Topaz Triumph Stag History File

Goodwood Revival 2012

2013-08-23T12:39:00.001-07:00

Goodwood Revival 2012, a set on Flickr.

Another Goodwood took the sTag this time as the forecast was good, en-route followed a BMW2002 Touring judging by where he was later in the car park the route he took was considerably faster than mine.

Amazing cars great racing and pictures taken here inspired me to take up painting again.

Old Timers The Leas Folkestone 2012

2013-08-23T12:32:00.001-07:00

Old Timers The Leas Folkestone, a set on Flickr.

I really must pay more attention its been a year since I updated this. the 2013 Old Timers is this weekend.

Yet again I was unable to put the Stag into this show due to family commitments and yet its only a mile away from home. So instead I walked the new puppy to the show meet up with old friends raided the bacon rolls and had a good mooch around.

Bentley Wildfowl Trust 19 August 2012

2012-11-05T14:01:00.001-08:00

Bentley Wildfowl Trust, a set on Flickr.

Well this was our second attempt to visit this place.
Jerry and Reg had planned a superb route avoiding all the major roads.
Unfortunately the weather forecast wasn’t good for the original weekend so we postponed until August. Luckily the weather was good. We all met up at the layby at Great Chart nr Ashford and the traffic was light enough for us to stay in convoy. The motor museum had some really nice examples with a superb unrestored Minerva from 1928, Audi Quattro and the one I would have taken home a Lagonda Rapide. So as usual an enjoyable day with Cars, Wildfowl, and good company.

Crete Road West 05 August 2012

2012-11-05T13:27:00.001-08:00

Crete Road West, a set on Flickr.

Crete Road West nr Folkestone is above the Channel Tunnel Terminal some good shots can be had if the lights right.

Manchester Airport Classic Car Show

2012-07-31T13:26:00.001-07:00

Manchester Airport Classic Car Show, a set on Flickr.

My two teenage children collect Diecast model aircraft and had been planning a trip to a model fair at Manchester Airport for sometime. A long drag to take the Stag so we gave Chris's Clio a run. (He is still learning so it doesnt get much use yet) My day was made much better by the Classic Cars at the same event. Some great cars, the boys bought some bargins so a good day all round.

Darling Buds 2012

2012-07-31T13:23:00.001-07:00

Darling Buds 2012, a set on Flickr.

This is a show we have attended for a number of years now and always enjoyed it. However this year the organisers had made some major changes. Putting the car parl in the field we normally were in and then spread the exhibits in a number of fields. This was ok but it did make it harder to ensure that everyone saw everything the general consensus seems to be as it was is better.

A good selection of cars despite the threat of rain. I think the Jowett with the inovative roof to shelter from the rain was our favorite.

After several roof up roof down scenarios we decided at about 3:00pm to call it a day with only me with the roof down unfortunatly as we drove through Pluckley village the heavens opened and muggins got soaked. Still a good three Stag blast down the M20 blew out the cobwebs.

MOT Time 20th June

2012-07-30T14:09:00.001-07:00

MOT Time, a set on Flickr.

For the MOT this year I decided to return to Faversham Classics as I knew I would have issues with the emissions..

The day before I purchased a dog clip so that Lucy our 11 month Lab could come in the Stag with the roof down. It worked really well.

I left the car with them and took the hound for a long walk around the creek. It was nice to take Nature photo's rather then cars.

Sure enough when I returned the car had failed the MOT on emmisions. It took a while to reset the carbs to bring it in line but soon we had the ticket.

I think some reconditioned carbs will be in order as soon as funds permit!!!

Hamstreet County Fair

2012-06-10T13:23:00.001-07:00

Hamstreet County Fair, a set on Flickr.

