1913 36 model 17 in the UK

[racer2_uk]

Evenin Wayne and everybody,

 

 

Wayne, cheap shot accepted but it really does mean both of us !

 

 

I had a great run out today,  I went through the beautiful village of Hodnet,

 

 

on the way to Sleap airfield near Wem,

 

 

the airfield was a WW2 RAF bomber training base and it still has the original control tower,

 

 

After the airfield I headed towards Cheswardine and called into the Wharf pub, weather permitting we will be dropping in on their classic car night in a couple of weeks,

 

 

We have now covered 500 miles this year, the Chalmers is giving about11-12 mpg, we are having a lot of fun along the way, I might have to look at some rear tyres sooner than later.

 

 

Andy

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

We have had a few nice day's and that has allowed several good trip's out,

 

We called in for lunch at Ford Hall farm near Market Drayton,

 

 

at our local Vintage Sports Car Club pub meet we had a new car turn up, a really well made and engineered Riley 9 special, the owner has done most of the modifications including making the alloy body after making his own English wheel !  very impressed.

 

 

 

I found this great photo by Alan Raine taken at last year's Cholmondeley Pageant,

 

 

 

 

Andy

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

 

The weather has been excellent and the Chalmers has been out and about a lot, it looked great in sepia through the pub window at lunch time,

 

 

while driving on to Norbury junction I noticed an area of forest that had been felled to reveal a WW2 concrete bunker, there are still a few of these left around the area, normally near river's and canal's,

 

 

lot's of canal barge's awaiting holidaymaker's at Norbury,

 

 

Today we drove out to the Klondyke steam party, always something to see,

 

 

 

this steam lorry was beautifully restored,

 

 

we had a great afternoon at the party and headed back, calling in on friend's on the way, when I came to start the engine to leave, on the first pull it kicked back and whacked my elbow really well, then at about 15 miles from home I noticed the strangest thing, the radiator filler neck and mascot was wobbling from side to side, I stopped and the solder had come away all round the base, I simply lifted the neck off the radiator, taped up the whole and carried on home,

 

 

the engine wasn't overheating, everything was happy so I have to put this down to age, the solder seems to have gone crumbly and then split, I have re-soldered the filler neck, I have to clean everything up and remove some excess then let it patinate back to how it was.

 

 

 

I have never heard of anything like this happening before, I am so pleased I had a roll of insulating tape with the tool's !

 

Quite an eventful day, I am helping my arm recover with a cool beer !

 

 

Andy

 

[wayne sheldon]

Sounds like you are having fun! That is a good thing.

As for losing a radiator neck? Been there, done that.  I have heard of it several times with Horseless Carriage/Veteran cars over the years.

[racer2_uk]

Afternoon everybody,

 

A friend of mine has had a great week, "Wink" is a sidecar passenger at the TT, he has had a 1st and a 2nd ! he is now a double TT winner, 5 years apart.

 

 

 

Last night we drove over to The Wharf Classic Car night, a very informal meet with every type of car you could imagine,

 

 

 

a lovely model T oval racer, 1916 with a 1925 motor,

 

 

 

a very sweet Morris,

 

 

 

a very distinguished Alvis TD21,

 

 

we had a great night and managed to get home before the rain.

 

 

Andy

 

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

The last thing I put on here was " managed to get home before the rain", the rain then went on for nearly 2 weeks, we had floods and the Chalmers stayed inside, until Monday when I put it on the trailer and set off for Snowdonia, North Wales,   we got a great campsite in Llanberis and I rolled the Chalmers off the trailer,

 

 

we had drive around the town which is next to a lake, with a narrow gauge railway and slate mining museum,

 

 

 

 

on Tuesday we drove out to visit The Real Car company in Bethesda to look at the car's in stock, I forgot to take any photo's as the Chalmers started running rough and missing now and again, this diverted my mind a bit, sorry about that, we then drove out to Caernarvon with this occasional miss that I couldn't pin point, Caernarvon castle was very nice,

 

 

we decided to carry on, when I came to start the Chalmers it kicked back hitting my hand right across the back, something about the ignition didn't feel right but everything looked in place, I gave it a second go and it started, I decided to head back to the campsite and check it over, it turned out to be the point's contact on the point's arm had worked loose and was moving up and down like a loose rivet, I re-crimped the arm and cleaned up the face's, refitted the point's carrier and it fired straight up and ran beautifully ! a run out to a pub was in order.

