2007 News & Progress.

News & Progress.

26 Dec 07 - Seasons Greetings.
Well Merry Christmas everyone. I hope all is well. First Carb News, I got an email from Andrew's wife on the 24th, darn thing is back in the UK. Shades of the oil cooler mess. Canada Post said the address, the very same one on the first package... WAS INCOMPLETE, yep I'm relived, but pissed. I will be calling CP and my MP in the morning to piss on someone's corn flakes :) Still happy to know its safe, we'll try again on the 27th. This time I'm getting tracking and trying to upgrade the shipping for more speed. The GT6 is waiting, in Jan I hope to start on the rest of the projects. No real firm timelines yet. I've add's David Powell's blog to my front page. Damn good guy. Besides the carbs no new parts coming in yet. Most likely I'll need a fuel pump and reg, might try and swap out the water pump and really thats it. Still cheers and the best in 08.

08 Dec 07 - Depressing.
So far my 2nd SU 1 3/4" has not shown up, Canada Post and Customs are reporting huge delays at the border, but I still don't get a warm and fuzzy about this, really hope my 2nd carb is not lost, it will make for a sad XMAS present from Laura. Here honey here is 1 of the carbs I bought for you. Next on my bitching list is the snow, its not stopped since late Nov. I hate snow, my drive way pile is already as high as 2 yrs ago and we've just begun. Last point, I'm missing my gaming PC, have not attacked Mosport in weeks. The MOB blew up so its off on to be replaced, but might not be back till after XMAS. Related to the vintage racing, I so want to get into it. So desperately want to get into it, but god its such a huge undertaking which I'm not prepared for at this point in my life. Oh well the dream goes on.

19 Nov 07 - 1/2 a set of carbs.
Well the rear carb came in, Canada Post is teasing me. Why is it that a package from the UK can get to Canada faster then one from the US? Anyhow here is a pict of the new addition. PS started to use GT6.ca.

03 Nov 07 - So Yeah, How Are You?
Been a busy few months, work, kid and play. Check out the gallery for all the fun. The driving season is all but done, 3600KM this yr, I'm happy. Now to do some work. Talked to Kas Kastner with regard to some new SU carbs for the GT6, my question was 1.5 or 1.75? He told be bigger is better, so now its in the hands of Andrew Turner of http://www.su-carbs.co.uk/. I talked to all my US suppliers, but none of them seem to be able to supply me with the SU HS5 (1.75) carbs with linkage, cable driven and tuned for my GT6 engine. So Laura finally has a XMAS gift she can buy me. Can't wait. Over the winter, carbs, Mega Jolt Lite, clean up the body a bit and all the other stuff. 08 is going to super.

16 Sept 07 - Damn that air damn is damn fine.
Yeah sorry I've been busy in many ways, hoping to get some nice driving in before the end of the season Sept, for that matter 2007 is just flying. Oh the damn part, pretty cool eh.

13 Aug 07 - Wheels Found
Been spending my money, I'll have to slow down before the CFO finds out. See what I got.

13 July 07 - Up To No Good
Looking for some 13x5" wheels, email me if you have some good leads. Thanks. A.

30 June 07 - Hello, Mosport, Cooling & More
Sorry for the lack of updates, its been a very busy June. Mosport was wild, we went down on Thr and returned 9PM Sunday. 4 hours each way 700KM round trip. GT6 did well, but was very hot on the way home. I discovered the rad cap had a tear in the seal, so on I had to run the heater on the way home, 350KM. Very hot drive, it was about 10 degrees warmer then going up and I was also moving faster. Hell it was 100KM/H from Perth to Orleans :) Go baby go, I am currently testing a 13LBS cap from CTC and have called Stu about building a shroud. Today I installed the new trim for the bonnet rear seal, the new review mirror and tried to hook up the heater valve cable, the valve operates backwards compared to normal, so after a few tires, I put it away. For my last task this evening I did a mach install of the roll bar padding, I used my heat gun and tie wraps to hold it down, going to notch a spot for the video cam mount, still have to do the sides.

