The Editor

Welcome to Issue 54, June 2019.

The front cover shows Colin Fitzgerald with TA0251 in Vancouver. The picture was taken inside his house as the weather was not too kind at the time.

TA0251 is one of the two prototype TAs; the other is TA0252, which is with Angie and Andy King here in the UK. I am grateful to Colin for taking the trouble to send me a selection of photos for the front cover and also wish to thank Dominic Crawley, who sent me several pictures of TA0251. A picture of Dominic’s TC is included at the bottom of this column.

With help from Angie and Andy King, who kindly sent me some photos of TA0252 and who patiently spent time answering my questions about their car, I have been able to put together an article on the two prototypes. This appears later in this issue.

I must not forget to acknowledge the information I received from Jacques-Philippe Champailler in France about his early TA (TA0255). I have included some history of 0255 and bolted it on to the end of the prototypes article.

I’m ‘penning’ this editorial on the evening of Thursday 25th April. Tomorrow I’m taking the TF down to Shaftesbury in Dorset to have new tyres fitted and it’s then on to Peter Lander’s place in Gillingham for a session on the rolling road. Unfortunately, the weather forecast looks pretty dire, so it will have to be a ‘hood up job’. It’s such a shame because only a few days ago (over the Easter holiday) we had summer like weather with temperatures in the mid-twenties……but that’s the UK for you!

Here’s the pic of Dominic Crawley’s TC I promised.

TC5057 is highly modified as it was built from parts; bits from 26 other TCs at the last count, plus parts from Toyota, Volvo, Honda, MGA, MGB, Modern Midget and MG TA. A lot of other bits were fabricated to make the whole come together. Peter says that if all these bits were not combined by himself they would all be gathering rust and dust in a variety of storage places.

I don’t know where the last year has gone, but it’s subscription renewal time again for those members who have a printed copy of this magazine posted to their home address. I’m keeping the subscription the same as last year i.e. 15 GBP for UK, EU 20 GBP and ROW 25 GBP. I’ll send e-mail reminders to those who can receive them and paper reminders to those who can’t.

Doug Pelton has just brought out a new catalogue, (catalog) as our American cousins say. It’s the 13th Edition and can be ordered for $5 plus shipping or send an order for $50 and get the catalogue free. The website is https://www.fromtheframeup.com Doug has now completed his move of premises and is now at: 4064E Presidio St. #104 Mesa AZ 85215.

Clocks4Classics, who have received favorable reviews from our members, have just issued the following press release:

“Owners of cars with a Smiths or Jaeger clock that no longer runs will be interested to hear about the latest developments from Clocks4Classics. Their DIY clock repair kit has recently been upgraded so that it now covers both positive and negative earth vehicles. 

Unlike other conversions, the Clocks4Classics kit uses the original mechanical movement but replaces the mechanical contracts with a solid-state sensor and microcontroller. This makes the movement much more reliable but retains the original character of the clock – including that all important tick. The circuit board fits neatly within the movement and the modification is undetectable externally. Until recently the kits were only available as either positive or negative earth but the latest kits are now dual polarity meaning that the clock will continue to run if the car polarity is changed.

Over the past 6 years hundreds of owners have used the Clocks4Classics kit to repair their clocks. The kits retail at £59 and are manufactured in the UK. No soldering or electronics knowledge is required; detailed fitting instructions and videos are available on the Clocks4Classics website and example conversions can been seen on the company’s YouTube channel.”

For further information visit  www.clocks4classics.com 

The proprietor, Mark Willows, has e-mailed the editor to say that as a benefit to TTT 2 members, anyone ordering one of the above kits within the next 3 months can have one at a 10% reduction on the price of the kit if they make reference to the article which appeared in Issue 45 of TTT 2.

Finally, a ‘commercial’ for the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Light Railway Classic Vehicle Day at Toddington, Gloucestershire on 9th June. The Railway holds two of these events every year, one in June and one in September and they are always well supported with a good mix of cars. The Editor can send more details to interested parties.

JOHN JAMES


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