 

Wednesday morning we set off for Beddgelert, after a wonderful drive through the mountains a lunch stop was in order,

 

 

we drove to the coast at Porthmadog and across the estuary barrier and looped back towards Beddgelert and stopping to look at this wonderful old gatehouse,

 

 

next direction was towards Capel Curig, we were going higher all the time,

 

 

 

we travelled down the Llanberis Pass and back into town and stopped at the slate museum and railway workshop's,

 

 

 

I could have done without the bruised hand but it was a great few day's and we covered over 150 miles in the sunshine, there are a few thing's on the Chalmers that need some attention then we should be ready for Shelsley Walsh in a week's time, finger's crossed I get on the entry list.

 

 

Andy

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

Shelsley Walsh was sunny, the weekend was great but really slow !    the Chalmers felt really flat, I will have to check a few things to see what has happened,

 

 

I also got clutch slip which doesn't normally go along with a flat engine, must try harder !

 

but I still can't stop smiling,

 

 

lot's of mad crazy and interesting car's out for the weekend, the Napier Bentley was in fine form as usual,

 

 

Brazier with a WW1 Hispano aero engine,

 

 

 

a Mitchell racer,

 

 

GN Spider 2

 

A great weekend but lot's to do, I think it's workshop time.

 

 

Andy

 

 

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

After thinking back to when I stripped down the timing gears, I had noticed the factory marks didn't line up for the camshaft gear, it was a tooth out retarded, when I rebuilt the engine I used the factory marks,    was this anything to do with the engine feeling flat ?   I decided to re-time the camshaft gear to how it was,       well it seems better,   I use the village hill as my "dyno" and can feel an improvement going up and no overheating evident,       would this be some sort of performance "tweek", a previous mistake, or the factory setting giving better mileage ?

 

I also changed the clutch lubricant to a thinner mix and have found it clears much better especially when cold.

 

 

We drove the Chalmers to the VSCC pub meeting and found a Star and a 3 litre Bentley, beautiful condition regularly driven cars,

 

 

 

 

 

I found a great photo on the VSCC website from last weekend's Shelsley Walsh of the Chalmers approaching the Bottom Ess,

 

 

Looking forward to some decent weather again.

 

 

Andy

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

Well the weather did the right thing and the sun was around all day for our trip to the Wem  "Vehicles of Interest rally"     as you may have guessed, if your car was interesting you would get an entry, the Chalmers and my Dad's Daimler got entries and we had a great rally which involved a lot of people asking about the cars, a drive in the 250 vehicle convoy around the town and a good selection of picnic food and drink on our return,

 

 

 

 

 

the cars were surrounded all day and we had a great time, then something very unexpected happened, we were voted as the 1st and 2nd placed "cars of the rally" !

 

and it was the Chalmers that won !

 

 

I was presented with a beer tankard by the owner of The Castle pub in Wem who sponsored the event, thank you very much.

 

 

me and my dad couldn't believe what had happened,

 

 

We had a great run home of about an hour and I am now going to check the weather to see if another trip to North Wales is in order.

 

What a day.

 

 

Andy

[wayne sheldon]

Congratulations to you and your dad! Well deserved, both of you.

[racer2_uk]

Evenin Wayne and all,

 

Thanks again Wayne for your kind thought's, we had a great drive together but I had to overtake him on the way home, those sleeve valver's do leave a little oil in the air behind them !

 

 

Well the weather forecast was good and we set off for our favourite campsite in Llanberis, we arrived just after lunch and got on the Chalmers and headed over the Menai straight to the island of Anglesey and the local transport museum,

 

 

the Robert Stephenson bridge was built in MDCCCL (1850)

 

 

 

 

the owner of the museum came out to chat and I took him for a drive, we only just managed to get the Chalmers away from him,

 

 

a great museum with a lovely family running it, a credit to them

 

on Tuesday morning we drove out to Caernarfon air museum in what was to be an 82 degree temperature day, that is quite special for us, I think the museum curator's camera was a bit overheated !