Mosport Pictures, I'm still editing them, stupid busy, still have to do the OVTC news letter too. Ack. Anyhow here are the RAW picture files, lots of blurry shots as I was playing with my camera and more goofy picts of me. Enjoy. http://www.justdrive.ca/mosport/07raw/index.html I will have an edited batch in a bit, enjoy the short lap video too, excuse the commentary, I was having too much fun and really did not care about the audio :)

17 June 07 - Fuel Mileage Update
So I was wrong, from the top. First I'm using http://www.milesgallon.com to do my calculations and this time I've got the right tank size. Last weekend I managed to go 400KM (248.5 miles) on a 44.3L (11.7 US galls) tank of gas. That works out to 11.1 L /100 KM or 21.2 miles per gallon. Stock info: Overall fuel consumption 26.3 mpg (10.8 l/100km) Touring fuel consumption 31.4 mpg (9 l/100km): My run included a blast down the highway well over 110KM/H, in which I saw the tank sucked back by a 1/4. So on this next trip I will see how she fairs. On a plus side compared to the TriMgee run earlier in June, I've more then doubled my range.

17 June 07 - Prince Edward County Pictures/Trip Review
Wonderful 700km adventure. Last weekend Laura and I went on the longest trip the GT6 had ever seen, an over night drive with the OVTC to PEC, The total affair took 36hrs, 3 fill ups and 700KM on the GT6. Prior to the run, I did a full inspection, toped off the oil, trans and diff. Checked the cooling and softened the shocks. Down points, I'm leaking oil and diff fluid. I will have to address this. Also my seat killed my lower back, the rubber support gave way and I was riding on the seat rails on the way home. Took me about 3 days to loosen up, I've corrected that problem with the dense foam. Will see how that goes for Mosport, over all the trip was awesome, really nice to have Laura with me. We did get home a little late, but that was ok. Running wise, GT6 was a little thirsty on the highway burn, but settled down fine during the 80KM/H runs. She had plenty of power to climb the hills and out run any of the other Triumphs. Still rich at idle, but I'll get that soon enough, only cooling issues showed up on the way home, once we hit traffic the them went up to 75% on the gauge, but only at the lights. Once we moved it was good, I did have to drop Laura off when we got home and went for a slow cool down run, I think I will get a shroud down up for the front of the rad, once the idle mix is fixed I will be able to idle the car in the drive way with out killing anyone, also will get a large fan for the garage so I can will it out and blow cool air onto the block and rad. Will do this in July. Oil cooler will help this too. Well done GT6, now to prep for Mosport. Pictures from the trip. Cough, forgot to mention I toasted the 2 front tires with a small toe in issue, I've since fixed that and will replace the tires before the next trip, but when I drove on Saturday for the OVTC event, the steering and tires seemed fine, probably could make the run to Mosport with the tires as is, but I don't need to risk my car or weekend. We re-did the alignment I now have 1/16" toe out, this will go to 0 under hard breaking and make for better turn in, ideal for my planned July fun.

15 June 07 - Fuel Mileage Quest
Ok the GT6 tank is 9.9 gallons or 37.6 liters. Recent road trip I did 248.5 mile or 400 KM on a tank of gas.
Average speed was 50MPH or 80KM with some highway driving over 60MPH or 100KM.
The means I was getting 25.1 miles per gallon or 9.4 litres / 100km. That's not bad, but I'll improve it. Stock the GT6 was doing, Overall fuel consumption 28.8 miles per gallon or 10.8 l/100km. Touring fuel consumption 24 miles per gallon or 9 l/100km.

05 June 07 - Working & Padding
So things are good, for the first time in months the garage does not smell of gas, now it smells like oil, but that's because I discovered the oil cooler had drained all the oil out into the box it was in. Cleaned that up, as well the garage, prepping the car for another big drive this weekend. Check the oil, coolant, master cylinders & put more tension on the alternator. Trans, diff, cleaning and more later this week. Today I picked up some Kirkey SFI 45.1 Roll Bar Padding, which I will install soon.

