the ragtop - hill country triumph club · the frisco, including 2 couples, with a total of 6 cars....

Our Tuesday eve-ning meeting forFebruary was

held at Pinthouse Pizzaon South Lamar. Wehad 8 members driving7 cars. The food wasgood, the beer wasgood, but it was crowd-ed and noisy, so maybenot a great place tocontinue to meet.There were 12 mem-bers at the Saturdaybreakfast meeting atthe Frisco, including 2couples, with a total of6 cars. Alan Palmercame in all the way

from Fredericksburg.Warren and Lisa Ko-dosky drove a ‘49 Pack-ard — not a Triumph,but definitely an inter-esting vehicle! After themeeting, several mem-bers went on a driveending at Live OakBrewery, owned byHCTC member ChipMcElroy. Mike McPhailhas details later in thenewsletter. We decidedon a drive to the Paint-ed Churches in theSchulenburg area forour April event. Seeyou all later this week!

In This IssueNote from the Editor,by Dan Julien..................1

Brass Throttle ShaftBushings, by MikeMcPhail.............................3

February HCTC Brew-ery Tour, by MikeMcPhail.............................4

Our WRLwind Adven-ture Came to an AbruptEnd, by Bob Kramer....5

HCTC Classifieds........14

Upcoming Events......16

Next Meeting...............16

March 2016

The Ragtop

Note from the Editor

March 2016The Ragtop

Hill Country Triumph Club

The Hill Country Triumph Club, the 50th Chapter of theVintage Triumph Register (VTR), was founded in 1990 tobring together the owners of Triumph automobiles in theCentral Texas area surrounding Austin. In 1991, themembership decided to include other British car fans asassociates due to lack of other clubs in our area that representsome of the other marques. As owners and lovers of ourunique types of cars, we have a special kinship, which drawsus together. Membership is open to anyone who is a Britishcar enthusiast, with or without a car.Annual dues are just $15.00 per family group or address peryear. We have dinner meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of eachmonth and at least one other event each month. We encourageyou to join and support us, even if you don’t drive your carregularly. We also offer technical assistance if needed. Onegoal of the club is to help its members keep their cars on theroad. Please call one of the club officers listed in thenewsletter for more information about club benefits andspread the word about our club to others.

The Hill Country Club is a local chapter of the VintageTriumph Register (VTR)/Triumph Sports Owners Association,which is open to all drivers of Triumph motorcars; a chapterof the Triumph Register of America, exclusively for TR2through TR4A sports cars; and a chapter of the 6-PACK,dedicated to the enjoyment, preservation, and restoration ofthe Triumph TR250 and TR6 sports cars. Membership in thesenational organizations is encouraged. Visit their websites atwww.vtr.org, www.triumphregister.com, and www.6-pack.org.The Ragtop is published monthly by the Hill Country TriumphClub. Material within may be freely reproduced providingRagtop and the authors are credited. Any and all newslettercontributions are welcome. Deadline for submissions is theend of each month. Submissions may be emailed [email protected]. Car related classified adsare free to members and will run for three months unlessotherwise instructed. Contact editor for other ads.

HCTC OfficersPresident[Open][email protected]

Vice-PresidentBob Skewis

ReservationsElizabeth [email protected]

WebmasterJim [email protected]

TreasurerMike [email protected]

Secretary[Open]

MembershipNel [email protected]

Ragtop EditorDan [email protected]

Pay Your Dues!!!!!!!Please check the latest spreadsheet sent out by Nel. If it says Jan-16 inthe dues column your dues are overdue now. Any quite delinquentmember who hasn’t paid will be dropped from the roster.

Cost is $15 per year per family. If you don’t wish to renew, please no-tify Nel.

