughts or ideas to Brian Clark at [email protected] PO BOX 1011, COOKSTOWN, ONTARIO. L0L1L0

40 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 41

Brown envy though, is not a wide spread virus as far as Standing Strong in the Colour Wars I can see. I strenuously object to the Captain’s presump- tion (dream?) that, just one example - our wonderful and ’ve thoroughly enjoyed the colourful rantings loyal NY TTC supporters Bob & Dot weakening, and Iand ravings of Club Brown’s inimitable Captain infecting their beautiful yellow wedge’s new paint job over the years. He takes a lot of good natured abuse with a brown stripe could be construed as indication that about his colour-challenged gem, and as can be seen Team Yellow as a whole is about to summarily break from his contributions to the Ragtop, really knows down. Team Yellow has not, to quote Captain Brown, how to feed it back. Personally, I’ve never been one “…joined forces…” with him. One does not constitute a to get fussed about colour wheels – they don’t hit the trend. We have Churchillian resolve too! road! You see, the bright fresh Mimosa Yellow gets its colour and name from the beautiful wild flower of the same However, his recent Ragtop rave “We Will Never Sur- name, native to southern France. It conjures up images render” went just far enough to jolt even the pacifist in of a lovely girl in the breeze-brushed meadow – maybe me into action. He’s picked on a lot of colours in the even doing an ad for another famous Triumph trade name past, but when he dragged the beauty of Yellow into his (and, it is said, another of the Captain’s favourites!). rant, I could no longer sit by on the sidelines. I had to This, surely, is a much more pleasant mental image than jump into the fray. That’s the way wars spread. (Yellow some of the connotations of brown. is what white becomes on it’s glorious transformation to BROWN, hence we accept you as an honourary member I can assure the reader and all honourable members of of club brown!) Team Yellow that the only way I can imagine a brown streak on my shiny Mimosa fenders would be if I got too close while passing a livestock transport on the 401!

Rubber Ducky #1069

t! t We p i ee K I do confess his impeccable specimen (the Spit, that is) has long been the envy of keen Triumph owners for its mechanical perfection and spotless condition, if not its colour! John R. Day Day Distributing OFFICE 905-898-3185 176 Victoria Street FAX 905-898-7629 Newmarket, ON L3Y 4E1 CELL 416-697-0891 www.daydistributing.ca

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42 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 43 For Sale: 1975 TR6: French Racing Blue: $29,999 CDN / $25,999 US Background: Electrics: The car has had numerous Triumphtune: Re-curved dis- upgrades, following the “Tri- tributor; Piranha Electric Igni- umphtune Pluskit D” specifica- tion; TT 8mm Silicone spark tions as well as performance plug wires; Lucas “Sports” upgrades outlined in the “Kas coil. Kastner Performance Manual”. While maintaining a stock ap- Exhaust: pearance, power has been in- creased to ~160hp. When the Triumphtune: Stainless ex- car goes to the British Car day haust with twin 24” oval si- (Bronte, Ontario), it always lencers (mufflers), TT Headers receives a “top 3 in class” (6 into 2) that have been “Jet placing (~75cars in the class / Hot” coated. ‘73+ Rubber bumper).

Service: Suspension: The regular service, and many www.autophile.ca of the upgrades have been performed by Phil Allen, of BritCar, Rims: Panasport 15x6 / Tires: Pirelli P6000 (95% tread remain- over the past 10 years, and he knows the car inside and out. ing); Brakes: Wilwood 4 pot front calipers; Triumphtune: Vented brake rotors; “Aero-quip” Braided Brake Lines; Spax (adjustable) Engine: FR & RR shock TT conversion; Competition springs (std height), TT Solid aluminum steering rack mounts; ADCO sway bars: 7/8” The engine was rebuilt John at BVR (British Vintage Racing). front / 5/8” rear with Urethane bar mounts and end bushings Triumphtune (TT): Tubular push rods; TT “Fast Road 83” cam- shaft; TT Lightened Cam Followers (lifters); .30 Over pistons; TT: Competition 16 row Oil cooler (5/8” unions) with TT braid- ed Aero-quip lines and thermostat. The items listed above are com- plemented by �������������������� many other beauti- ful parts. I have ����������������������������� owned the car for close to 20 years, but other cars in the garage have necessitated the possible sale of Bluey. The car has been treasured and pampered during this time, and is now looking for a new home. Cylinder head:Shaved, Ported and Polished (10:1 com- pression per Kaster specs). Triumphtune: Air flowed valves (larger intake valves); TT Competition Valve Springs & TT Alu- minum Valve Caps; TT Bronze Valve Guides. Carbs / Fuel system: Contact: Mark Armstrong (Oakville, ON) Triple Weber carbs (3 x 40 DCOE) with 16mm Short Ram cell: (416) 471-5613 (5-9pm) Stacks; 3 K&N 1.75” filters; (& 3 spares); Many spare weber [email protected] Jets, Emulsion tubes (~50 pieces in all). Triumphtune: “Aero- quip” fuel lines; “Filter King” regulator, “Pacet” electric pump

