the ragtop - hill country triumph club

Happy August, Club!

July was quite an adventure for our little Tiny car. We were all setto drive out to the heavenly Hill Country and as I stepped on thepedal I felt a CRUNCH - and that was the last time I’ve driven mycar. It was the transmission. I’m really happy I wasn’t on the roadwhen it happened and super lucky to have just had a spare trans-mission with overdrive rebuilt by the fabulous Mr. McPhail. How-ever, time is the what my crew chief rarely has an abundance of,and so for now I can only anticipate what shifting might now belike with a new transmission in the hottest month of the summer.

This month, I understand Roger will be taking us on a little adven-ture. It should be a fun time indeed!

If you are interested in helping with the All British Car Daysplease visit their website and use the Contact Us link on the righthand side of the page.

Please come to the next club meeting and eat some good food andenjoy even better company. It will be held at the Frisco on the 8thof August. It is such fun to see the patrons of the restaurant lookat the cars.

Have a wonderful day!

Geared UpBy Emily Barrett

In This IssueGeared Up, by Emily Barrett. .

July Meeting...................................Page 2

Metro Rail Tour #2, by Roger Bolick.............................................................Page 2

August Tool of the Month, by MikeMcPhail............................................Page 3

Taming the Steering on a 1959TR3A, by Steve Johnson...........Page 5

Triumph Rain Cover, by Bob Skewis.............................................................Page 8

Upcoming Events......................Page 16

HCTC Classifieds.......................Page 16

August 2015

The Ragtop

The Ragtop August 2015

Hill Country Triumph Club

The Hill Country Triumph Club, the 50th Chapter of the Vintage Triumph Register(VTR), was founded in 1990 to bring together the owners of Triumph automobilesin the Central Texas area surrounding Austin. In 1991, the membership decided toinclude other British car fans as associates due to lack of other clubs in our areathat represent some of the other marques. As owners and lovers of our uniquetypes of cars, we have a special kinship, which draws us together. Membership isopen to anyone who is a British car enthusiast, with or without a car.Annual dues are just $15.00 per family group or address per year. We have dinnermeetings on the 2nd Tuesday of each month and at least one other event eachmonth. We encourage you to join and support us, even if you don’t drive your carregularly. We also offer technical assistance if needed. One goal of the club is tohelp its members keep their cars on the road. Please call one of the club officerslisted in the newsletter for more information about club benefits and spread theword about our club to others.

The Hill Country Club is a local chapter of the Vintage Triumph Register(VTR)/Triumph Sports Owners Association, which is open to all drivers ofTriumph motorcars; a chapter of the Triumph Register of America, exclusively forTR2 through TR4A sports cars; and a chapter of the 6-PACK, dedicated to theenjoyment, preservation, and restoration of the Triumph TR250 and TR6 sportscars. Membership in these national organizations is encouraged. Visit theirwebsites at www.vtr.org, www.triumphregister.com, and www.6-pack.org.The Ragtop is published monthly by the Hill Country Triumph Club. Materialwithin may be freely reproduced providing Ragtop and the authors are credited.Any and all newsletter contributions are welcome. Deadline for submissions is theend of each month. Submissions may be emailed [email protected]. Car related classified ads are free tomembers and will run for three months unless otherwise instructed. Contacteditor for other ads.

Attendance from July meeting:

Dan and Francis Julien drove their 1970 TR6;

Tom and Tommy Glass drove their new 1976 TR6;

Phil Taylor drove his TR8;

Paul Dick drove his TR6;

Emily and Mike Barrett drove their 1976 TR6;

Mike and Nel McPhail drove their new TR6;

Bill Waller drove his red TR6;

Wilbur “Jay” Cook drove is TR8;

Bob Skewis drove his Spitfire;

Jim Herter drove his TR6;

Mike Jankowski drove his Spitfire

Members who came in SOB (Some other brand…)

Warren and Lisa Kodosky (1973 TR6) were also inattendance,

Joe Payne (TR6); Roger Bolick (TR6); Mike Schubertdrove his 2015 Mustang; Richard Ceraldi (AC Co-bra?); Dean & Elizabeth Mericas (drove their beauti-ful Jaguar MK2 to the meeting…)

