Peerless GT
Gary begins plumbing in the Peerless fuel system
Progress continues apace on fitting up the various fuel system components. The Peerless has twin fuel tanks, with one mounted in each sill, fed by twin fuel pumps. These are switched left or right from the dashboard. But before I get to the lofty heights of trying to start up the newly-rebuilt engine, there’s plenty of plumbing that needs to be done first. The tanks each feed a pump with a separate balance pipe connecting them in the hope that sloshing fuel will find its level, such as when filling up. The reality can be fuel spilling out of overfilled tanks if you’re not careful. My alloy fuel tanks – faithful copies of the steel originals – were made by Forge Motorsport a few years back and have baffle foam for safety in the event of an impact. The foam will also help reduce surges while I’m accelerating past Danny’s Interceptor…
The filler neck pipes and connecting rubber sections have never been fitted during my ownership of the car, so I’m now in uncharted territory. The old rubber connecting sections have all but perished and will not be re-used. The lower sections have a quantity of fuel in contact with them when the tanks are full and this accounts for them being especially perished. I tried to find suitable replacements at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motorshow in November 2016 without success, but did learn that silicone hose is not suitable for continuous contact with ethanol fuels either, unless it has a suitable lining to protect it. This makes it an expensive proposition – we’re talking about an eye-watering £80 per metre. I’m hoping to source black, ethanol-friendly (E85) hose in time for my next instalment. What I did manage to source was replacement filler neck pipe of the correct diameter. The rusty old mild steel ones simply weren’t worth the hassle. I bought a 500mm length of 48mm T409 stainless steel pipe online for just £9 and cut it in half.
Coming together nicely
The trial fit, including new sealing rubbers for the fuel cap inserts, was a cinch and importantly, sets out my stall for finishing the remaining two rear wheelarch linings. I now know exactly where
they will have to be set inside the arches. The old glassfibre linings I have currently are rougher than the PC boys at 10am on a Saturday morning at Beaulieu, but they’ll make good templates for aluminium replacements. I also need to source Vdo-type dip sender units for the fuel tanks, plus the electric fuel pumps themselves. I will be replacing the originally supplied SU pumps with modern solid state versions, with both reliability and longevity in mind.
Back in the engine bay, I still had work to complete on the inlet manifold. My TR4 manifold (305744) has a small bore inlet previously drilled for something unknown, but the hole is not large enough for the hose from the pressure control valve (PCV). I’ve done away with the crankcase breather pipe that vents at sump level in favour of the PCV set-up. This will keep out and burn off those ‘car sickness fumes’ as they’re known in my family. The adaptor to accept the hose was sited in the same position as on the later 305745 inlet manifold – good enough for Triumph, good enough for me. The casting on 744 is thinner at this point than on the 745 but there is 5mm or so to play with. I drilled and tapped a thread for the adaptor, aware that the adaptor would protrude slightly inside. Having fitted it I was able to check by how much and then hacksaw 5mm or so off the end of the thread.
Brake servo
The smaller bore inlet will instead be used to feed the brake servo that I recently fitted. A central location on an inlet balance tube is best when fitting a servo to even out the vacuum required. I went for a top quality AB Lockheed version (TT3949) from David Manners, not the cheaper copy that is also available. Having read the fitting instructions that came with it I was particularly concerned about a note warning against the use of silicone brake fluid, which is my preference these days. A quick technical chat with Caparo UK, the manufacturers of the AB kit, confirmed all was OK in this instance because my braking system is entirely new, but reminded me that I must fit the servo at the correct angle. The servo has been fitted to the side of the brake and clutch master cylinders at the edge of the bulkhead. It’s a tight fit but is also discreet.