TRIUMPH TR4
RUN BY Julian Balme OWNED SINCE October 2015 PREVIOUS REPORT Sept 2018
Oh, the romance and glamour of historic racing! If only. Truth be told, James Mitchell and I have had a turgid time with our Triumph TR4 over the past 12 months.
At last writing, we’d just lost a wheel at Donington Park. Repaired and raring to go, we entered the hugely expensive Silverstone Classic only to DNF yet again. I know I’m sounding like a broken record when it comes to race-entry fees, but the first race I ever entered – when organisers weren’t bothered whether anyone turned up to watch or not – cost me £28. At the Classic, where it’s a ‘great day out for the family’, it costs the same amount for every minute of the race.
The point is, the less time one spends on track the more costly the hobby becomes, so reliability becomes a key factor. Almost the minute I’d left the pitlane I knew we had a problem. Above 4000rpm the engine simply wouldn’t pull. I did my three laps and handed the TR over to James, who tootled round until the end of the session, learning the track. Before the race we turned up the fuel flow in the hope the misfire was being caused by starvation, but I again feared the worst the moment we started the green-flag lap. In fact, the minute we were given the green and my right foot demanded some performance from the engine, the two cars behind me passed in the blink of an eye. Thankfully, and to my complete and very welcome surprise, I found myself engaged in a titanic scrap for last place with Robert Barrie in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV. We swapped places countless times and probably had just as much fun as those at the sharp end, despite the frustration with Chuck’s lack of get up and go.
James took over and set off in pursuit of the well-drilled Alfa team, but within a lap he’d gone missing. Via mobile phone we learned that the throttle had stuck open on the Hangar Straight and he feared the engine had been buzzed, because there was now a rattle. Initial inspection at the track certainly indicated that, with one or two pushrods appearing a little out of shape. Back at Bicester and with the head removed, it looked as though we had finally been gifted some good luck.
Karim Demynn, our go-to man where all things mechanical are concerned, found a number of things in the top end that “could have been better”, but everything else looked fine. Everything, that is, in the engine. When it was fired up again, there was a horrendous noise and hearts sank. Removing the transmission tunnel, it became apparent what had gone wrong: the slice in the bellhousing indicated that the clutch had exploded. From the outset we’d maintained that we would stick with the drivetrain as bought, so only a few tears were shed, though it ended our season.
And so to this year. Because James and wife Anya had added Isaac to their family, we decided that Jonny Shears (like James, also of Pendine), was drafted in to be my co-driver on the condition that he could only lap a maximum of five seconds quicker than me on any given circuit. He was duly
‘Having not spent any money on the engine, we could be philosophical about its demise’
dispatched to Silverstone for the HGPCA test day to get some seat time and see if Karim had solved the mystery of the misfire.
The following Monday I got the call. Good news: the misfire has gone. Bad news: there’s a hole in the block. Again, having not spent any money on the engine, we could be philosophical about its demise. We have subsequently been able to buy a complete bottom-end for not much more than the withdrawn entry fee to the May opener at Donington, and, with a bit of luck, we’ll have Chuck back together by June to have a stab at some less ‘glamorous’ (expensive) clubbies.
THANKS TO
Δ Karim Demynn
Δ Olliminium: www.olliminium.co.uk