Mail your check made out to HCTC to:

Nel McPhail1105 N Canyonwood Dr

Dripping Springs, Tx 78620(512) 656-1456

[email protected]

Back issues of The Ragtop are available on our website:

http://www.hillcountrytriumphclub.org/newsletters.php

http://www.vtr.org

http://www.triumphregister.com

http://www.6-pack.org

http://www.6-pack.org

mailto:[email protected]

















Have you ever replaced the plasticthrottle shaft bushings on yourTR6? Damn near impossible,

right? Okay, how about this! Run downto the Home Depot and buy two LFA155compression fitting sets. Cut the largerpart of the fittings in two. Ream out theinner lip to the same size (3/8”) as therest of the hole. Reinstall the shaft withonly the brass items as shown in thephotos. There won’t be room for thewashers anymore, but the right side fit-ting will take up all the lateral play.

Brass Throttle Shaft BushingsBy Mike McPhail



THROTTLE SHAFT BUSHINGS (Continued)

After the meeting at Frisco’s on Feb 13, Tina &Roger Bolick, Alan Palmer, Willis Thorstad andMike McPhail drove their Triumphs to the gala

Live Oak Brewing Company Grand opening. We fol-lowed Webberville Road all the way to the SouthsideMarket BBQ in Bastrop, then hot-footed it back downHwy 71 to Chip McElroy’s new digs just North of theAustin Airport. Chip’s colossal new brewery sits nearthe banks of the Colorado River on a fabulous park-like parcel complete with picnic tables under majesticlive oak trees. The property was jammed with beer

February HCTC Brewery TourBy Mike McPhail



Elvis died young or at leastthat is what we have beentold. Some believe other-

wise. Maybe he is alive and well,ghost writing for today’s talent-less pop stars. James Dean andPaul Walker are definitely gone,in more spectacular fashion. Gone,but not forgotten. Not everyonelives as long as they’d like and noteverything turns out as we’d ex-pect. Such is life and it moves on,and our heroes live on in someform or another. So it will be withthe WRL TR6. Oh, didn’t you startby looking at the pictures first?

The powers that be chose thename “World Racing League”knowing that it sounded prettyspecial, sort of like the League ofExtraordinary Gentleman, theKnights Templar or the Gang ofEight. Given the chance our bunchof Triumph gear heads signed upfor a WRL race consisting ofeighty five cars of all shapes, sizesand specifications, most with mul-

tiples of drivers on each teamready to compete on the silkysmooth pavement of the Circuit ofthe Americas. That’s right, COTA,the biggest name in big time racetracks; built to the highest designstandards ever conceived thisside of the pond. Add Fun to Mr.Walker’s Fast and Furious andyou get the “effing” idea. Weshowed up with the Beandito, ourRustoleum encased, pieced to-gether, antique sports car whoseheritage goes back to somethingas mundane as the “Standard” Tri-umph Company. Bringing a knifeto a gunfight you might say, butwe Beandudo’s bleed both Britishand Texan blood and there wasonly going to be one “first” WRLat COTA, so we spruced up our ratrod TR6 and christened it the Be-andito.

It was a major thrash for the for-mer Lemon’s/ChumpCar TR6 thatwas originally put together bymembers of our own Hill Country

Triumph Club. As chronicled lasttime around in the Ragtop theTR6 was reinvented as a WRL En-durance Race Car and we passedthe WRL technical inspection withflying colors. Freshly stickered upwith our sponsor logos; Beani-tos’s, Infamous Brewing andRoadster Factory and labeledwith the number 12 in honor ofthe Kastner Brophy TR6 fromback in the day, the car neverlooked better. Its Lemon’s heri-tage was well hidden under fiber-glass panels and white paint.Rattle can paint aside the car wasa looker.

As always the car wasn’t finisheduntil the deadline approached.When we fired her up at COTA thecar surprised us with an alterna-tor that was actually charging thebattery. After 5 race events thiswas a first for this car. We lookedforward to a full day of racing thatdidn’t require the necessary stopsfor fuel and driver changes being

Our WRLwind TR6 AdventureCame to an Abrupt End

By Bob Kramer



combined with an occasional bat-tery swap. We had learned that aone-wire alternator needs to be“excited” on startup. In otherwords, we had to put the pedal tothe metal when starting the car towake up the alternator! It couldn’tall be easy. The temperaturegauge turned in its notice and quitbetween Friday afternoon andSaturday morning. Maybe itdoesn’t work weekends? Wewere confident that our GregBlake installed circle track alumi-num radiator and fancy blue sili-cone hoses would keep the TR6cool so we barged ahead. As abackup plan we pulled out our in-frared thermometer to check thetemps during pits stops.