 

 

 

 a lunch stop in Criccieth was in order before going through Porthmadog, Beddgelert,

 

 

 

and down the Llanberis pass,

 

 

back in Llanberis we called into the slate museum, this place is amazing, it hasn't changed since it closed in 1969, it's 50' diameter waterwheel is still in operation driving the lineshafting to power the original equipment,

 

 

 

 

 

even the foundry was preserved,

 

 

 

a really good day was finished off with fish and chips.

 

Wednesday was overcast and we drove back over the Menai straight and stopped for tea in Beaumaris,

 

 

then on to Rhosneigr where we spent many weekends in our motorcycling day's, from Rhosneigr we drove to Llynnon mill, the oldest working windmill in Anglesey,

 

 

at the mill they have a pair of replica medieval roundhouses you can walk around and get an idea of what it must have been like to live then,

 

 

on the way back we found these great gates to Vaynol Hall near Bangor,

 

 

The Chalmers went very well covering 220 miles in 3 day's with only an oil leak, this year's mileage is know over 1300, I have a new set of rear tyres to fit along with an oil and filter change ready for Prescott at the start of next month.

 

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

[bruffsup]

yet again an amazing account  of an interesting journey. Thanks for sharing it.

Just curious about your "motorcycling" days. what machines were you running back then? 

[racer2_uk]

Evenin Barry and all,

 

Barry, thanks for your kind words and interest, driving around the North Wales landscape is great in an old car, you see, feel and smell the surrounding's, just like back on a bike !

 

I used to have Laverda's mainly, 1200 Formula Mirage, Difazio 3C, 750 sfc, RGA and RGS's, I had a wonderful Norton Rotary, a CB1100R Bimota, and a few Evo Harley's, I got my blue RGA in'85 and I modified it with older Jota parts to give it an older look with the better handling of the newer frame, a very good bike.

 

 

 

Andy

 

 

 

[bruffsup]

Wow !  quite an assortment of Italian thoroughbreds. I will bet you have  a Dino Ferrari tucked away . I had an early  "stage 2" 3c Laverda, fast but nasty speed wobbles when backing off at over 100mph. The one I regret selling is my "school bus yellow" 750 Ducati Sport.  I have too many  bikes, including a Crocker, some Broughs, a lot of cammy Nortons, 1933 ohc AJS, 1931 Rudge TT rep, R16 Beemer, 1913 Harley  , 36 Indian 4 and 27 Henderson outfit , 2  1963 panheads, and a 250 4 cylinder CBR . My Lagonda project is taking forever so am looking to trade some bikes off for something close to turn key. 

 I enjoy your postings, the photography is superb. 

[racer2_uk]

Evenin Barry and all,

 

Your Laverda was quite a choice back then, very exotic wonderful bikes, I have met Pierro Laverda a couple of times over the year's, he is very enthusiastic and talks at great length with owner's when you meet him, I last chatted to him at Goodwood FOS about 10 years ago after meeting with him at the Laverda museum opening in Lisse.

 

 

 

Barry, I really like one of your descriptions of bike ownership   " some Brough's "    that is very big motorcycling achievement, well done for that alone !

 

I had one of the first batch of Ducati 851, I understand the reason for the regret with the 750 sport, a great bike.

 

 

Andy

[wayne sheldon]

  Evenin' Andy,

I had to laugh when I read your comment,  "those sleeve valver's do leave a little oil in the air behind them ! " 

I have never had a sleeve valve automobile, however, have ridden in a few, and followed several on tours with the Antique Car Clubs! Mostly, they were American marques, a Falcon Knight, a Stearns Knight, and a few different Willys Knights. I imagine most Knight engines are about the same. Ones that get driven a lot do however seem to do better than cars that sit too much.

I did follow a Daimler for a ways once. It was from the '20s, and I believe sleeve valve. I also years ago knew someone that had a Minerva in his collection. Saw it run a few times also.

Fascinating cars!

 

Again, thank you for sharing your adventures with the Chalmers! I do enjoy reading them, and seeing all the pictures. Beautiful countrysides! Great cars, and wonderful historic sites and museums all. 

W2

[racer2_uk]

Evenin Wayne and all,

 

Wayne, we both know that when you have followed a sleeve valver you never forget it !

 

Sleeve valve engines are very interesting and were developed heavily in WW2 for aircraft with some incredible engines being built, the Daimler engine I have rebuilt is very similar to the other manufacturers versions.