A second chance to “ride the rail” with HCTC to downtown Austin.(New riders!! Suggest arrival early to try ticket machine)

Saturday August 29, 2015, 5:15 PMHoward Station (west side of Wells Branch Pkwy & Mopac)3705 Howard Ln, 78727Purchase Roundtrip, 2 Zone ticket

5:35 Departure5:49 Arrival Crestview Station (Black Star Co-op)6:57 Departure7:17 Arrival Downtown Station (walk to Rainey Street, 3 blks)10:21 Departure10:55 Arrival Howard Station

MetroRail Tour #2 - Heat of theSummer Tour

Organized by Roger Bolick

http://www.vtr.org

http://www.triumphregister.com

http://www.6-pack.org

mailto:[email protected]


August 2015The Ragtop


Not all worth-while tools aretwo-fisted 240

volt behemoths. Thereis a wide variety of ob-scure but highly usefulhand tools that may bemissing from your col-lection. Some of mypersonal favorites are:

Six inch reamer(there’s an off-colorjoke here somewhere).You know how some-times you drill a holein something and itisn’t quite bigenough…well, a fewtwists of the reamerand you have the per-

fect size. It is great forde-burring, too.

Speaking of holes, theexact diameter may bein question. If you havethat great big drill bitselection, the bits canbecome gauges tocheck out the size. Thebit can be measured

August Tool of the MonthBy Mike McPhail



with a micrometer ormatched to the holesin a pocket sized frac-tional gauge. The sameidea works well in re-verse to determine thesize of bolts.

A power drill may of-ten be overkill formaking small holes,and that battery oper-ated model is probablydead. No problem…justwhip out the YankeeDrill. This clever handtool has been aroundfor ever, but is hardlyobsolete.

What about gettingthat little bitty screwto start without drop-ping it down into theengine compartment,never to be seenagain? Specialty screw-drivers are available tohold the screw to theend of the tool. Simple,but effective!

If you must drop allthat stuff into theabyss, use the handy-dandy pocket telescop-

ing magnet to retrieveit. For non-ferrousitems the fishing tool isthe next best thing.

Having a hard timegetting those ham-fistsinto that little spacewith your big gombyratchet? Try a stubbywith a swivel handle.Couple this with a wig-gle end extension andyou can get that socketinto the tightest places.

Gear wrenches are su-perb for the tight spotsalso, and have practi-cally replaced theratchet. Once again,the stubby variety isthe best.

The lowly scratch awl(I’m not even goingthere…) comes inhandy for a variety oftasks. Nice for pokingholes in things (oops,careful!), lining upholes in, say for in-stance, transmissiontunnels and the like, orused as a punch to freethat stubborn fastener.

Too small? Similar ob-jects in varying sizeswill get the job done.

Tiny versions of com-mon tools are some-times needed fordelicate work. Picks,files, and baby wrench-es come in mightyhandy.

Enough of the wimpyhand tools; rememberthat brute-force willusually overcome skilland patience. The im-pact screwdriver willeither loosen thatstubborn screw orbolt, or snap the headright off the damnthing! This tool comeswith lots of screw-driver bits, and the ½inch drive chuck is re-movable, which allowsyou to fit big sockets tothe tool. Or, heck, putthe screwdriver’schuck on your big airpowered impactwrench and watch thefur fly!



I grew up in the fifty’s and six-ty’s as many of us did. My firstcar was a 1947 Chevy which

got me through High School. Igrew up driving my car with a lotof “play” in the steering wheel. Al-though the TR3 had very goodsteering in it’s day, I found drivingin today’s traffic at modern speedsa bit uncomfortable since I was nolonger used to the steering of myyouth.

Quite a few TR2 - TR3B ownershave made the change to Rack andPinion to take care of the steeringproblem, so I decided to join themand purchased a kit from MossMotors. Am I glad I did! The re-sults have been beyond my expec-tations. The kit used the mountsfor the original steering which al-lows me to go back the original if Idecide to. Now our TR3A driveslike our TR4A that has rack and

pinion. It really is a very comfort-able feeling.

