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Why is everyone attacking my 7?

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Hasbeen
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Why is everyone attacking my 7?

Postby Hasbeen » 26 Jan 2008 15:20

We don't have any water restrictions around here, basically because
we don't have any water, unless we catch, store, & pump it ourselves.
I have a couple of tanks, [5,000 gallons] on the shed, so when the
shed guttering rusted through it was important to fix it, quick like.

Six by 6 meter lengths of box guttering cost only $240, but they
wanted $150 to deliver it. Bludgers.

Across the road lives a bloke who owns 3 motor bikes, 2 of them
classics, & has a huge, very black beard. I'm sure young mothers
cross the street when they see him comming. But, no, he's not a
Hells Angle hood, he's Ian, the local plumber. I asked hin to get
the guttering for me, with his next stock order.

7 O'clock sunday morning, a couple of weeks later I heard a noise up
at the shed. Fortunately I took a dog up with me, rather than a
shotgun, because it was Ian, & he already had the old guttering off
one side of the shed. Ian's a bit rough, but boy is he quick. In an
hour & a half we had 34 meters of guttering up, & plumbed.

He would only take $220, as he said he made heaps on the materials.
Great bloke, great job, until I opened the shed, & found a very
large truck rear view mirror, on the floor, infront of the 7. It had
come off its hook on the wall, with all the banging around, bounced
off a fertiliser spreader, & the front panel of the 7, on its way to
the floor. No dent, but I had a 2.5" long 1/4" wide strip of paint
missing. Damn.

I'm not too happy with my touch up job, & I think I'll have to pull
the Triumph transfer off, & paint the whole panel.

So, yesterday, I was only driving 20Km up the road to get a flapper
valve, for one of the water pumps, when I got caught behind one of
our local sand miner's trucks. A 10 ton tipper, with an 8 ton dog
trailer, & was he ever in a hurry. He was realy pushing, for such
a big combination.

When the trailer wheels drifted out into the dirt a couple of times,
I dropped well back. Boy, did I get that wrong. He suddenly found
half of Mount Everest, on the side of the road, & picked it up, &
threw it at me.

Have you been there? This bl@@dy great rock has your number all over
it. You watch it go up, up, up, & then down, down, down, straight
into your windscreen. You could speed up, slow down, or hit the
brakes, but instead you sit there like a twit, & drive into the
thing.

At first it was only a large chip, with a 1.5" star around it. It
could have been fixed with the resin treatment. The bloke was coming
to do it this morning, but when I pulled the car out of the shed,
one crack had run 6 inches. So scratch a repair job.

It is saturday, but none the 5 windscreen places that I could get
hold of have a 7 windscreen in Queensland. Its a hoilday on monday,
so I'll have to wait till tuesday to get onto my Triumph bloke who
will probably know where to find one.

Hasbeen

gairo1
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Postby gairo1 » 26 Jan 2008 15:32

All Dog Trailers are in a hurry, and are just a pain in the you know what.

paul w
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Postby paul w » 26 Jan 2008 18:01

Sorry to read that bad news,Hasbeen.Remember bad luck happens in
three's,so keep your head down! Truckers are the same all over the
world,allways in a hurry and no thought for other motorists.I know
this 'cos i am one! I dont speed,but you would'nt wanna be stuck
behind me doing 30 in a 60 zone!
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See ya. Paul


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Yoke
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Postby Yoke » 26 Jan 2008 18:02

Have you tried calling the company he was running for? Has happened to a couple of buddies of mine, they called and complained of the eratic driving style of the driver and the fact that a rock cracked thier windshield. The company was more than willing to replace the windshield than to have a complaint lodged against them at the Ministry Of Transportation.[;)]
[}:)]Yoke[8]



Can't save them all but I am trying!!!

FI Spyder
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Postby FI Spyder » 26 Jan 2008 19:44

I too have been a rock magnet. I had my windshield replaced twice on my Javelin because of errant rocks from gravel trucks (on paved roads) either coming or going. Got a chip fixed on the company's Chevy Astro van years back when a rock came from an approaching truck.

On the other hand I have taken three rocks on my Tercel windsheild from gravel trucks (on paved roads). You freeze as you see the rock heading for your head. Then the loud CRACK as it hits the glass and you expect the windshield to shatter. But nothing! No crack, no bruise, no chip. I don't know what they make the Tercel windsheild out of, must be some space age material they're going to use in the first manned trip to Mars. My wife was in the car the last time and she couldn't believe it either.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra
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Hasbeen
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Postby Hasbeen » 26 Jan 2008 23:27

Yes Paul, I've had that thought, about bad things come in 3s, but if
it's going to happen, it will.

I can't complain too much really. Since I reregistered the car, 6
years, & well over 40,000 Km ago, I've only had few stone chips, &
very few other problems.