02 June 07 - Too Hot To Sleep, Rant On Carbs
Pictures. Like the title says, its 130AM EST and I'm too warm to sleep, so I'm ranting about my carbs. Trying to still sort them out, earlier this week Mike and I matched them. Suddenly my power was gone, so I've gone back to my old setup, some recovery of power, but she's not pulling like she used too. One change I made on Thr was too move the rear float chamber off the linkage shaft. A small L bracket and bolt/nut combo did the trick. This morning I will work with the floats to match their levels. I suspect they are 1 not matched and 2 they are dumping fuel in to the carbs. I did a search online and told me how to match the floats and jets up. I think once I'm done I'll do my own SU tuning page just to keep my head straight. Really I just want my performance from last weekend back, but hope to make the car idle a lot better and not so rich.

28 May 07 - PUMA Shoes
After months of looking at some nice driving shoes/sneakers I picked some up today. Pictures. I found my runners have always been too wide for the tight pedal area. So I hope these do the trick, I'll find out this weekend, but after a quick blast in the Mazda they felt nice. Ah vanity.

26 May 07 - 200KM Run
Well that was fun, good shake down for the GT6, in the morning before the event I got under the car checking bolts, a few loose ones, I plan on going back this weekend and using locktight on them. The run itself was fun, I got 280+KM on a tank of gas, but still rich. Will work on the carbs this weekend. Still want to get my shafts in. Pictures.

21 May 07 - Wax'd
Today I washed and waxed the GT6, then cleaned the K&N's. Managed to pop out for a quick drive and capture these photos. I still am having issue with my speedo, trip and odo are working, but the needle is not working. I guess the gauge will come out, this fall I will buy the digital ones from Smiths.

19 May 07 - Saturday Wash & Oil Change
Well if you say my picts from earlier this week, I kinda got my car a little muddy. Fixed that issue today cleaning her up good, Tuesday is an OVTC meeting and Wed will my first Place D' Orleans Cruise Night for 07. I also did an oil change today, was waiting to do the it with the oil cooler install, but its going to take some development to get it installed. Lots more work to come when I have time.

12 May 07 - Light Work
Oil gauge line is installed, 75PSI cold 50 warm, tightened the door bolts, noticed the doors had play, working on a mounting solution for the oil cooler, tempted to go vertical. Picked up my G-Force eye hooks and plates from No Limits last night, will install my belts soon. Working on my speedo, seems the cable is too long and is binding the need, I'm going to try some small washers first to back the cable off a bit before cutting. I tested the speedo with the old stock cable and a drill, works fine. Now to install the fuel tank drain filter.

09 May 07 - Pars Arrival & Work Update
My oil gauge line from Mini Spares out of the UK arrived today, in total after shipping and tax, it cost me $53.00 Canadian, the US seller wanted $60US + 20 for shipping. I think I made a good deal. Pictures. Still working on the rear shafts, they will be installed on the 16th. Today on the way home, I saw a crashed Cobra, assume it was a kit car.

07 May 07 - Parts Arrive & Tank Update
While the family was out for a walk, the postman tried to deliver my Spitbits order, I took a chance and popped into the post office and was able to get my package. Yeah. Pictures. I then went for a quick run to test the tank noise, all gone. On the way back home, I spotted a Ford GT in Gulf Racing Blue & Orange, number 7 on the door. Pure Sex.

06 May 07 - Sunday Work
Got out to Canadian Tire this morning, bought two wrench sets, one flex Gear Wrench and a Stubby Wrench set. The sets cost me $150, but I needed the gear set to deal with the fuel tank bolt which is now locked down, the stubby's will go into the car's onboard tool set, along with this new tool set I got for $15.00. I finally got tired of sharing tools between the GT6 and the garage. Pictures of James and I in the GT6.

05 May 07 - Saturday Work
Today I dialled down the idle settings on the car, I left the jet nuts as is, still a little rich, but better. I then painted and installed the grill, would have been nice to polish it, but with no time, this works for me. My part orders are not in, so I did not work on the shaft. I did velcro down the rear decks and alter the right one to fit better. I did try to install a filter on the fuel over flow line, but did not big enough claps. On my test drive she was semi rich, but I was more bothered by a loud noise, turned out to be the fuel tank. One of the bolts is not down up tight, I'm going to buy a cheap wrench on Sunday and bend it :). While driving I took her up to 5K in 5th gear and put the clutch in, the vib is not prop shaft related, its the 1/2 shaft and I bet its the left side. Can't wait to swap them out. Pictures.

