Welcome to Issue 24, June 2014.
First, by way of an apology, I have been extremely busy, getting together my 1933 swept wing J2 so that it is ready for the paint shop. If I have not responded in timely fashion to some of you that’s the reason.
Values of Triple-M cars and T- Types continue to soar here in the UK and knowing how many hours I have spent recently, not to mention the invoices for parts supplied, it’s not difficult to see why. Of course, one could never recoup the cost of a full restoration but that’s not the name of the game.
J3656 looking a bit more like a car now. Behind it (just visible) is TC0750 waiting patiently
The TF1250 featured on the front cover of April’s magazine has now changed hands for the full asking price. However, there were only two enquiries for the car; one private, one trade. It went to the private buyer who lives within a mile of the previous custodian.
The market for the beam axle cars does seem to be a little livelier and I am aware that an advert which I have just ‘authorized’ for inclusion on the website has, on the same day of its appearance, received an interested response from mainland Europe. The car in question is an ex-Lancashire Police TA requiring full restoration.
Due to my preoccupation with the J2, the planning for the IOW Tour has been on hold.
However, I hope to be in a position to send out the ferry tickets and rally plates in June and I have been in touch with a couple of the ‘locals’ regarding the routes.
The front cover of this Issue features Derek Bradshaw’s TA (TA2259). Having spent the last 30 years restoring the car and getting close to the finishing line, Derek’s health deteriorated to the point where there was concern about his ability to finish it. Unbeknown to Derek, his wife and daughter contacted the television programme Car SOS and they took on the task of completing the car and getting it back on the road.
To quote Derek: “All this without my knowledge. I was taken to the Cheshire Steam Fair where I was surprised by the presenters and my car was presented back to me. WHAT A SURPRISE THAT WAS!”
The programme was the first of the new series of Car SOS and appeared on Monday 24th March on National Geographic channel No 526 on SKY digital.
I’ve been making a number of trips to Wellington in Somerset to have the panels on my J2 blasted at SW Sodablast Ltd. The owner, Tim Willson, is a genial Canadian who takes great care with the panels and does a superb job. On my way back I drop the panels in to the paint shop (The Finishing Touch) at Winscombe in Somerset. The proprietor, Adrian Moore, is a Triple-M (F2) owner and also races a Frogeye Sprite. Adrian etch primes the panels as soon as he gets them.
On one of my trips to Wellington (along the busy A38 trunk road, before joining the M5 South) I saw a sight to behold; a Mallard duck was leading her seven tiny ducklings across the busy road and miraculously they managed to reach the other side without being mowed down by some of the idiots who frequent our roads nowadays. This incident reminded me of the following sign which is situated off the B4368 road in the village of Aston on Clun, South Shropshire.
JOHN JAMES
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.