Topics

Hi All,

       Now all you old timers please don't fall over and feint!!

     Yes it's true that Brithunter is still alive and kicking though the handle is no longer accurate as no longer am hunting. Reason being am now residing in South Eastern Europe in the country of Bulgaria. Hunting is an old tradition here and if I could learn the language that would be possible to get involved but the language is really hard to learn, well it seems to be for me at least , but am hoping to be able to unpack my reference books and get a little involved at least in the history of my interest in the British Sporting rifles and especially those from BSA and Parker-Hale.

Hi All,

         With a little assist from Gitano am able to log in one more and we have news! Big news lot's of changes and we plan on it all being better.

        Firstly am no longer in the UK so the handle only sort of fits now. Mother and I are now residing in Eastern Europe ...................................... yes a long ways from Blighty but the fact is that we just could not afford to live there any more. I found it almost impossible to even get a job interview so now am cashing in my little pension funds and am going semi retired. We currebtly rent a small houe in the city which is strange for us having never lived in a city before but later this week we begin the house hunt for our own place that will be out of the city.

       I undrstand the wildlife is wonderful here and hope to explore once we get some wheels here but there is:-

Wild Boar
Feral Pig
Roe Deer
Red Deer
Jackal
Fox
Wolf
European Brown Bear

Lots of exotic birds like :-

Bee Eaters
Golden Oreole
Hoopooe
Storks
Ibis
Vulture
Eagles
Falcons
Swifts
Swallows

and Snakes ................ even some venomous ones.

Forrests ........................ lots of forrests and Mountains even with ski resorts. They have real winters here too and hot summers.

This Saturday just gone there was a Rover 75/MG ZT owners club meeting held at Imperial War Museum Duxford and on Sunday it was te Pistons & Props dayy at The Lincolnshire Aviation Centre East Kirkby and I toddled off over there for the afternoon. Here are a few photos from thos events:-



This is the new acquistion a Rover 75 Classic SE CDT Automatic. The engine is the BMW M47C 2 litre diesel unit and it's job will towing.









The dark tourer (Estate/station wagon) is in a special flip/poly chromic paint that changes colour depending on light and angle viewed.



Rover also offered a range of Duo Tone colour schemes and this is just one of them.





This Spitfire is just beside the two silver cars posted earlier.



Now this one is one of the rarer 2 seater versions ...................... Spitfire.











Just a few more from Duxford.

We are going through a lot of Dads stuff and working through the workshop so have a lot of tooling and micrometers surplus. I have my own Mics but I will keep a couple of Dads as keep sakes but as he ran a small machine shop we now have  a few to sell off. Some like a Moore & Wright 1-2" outside micrometer are in new condition hardly ever been used.

Am wondering if the tinkers amongst you might be interested and I will make up a list of what we have on offer. Postage on mics even to the US will not be much

It seems bad luck has not finished the family as on August 13th my sister also passed away. What is odd is that Dad dies on the 13th, my hound also dies on the 13th just 3 months after Dad passed and now my Sister also dies on the 13th.

Mother has just accepted and offer on the property so we are now on count down and have to clear a lot of stuff and get rid of an awful lot of stuff that we cannot take with us. Due to costs and logistics this means most of Dads workshop has to go including loads of tooling.

Am having to sell most of the cars as will have no where to keep them much upheaval and turmoil ahead.

Well my Parker-Hale 1200TX target rifle has now gone to a new home so the collection is being whittled down. No doubt this will please the Police no end as they tried for years to do this. Another five are being advertsised a well.

Not exactly feeling chipper about it all in fact it leaves a very bad taste in ones mouth. :frown

For some unknown reason I was awake around 05:15 on Tuesday morn and while fillng the kettle for a pot of tea noticed this sunrise so got the camera and a coat and wandered out side into the frost and took a few snaps. At the drive gateway noticed this pair of mallards to the left on the grass verge. Tried a zoomed in shot of the early morning sun which sort of worked.

Although it does not show much there is a fair sized dyke just the other side of the road that is about 15 feet wide and 10 feet deep.

Not the best coloured sunrise maybe but it was a very nice start to the day.

This afternoon is was rather a lovely afternoon weather wise with clear blue skies and warm sunshine so on the way home from Boston the top came down on the MGF:-



We came home not via the normal route and instead came pass The Sibsey Trader Mill:-







This part of Lincolnshire has many windmills still and yes around these parts they do not have the usual 4 sails but more. The Trader has 6 sails and the Muade Foster in Boston itself has 5 sails.

Sorry about the state of the MG and yes she needs a good wash but with the recent heavy rains the raods are dreafully muddy. Something to do with farm vehicles I believe.

Two months to the day that Dad passed Nibbs my dog had 4 fits/seizures in a 10 hour period so had to be put to sleep. Was up nearly all Friday night nursing him so feeling rather down right now.

 He was 12 years old and a wonderful dog. Here is he as a younger dog:-







He is sorely missed.

Finally got around to snapping some shots of the orchid that sits on the kithen window sill:-







This is the second flowering and it has twin stems this time.



It's in this bark stuff. We water it by putting water in the little plant pot tray it sits in and every week or so sraying it with a special Orchid feed.