01 May 07 - TR6 Studs & Rear Shafts
So tonight I went to work on those shafts, they do need a serious cleaning, might get the drums turned, but the 3/8" studs came out without a fight. A couple good hits with the hammer and they were gone. All the spines on the flanges still look good. So I will clean everything up, install the new TR6 7/16" studs. Once the new shafts are ready I'll pull the installed set off the GT6 and do the swap over of the brake hardware. Might be a full day job on the weekend. Pictures.

24 April 07 - Skipped An OVTC Meeting, But For A Good Reason
Well tonight I was stunned. Worked on my SU's.
I reduced the idle mix to only 1 turn, still rich at idle so I might lean her out a touch more.
Also sitting at 1500 so I'll lower that a touch more.

I replaced the bad bolts on the centre linkage and adjusted the throttle hard link, turned out I was not getting full juice. I then played with the return spring which was binding the way I had it. Without the extra spring the front carb would not return to full idle. After some tuning I went for a drive.

Last fall when I shot the Nov drive chasing the red Spit, I could barely keep up, over 4K in 4th and 5th gear she shuttered for power. With the 5 speed she really felt a lot less gutsy.

Not any more, she just keeps going and going I was stunned. I've never had that much power out of the engine before. My Spitfire friend came along for the 2nd test run and could not believe the change, you can really hear the carbs sucking the air in now. Its a different car.

Work done on the carbs, I took them off the intake, cleaned them out and installed some red jets.
I also worked on the bowls to get them up right. The old blocks are shot, but I ordered the wrong ones so I simply stuffed some rubber into the gaps to close up the notch.
Worked nicely.
I'm extremely happy right now. I can't wait to try the new red spring and replace the 5 needle with some AAA's recommended by Andrew Turner. Pictures.

21 April 07 - Rebuild, Getting Ready For Spring
The past few days I've been lucky been able to get outside to play after a bunch of stressful days at work. The GT6 is coming together nicely. Finished the tunnel, fit some carpet over the tunnel, installed the passenger seat, removed the piano hinge on the rear panel behind the seats, panel now fastened with Velcro and the best part of the weekend so far I rebuilt the carbs with the new red jets. Seems to have improved. No more leaks after I did the bench build. She fired right up and idled nicely. When I lifted the piston on both carbs I could see fuel moving across, with the old jets I only saw the cloud of fuel and air when throttling up. On Sunday I'll finish off the carbs, still waiting for the parts. Pictures from the 19th and pictures from the 20th.

I'm still waiting for my 2 parts orders, but on the 20th we still made progress on the cable throttle linkage, once the carb parts arrive I'll go install and change them 1 at a time. :) Testing Testing Testing. At least she is going to be a good car for the runs in June.

18 April 07 - First Night Session Of The Year
I got home from a rather long day at work, but once home things got better. We had a wonderful steak dinner and then all 3 of us went to the park to play, afterwards Laura was very nice to me and let me go and work on the GT6, I actually got a lot done. First I dealt with a door window issue, for some time now my glass has been slipping off the rail, my fix was small and simple. I used a paper clip. Next I put the door panel back on. I do plan on redoing the int of the car. I might go with black because its way easier to get over the shadow blue. But today I just fixed the door panel. The lower fuzzy part has never stuck to the panel due to it being warped from getting wet. Nothing a few staples could not fix. Next up was the 5 point belt. I've been unable to get the right hooks so far and found the base of the belt on the tunnel was too close to my back. I'm going to talk to some MCO chef's and see if my new plan might work. For the time being I've removed the belt to avoid damaging it. Next was the gearbox cover, I removed the tin piece and made a new section out of sheet metal. I will finish screwing it down and cover it with the sound shield stuff on Thursday. I also worked on the tunnel. So almost done sealing it all up. Pictures from tonight.

17 April 07 - 6 Years Of GT6 Ownership
Its a wet rainy April 17th, but even after a long day at the office I still can smile. 6 years specially this last one has just rocketed by. As usual I've prepped the annual April 17th graphic. Ended up using a pict from Jan due to the crappy weather today, but still what a car. Like I said in the poster. Sex On Wheels & She Is Only Going To Get Better. Just don't tell my wife :), to my Triumph friend's and supporters thanks. And not to mention my family who let me sneak away into the garage to play. Raise one up and say cheers.