 

 

Andy

[racer2_uk]

Mornin everybody,

 

The Prescott Hillclimb with the VSCC has been a fantastic weekend, this is a great event whether you are competing or watching,

 

 

 

On Friday we used the long course,

 

 

and over the weekend the short course,

 

 

there were some very interesting cars in the paddock, a very nice Ford,

 

 

a beautiful Lagonda,

 

 

the detail on this little Bugatti from Czechoslovakia was incredible,

 

 

there was a lovely Trojan in the paddock having new tyres fitted, he showed us the amazing 2 stroke engine with linked cylinders running as a "square 4" but actually 2 pair's of linked cylinders with the twin pistons giving a high compression ratio, the owner had a pair of very corroded piston's and rods to explain,

 

 

 

as you can see the engine is under the front seats !

 

this huge  525ci  Lorraine Dietrich is very imposing,

 

 

and this twin Harley engine special looked frightening, I am far from an expert on these engines but I will make a guess at 1920's JD model ?

 

 

 

Prescott has been a really great weekend and we ended up with the 1st handicap time award for Friday.

 

 

Andy

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

The Chalmers is going well after working hard at Prescott, I have done a few little thing's to the car, I have adjusted the ignition advance linkage slightly and have found more advance, I have tested this on the "dyno" hill and it does feel stronger and no "knocking" is evident.

 

On a nice run out I stopped at a local "ford" there aren't many of these around here,

 

 

Today we drove to our local show, Mill Meece is going through a large repair/restoration and should be steaming again next year, finger's crossed.

 

There is always something to see, this wonderful Jensen C V8 is a very rare car,

 

 

this scale model of a road roller has the most incredible detail,

 

 

and a great vintage bus,

 

 

with over 1500 miles and lot's of hills so far this year the grin is still here.

 

 

Andy

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

we have had great weather for a couple of day's and that has turned into 150 miles of driving pleasure,

 

yesterday I went to Rudyard Lake and had lunch at the narrow gauge steam railway,

 

 

 

 

 

I travelled through Leek and onto Winkhill to call in on an old mate and then a drive out to the famous Yew Tree Inn at Cauldon Low, this old pub is full of antiques and pub games from the last century,

 

 

 

the view from above Cauldon Low is worth stopping for.

 

 

 

today I drove out and ended up near Stafford, I stopped outside the cottage of Izaak Walton, he was a 16th century writer known for "The compleat angler"

 

 

 

I have found a great photo taken at Prescott this year, it is the run down to Pardon hairpin,

 

 

the long course flows well but the short course is the original to keep all the records relevant.

 

 

Andy

 

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

We have had a very busy week, the Chalmers has been on several long runs, we took my "modern" Ford Sierra RS500 race car to Donington for the Ford RS owners club day and my brother Gareth won the Croft circuit round of the British Time Attack championship,

 

I hope you don't mind me adding the "moderns" to the thread.

 

Gareth driving the SVA Imports Mitsubishi Evo VI on his way to a win and new lap record, the car is 2.3 litre with 1100bhp before the Nitrous oxide, the limited slip diff's are programmable per corner and it has 2.5 tons of downforce !

 

 

in comparison my sierra only has 530bhp !

 

 

Back to the "oldies", today I covered over 100 miles, I drove north through Leek and up into the Peak district, calling at the village of Flash,

 

 

just a few miles further I was on the Buxton to Macclesfield road, on this road is the famous Cat and Fiddle pub, the photo below from 1907 of 4 factory 40/50hp cars on the non-stop London to Glasgow trial, AX201 on the left is the actual Silver Ghost, AX205 next to it was driven by Charles Rolls himself,

 

 

 

I parked as close as I could but there was a lot of traffic about, they have built a stone entrance and have moved the stone carving but the building is the same one.

 

A little further down the road I stopped for a cup of tea at Tegg's Nose country park,

 

 

They even brought my tea out to the car !

 

From the high elevation you could see Jodrel Bank Observatory and the main Lovell telescope on the Cheshire plain,

 

 

the Lovell telescope was built in 1957 and is 250 feet in diameter.

 

This years mileage has now gone over 1800.