Friday night the WRL held a man-datory drivers meeting with WRLgrand master Joey Todd holdingcourt from the second level of theCOTA paddock building as thedrivers assembled on the F1 pitlane. It was dark and increasinglycold but the assembled masseswere being fed free beer so thecrowd was placated. Joey told theWRL story and laid out the eventrules reminiscent of a banana re-public’s dictator orating to hisminions from the balcony of hispalace. Don’t cry for me Circuit ofthe America’s, I’ll never leave you.

We were warned, don’t bend aguardrail, or damage fencing orplastic barriers as COTA will billus, by the inch! As for the driversmeeting, being a veteran of multi-ple racing formats and clubs I wasless than impressed with the actu-al discussion of flagging and pass-ing protocols. The WRL drivers inthe crowd came from many differ-ing race organizations with driv-ers styles that vary from the outof control Trumpsters to the neu-rosurgeon, intellectual Carsontypes. A bell or in our case a rac-ing flag doesn’t seem to meanmuch to some folks. What is hap-pening under a white flag seemsto vary depending on which trackor organization you are racingwith. I walked away knowing thatmany in the crowd were not pay-ing attention. Even more worri-some for me was that I did nothear a phrase so often heard atrace track drivers meetings, theone that simply reminds the driv-ers that the passing car is respon-sible for the safe completion ofthe pass on the race track, not thecar being overtaken. Typicallydrivers being passed are remind-ed to hold their line and be pre-dictable and let the fast guy figureout where to pass safely. Withfour racing classes graded on

speed potential and our car beingin the slow group we had some-thing to worry about. Most of theother cars would be faster on thestraights and faster overall butwith our light vehicle weight andterrific handling we would befaster in the turns.

Dave Forman had set up a driver’stask schedule designed to havefour people over the wall for eachpit stop. When I say wall, I meanyellow lines painted for the F1teams to change tires in mere sec-onds. This was to be a true hot pit,cars coming and going on an on-going basis. Pits stops were thedriver coming out, the driver go-ing in, a fuel man and a guy tohold the fire extinguisher. As thenumber four driver, I got to fuelthe car on the fist pit stop, holdthe fire bottle on the second and Iwas going in on number three.

First up was Richard Ceraldi, whohad plenty of COTA lap experi-ence in his Mini, to handle thecrowded race start for the Bean-dudos. He’d earned the right withall his hard work in getting the carWRL ready. If it seemed to himlike and honor had been be-stowed it probably faded as thefirst of two red flags extended hisone hour stint to two hours.Clearly there was some aggres-



sive driving going on and the WRLdrivers were keeping both thetow trucks and the COTA accoun-tants busy. Our teams of driverswere all Triumph guys and thenext two drivers were Spitfireracers from CVAR, Derek Vick andDusty Nicholson, followed bythree more CVAR guys, Bob Kram-er, Bobby Whitehead and DaveForeman. Derek got in for thesecond stint, endured another redflag and even got to test the TR6’sdance moves while pirouettingthe car in one of the grandstandturns. He’d driven COTA before inhis Spitfire during the SVRA Vin-tage Festival this past year andfound the car comparable to hisfull race Spitfire. Next up wasDusty Nicholson, another CVARSpitfire racer, but also a veteranof Lemon’s racing and one of theoriginal Homeboyz. Dusty is quickon an autocross course and haddriven the fastest lap in the TR6at MSR on that inaugural event. Ashe completed his laps he wassteadily progressing down towardthe 3 minute lap time number wethought possible in this car. As histime wound down I prepared toget in the car. I was dressed andready when news of another redflag came over the radio. Then we

saw a BMW with a dented frontfender pull into the pits followedquickly by a reports of “the Tri-umph is in the wall”. The redpaint on that white car matchedour front and rear end paint so wewere concerned. During the redflag the driver told us that out ofnowhere the TR6 had spun 180degrees right in front of him andhe couldn’t avoid contact. Hedidn’t know how badly off our carwas and the fender damage on hiscar wasn’t all that bad, but weknew it couldn’t be good if wewere coming in on a wrecker.