14 April 07 - Game Is On!
So on Friday the 13th I placed an order with Joe C in NY for some SU carb parts. After talking to Andrew Turner in the UK who told me to run AAA needles with Red Springs, I should good reliable power. He said they were getting 95BHP from similar setup GT6's. So the AAA here I come. Joe is going to send me new blocks as well to replace the other ones with the wrong angles. I still have to find a new linkage setup. The old GT6 setup will interfere with the back bowl. See pictures. I need to make my own maybe. The 2nd order was to Spitbits. I ordered a heater valve control cable, 2 rear trunnion kit for the new 1/2 shafts, 2 steering column bush so I can redo the shaft later this year, a spare starter solenoid, finally a new MK1 non-dipping rear view mirror and a MK 3 accelerator cable for when I convert over from solid shaft to cable. Now if the April weather will get inline, I will be outside having fun. I just hope the carb parts get here by next week. Don't want to be off line to long. Mosport ticket ordered.

10 April 07 - Game Plan 07
I seem to be switching things up a bit. The reality of parenthood is I only have limited time. Laura is back to work so the 2 of us are running around a lot. We're getting lots of great support from our families which is wonderful, but I can tell you, I hate to rush my work on the GT6. So I've got to be smart about this. So my goals are being altered a touch, motorsports are on hold till the fall at least. Right now I'm going to focus on finishing the car so I can enjoy it. The club is planning an over night run in early June, I want Laura and I to attend, but need to make sure she does not get too hot or go nuts with the gas/exhaust. So lots to do for the comfort aspect. I can see the ignition project taking some time to get under way. I want to install the shafts, new seats, fix my window and seal off the tunnel and so on. Can't wait for the weather to improve. Maybe I'll have to start working from 9-10pm at night!

10 April 07 - Hello Triumph Nation!
So tonight I went out to work on the GT6, it was only 4 degrees, but I had fun. Removed the carbs to work on the jet, but need a few other parts to improve the bowl angle issue. So we'll see what Joe C says. Pictures. I still need to resolve what needle I should be running on the GT6. Currently I am using #5, but it seems a little rich, but until the timing is switch over to the digital system, its hard to say if they are right or not.

Now to the hellos, Randy Lamp of Massillon ,Ohio USA sent me a nice email with a shot of his racing GT6. Very nice looking machine. I'm jealous, I'd love to have a race devoted GT6. Bear from Lynden,Wa who owns a 1980, Spit 1500 sent a nice complement on the web site while asking about my 5 speed trans. So a good Triumph week so far. I need to get some Triumph stickers for James's new birthday gift. I bought him a nice ride along car, its red.

03 April 07 - Oil Cooler Arrives
Well its here, but not after a lot of drama from Parcel Force, Canada Customs and Canada Post. It took 3 trips from the UK to Canada for the box to actually arrive at my door step. Thank you so much Chris. Pictures.

28 Mar 07 - Mileage Logger
Decided this was a useful addition. GT6 Mileage Logger.

28 Mar 07 - Spring Warm Up
Well Tuesday night was the OVTC March meeting, I got home from work, topped off the oil, aired up the tires, oil the triunnions and took care of a few other issues. The drive was great! Mike and I cruised down to the club house in good fashion, lots of people were worried about the roads, but the rain from the past 3 days took care of that problem. So we really enjoyed the drive. Things will start to get busy, looks like I will have a jammed packed summer, lots of OVTC events in June, including Mosport. I may try my skills at Solo II and lapping as well. Lots of upgrades to install on the GT6, but 1 at a time to see the results and I will not be doing anything to take away from driving the GT6 in 2007.

05 Mar 07 - 2 New GT6 Plus's Added To Registry
Angelo Rigakis's 1970 Triumph GT6 Plus.

Michael Bostwick's 1970 Triumph GT6 Plus.

18 Feb 07 - Josh Bowler's Spitfire Site
I'm now hosting Josh Bowler's site. The new address is http://www.justdrive.ca/gt6/josh/.