The morning started with a text to Ray asking if he still intended to go as the weather forecast had not been ideal the previous evening. As it wasn’t actually raining and the forecast implied that it might clear up during the morning we decided to give it a go.
On the way to Sainsbury’s to top up with petrol, I had a call form Steve, Linda was felling unwell so he had decided to stay at home to look after her. So on to the meeting layby just before the Hamstreet turn off. Tim in his GT6 pulled out in front of me following his visit to McDonalds for breakfast. Ray was already at the layby and after a few minutes we saw a Carmine coloured missile heading towards us! As it lurched into the layby seemingly going too fast there was a simultaneous cry of “Brake, Harder, NOW!” from all three of us. Reg pulled to a stop and nonchalantly exited the missile (Stag) leaving Anne in the passenger seat looking a little shocked  Phil and Annette arrived at this point wondering what the fuss was about. After a while we decided to move onto the show so five Triumphs left for Hamstreet.
Upon arrival there were a good number of cars already there and we were lucky enough to be directed to the edge of the arena to park up as “Canterbury Triumphs” the first job was to park Rays Stag onto the base of the banner then hot foot to the refreshment tent for Bacon Butties the back to the cars for mugs of Tea. A wonder around to photograph the displays then over to the British Lawn Mower Grand-Prix. This is absolutely hilarious although the racers take the whole thing very seriously and were really racing to win, they get up to speeds of 50Mph and as the track was somewhat muddy and really bumpy is a wonder they got any traction at all.
Although the weather did improve and Reg went to the trouble of leathering his car dry assuring us this would prevent any further rain. Unfortunately this was all in vain and the cloud closed in again and the cars got another soaking. The rain did ease allowing the birds of prey to fly but it got worse again. Around 4:00 the organisers admitted defeat and released the plaques so we all went home a little cold and in my case with damp feet.
So another good enjoyable day not spoilt by the weather but let’s hope for sun next year.

Out & About

2012-06-10T13:21:00.001-07:00

Out & About, a set on Flickr.

Unusually this weekend was warm and sunny we decided on a drive to Dover again then on to Ramsgate. We had to drop off some shreading with Aunty on the way as they were taking over.

Faversham Classic Car Show 2012

2012-06-10T13:19:00.001-07:00

Faversham Classic Car Show 2012, a set on Flickr.

So a brisk four Stag blast home completed a very pleasant day.
Although the Faversham show was the first car show that I attended when I was looking for my Stag this year was the first time that we attended as Canterbury Triumphs.
We meet up again at the A2/M2 junction so that we could all park up together. We were directed to the car park rather than the streets. Once we were all settled and the banner was planted on Rays Stag off we went for a full English in one of the cafes in the town.
One of the criticisms of these shows has been that you follow the same cars from show to show. Looking back over the four years of this show prove this not to be entirely true yes there are cars that have been there every year but they are in the minority

TSSC SEM Leatherhead 2012

2012-06-10T13:01:00.001-07:00

TSSC SEM Leatherhead 2012, a set on Flickr.

Once again its SEM time
Steve and I meet up at Tesco’s Folkestone then on the meet more at Tesco’s Ashford. A pleasant drive with Tim in the lead. As we got to the new bridge on the M20 we passed my wife taking the kids to a model fair near Heathrow. Clare put her foot down as I drew level with her but this then meant Tim couldn’t pull back in again, so not knowing who she was somewhat put out.
Meet up with the rest of the crew at the layby at Wrotham then a slow seven car convoy to Leatherhead. Del had a trailer full of Herald parts he wanted to move on.
So park up on the field book in for insurance valuation the onto the bacon butty mobile
the valuation went well with Topaz given A+ on all but the underneath but hey the ground was wet so not easy to look at. I was pleased with £14,500.00 but didn’t expect the wrangle with the insurance company that followed.
Some nice cars and I got some photos that I was pleased with.
So a brisk four Stag blast home completed a very pleasant day.

May Bank Holiday

2012-06-10T12:20:00.001-07:00

May Bank Holiday, a set on Flickr.

Fired up with new enthusiasm we decided as a club to try a new show on the Isle of Sheppey that none of us had been to before. Four cars meet up at the A2/M2 junction at Faversham and drove through the rain in convoy to Sheppey unfortunately the football pitch where the show was had become water logged and the show was cancelled. So a stop for Bacon and Coffee and we all went home. The next day the weather was better so we took a trip to Dover heights again. Chris wanted to try a time lapse of the ferries coming and going so an hour or so sitting on the cliffs. Some interesting cars including a rather smart red Stag.

Canterbury Triumphs Drive It Day Dover Transport Museum

2012-06-10T12:08:00.001-07:00

Canterbury Triumphs Drive It Day Dover Transport Museum, a set on Flickr.