It took a while but the car showedup on a flat bed and a glance wasall it took to know that we weredone. The aluminum radiator wasnot so neatly pressed around thefront of the engine and the bodywork was beyond hope. Dustywas despondent and wonderedaloud if he was to blame, butthought not. He couldn’t tell usexactly what had happened he felthe was just driving his line andboom, scratch a lotta boom. Wehave since viewed the video fromthe perspective of the BMW thathit us and we see that as Dustyreached the end of the backstraight four other cars were en-tering the ninety degree left at

about the same time. A darker carwas out front and pulling away,there was a white BMW taking theinside line away from a Miata andDusty was far right as they en-tered the turn. The camera carBMW trailed the action. As Dustymoved through the hard left andtoward the next turn, which is thebig horseshoe right hand carou-sel, he was three wide with theBMW on the outside a little aheadof the Miata to his left. The TR6was in its element, faster than theother guys for this short stretchbecause it was able to get into thegas a little earlier than they could.That light weight, great handlingthing in action. Watching the vid-eo I doubt that Dusty could seethe BMW off to his far left throughthe Miata but what unfolded wentlike this, the BMW turned in fromthe far left of the track, from twowheel s off on the COTA paintacross the front end of the Miata.It was an aggressive move but onethat the Miata driver saw coming,probably expected and braked ap-propriately. As the BMW clearedthe Miata he went for the sameapex that Dusty was acceleratingtoward. Dusty was hard on thegas and coming back against theguys that just passed him looking



to take the forward positionthrough the carousel. The BMWreports that he left room forDusty to take an inside line in theturn and that looks to be true, butDusty was already on anotherline, wider and in instant trouble.Since he was on a collision coursefor a point in the turn that wasabout to be occupied by a BMWhe slammed on the brakes andslid into the right rear fender ofthe BMW, which appeared toshake it off. The hit occurred onthe TR6 left front fiberglass fend-er and it was undamaged but thetap when combined with the hardbraking caused the car to do a 180right into the path of the follow-ing BMW. Our racing day came toan end.

I’ve heard that the BMW thatDusty hit had its own problemsfrom the incident. Even thoughthat part of the incident seemedminor, and the car continued rac-ing away from the incident, thespot where the TR6 poked theBMW was where the stock batteryis located. The battery crackedand shorted out and it caught fireresulting in sustaining significantdamage. The car that hit us con-tinued on with damaged sheetmetal and did some cosmetic re-

pairs over night. Our car needs anew front clip and hood. The onefender that tapped the BMW isfine but the front valance andsight side fender and the innerfenders on both sides need to bereplaced. The Beandito will be re-paired and will race again, insome form or another!

That is our tale of woe. There isan age old phrase often heard atrace tracks, usually alongside towtrucks and other emergency vehi-cles; a simple shrug and a “that’sracin’” epitaph. Every one of us

knew the risks when we signedup for this, except apparently thefiery BMW we tagged. Franklythose risks are not tolerated inmy usual vintage racing and areone of the reasons that vintage isso popular. Our car, theLemons/Chump/WRL TR6 existsbecause we wouldn’t do this withour “nice” race cars. We built itfrom a pile of rusty parts and ashell of a car that was too far goneto be restored. Now it’s too goodto let it die. There is a Chump raceat COTA this August. The TR6 willrise again.



64nd Annual Rallye Glenwood Springs, June 3-5, 2016

With:

● Surrey Roof

● Over Drive

● Webber Carbs

● ASA Mufflers

● Rear Tub Shock Conversion

● Front Spoiler

● Oil Cooler

● Premium Fuel Pump

● Leather Seats w/ Seat Belts

● AM/FM Radio w/ CD Player

● Auxiliary Power Source

● Leather Rimmed Steering Wheel w/TriumphLogo

● Wood Crested Shift Knob

● Alloy Valve Cover

&

New Tires (5)

New Battery

New Gearbox Cover (Polyethylene)

New Carpet w/Heat Shield

New Window Washer

Rebuilt Radiator

Rebuilt Heater

Pertronix Electronic Ignition w/Coil

Wood Created Shift Knob

Electric Fan Kit (Not Installed)

Sun Visors ( Not Installed)



1972 Triumph TR6 Sports Car(CC75356L)113K Miles

Asking $15,000Complete Engine Rebuild at 86K.