 

 

Andy

 

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

I have been able to get out quite a bit over the last week or so, the Chalmers has ran well and I have carried out some minor maintenance and an oil and filter change,

 

A trip to the Apedale railway and mining museum's car show has always got things to look at,

 

 

the narrow gauge railway was running in full steam,

 

 

they have a "double deck" mine shaft man cage on show along with a steam winding winch for restoration,

 

 

 

today we went for a drive in the sun and lunch at the White Lion at Barthomley and met up with an old friend on his 1972 Triumph TR6 flat tracker,

 

 

 

next Saturday we have been asked to take part in a revival of a hillclimb that was staged in 1906 to 1912 in the Village of Oakamoor, this was originally organised by Mr F A Bolton, a local industrialist who was an avid motorist and amateur racer, he had some of the earliest cars in the area, especially Daimlers,

 

 

The above flyer shows Mr Bolton on one of his Daimler's and the Napier racer "Samson" both on the starting line on Oakamoor bridge, hopefully we will be able to follow in their wheeltrack's.

 

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

[bruffsup]

The hill climb looks like a great event. Do you participate in the Kop Hill meeting as well? 

Looking at that miner's cage makes me admire those miner's bravery even more. That's the biggest winch I have ever seen . I believe  operating steam powered machinery on display

is under much increased scrutiny over here after a few deadly incidents. 

 Is the Triumph road ridden with no headlamp? One of the chaps at the 2008  UK Brough rally rode his ss100/680 for hundreds of miles on straight exhausts and with no lights and apparently thought it no big deal !  The cops aren't as lenient over here.  

[racer2_uk]

Evenin Barry and all,

 

I am really looking forward to the Oakamoor hillclimb, in fact I am missing Beaulieu autojumble to be there !

 

We are competing at Loton Park with the VSCC the weekend after Oakamoor on the 10th and 11th, then Kop Hill the weekend after, I have not done 3 hillclimb's in 3 weekend's before but it should be great fun, Barry, are you in the UK around this time ?

 

The steam guy's have serious boiler testing regulations over here, I know that every 10 years the entire boiler has to be stripped and inspected along with ultrasonic thickness measuring, a very expensive business.

 

The Triumph is running on a "daytime MOT test"     MOT being a "Ministry of Transport"  test certificate which is a yearly vehicle test which comes before you can apply for your road tax and make the vehicle road legal, obviously you can't ride in the dark !   the other difference is that pre 1960 vehicles are "MOT" and tax exempt but you still have to comply with the test conditions !

 

I haven't heard a Brough on open pipes, it must be wonderful.

 

 

Andy

[bruffsup]

Sadly I have had to postpone my parts gathering trip to the UK. Here is the chap with the Brough as mentioned above. The OHV J.A.P.  emits a unique 

vee twin cadence unlike any other.

Your Chalmers performance is a real tribute to your workmanship. Good luck at those events. 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2018 by Barry Brown (see edit history)

[racer2_uk]

Mornin Barry and all,

 

That is a proper motorcycle from a time that will never return !    I am sure his grin is permanent !

 

The photo from Brooklands shows the big hangar that is going to be moved to the other side of the site to enable the museum to relay the original start line of the track.

 

Thank you for your thoughts and encouragement.

 

 

Andy

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

We started the Oakamoor hillclimb revival with rain, we ended the Oakamoor hillclimb revival with rain  or put it another way, we got soaked !

 

The original hillclimb route on the road was closed for half an hour with help from local councillors and the police just as it was between 1906 and 1912, then a smaller and steeper road in the village was closed for 2 hours for us to do several runs with passengers,

 

some of the cars in attendance were a 1906 Bianchi, an 8 litre Bentley, a 3 litre Bentley, a type 57 Bugatti, several Fraser Nash's and a Riley special,

 

 

I was entrusted with one of the local councillors, I don't think she realised the Edwardian car's were quite so open to the element's !

 

 

 

Judy Scott-Moncrieff drove very spiritedly in her type 57

 

 

Hopefully in future the event may become a more serious hillclimb as it was originally intended.

 

I hope to be dried out for Loton park next weekend.