I was not complaining about the trucky either. He wasn't speeding, &
in fact I was admiring his driving. Its not often you see an 18 ton
rig, braking for the corners, & accelerating [??] out of them. He
realy wasn't holding me up very much at all.

Around here, our roads are pretty narrow. All up, the tarmac, on his
side of the road was only
a foot or so wider than his track, & he wasn't cutting the corners,
like a lot of city sunday drivers do. I just picked the wrong
distance to sit behind him.

Hasbeen

Rich in Vancouver
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Postby Rich in Vancouver » 27 Jan 2008 03:26

Don't feel too bad Hasbeen. I have been on the hunt for a new windshield for months now as my old one leaks like a sieve and has a good ding in it so can't be removed for resealing. (Unlike Aus we get lots of rain here!) It seems all of the big glass suppliers in Canada are out of stock and the specialists no longer carry them as the big suppliers have the market sewn up-sigh*. I am on back order with Moss Motors and am trying to get the local sports car shop to bring one in from Blighty for me.

Cheers,
Rich

1975 TR7 ACL764U
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Launie
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Postby Launie » 27 Jan 2008 06:02

Rich, if it makes it any easier or cheaper for you, I'd be interested in a new one too.

Launie
'76 TR7 FHC (not running)
'86 Renault Alliance (daily driver)
'77 Chev Silverado (grunt work)

busheytrader
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Postby busheytrader » 27 Jan 2008 08:23

Rich / Launie,

When I was last in Robsport they had several in stock. Can windscreens be shipped across the pond Ok?

Cheers,


Adam

Rich in Vancouver
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Postby Rich in Vancouver » 27 Jan 2008 16:43

bushey,
They can but it is mega-bucks for airfreight due to the bulk of the screens.
My local shop is looking into getting some from his UK suppliers and shipping them with his regular order. He ships enough that he gets a very good rate.

Rich

1975 TR7 ACL764U
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Hasbeen
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Postby Hasbeen » 04 Feb 2008 05:35

Well, my search for a windscreen is over. In fact one of the major
windscreen places can supply, & fit, at their shop, 55 Km away. Even
better, the bloke from the next little township will supply, & come
& fit here, for just a little less price.

The price is A$250, which is similar to what we paid for one in the
Mazda 2, last month. That, of course makes it not worth while
claiming on insurance.

You are right Paul, things do come in threes.
This morning I went up to the shed, to get the car [7], & the
battery was dead flat. Not even a glimmer of power. I put the little
charger on it, & the needle started trying to belt the top stop
to death, fluctuating wildly. Its only been 4 days since I used the
car, I could not find anything I'd left on, & the battery is only 8
months old, so I'm worried about a short causing the drain.

I hooked a spare tractor battery onto the thing, with jumper leads,
& left it for 15 minutes, by which it had 4.5 volts in it, & the
little charger could start to charge it, with out all the
histrionics of the earlier attempt.

I cleaned all the terminals, & after 4 hours it fired the thing up,
OK, so I'll leave it on charge over night. But I'd best get my
local, friendly, auto electrician to have a look for any falt,
before I burn my self down, or up, as the case may be.

Hasbeen

TR Tony
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Postby TR Tony » 04 Feb 2008 13:16

Talking of windscreens, I am sure we had thread on here a few weeks ago from someone here in the UK who was trying to fit a new windscreen to his car & kept getting screens that did not fit correctly at the bottom corners.

If I recall right, the brand new screens were actually the wrong shape & the problem was only solved by fitting an old used screen.

So beware, sounds like there could be a batch of duff new windscreens about.

Tony
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rsamis
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Postby rsamis » 04 Feb 2008 18:11

Rich, Vic-Brit's Winter Sale Catalog has a discount price on TR7 windshields. Don't know what shipping would cost, but you would think that they have some in stock if they're on sale! Or, maybe not...

Royal
76 FHC, 4-spd, dual Strombergs

FI Spyder
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Postby FI Spyder » 04 Feb 2008 22:08

It may not be an external short. A cell in the battery could be shorting out and draining power internally. There is a small amount of drainage that occurs naturally but is so small it's not an issue. This can increase and then cause a problem. It is possible a bad cell can hold enough to give your 12.5 volts acrossed the terminals but but as soon as a load is put on it it's drained and voltage goes way down. After a load is put on battery check the specific gravity of each cell if accessible and see if one is below the rest.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra
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FI Spyder
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Postby FI Spyder » 04 Feb 2008 22:08

It may not be an external short. A cell in the battery could be shorting out and draining power internally. There is a small amount of drainage that occurs naturally but is so small it's not an issue. This can increase and then cause a problem. It is possible a bad cell can hold enough to give your 12.5 volts acrossed the terminals but but as soon as a load is put on it it's drained and voltage goes way down. After a load is put on battery check the specific gravity of each cell if accessible and see if one is below the rest.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra
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