We meet up with the West Kent TSSC at Maidstone followed by a drive via the country roads to Dover Transport Museum somewhere most of us knew about but had never been. The weather held but we lost a Vitesse to a dropped valve and a TR to a 'Funny rumbling sound' both managed to limp home. Thanks to my sons growing interest in photography we set my camera on the windscreen to take one shot per second onto a 32GB card via a remote switch it took 7800 photos of the trip. Chris is now stitching it into a time lapse video of 5-10minutes it will go onto YouTube over the next few days.
Oh I forgot, most of us managed to avoid the puddle of pig s#it across the road well except the green GT6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=8qHXw64GMUI

Springs , Shocks & Charging

2012-06-10T11:54:00.001-07:00

Springs , Shocks & Charging, a set on Flickr.

The time finally came to sort out the rear end a few days before we were going to start the alternator decided to fail. Wards were able to supply the replacement but unfortunatly they were out of stock of the conversion kit to move the alternator to the other side of the car and away from the road dirt and moisture.

A frustrating day of fettling and the alternator worked. the springs were interesting since owning the car it has sat low on the offside when viewed from the rear. Not surprising really when you look at the old springs one was an inch bigger than the other. We cranked the adjustable spax shocks and so far I am only getting an occasional rub

Stag Cruise Lights

2012-06-10T11:47:00.001-07:00

Stag Cruise Lights, a set on Flickr.

Its funny how things work out. In the back of my mind I had wanted to add the Federal Cruise Lights to my stag but the silly prices they were making on eBay had put me off.

Stewart from Ashford was re building his Stag and was unhappy with how the cruise lights looked he posted on the Forum that he wanted to swop them for badges. I PMd him with no expectation but we did the swop.

Manston Airport & Dover Heights

2012-06-10T11:42:00.001-07:00

Manston Airport & Dover Heights, a set on Flickr.

This weekend the boys were bored so we took a trip to Manston and then Dover heights above the Harbour.

Three up in the car and I was still getting the odd rub from the back wheels so the time had come to replace the springs and shocks at the back. Rimmers had their sale on so the order was put in.

The Jag was nice

Black Stag / Topaz Stag

2012-06-10T11:39:00.001-07:00

Black Stag / Topaz Stag, a set on Flickr.

Now that the bodywork is finished we decided to take both mine and Rays Black Stag for a photo shoot

Challenger Wheels & Sorting the Rusty Bits

2012-06-10T11:34:00.001-07:00

Challenger Wheels & Sorting the Rusty Bits, a set on Flickr.

Although I had attended the shows during the year I had become a little disillusioned with the Stag. So when some Challenger Wheels turned up on eBay I was in two minds whether to bother bidding for them. I decided that I would win them so I wouldn’t bother. Having slept on it I decided I would put one bid on and see what happened. I was somewhat amazed to win them. I then had to sort out collecting them from Epsom. The wheels were great and produced some “all right who outbid me” comments on the forum. I had a bit of a problem with clearance as with the 205 tyres and the fact that I hadn’t noticed the wheels were 7 inches wide
I had a bit of fun with the garage behind where I work they were very happy to try a number of different second hand tyres until we found one that looked right and didn’t rub anywhere.
Ray with the Black Stag had been thinking about whether he could set up a small business doing repairs to classic cars using the skills he learned as an apprentice to Martin Walters where he worked on Rolls Royce’s and Bentleys. As I had some issues with the Stag where the mud flaps had been holding moisture and rotted the wings. I had four holes one at teach corner that needed fixing before things got worse Faversham had quoted what seemed like a fortune and Ray didn’t .
If you have a classic and need any bodywork done let me know and I can put you in touch.

TSSC Duxford

2012-06-10T11:12:00.001-07:00

TSSC Duxford, a set on Flickr.

This has now become a must do event for Canterbury Triumphs. We all arranged to meet up at Farthing Corner Services on the M2 at 8:30am.

The Folkestone contingent that included for the first time Charles in his Stag meet up at Tesco's then on the Ashford Tesco's to pick up the Ashford crowd.
Where Charles was worried that his car might be losing water this I could confirm as most of it was on my windscreen!

Off we went towards Faversham, five Stags and a lonely Vitesse.
Just as we got to the M2 Charles's Stag let go and overheated.
Ironic really, he bought it with the 2.5 Straight six so that it wouldn't overheat.
He decided to limp it home and catch us up later in the 2000 rally car.