 

 

Andy

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

Loton Park was a wonderful weekend again, 2 dry sunny day's gave everybody the oppurtunity to drive their car and have a lot of fun, except for for one young lady racer who's Hispano Suiza had a clutch part failure on the way to the meeting, luckily her father and just about every engineer in the paddock helped throughout the weekend to get the car fixed, she was loaned a car to share and had a great time while her car was repaired for her journey home,

 

 

a fantastic effort to "make and fit" the new part in the paddock !

 

The Twelvetrees family brought out their newly finished Wolseley special and improved on the car's performance on every run,

 

 

as usual Mark Walker's Darracq V8 was just incredible,

 

 

 

Chris Williams Napier Bentley never fails to impress with it's tyre smoking start's,

 

 

the Chalmers went well and we managed to go under our given handicap time by 0.02 seconds,   how close is that !

 

 

 

the Chalmers will be checked over this week ready for the Kop Hill climb next weekend, this is a revival of an old hillclimb with all the event's proceeds going to charity.

 

 

Andy

 

[Guest Colinf]

Hi Andy

I'm taking delivery of my 1913 Chalmers Model 17 tomorrow, and wonder if I have taken on more than I can chew so to speak!!  I dont think the air starter works and being built like a bean stalk wonder if I could ever start it on the handle..... we will see....

 

So impressed what you have done with yours you are an inspiration to us all!!

 

Where is your next outing??

 

Colin

[racer2_uk]

Hi Colin,

 

Welcome to the great world of Chalmers ownership !

 

Where are you based, USA, UK ?  I know a nice blue model 17 was sold at auction here in the UK recently.

 

Starting on the handle is not difficult when you have got to know it's little way's, as soon as you get the procedure sorted you will look very impressive.

 

We are at Kop Hill this weekend, it's at Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire.

 

If you have any questions about your car when it arrives please ask away, we need to get you clocking up some miles !

 

 

Andy

[Guest Colinf]

Hi Andy

I'm in Beds and I hope it will be a nice blue model 17 cos I bought it!!!  I know the pifall of buying from auction and I know I shouldn't have done it but just happened to go in the auction and loved the car and the rest as they say is history!

I'm taking my 1905 XC Renault and my 1908 Blackstone oil engine to the Bedfordshire Steam Rally this weekend so hope to touch base with you some time in the future.

The Chalmers arrived today and managed to get it into the garage without being seen by the other half,(phew) but its a lot more complicated than the Renault so I shall have to wait until a friend arrives back from Ireland before I dare try to figure it out!

Good luck with your weekend

Colin

[racer2_uk]

Evenin Colin and all,

 

Colin, If you need any info on the Chalmers please get in touch, I will try and answer any questions you may have, you have a great car there.

 

We were at Kop Hill climb near Princes Risborough over the weekend, it was a fun hill climb with all proceeds going to local charities, there was a range of vintage car's and motorcycles and we did 4 runs up the hill, this was a great model T pickup with a motorcycle on the back,

 

 

this GN was looking quite mad,

 

 

I took one of the organiser's up the hill but it was a little wet on that run,

 

 

there were lot's of wonderful V-twin motorcycles,

 

 

 

 

we had a short wait at the start line on one of our runs, a photo was in order,

 

 

I hope to try a few little changes to the Chalmers over the next couple of weeks, I will let you know how I go on.

 

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

After a short break in Wales it was time for a trip on the Chalmers, we had been invited to one of the special opening's of the Swift Gallery in Stoke on Trent,

 

http://www.theswiftgallery.co.uk/

 

A really good collection of photograph's and art showing the icon's of motorsport with special display's of interesting hardware,

 

 

 

the only downside to the day was the rain, we have got used to carrying motorcycle waterproof's with us these day's,

 

 

 

Andy

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

You never know what you are going to see when you call in at the White Lion at Barthomley, today was no different,

 

 

a pair of scale steamers and a 1920's Triumph,

 

 

the smell of the oily steam was great,

 

 

The Chalmers has done over 2100 miles so far this year and hopefully a few more before the cold stops play.

 

 

Andy

 

[racer2_uk]

Evenin everybody,

 

I have been able to get out for a few runs on the Chalmers, the suspension has become very supple after lubricating the springs and the handling is very good,

 

I spent a few hours fitting a carb I bought a while ago, it is a Miller, I checked the carb out and had the very small jet drillings cleaned and made a small inlet trumpet,

 

 

 

the Chalmers started easily and ticked over very smoothly, the mixture adjustment was very hard to get right and there was a very bad transition from slow running to fully open, very "on or off"  this maybe due to the jetting being way out and the adjustment available isn't wide enough or it is a typical race carb, tick over or flat out !     I spent the next morning putting the Rayfield back on.

