Dear Friends of Triumph!
It is a great pleasure and an honour to become part of your fellowship! I
had read about it in Mr Kastner's book and wondered how to be part of it.
Thank you to Joe for introducing me and to all of you for welcoming me
aboard.
May I briefly introduce myself: just turned 38 (15 Sep), business lawyer in
Geneva (www.rrlegal.ch), Switzerland, old Europe.
Aside that I restore classic cars and spend 20 hours /week in the workshop.
Started with the TR3A my uncle gave me for my 20th birthday in 1992, which
he bought in 63 and laid up in 71. Then you know the story, the quick
recommissioning turned into a 11 years 4000 hours concours restoration.
In the meantime I also restored a rare dry sump Lotus turbo esprit (1981-2).
Last Winter I recommissioned a Bristol 400 1948 for a friend's son who got
it for his 20th birthday too (but 17 years later).
In 2007 the TR3 seized a valve (Engine rebuilt in UK, not by me,
insufficient play at the guides).
I took this opportunity to take the engine out and start the period
competition preparation I long intended to do. This means that I upgrade the
car to period mods only, so that it remains concours.
I would not use parts or accessories that would not have existed at the
time.
I try to use original NOS or SH original parts (for instance for spot
lights, additional switches, screen heater, cig lighter, vacuum gauge).
Engine is built for long distance events.
It is quite a long and painstaking work involving lots of research, to make
sure I get and fit the right bits.
For instance I got a Derrington wheel made by Moto-Lita (Moto Lita made them
for Derrington in the 50s) with the original woods of the 50s they found
under a pile in their shed, with the right number of rivets (the modern
repro Derrington steering wheel of Moto Lita have more rivets and different
woods).
As another couple of examples, I fit a front sway bar, but an exact
reproduction of the Stanpart factory option, including the exact brackets
and hardware. I made a fake bar in copper tube, and made a drawing for
production by a specialised company. Like this I have the exact sway bar and
fittings the competition dept used. The modern bars are all different.
Front competition springs are also made according to factory specs, as new
uprated springs (while available in a variety of choices) are all RH helix
and certainly more often than not are not shot peened, given the price they
are sold) while the factory competition ones were LH helix and shot peened
(the stock ones had a RH helix, to differentiate them from the comp ones).
I also make the oil cooler fittings myself, exactly as the SAH option came
at the time (no adapter plate, fittings welded/brazed directly on the oil
canister aluminium head). The factory used the SAH oil cooler option and
never produced one in fact.
I enclose a short pdf with pixs of the car in its present state and the
current work.
The books of Mr Kastner prove invaluable in that matter, first because they
provide me with the guidance for these cars on what to do or not to make
them work fast and well, and how to do it, plus they inform very
specifically on what was done at the time on the competition cars, which is
the point in my work.
I will also retrim the car with a red interior, as I found brand new
original Stanpart leather seats (incl. rear seat) in storage in UK since the
70s. The red trim is correct for the BRG paint of the car (being a Jan 59
car, TS42673 LO).
When the car will be ready I will certainly build up a website and write a
book, as I realised that I am gathering info over my years of research that
was lost or no longer known to people (even concours judges), for details
such as trim screws, carpet binding material (fi Rexine ref RX17 the
original binding material is available again via the book binder business
they remade it for), trimming materials (the specific Connolly leather
finish which no longer exists on modern leathers but can be made to order),
wire colour codes for accessories,....But for now I concentrate all free
time in the shop to make the car(s) work (Esprit is waiting a g/box rebuild
and a retrim and new exhaust line and turbo and AP Racing brakes).
Please accept my apologies for introducing myself 2 weeks after being in the
list, work was too much these last weeks! But I read all your posts (and
watch the videos as well, at least a bit).
I will certainly soon build a proper race car and go racing on the track,
when my concours comp TR3 is finally done (but I hope it will be a damn fast
road car, competitive on road rallies as well).
With my very best regards,
Alexandre Camoletti
-----Message d'origine-----
De : Bill Babcock [mailto:billb@bnj.com]
Envoyi : jeudi 16 septembre 2010 17:50
@ : n197tr4@cs.com
Cc : ac@camoletti.ch; fot@autox.team.net
Objet : Re: [Fot] FOT SPONSORSHIP ALEXANDRE CAMOLETTI of GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
TR3
Sounds like a great addition.
On Sep 16, 2010, at 6:01 AM, n197tr4@cs.com wrote:
[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pdf which had a name of
PixTR3AlexCamolettiOcto2010.pdf]
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