44 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 45 Classifieds 1972 TR6 1962 TR4 1970 Spitfire Emerald green with black interior. Never (inten- Complete car, unfinished project. Indoor stored for MkIII Triumph Spitfire Maroon tionally) driven in the rain, stored winters. 20 years. Much work done including sandblasted The car is finished and ready to go $5800.00 Cdn Professionally maintained, now leaking oil but frame, rebuilt suspension, many other parts new certified.1300 cc engine, original configuration not burning any. Solid body with no rust. Shows in box: wiring harness, brake discs, moss stand- Twin SU carbs Rebuilt brake and clutch master cyl- extremely well with sparkling new chrome and very ard carpet kit etc etc. Body is solid but panel fit is inder and rear trunions New tires and brakes good paint. Interior in great shape, all gauges work. very poor. Has a TR3 rear axle and TR6 rims. Last 75500 miles Call 519-421-9045 or About 105,000 mi. No time to drive – 4 times each started engine 6 years ago. Spare engine long block. email [email protected] of the past 3 summers. $11,500.Scott 416 254-5973 Growing family means I have no time to work on 1967 (Late) TR4A sg@boomart it. Car is located in Dundas, Ontario. $2,500 OBO. Red with black interior. Rebuilt engine, Will not part out. Email [email protected] transmission, overdrive, SU’s. new body panels, 1962 TR4 for questions or more pictures. doors, rocker panels, gas tank, upholstery, Rarer “ white dash - straight axle” version. The wiring, electronic ignition, chroming, and car is in very nice shape and quite reliable. Just 1972 TR-6 newly polished grill. returned from a week in New England and the car Sapphire blue on shadow blue ( very rare New drive line, bearings, seals, universals, brakes, ran great. New tires and Panasport rims, new top, colour)new carpet by Diamond Trim new tonneau stainless steel pistons in callipers. Many upgrades. recently rebuilt transmission (has OD), re-cored cover by Diamond Trim new front Pirelli tyres new Widened original spoke wheels radiator, re-lined fuel tank, solid engine and drive gas lines 2005 complete tune up stored indoors (will with BFG 215X15 tires.$15,500.Tel:905-356-0566 train, seats and interior recently re-upholstered, keep until spring of 2006 mileage around 46,000 or Fax: 905-356-1281. gauges rebuild, up- graded Weber side draft original (the car is covered for the winter so exact carbs,roll bar and many other repairs and upgrades. is n/a) good solid car top in good shape Call Brent 1959 Triumph TR3A* $16,000. @ 416-676-3013 or office @ 905-953-9995 x 102 or BRG, red interior, great condition, fully restored 10 years ago, all original drive train, will send appraisal Heritage Coach Trimming Ric Allison cell (416)2725004 email [email protected] and pictures on request. $16,000 obo. Located near Lindsay, Ontario. 1979 TR7 1979 Spit-6 9659 Winston Churchill Blvd. Contact John (705)-357-3565 Convertible fairly solid car in need of top and Please be kind to my baby...... 1979 Spitfire. This or email [email protected] interior work stored for many years 1500.00 obo. car is a cross breed... 79 Spit & 73 GT-6. The body Brampton Ontario Contact Mike (519) 456-8309 Woodstock or is a Spit and the frame and drive train is a GT-6. 1974 TR-6 L6X0A4 [email protected] Once featured in the Ragtop magazine. Red on Turn key beauty ready to drive. New body paint black, approx. 60,000 miles . Boxes and boxes and interior, detailed engine, red line tires, rebuilt call John for an appointment 1976 TR7 of spares...doors, engine block, carbs, manuals, carbs, new exhaust and lots more. This car runs and Coupe for sale for 2500 or trade for interesting gauges, etc..... I have owned the Spit 6 for approx. drives exceptionally well, check this one out before 905-456-7575 old car. Located in Pennsylvania. Car came from 12 years. It has been a great car and everyone in the buying any other. Bright red, asking $16,500. Call California so body is very restorable. Orange in T.T.C. have been great too . I have just lost inter- 416-658-6408 or e-mail colour, has a sun roof, not roadworthy. Now needs est. Will sell cert., or uncert. I will store until nice [email protected] weather too . I am open to all offers. Please call Ken restoration. Email [email protected] Items for a TR3: 705-737-0069 (Barrie) -Transmission - $275 1975 TR7. -Rear axle - $100 Why restore when this one’s ready to go! 1975 1980 Triumph TR7 -Clutches - $100 TR7 coupe, 4spd,1owner, 41000 original, rust-free Convertible 106,983 kms - 3rd owner - never winter -Also, an engine stand - $100 -Contact : [email protected] floors,trunk,engine compartment, etc. Everything driven 5 speed - new tires - cd player - mechanically works. Starts runs great. Undercoated in 1975. sound No rust but needs a paint job to be really nice 1975 Triumph TR6. It is Burgundy, has a roll $2400 certified Ron (705)357-3433 E.of Newmarket. Fun to drive and runs well. More pics available - car bar, am/fm Pioneerstereo as well as original More pictures available upon request. in Montreal area Asking $5500.00Call Joe (514) 808-7105 or email [email protected] radio, Very good mechanical condition, solidframe, vinyl roof perfect. Has 122,000 1980 TR7 miles. Third owner have allrecords. Call 905- Spider60,000 miles. Rebuilt carbs, spin-on oil 1965 TR4A 985-0989 Ask for John. *Price $8,500. filter adapter. Runs and drives. Seat covers ripped. Complete for Restoration Stored inside last 10 Included is a rebuilt 1980 Buick V6 and John’s of years, partially stripped down. Brand new convert- Dallas Conversion Kit (minus springs). $2,500.00 or able hood, 4 extra wheels and replacement hood. BO. Located in Buffalo, NY area. Buyer is respon- Body and Chassis in fair condition. All brightwork sible for shipping. present. Engine running when it went into storage. Email if interested at [email protected] $2500.call Trevor @ 905 727 4009