 

Today was a cool start to the trip to the Klondyke steam party, always a place worth going,

 

 

there was a lovely Albion truck that had recently been found in a barn,

 

 

parked in between a couple of motorcycles was this wonderful Velocette engined "Shelsley special" it was very well made mainly from angle steel !

 

 

it is a very interesting special that looked light and very simple,

 

 

the seat looks very WW2 aircraft, the design idea's are simple but effective, I would love to find some history on it,  I hope we get to see it out on the hills next year.

 

 

Andy

 

 

[racer2_uk]

Afternoon everybody,

 

It is getting cold now but the while it is dry I am out on the Chalmers, I have been researching the disused Stoke to Market Drayton railway line which passed near to where I live, I am slowly taking photo's of the Chalmers at each of the remaining bridges, this is about a mile from me,

 

 

 

some of the bridges have been removed but the cutting is still there, this was a long way done a farm track,

 

 

the other day I went through the village I grew up in, I stopped outside the Charlie Bassett's pub, when I was very young I grew up opposite this pub when it was owned by Charlie Bassett,

 

 

 the pub sign has a great caricature of his son Philip "Rastass" Bassett, I remember him very well and he did look like the sign !

 

 

today I drove out to South Cheshire and made a brief stop at the "secret" Hack Green nuclear bunker, it was built in the cold war "just in case" !

 

 

 

 

last week a friend of mine dropped of this brass and copper tank and pump assy,

 

 

I am trying to work out what it is for, so far I believe it is a propeller shaft oiler for a boat of some description, if you have any idea's please let me know.

 

The Chalmers has now covered 2400 miles so far this year.

 

 

Andy

[wayne sheldon]

Thank you again! I always enjoy seeing pictures of your countryside.

[racer2_uk]

Afternoon everybody,

 

It is slightly less cold today so a short trip out was the thing to do, the White Lion at Barthomley is a great stop as there is always something to see and they have a great roaring fire !

 

 

 

This lovely BSA was still using acetylene lighting !

 

 

 

It is very noticeable that the oils in the Chalmers feel much thicker in this weather and how they change the operation of the engine, clutch and gearbox, everything was starting to work normally just as I got home !

 

I don't think there will be many more runs out on the Chalmers this year so I will be getting ready to do a few job's on it in the warm workshop.

 

 

Andy

 

 

[racer2_uk]

Afternoon everybody,

 

Sorry for the lack of updates but the weather has been to bad to get out, basically too cold !    I went out for a short run to my dad's this morning but the roads being very wet made stopping a little bit more than tricky on occasion, so I think that will be the last time out this year.

 

Over the winter there are several thing's I want to get done to the Chalmers ready for next years hillclimb season, hopefully we can attend a few more hill's that we haven't been to before.

 

With 2500 miles covered this year I think the Chalmers has done really well, it is me that seems worn out !

 

 

 

Andy

[racer2_uk]

Afternoon everybody and a Happy New Year,

 

I apologise for the lack of updates, I have spent a lot of time on my "modern" Ford Sierra RS500 touring car, getting it ready for a photoshoot at Donington Park and having it on display at the Autosport International racing show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, the reason for all the work is that the RS500's are now 30 year's old, the show went extremely well with 10 genuine Group "A" sierra's on the stand.

 

 

 

 

Now back to the Chalmers, I wanted to check on a few things after the high mileage we achieved last year, I noticed No3 cylinder was a bit down on compression, I pulled the inlet valve and carrier out and noticed some "blow by" marking at one side of the lower copper sealing ring, this would have gone into the inlet of No3 and No4, I cleaned everything up and added some heavy grease around the seal ring and refitted the assy taking care to align the port's.

 

 

 

I also dropped the gearbox to check the new flywheel I fitted last Spring.

 

 

I want to do something about the oil leaking from the lifter block's, it's not a huge amount but after a long run it is noticeable, at the moment there are no seal's fitted, I am looking to make up some felt washer type seal's to fit in the space in the top of the block's.

 

 

Andy