Some may recall this one and again it is almost finished but needs a decent stock as it's original was well butchered. The rifle has been stripped cleaned a unused 303 Barrel from BSA that was then Ball Burnished by A.G.Parker in about 1954 according to the proof marks then for some reason it ended up in store until I managed to buy it through an RFD from John Knibbs.





  The barrel has been fitted with minumum headspace and the whole rifle reblacked a decent stock will finish the rifle off. We have the option of the standard P-14 magazine and trigger guard of the BSA straightend out one. It will likely depend on the stock that we can get to put on it which will be used. I also have scope mounts for it and a choice of glass that could be used as well as choice of the P-H 6E sight or a Redfield sporting aperture rear sight.

[Observations, suggestions, and even just opinions appreciated.]

Amongst my rifle collection is this unfinished project that started out as a 1st Pattern Monarch in 270 Winchester that had been well used. Bore was fairly worn and the blacking almost all worn off the barrel. I picked it up cheap many moons back as a representive of the model in my little collection. Some years later was offered a much better little used 1st Pattern Monarch for reasonable money so bought it that left what to do with this one?

After a lot of deliberation the idea evolved to make a modern equivilent of a 280 Ross performance wise which is why the Ackley version of the 280 Remington was chosen

   Originally my idea was to use a slim stock off a Majestic Featherweight to replicate the Ross style:-



This is the state of the rifle now. The stock is not much good due to a previous owner of the 270 Majestic that is belongs to butchering it and sanding off the chequering panels from the forestock leavng it too thin and flimsy not to mention wrecking the bedding . I think it may be possible to still get a new original BSA stock in either style from Knibbs however that is not exactly a cheap option.



The barrel is from a late BSA CF2 and they have a much larger breech area than the Majestic or Monarchs have and this looks more in keeping with the M10 Ross rifles. Seeing as how everything has changed now have been thinking of restoring the Monarch's original stock and fitting it instead:-





Clearer photo of a Monarch stock................ and yes on the Project Monarch the barrel is shorter as had been cut down before i acquired it.

The stock is of heavier style and will require the barrel channel to be opened up to take the heavier barrel and the larger breech area as mentioned before the Majestic and Monarch barrels were more swamped over the breech:-



as the fad was for lighter rifles then even though then many shooters then complained of the sharp recoil light rifles gave.

So it needs finishing off with a good stock fitted. The foresight soldered onto the barrel or the muzzle drilled and tapped depending on which foresight ramp is used and a sporting aperture sight fitting. The action is drilled and tapped on the LHS for such a sight. If I can my desire is to stalk deer using the irons at some point. As for the sights we have a choice:-

Front .................

Original BSA Monarch ramp soldered into place a bit further from the muzle due to the thread and allow for a muzzle can moderator to be used.

BSA foresight off a .22 Supersport Five.

Williams ramped fores tight off a Parker-Hale

Tikka ramped foresight off the Pre T3 Tikka.

Rear sight .................

Lyman 57 SME

Redfield as shown here:-



Parker-Hale 6EH

I do have a William Guide barrel mounted rear sight as fitted to the CF2 rifles and teh matching Tikka rear sight for the Tikka foresight.

So as they say decisions ............................ decisions!

Observations, suggestions, and even just opinions appreciated.

We have reached the point now when the decision as to what to keep and what is to go has got to be made. The rifles are doing no good in secure storage and it's costing us each year to keep them so secured.

My 3 project rifles:-

BSA Monarch 1st Pattern into 280 AI
BSA Model D 303
Mannlicher Schoenauer Model 1903

     All really require new stocks to finish them off so will not be gods ones or even easy ones to sell even though they all have new virtually unfired barrels fitted and all are proofed fro sale as required here in the UK. They have also been reblacked.

The issue it seems will be:-

1) Can I actually get another FAC?

    Probably very difficult in this county despite not having broken any laws as even with the changes in the licensing department the stupidity remains. Plus the nephew visits here almost daily and that will be a problem for the licensing department I am told.

2) If we do get a another FAC granted chances are that it will not be for more than a couple of rifles. Certainly not my small collection.

3) How the heck do I choose between my rifles??????? After all each was chosen and some took years to hunt down. A few of them are rare one is a total one off the only one made like it and the DWM Boer Plezier is a real antique how does one choose?

    We can possibly keep some pure target rifles at the club such as the BSA 12/15 Bull Barreled Martini .22L/R. The Sportco Model 44 and the P-H 1200TX. Issues arise even here as due to th planning consent for the clubs 100m range during the summer holiday season rifles must be moderated so the solution maybe to fit a scope to one and have the muzzle threaded for a moderator. Scoping is not such a big deal but threading means butchery really ..................... removal of the target tunnel fore sight! This would only have to be done to the 7.62x51 rifles like the Sportco of P-H 1200TX.

This leaves the choice of stalking or "hunting" rifles from amongst my collection to be made ........................... what to do ...................... what to choose?

Was awoken this morning by the phone ringing just after 7AM and as expected twas the hopsital. Dad passed away just after 10 PM last night. They had asked us if we wanted to be informed durign the night and has said no. Mother has not been sleeping well as it is.

So thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers it was a peaceful slip away for him for which we are grateful and probably a release as  although we did our best his life was not what he would have wished the last few weeks what with being hardly able to move at all. It was shame we could not have met his nursing needs at home but there it is.

So now a new chapter in our lives begins and we shall just have to wait and see what it holds for us.[/COLOR]

The upsetting news is that Dad is unlikely to ever come home and is in fact on a downward spiral to the end. Mother is of course greatly upset. In three weeks it's their 62nd anniversary.

Would just like to thank you all for your wonderful support,prayers, and thoughts over the years.

Hi All,

     It was only the other day when it actually occured to me that this MGF 75th Anniversary edition is the first car that I have owned that has been slightly tuned we do not know as yet how much difference the modifications have actually made but a session on the rolling road/Dyno will happen once funds and time allow. Firstly the induction set up needs finishing off and fitting as right now she is running an open cone K&N 57i induction set up which is not really much cope as it sucks in all the hot air for the engine bay.

    Factory specs for the MGF MPi is 118 BHP but we have changed the inlet manifold, plenum, throttle body for the alloy ones off the TF 135. It's claimed that this reduces the torque but it's not noticable when driving normally if indeed it has done so. The TF135 gave a factory claimed 135 BHP but being much later it also runs a different ecu unit running Mems 3 whilst the early MGF's, like mine, run Mems 1.9. The Mems 3 is remappable the mems 1.9 unit is NOT.

    The TF135 also ran higher lift cams and I acquired a set that had been adapted to ditributor drive to suit my engine the TF runs wasted spark system and does not have a distributor. The R140 (TF135) cams have about 1mm more lift and a longer duration but of course they only really come into play at higher revs.

    Coupled with the fettled, removed the restrictive internal welds, TF 6 stud manifold and down pipe and a less restrictive CAT and S/S sports silencer she certainly is more responsive and willing to rev. The later 6 stud manifold it seems has better primaries than the earlier 4 stud manifold so it will be interesting to see how she really is perfoming in the power stakes... if we can get the money together the idea is to next have a head flowed and ported with larger valves to make the most of what we have. However this is not cheap so may take some time to get the funds together.

Once the head is done we could be looking at around 160-170bhp which is a decent increase percentage wise in engine power. It will also be interesting to see how the torque is doing from standard!

Hi All,

     Thought you might like to see these Kestrels. They bred in the garden and are about fully fledged now. We don't often see them this close nor on the ground.

  June 20-21 saw me at Silverstone the GP circuit for MG-Live which is said to be the biggest MG meeting world wide. During the weekend there is a full programme of racing and on the Sunday on the short "Stowe" circuit in the in field of the GP circuit a sprint meeting and these photos were taken there.



   Now this MG 1300 surprised me as one does not remember them racing unlike the Mini.



Intersting line up including some Austin Healey's.



If I read the programme correctly this MGB is powered by a 4.6Litre V8 .



MGB on the start line.



Frogeye Sprite





Couple of Midgits.



MGB GT.

  A view across "Stowe" fromt eh roof top gallery.













Road legal MGF Mk1 in the sprint. That last little section is seems is technically tricky and several came to grief there with spins and runnign across the infield. One road legal MGF which spun smashed rearwards intot eh barriers doing a fair amount of damage to the passenger side rear quarter.

    An interesting rarity was a Marcos Mantis but I only got a rear shot of it:-



Powered by a 4601cc V8.

There was also an E-Type Jaguar Coupe with the 3.8L straight six that I didn't get photos of.

Most appreciated.

     As the title dad was taken into Hospital on Thursday due to being severly enemic. His Red Cell count was alarmingly low so he has had a tranfusion........................ and there may be more units of Blood to come! They are now doing tests to find out what has/is causing this. This coming Wednesday he is having an endoscope porceedure to look at his gullet and Hiatus hernia as they think he has a bleed somewhere.

     So right now he is quite weak not wanting to eat and drink and at coming up for 93 that is NOT good. Right now he is very confused partly due to the bloods reduced oxygen carrying capacity and possibly from a change in medication. We are very worried that he may not come home from this visit.

[Burghley Horse Trials]

Hi All,

      Last Sunday (April 26th) the local MGF Register held a meet/event at Burghley House in Stamford Lincolnshire. Those with interest in Horse Eventing will know the name of Burghley House as the venue for the Burghley Horse Trials an international event held their annually.

     Sunday was cloudy and cool with a few sunny periods so as it didn't look to likely to rain I drove "Elsie" my 97 MGF VVC with the top down to 50 odd miles across the county to Burghley House. After dealing with chores and givign teh car a wash, it was raining on Saturday , it was late morning before I could leave so arrived well after noon. The MGF Register was set up right next to the Ha-Ha ditch:-



Ha-Ha in the fore ground.







Some entrance this!





These are the stables.





Courtyard entrance.



Grounds immediate to the house wall leading to the garden.
 


I think the clumps in these trees is in fact Mistltoe.



   Found this 75th Mulberry red one there. It's number 1997 of 2000.





Once a common sight the MG Montego Turbo is now a rare beast.