by Matthew McGuire
Ironically, my wife and I relocated to London, England, about a year after I acquired a Spitfire, so all the refurbishments I was considering were either on hold or being conducted piecemeal during our occasional visits back stateside. However, whilst abroad, I was still posting photos on the Triumph Experience website of the various car shows and auto-jumbles I visited to pick up parts and other bits.
It was from one of these posts that a member of the Capital Triumph Register reached out and invited me to join the club. My address was still listed as Virginia. Upon my return, I quickly joined the club, and it was the best thing I could have done as a novice Triumph owner.
One of the benefits the CTR are the “Get Your Hands Dirty” sessions.
As someone who did not grow up working on cars, my mechanical knowledge was considerably basic, to say the least. Website forums and YouTube videos will only get you so far. The GYHD sessions provide firsthand experience with guidance from club members who have technical knowledge of the job at hand.
Any club member who has a project that they need help with can volunteer their vehicle to be the session’s subject.
About every month or so, the club will gather at a garage for a project, repair, or upgrade that might require at least two sets of hands or is something the owner has not attempted in the past. The projects can include anything from a relatively simple task, such as a brake upgrade, to something more difficult like replacing your convertible top.
Typically, the project can be accomplished in a day. In an unusual circumstance, during our clutch replacement session, it was determined the flywheel needed to be resurfaced. We stopped for the day, and one of the guys took the flywheel to a local machinist the next day. Luckily, the skim job was done quickly, and we were able to schedule a follow-up session for that weekend. Everyone reassembled, the skimmed flywheel and clutch went in, the transmission re-installed, and the job was done.
The next scheduled GYHD session is to replace Rotoflex couplings and install an oil cooler kit along with a spin-on oil filter on a GT6.
This will be the seventh session in eight months. Other projects have been: TR6 shock oil and springs replacement; Spitfire overdrive transmission installation; refurbish door window channels on two TR6s; TR6 clutch replacement; and install a new windshield into a Herald Estate.
To highlight these sessions, and hopefully help other enthusiasts, the club has videotaped several GYHD sessions and put them on our YouTube channel at The Capital Triumph Register Club.
Get Your Hands Dirty — on YouTube.
Not only is the Capital Triumph Register sharing their expertise among their members, but the whole world is also welcome to benefit from the CTR Club YouTube channel where you’ll find videos of many of the Get Your Hands Dirty projects and the fun they have together. Like, comment, and subscribe to stay tuned for more!
'Capital Triumph Register' has 1 comment
April 2, 2024 @ 3:00 pm Stan Olownia
To Whom It May Concern,
As a Capital Triumph Register (CTR) member I would like to thank you for the article by Matt McGuire (https://mossmotoring.com/capital-triumph-register). It would be nice if you could add the CTR’s “British on the Green” (https://www.britainonthegreen.org) to your list of upcoming events.
Thank you!