The following are a few picturesand my comments about the con-version:

Taming the Steering on a 1959Triumph TR3A

By Steve Johnson

OK, step #1, put the TR3A on jack stands. Then thefront valance needs to be removed. You can’t get tothe radiator easily or the original steering withoutout doing that on a TR2 - TR3B.

With the valance off the radiator can be removedalong with the original steering equipment. I rec-ommend that you keep the original steering parts.It will enhance the value of your Triumph and canbe easily be reinstalled if needed.



Now for the new parts. The major ones are the rack and pin-ion, new frame for the rack, the tie rod ends, a new steeringshaft, electric fan (not shown), and a horn and turn signalconversion kit. Since there is a major modification for thesteering column as it makes a solid link to the rack, the newTR2 - TR3B solid steering link cannot carry the wiring as itdid originally. The wiring and switches are remoted to justunder the left side of the dash.

Pictured are the original parts that need to be removed.Since the original mounts are used and stay intact, puttingthe original parts back is a reverse process.

As you can see from the picture, the fan and extension are re-moved too. The new frame for the rack does not allow fortheir use. An Electric Fan with an automatic thermostat re-places them.

The electric fan the arrow points to has a very nice stain-less frame used for the installation. It’s a “pull” as op-posed to a “push” setup, for a negative ground system,that rests in the space between the radiator and the en-gine where the original fan was. My experience with thissetup so far is very positive. The temperature holdssteady at around 185 degrees. I’m sure a new radiatorhelped as well.

You can see the new black frame bolted to the originalmounts in this picture. The rack is mounted solid to theframe (no bushings to allow movement).

Behind the rack you can see the stainless cover that re-places the fan extension. It keeps the lower pulley firmlyattached to the crank shaft. These are the main parts ofthe conversion.



The arrow in the picture is pointing to one of twouniversal joints in the steering that allow an easyand strong hookup to the rack and pinion. Most ofthe TR3A’s thru TR3B’s have a split column thatallows this addition to be easily made.

The TR2 and TR3 had a continuous column. Thereis a separate kit for modifying that steering columnso that the link to the rack can be made.

You’re almost done. I’d recommend you get afriend to help you get the alignment right after theinstallation to make sure it’s running straight. Set-ting up the toe in was a problem for me. MikeMcPhail helped me and I’ll always be indebted tomy friends like Mike for their help.

OK… I know you’ll be itching to drive your Tri-umph with the new rack and pinion steering like Iwas, but be sure to put that front Valance back onand take it off those jack stands FIRST.

This really sounds easy doesn’tit? It sounds easier than it is,but the instructions are clearand straight forward, all theparts are their for the project,and you have the club to helpyou out when needed. It doestake a while to put it all togeth-er but I’m sure you’ll be aspleased with the outcome as Iam.

Triumphantly,

Steve Johnson



Some of you that havetraveled to VTR Regionalshave seen cars in theparking lot that have raincovers on them. Since ourarea has gotten a lot ofrain lately, I decided tomake one according toplans first executed byJohn Phillips with GreenCountry Triumphs in Tul-sa. His plan is written upon their web page andcan be accessed by thislink:http://www.greencountrytriumphs.org/?p=1207.I used Gorilla tape since itwas the best, stickiest I

could find. If you have ac-cess to better, use thebest you can. I found asmall tarp at Walmartthat fit the bill and camein tan instead of the stan-dard blue or green. I alsomodified John's door han-dle tie down since thegrommet on the tarp Iused happened to landabove the handle. As youcan see from the picture, Iused a webbed strap andVelcro. However, I had ac-cess to a wonderful wifewho did not mind throw-ing this on her sewingmachine. She also sewed

nylon cordage into theparts that are held downby the boot and bonnet . .. just be careful not to fillthe channel as it stillneeds to shed water tokeep the boot dry. Al-though lightweight andeasy to store in the boot, Ikeep mine on in the ga-rage to reduce damagefrom UV rays and a catwho loves sleeping in the"hammock". You shouldeasily be able to keep thecost under $50 for thisproject . . . and it may saveyou from pulling yourcarpet to dry it out!

