A Triumph Swordfish 1500 - On The Road

[Paul L]

The forum seems to be having trouble with posting some characters, so I have tried to remove them.

Almost back on the road
It is hard to believe that 28th May 2020 was the last time I took my car out on the road.

Unfortunately, the harsh reality of the last two years has pushed the car down my list of priorities.

Thankfully, my family have remained healthy and I have had plenty of real work during this time.

Post #502 above shows my home office, where I have been stuck for over 2 years now.
(With just 3 meetings in real life in all that time.)

As per my last post, I have just been pulling off the covers to at least start the engine.
(And drive the car back and forth on my driveway to stop the brakes/clutch seizing up.)



But, without regular driving, leaving the car outside is not ideal.



In fact, the last time I got in the car, I was greeted with spider webs.



Thankfully, I was able to throw a few hours at the car on Easter Monday.

Obviously, the first job was to sweep all the cobwebs out of the cockpit.



Then I changed the positive battery terminal, as I had previously over tightened the old one.





The new one is too big for the cable size, but it will do for now, while another new one is on the way.

Then it was back to trouble shooting why the front driver side indicator had stopped working…

Connecting the driver side bulb to the passenger side wiring worked.



Then, for the first time in almost two years, connecting to the driver side wiring also worked.



Now there has been a lot of minor tinkering with the wiring and connections in that time.

So, I actually have no idea either what the problem, or the solution, was.

Either way, I needed to keep the positive momentum going.

So, I swapped the rubber housing from this new indicator to the existing bulb holder.
(The original rubber had split when I was trying to fix the problem.)





Then I loosely refitted this to the car and checked it was still working.



Tighten up the bolts and refitted the lens.



Before remembering I had removed the bulb for safekeeping when tightening the bolts up.



After removing and refitting the lens, it was still working.



I moved the car onto the road, to give me a level surface to top up the engine oil and antifreeze.
(Still loving the fact that I made the bonnet hinges myself. )



Before giving the car a bit of a wash.

At which point, I discovered one of the boot lid drain holes was blocked.



Thankfully, nothing a bit of spare electrical wire could not free up.



And here she is.

[Paul L]

Part 2

My next steps are to apply in the Post Office for my zero pounds Historic Tax to get the car off SORN.

Then I will book it in for an MOT, even though it is now technically exempt.

Assuming the MOT doesn’t find anything wrong, I should be good to go. < Touch Wood >

Cheers, Paul.

[Jaguartvr]

If the car is tax and MOT exempt you can apply on line.
I have 2 cars that are tax and mot exempt, they are not currently insured but I was able to tax them both online even though they were not insured, a glitch in the matrix?
If you want to mot your car I would suggest you ask the mot tester not to log it onto the system. Even it passes it could throw up a problem with its mot exempt status. Just ask the MOT test to stamp the sheet to show you have taken it in for a full safety check.

[micky1mo]

Originally Posted by Jaguartvr

I
, they are not currently insured but I was able to tax them both online even though they were not insured, a glitch in the matrix?
I.

This practise can now be done.
It enables a new car owner to tax a car so they can drive it home while waiting for their insurance company to up-date the official records/database.
However DVLA will fine you if it's not insured ASAP!!!!: BE WARNED.!!! nod:

[Mitchelkitman]

This may not be the correct place to post my question, but in light of the previous few notes, more likely to get a response?......
I did the VED renewal and MOT exemption for my Rickman at the Post Office on 28th March. If I look at the gov site car check it has No Results Returned for the MOT status ('Tax' status is correct).
What do others have as MOY status? I was expecting 'exempt'

[Paul L]

Jaguartvr & Micky1mo – Thanks for the replies and I will give the online option a go next time.
(As I made a trip to the Post Office on Tuesday lunchtime to sort out the tax in person.)

I also double-checked with my insurance yesterday about whether I still needed an MOT to be covered.
(As I was sure I had read this in a previous document, before my car was old enough to qualify.)

Thankfully, my insurance confirmed I just needed to ensure the car was road worthy.

This morning I have just booked a safety check with Enginuity, my local Triumph specialist.
(Although, the first date they had available was 11th June. )

So, I will go over the car carefully myself before then and generally take it easy until then.

Mitchelkitman – I also get the No results found message, but the fact the MOT box is green is the key.

See here
https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/h...d-can-mean-go/

Note - This is all new to me, so I am happy to pick up information wherever I can.

Cheers, Paul.

[Mitchelkitman]

Quote I also get the No results found message, but the fact the MOT box is green is the key. Unquote
Thanks for the clarification. I have colour vision deficiency (what most people call 'colour blind'.) This doesn't mean I can't make out traffic lights for example (thankfully), but does mean I don't always look for colour as the 'first defining feature' eg in the case of the MOT I look for the words
If there was a bank raid, and the Police asked for a description of the getaway vehicle I'd be more likely to say "it had 2 aerials and 7 spoke wheels" than "it was green"

[Mister Towed]

Good to see you're still enjoying your car, Paul. Hopefully we'll have a nice summer and you'll find the time to blow the cobwebs out more often this year

[Paul L]

Mr T – Always good to hear from you.

I really hope that I get to use the car more this year, as it still brings a smile to my face.

Plus, it still seems to raise a few smiles, waves and thumbs ups from others out and about too.

You might be able to see what is wrong with this photo.



Which is supposed to be all the new tyres I ordered for my Swordfish.

Clearly, I am one tyre short of a set, but I’ve been told the fourth one is on its way.

The problem I have with my current set is that the previous owner bought them new.

Then he took years to restore my donor Spitfire and then I took years building the Swordfish.