1974 TR6 1975 TR-6 6 cyl-4 spd. /dual Stromberg’s; Signal Red ext. with Good condition 60,000 miles, Small truck load of TR-6 parts blk. int.; new paint, tires, msc. trim; exc. body with red/black interior -excellent hood, rt.frt. fender, 2 non OD.trans. no rust on frame and body; exc. mech. and running new CD. player installed -2 driveshafts,2 steering racks,2 front susp.w/brks cond.; all instruments functional; good oil pres- asking $12,000. obo. -2 complete rear susp.with brks & drive-shafts sure; original South USA car; needs carpet and top. Call Peter White (905) 732-0058 -2 prs. blk.seats, eng. block, head miscel eng. parts Asking $ 9500.00 O.B.O -box early OD.parts, 2 pr strmbrg w/man.&linkage Call 519-367-3108 For Sale: Rover V8 -exht. man, gauges, wrg.harness, blk boot cover Carbureted in excellent running condition. May -new air dam,tail & park lights some lenses include transmission. Reasonable offer. -rad & some hoses,2 rockershaft assembly. Don Turnbull 416-652-1785 Toronto. -call Murray Schreder 519-336-1743 Sarnia -$600.00 prefer to sell as one lot The Classified section is provided FREE to all members or non members for PRIVATE sales only. Ads will run for 2 issues only, if you wish to renew it will have to be re-listed. To place an ad send all the details to the Ragtop mailing address or via e-mail to the Ragtop address at the front of the magazine. Regular adveristing rates apply to larger submissions.

46 SPRING 2007 RAGTOP 47 SPRING 2007