Triumph Rain CoverBy Bob Skewis

http://www.greencountrytriumphs.org/?p=1207

http://www.greencountrytriumphs.org/?p=1207



FOR SALE’67 TRIUMPH SPITFIRE MK 3, RIGHT HAND DRIVE

I am Dave Griffith and I am considering selling my Spitfire. Some history:

She has been in my hands, in various locations, since 1979, when she was acquired in Singapore (hence theright hand drive). She was a daily driver in Singapore, Oklahoma and Louisiana. She still is.

The engine was rebuilt in 1984 with a rebuilt short block installed.

In the fall of 1989, she was garaged in Salado, where she remained until the spring of 2013.

Work began late 2013 to get her road worthy and she was on the road again in the summer of 2014.

You in the club may have seen her at the 2014 All British Car Days and the 2015 Regional in Kerrville.

Work done during 2014 and 2015 include complete brake system, clutch hydraulics, many engine accesso-ries, full restoration of the SU H2 carburetors and a new fuel tank. She is not restored; she is still a daily driv-er.

She has been valued by Steve Johnson, Ron Harrison and Art Petri, independently, at $7,000. Since we aremoving and it will be a long time before I can begin working with her again, I am willing to sell her for thatamount.

If interested, I can be contacted at (512) 819-0075. My email is [email protected].




Triumph TR6 For SaleI bought this TR6 online for my first restoration project. After getting it delivered, I decided it was too muchof a project for me. The body seems to be in good shape. The floor pan is rusted through. It doesn’t run, butwas represented to me that the engine turns freely. It will be priced right for the serious restorer. I’m inDriftwood.

Tom [email protected]

512-964-6650




Michael [email protected]

210-262-0275

1973 Triumph TR6 with Overdrive

Commissioned April, 1973. Full frame off restoration 11/2001-11/2003. Totally disassembled, sand-blasted and cleared of any rust. Paint job includes two coats etching primer, two coats of standardprimer, 4 coats of color coat (Duco Jet Black) and four coats of Clear Coat. The under carriage is coatedwith POR 15 which is used to protect oil derricks in the Gulf. The car was voted Participant’s Choice atthe 2006 VTR National Competition in Dallas. It has won 1st and 2nd Place in subsequent competitions.It cruises comfortably at 70 mph and has been as far as 1,200 miles round trip on more than one occa-sion. The car is appraised and insured for $22,000. I am offering it for $19,500.

All suspension bushings replaced.Wheels sandblasted and powder coated.5 Yokohama 203 x 5.5 Tubeless TiresAll new rugs and door panelsNew Dash CrownNew Convertible Top

Engine:New Rings and Valves GroundNew Rod Bearings and Crankshaft Bearings andsealsNew Clutch and BearingNew Slave CylinderCarburetors RebuiltDistributor Rebuilt (Advanced Distributors)Modified CamHeadersMonza ExhaustRadiator Rebuilt

Richard Good Triple Manifold with three Strom-berg CarburetorsMSD Multiple Spark Distributor and Heavy CoilNew Master Cylinder and Vacuum BoosterRichard Good HD U-Joints on Drive Shaft and ShortShaftsAll New Discs, ShoesDrums and Rotors TurnedAll Brake and Fuel Lines replaced with StainlessSteel TubingSpin off Oil FilterRear Lever Shocks Replaced with Tube ShocksSet of Four Koenig 15x7 Rims and Goodyear EagleTiresNew WindshieldTourist Trophy Laminated Walnut Steering WheelConvertible Top CoverTonneau Cover


With:

● Surrey Roof

● Over Drive

● Webber Carbs

● ASA Mufflers

● Rear Tub Shock Conversion

● Front Spoiler

● Oil Cooler

● Premium Fuel Pump

● Leather Seats w/ Seat Belts

● AM/FM Radio w/ CD Player

● Auxiliary Power Source

● Leather Rimmed Steering Wheel w/TriumphLogo

● Wood Crested Shift Knob

● Alloy Valve Cover

&

New Tires (5)

New Battery

New Gearbox Cover (Polyethylene)

New Carpet w/Heat Shield

New Window Washer

Rebuilt Radiator

Rebuilt Heater

Pertronix Electronic Ignition w/Coil

Wood Created Shift Knob

Electric Fan Kit (Not Installed)

Sun Visors ( Not Installed)



1972 Triumph TR6 Sports Car(CC75356L)113K Miles

Asking $15,000Complete Engine Rebuild at 86K.