We meet up with the rest of the crowd at the services and, after comfort breaks and general chat, set of for the M11.
I had attached my camera to the T-Bar in order to get shots of everybody's cars on the road.
Apparently, I was getting amazed looks from all who overtook.
The rest of the journey was uneventful and Charles arrived about an hour later.
I don't think the wheels touched the tarmac much!

As always, the museum was fab.
The exhibits had been changed since last year, so there was plenty for us all to see.
The Sally B / Memphis Belle Fortress flying was brilliant.
The selection of cars attending was impressive as you can see from the photos.

The return trip got us all home with only a couple of mishaps.
Phil's Spit decided to block its fuel filter and Grahams short cut that wasn't!

Bearsted Green Maidstone

2012-06-10T11:07:00.001-07:00

Bearsted Green Maidstone, a set on Flickr.

Following Goodwood I posted the question to Raoul what happened to us meeting up. He had text me but must have got the number wrong or something as I didn't get it. Comparing photos of the Spitfire Flypast we worked out that we must have been standing next to each other but as neither of us knew what each other looked like who was to know?

Raoul was meeting up with an Aunt of his the following weekend at Bearsted so suggested we might meet up there. This should have been fine as Maidstone is only 30 miles away but it was my wifes birthday and we had a meal booked at lunchtime. I managed to escape at about three so we had a nice time looking at all cars as most of them left the show. Still we were able to put the world to rights and it was good to meet up.

Goodwood Revival 2011

2012-06-10T10:54:00.001-07:00

Goodwood Revival 2011, a set on Flickr.

A bit of a cheat here as I didn't take the Stag this year. The forecast wasn't that good and I didn't want to leave the car in the muddy car park in the rain all day nor have to spend hours removing mud from underneath it.

This year Raoul from Australia (Marco Polo) on the SOC Forum had posted the he would be going to the revival so I had PMd my mobile number to him so that he could text me when he arrived. unfortunatly no text was forth coming so we missed each other. The Revival is always a great show and even though I got wet through the 12 Spitfire fly past was unbelievable the racing fantastic it never ceases to amaze me how cars valued in their millions are raced to the edge of their lives with no holding back.
So a really enjoyable day I returned to the car tired and damp only to find that i had lost my car keys. So the long walk back to the information tent with the hope that someone might have handed them in.

Following a cheery interigation along the lines of the Spanish Inquasition the security guys produced my keys. So i returned to my car a happy lucky bunny.

Chilli Farm Coldred Dover

2012-06-10T10:40:00.001-07:00

Chilli Farm Coldred Dover, a set on Flickr.

For some reason there were only three takers for this one. Ray and Reg in convoy from Ashford meet me at the roundabout near Sainsburys I was there five or six minutes before them so was able to take a few shots of other classics on their way to the show.

It was a good show with a number of cars that we hadn't seen before. One being the Volvo with witty sign writing.

Darling Buds Classic Car Show 2011

2012-06-10T10:33:00.001-07:00

Darling Buds Classic Car Show 2011, a set on Flickr.

Those of you who have been following this blog will have read about Rays project Stag an early mark one that needed to be completely rebuild. Well this was the first show that he was able to bring it to. This show is usually very good and well attended, this year the weather forecast wasn't very good so a lot of people stayed away. Ofour group it was only Ray in his Black Stag Bob in the Gentry but with his Yamaha FS1E strapped on the back and me. The weather held until just after lunch when the heavens openned.

Brands Hatch & The Clackett Run 2011

2012-06-10T10:24:00.001-07:00

Brands Hatch & The Clackett Run 2011, a set on Flickr.

For a number of years Bob Heritage from the Stag Owners Club has organised this fantastic day out. Things start with most of us meeting at the Clackett Lane services on the M25 a significant detour via the Godstone turning on the motorway but well worth the effort. More than 40 Stags then proceded in convoy to Brands Hatch.

Click on this link to watch the video my son did en-route.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkNsW6cgNFQ

Once inside the circuit we were able to park all together alongside the race track then during the lunch break we were invited to drive a couple of display laps behind the pace car. Again great fun but faster would have been even better :)

The racing was exciting as always as the photos show.

Stag in the Sun

2012-06-10T10:02:00.001-07:00

Stag in the Sun, a set on Flickr.

Being Topaz the Stag always looks good when the suns out so any excuse to take it out for a drive and to take more photos