Which means that all the current tyres have an almost new thread pattern…



But they are actual 14 years old!

Which certainly explains why the back end occasionally steps out when I’m not expecting it.

With a bit of luck, I will have 4 new tyres fitted for the Bank Holiday weekend.

Take care, Paul.

[Paul L]

Getting there…
The 4th tyre finally turned up a day after the first three.

So, all 4 were loaded into the car on Friday afternoon, with the seat belt keeping them in place.



I then went to the garage that gave my car its first MOT back in Aug.16 to get them fitted.

I had to drive the car into the bay and then go for a coffee while they fitted them, so no photo.

I just had time to stop for one photo on the way home and that didn’t even include the tyres in it.



Yesterday, I had a few chores to do, but took the car out to continue building my shakedown miles.

Still looks small compared to other cars in a car park (mainly because it is small! )



Before dropping by my mate’s house, which is undergoing major building work.



Then on to my Mum’s for a flying visit, before heading home on the A40/A406, where I even reached 50mph!

Which has certainly helped ‘clear out’ the engine a bit, as stop/start London traffic doesn’t help.
(I’d also forgotten the ‘taste’ of pollution you get when driving this in traffic.)

I ended the day by taking two of my neighbour’s children up and down the street (one at a time).

Both loved it and the eldest said “I remember you building this when I was going to Primary School”.

With a bit of luck, I will get a decent run out on Bank Holiday Monday.

Cheers, Paul.

[Mister Towed]

Nice to see you out and about again, Paul

Your car does look like a matchbox model even when parked amongst 'small' cars like the Civic and Corsa.

Imagine what it would look like parked between a couple of modern SUV Behemoths!

They're a pet hates of mine as I just don't understand why anyone would need a 'car' that's so big it can't actually function as a car, more as a compact HGV.

And I say that because there are now quite a few customers at the gym I use who park their Audi/Mercedes/JLR SUV's in the disabled spaces, not because they're disabled, but because they can't open the doors if someone parks next to them in a standard slot. These selfish tw*ts don't seem to care that someone who is genuinely disabled might actually need that space. What a nonsense.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

...Imagine what it would look like parked between a couple of modern SUV Behemoths! ...

Mr T - Here is a photo from 2018 showing just that!



I think you would be hard pressed to justify that pickup around NW London.

Cheers, Paul.

[Mister Towed]

Ah, another pet hate of mine: people who drive pickup trucks as part of an 'active' lifestyle.

I can sort of understand it if you're a builder or landscape gardener and want just one vehicle for work and as a daily driver, but if all you do is take a couple of mountain bikes to the woods at the weekend, you don't need a monster truck, just buy a bloody roof-rack!

Rant over...

[Mick O'Malley]

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

Ah, another pet hate of mine: people who drive pickup trucks as part of an 'active' lifestyle.

I can sort of understand it if you're a builder or landscape gardener and want just one vehicle for work and as a daily driver, but if all you do is take a couple of mountain bikes to the woods at the weekend, you don't need a monster truck, just buy a bloody roof-rack!

Rant over...

Couldn't agree more. When I see one of those Warrior tanks I think 'Shouldn't your reg. no. be TO55POT?'.

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by Mick O'Malley

Couldn't agree more. When I see one of those Warrior tanks I think 'Shouldn't your reg. no. be TO55POT?'.

Ha ha! I bet someone already has that number on their truck, and WNK 3R on their BMW X6 (surely the ugliest car design since Walter White's Aztec).

[Paul L]

Mr T & Mick O'Malley - I know I've used this joke before, but it goes with this photo I took yesterday.

Here is a mini next to one of those cars that BMW make.



Cheers, Paul.

[Paul L]

Sunny Sunday
Racked up another 20 miles today, still just easing the car back into it.
(With a few 50mph sections to help blow the cobwebs out of the engine.)







Cheers, Paul.

[Mister Towed]

Only another twenty thousand miles to go before it's "All the fours, 44444"

[Paul L]

Mr T – I dread to think how long it would take me to rack up 20,000 miles at this rate.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A tale of two car parks
It is now dawning on me why it took me so long to get my car back on the road, I have little free time.

So, I have to take the small chances when I can and heading off to the first round of shopping.



My plan was to stop for photos on the top of Harrow Hill on the way to my next stop.

But there was some event at the school (the boys in their tails and lots of well-dressed parents).

So, I ended up just rollin’ through slowly and turning a LOT of heads while I did.

Next stop was Sainsburys.





By now, I was beginning to second guess both my choice of car and clothing (shorts & a T-shirt).



Thankfully, the rain held off, but on the way home, the car was spluttering like there was a fuel problem.

A quick stop at the industrial estate to check the fuel filter and plug leads.

They all seemed OK and I might as well take a few photos while I was there.







Until next time, take care, Paul.

[Paul L]

Catch Up – Part 1
Lovin’ the run of good weather that we’ve been having lately.

In fact, when I took the car to Sainsburys after work one day I had to find some shade to park in.



The night before my safety check at Enginuity, I parked the car on the road.



This reduced the noise for my neighbours when I set off early on a Saturday morning.

It also allowed me to do a final oil check/top up before I set off.



I parked around the corner to unlock the bonnet, so it was just held by the leather straps.



I trust the guys at Enginuity and they had the car for a hour for a full check, including on the ramp.



They tightened up a few things and gave me a short list of (very) minor advisories, but a full ‘pass’.

Just time for yet another Sainsburys car park photo before I had to take my wife to the airport.
(And there was no way see was going to let me take her there in the Swordfish. )



End of Part 1…