The Editor

Welcome to Issue 7! After producing (the now defunct) Totally T-Type (TTT) for six years I am starting my second year with Totally T-Type 2. A four year stint as Editor of the Octagon Car Club Bulletin in the late ‘nineties’ /early ’noughties’ confirms that either I am a glutton for punishment or I have it in my blood, but perhaps the common denominator is the love affair with the cars?

When I started editing the Octagon Bulletin in late 1997 it would have been unthinkable to have produced a primarily web-based magazine and even by January, 2004 when TTT was born “my baby” would not have enjoyed the instant success it did if it had been offered as a primarily web-based publication.

Times change (not always to our liking, but it doesn’t pay to swim against the tide!) and I hear that E-books have overtaken print sales in the US. On the basis that if the US sneezes, we across the ‘pond’ catch a cold, the writing is on the wall for print sales in the UK.

Of course, there will always be a demand for the printed copy and I will continue to offer this option for TTT 2 for as long as the customers ask for it. Indeed, if anybody would like to become a ‘hard’ copy subscriber then you only have to contact me through the Contact Form of this website.

I recently had a productive meeting with my Member of Parliament on the subject of E10 fuel. Naturally, it certainly helped to discover that he is the owner of a 1936 Bentley! He was very well briefed on the subject and considered that the European Union might well start to have doubts as to the wisdom of its pro E10 policy against the background of high food prices and difficulties in satisfying demand for food on a global basis. I’ve received a follow up letter from him and he has promised to write again when he has received a reply from the Minister at the Department of Transport.

As a follow on, I hear that a recent report by a number of high powered agencies, including the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations (UN), urges the end to biofuel subsidies.

Whether or not biofuel remains in favour is in the lap of the gods but at least the case for the subsidies it currently enjoys is beginning to be questioned and without subsidies the proposition is nowhere near as attractive.

Whilst listening to the radio the other day I heard that the State of Nevada is considering bringing forward legislation to allow for driverless cars – I’m sure that it wasn’t a figment of my imagination but I thought I also heard that the only reported accident to date was caused by a driven car hitting a driverless one!

On the subject of accidents and insurance, it has been widely reported that Insurance Companies in the UK lost £2bn last year on car insurance as bodily injury claims soared. Inevitably, increased premiums will soon recover the loss, but I fail to see why classic car insurance needs to be caught up in the mix. I don’t know about you folks in the UK but my classic car premium increased noticeably this year over last.

As UK owners will know, ‘Agreed Value’ policies require an independent valuation, which normally holds good for two or three years. I have been asked to do a couple of valuations recently and have duly obliged. I don’t ask for a fee, but a small donation to the ‘hard’ copy fund of TTT 2 is appreciated.

I was delighted to receive a copy of Doug Pelton’s new catalogue recently. It really is an impressive document and comes highly recommended by me. You can order a copy, or can download it at http://fromtheframeup.com/default.aspx

Here’s what Doug says about it:

Please note: My catalog has been a work in progress for over 4 years. I have finally completed the major components identifying almost every item on the TC down to the last little screw. Although it is referred to as a catalog, it is actually written to serve as a technical manual.

If you are restoring a TC, this is a must have document as it includes assembly orders, parts identification tips, cross references, comparison pricing, Tech Tips, originality information and much much more.

Finally, Dennis Dunstan has asked for assistance in identifying the following part:

Can anybody help, please?

JOHN JAMES

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DISCLAIMER BY THE EDITOR

Totally T-Type 2 is produced totally on a voluntary basis and is available on the website www.ttypes.org on a totally FREE basis. Its primary purpose is to help T-Type owners through articles of a technical nature and point them in the direction of recommended service and spares suppliers.

Articles are published in good faith but I cannot accept responsibility or legal liability and in respect of contents, liability is expressly disclaimed.