Vince Maggio512-514-0138 H908-240-2514 C

[email protected]

Jim Icenhower’s

Wood, Leather and Vinyl Steering Wheels for Classic Cars At Exceptional Prices

Wood Wheels with Hub $219.95Leather Wheels with Hub $119.95Vinyl Wheels with Hub $109.95

I have steering wheels and hubs for almost all British classics as well as accessories like shift knobs, mirrors, light/badgebars and more. Check out my current listings on eBay at http:// stores.ebay.com/specialtypartshop or email me at

[email protected] for more information.

Listing change as I get shipments from the UK so check back often or contact me for any special requests.

The Ragtop March 2016



HCTC Classifieds


I know I have been out of the loop for a while with the club members but still enjoy the Triumph hobby. Inan effort to add a unique look to my shop, I sourced a maker of metal signs. This is the sign i have asked himto make.

I thought some other members might be interested as well. Here is the pricing and the different finishes hecan offer.

4'x6' sign as per pic/3 colors printed on .040 aluminum sheet -does not include wood borders/aging or crat-ing /shipping, $325.00

printed on painted 24-26 ga steel sheet no aging wood borders crating or shipping $425.00

on steel as per pic w/wood borders, aged and distressed $565.00

If people have questions, they can reach me at 512-517-5325

Thank you,

Fil Valderrama

Name:__________________________________________________________

Address:________________________________________________________

City/State:___________________________________ Zip:________________

Home Phone:____________________________________________________

Work Phone:____________________________________________________

Email address:_____________________________________________________________________________

Car Make:__________________ Model:_________________ Year:___________ Color:__________________

Car Make:__________________ Model:_________________ Year:___________ Color:__________________

How on earth did you hear about the Hill Country Triumph Club?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Please mail your application and $15 check payable to HCTC to:Nel McPhail, 1105 North Canyonwood Dr, Dripping Springs, TX 78620

Membership Application



HCTC Classifieds

I am looking for a TR250 or TR4a Bonnet for a vehi-cle I am restoring. If you have one for sale please callme at 512-517-5325 or email me [email protected]. Thank you, Fil Valderrama

I recently bought a project 1965 TR4a…. Anyadvice, help, parts,would be greatly appreciated

Alan Palmer [email protected]

RH and LH Trunk Side Panel TR3, TR3A, TR3B.These are new steel panels, made in the U.K. Theyhave never been fitted or installed. $70.00 each. Car-ol 512-971-6778.

I have a intake and exhaust manifold for a TR4-TR3 and a intake for GT6-TR6 that I would liketo sell.

My phone # 512-909-6849

Mark and Marcela Jenks





Upcoming EventsMarch 8 — HCTC Tuesday Evening Monthly Meeting.

March 12 — HCTC Saturday Morning Monthly Meeting.

April 16 — HCTC Painted Church Tour. Schulenburg, TX.

April 20-24 — South Central VTR Regionals in Norman, OK. Click here for more information.

October 3-7 — VTR National Convention, Pottsboro, TX. Information at vtr2016.org.

Next breakfast meeting:Saturday, March 12, 2015, 9:00 AM

The Frisco6801 Burnet RdAustin, TX 78757

thefriscoaustin.com — Phone: 512-459-6279

Next evening meeting:Tuesday, March 8, 2015, 7:00 PM

Black Star Co-opIntersection of Airport Blvd & N. Lamar Blvd

7020 Easy Wind Dr, Ste 100Austin, TX 78752

www.blackstar.coop — Phone: 512-452-2337

http://www.triumphsokc.org/#!scvtr-regional-2016/ch5d

http://vtr2016.org

http://thefriscoaustin.com/

http://www.blackstar.coop

the ragtop - hill country triumph club · the frisco, including 2 couples, with a total of 6 cars....

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