Vince Maggio512-514-0138 H908-240-2514 C

[email protected]



For Sale: TR6 fiberglass hardtop “Snug Top” by Custom Hardtops of Longbeach, CA. Outstanding condi-tion. Located in Dripping Springs. $500 Contact Benson 361-947-7704 [email protected]

Jim Icenhower’s

Wood, Leather and Vinyl Steering Wheels for Classic Cars At Exceptional Prices

Wood Wheels with Hub $219.95Leather Wheels with Hub $119.95Vinyl Wheels with Hub $109.95

I have steering wheels and hubs for almost all British classics as well as accessories like shift knobs, mirrors, light/badgebars and more. Check out my current listings on eBay at http:// stores.ebay.com/specialtypartshop or email me at

[email protected] for more information.

Listing change as I get shipments from the UK so check back often or contact me for any special requests.



Name:__________________________________________________________

Address:________________________________________________________

City/State:___________________________________ Zip:________________

Home Phone:____________________________________________________

Work Phone:____________________________________________________

Email address:_____________________________________________________________________________

Car Make:__________________ Model:_________________ Year:___________ Color:__________________

Car Make:__________________ Model:_________________ Year:___________ Color:__________________

How on earth did you hear about the Hill Country Triumph Club?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Please mail your application and $15 check payable to HCTC to:Nel McPhail, 1105 North Canyonwood Dr, Dripping Springs, TX 78620

Membership Application



HCTC OfficersPresidentEmily [email protected]

Vice-PresidentBob Skewis

ReservationsElizabeth [email protected]

WebmasterJim [email protected]

TreasurerMike [email protected]

Secretary[Open]

MembershipNel [email protected]

Ragtop EditorDan [email protected]

Pay Your Dues!!!!!!!Please check the latest spreadsheet sent out by Nel. If it says Jul-15 inthe dues column your dues are overdue now. Any quite delinquentmember who hasn’t paid will be dropped from the roster.

Cost is $15 per year per family. If you don’t wish to renew, please no-tify Nel.

Mail your check made out to HCTC to:

Nel McPhail1105 N Canyonwood Dr

Dripping Springs, Tx 78620(512) 656-1456

[email protected]

Back issues of The Ragtop are available on our website:

http://www.hillcountrytriumphclub.org/newsletters.php















HCTC Classifieds

Upcoming Events

I am looking for a TR250 or TR4a Bonnet for a vehi-cle I am restoring. If you have one for sale please callme at 512-517-5325 or email me [email protected]. Thank you, Fil Valderrama

I recently bought a project 1965 TR4a…. Any advice,help, parts,would be greatly appreciated

Alan Palmer [email protected]

August 8 — HCTC Monthly Meeting. Information below.

Aug. 11-14 — VTR 2015 National Convention. Fontana,WI. See www.vtr2015.com.

August 29 — MetroRail Tour #2 — Heat of the Sum-mer Tour. See page 2 for details.September 12 — HCTC Monthly Meeting.

Sept. 25-27 — Texas All British Car Days. Round Rock,TX. See www.txabcd.org.

November 1 — 8th Annual Rolling Sculpture CarShow. Hill Country Galleria, Bee Cave, TX. Details areat RollingSculptureCarShow.com.

Next meeting: Saturday, August 8, 2015, 9:00 AMThe Frisco

6801 Burnet RdAustin, TX 78757

thefriscoaustin.com — Phone: 512-459-6279

RH and LH Trunk Side Panel TR3, TR3A, TR3B.These are new steel panels, made in the U.K. Theyhave never been fitted or installed. $70.00 each. Car-ol 512-971-6778.



http://www.vtr2015.com

http://www.txabcd.org

http://RollingSculptureCarShow.com

http://thefriscoaustin.com/

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