10 Feb 07 - Updates
So, a few developments. New ebay shafts are here, along with some uprated UJ's from Canley. I've not done much with the GT6, its been too damn cold and frankly the idea of laying on my back in February just is not that tempting. We ran into a snag with the oil cooler, Canadian Customs sent the package back to Chris due to a paper work glitch, we'll see what we do when he gets it back. I've ordered some carb parts from Joe C in New York, so I should see an improvement there, I was in the garage today, I think the old SU pump is weeping, I think it will have to be replaced with a solid state unit. Shortly I will inspect the shafts and see if they need new bearing. Once the weather improves, the project will rev up again. I'll aim to do each job bit by bit, but will not take the car off the road, Now its a rolling restore?

14 Jan 07 - Oil Cooler Project
Another surprise weekend, I've been thinking about an oil cooler for some time now, suddenly its a reality. I picked up a full hose kit, spin on and oilstat from Chris Marsh out of the UK and ordered a 13 Row cooler from Spitbits. So the Oil Cooler Project is a go. Chris offered up the kit for free. He said he had no use for it and wanted too see it used. I made a donation to the Ottawa Humane Society in exchange for the parts. THANKS CHRIS.

14 Jan 07 - Ebay Score
I won 2 complete half shafts with drums off ebay. Really good deal, will report more when they arrive, it might take some time for that to happen with the speed of the mail.

08 Jan 07 - THANK YOU ANDY Z!
Andy saw my home page and offered me up these seats. YOU ROCK! Beer is on me when we meet.

07 Jan 07 - Another Drive In January!
Pictures. This time I went for a Parkway drive, all the way down to the National Air Museum. Had a family ask to take their picture beside the GT6, just amazing. Supposed to snow tonight, but we'll see if that lasts.

05 Jan 07 - 2nd Guessing?
So since Christmas I've been 2nd guessing myself trying to decide what I want/can afford to do with the GT6, I was ready to buy my seats from Ridgard, but the money involved really tee'd me off. Nice seats, but damn $$$. Considered the electronic gauges, those are $800 and thought to myself. Hmm I can fix the speedo needle, I think and as for the tach drive, I'll leave the old dizzy in place, just remove its guts. So after having a long chat with Laura who was loosing her cool over my moody spending blues (I get a serious spending itch when ever there is a full moon 03Jan07) I opted to come up with a new game plan for 2007.

1. Finish EDIS project, if the car is still not working the way I want it too, new jets, followed by new fuel pump and regulator. Needles. This will be an on going test and evaluation through out 2007.

2. Continue to search for a cheaper seating alternative. Because I do want to run in Solo II and lapping events with the MCO, but do not want to risk myself using the low back seats and shoulder harnesses. I will try a few lapping events as well Solo II, but only after I've addressed some of the issues above.

3. Other things to do, oil gauge sender. I will try the cheap alternative again, remote oil filter setup if I have the funds, electric fan if I see the need. It goes on.

Really this yr I'm going to try and really cap my budget, with James's needs its only the "responsible" thing to do. That said, I'll be working towards seats, Summer Bros shafts, electronic gauges and any other goodies I can sink my teeth into. Just going to take me a little longer I guess. Hell the GT6 took almost 6 years to make it. Ok I wont be going gun ho on the Motorsports thing just yet, but that's not stopping me from enjoying my GT6 in 2007. There I feel better. (Thanks honey, your a hell of a lot wiser then I.)

04 Jan 07 - Out For A Drive In January!
Pictures. Wow, never done that before, dropped off the trigger wheel and pulley at No Limits, stop too see Bob at Engines Extra and then returned home to wash the GT6, nice day.

01 Jan 07 - New GT6 MK1 Added To Registry.
Francisco Guzmán of Perú is the newest member. Check out the entire GT6 Registry.

01 Jan 07 - Action Plan 2007.
New look and feel for justdrive.ca/gt6. I did make some changes to the layout so your old links might not work.

DELETE YOUR HISTRORY AND REFRESH YOUR CACHE IF YOU CAN NOT SEE THIS SITE CORRECTLY.

01 Jan 07 - News Archives.
To view the 2006 News Archives click here.
To view the 2005 News Archives click here.
To view the 2004 News Archives click here.
To view the 2003 News Archives click here.
To view the 2002 News Archives click here.
To view the 2001 News Archives click here.
(Note some of the links may not work due to changes in the site.)