November

This month we have been mainly finishing off summer stuff and starting winter stuff. We tend usually to have a few engine builds and things of that nature generally to do over the winter months which can bring a degree of steadiness to the workload unlike the more normal pandemonium during the ‘season’.

The ‘previously interfered with’ TR6 finally got done and went back to its owner who now has a fun winter of recommissioning work ahead of him to turn the shiny rolling shell back into a car again.

We have also had a non-Triumph interloper in the shape of a ’63 Capri – all wings and wire wheels - belonging to an old friend, in for what should have been a week or two’s work (ha-ha, that old chestnut!) Needless to say that the tin-worm had been a bit busier than thought and ‘Genie’ spent a little longer chez nous than intended.

We are now just finishing off (hopefully) a car which has been with us for too long following a pretty substantial ‘put it back on the road job’. These are always a bit like opening Pandora’s Box, especially when the car in question is a Stag – more on this one next time.

A busy day!

When you are satisfied that everything fits, is welded and finished you can start to prepare the surfaces for painting. This involves cleaning the areas to be painted and then priming them. When sufficient primer has been applied you can then apply a thin tracer coat and start rubbing the primer down – which will truly allow you to see just how good the shape is. After making any necessary adjustments and re-priming, the whole surface is then cleaned with a spirit wipe to ensure that it is chemically clean before the colour coat is applied. Depending on the type of paint you use it will usually need to be left for a while to harden.

On this occasion it was just as well as this work coincided with the usual pandemonium which inevitably precedes the Club Triumph Ten Countries Run – an event involving around 150 or so participants (mainly old geezers), in around 70, equally old, cars, covering 2500 miles through 10 different countries across Europe in a ‘flying by the seat of your pants’ style over just 4 days.

The last minute type repairs included not only the by now normal engine tuning, oil changing, spark-plug replacing, brake and clutch hydraulic fluid renewing which we have come to know and love but also, on this occasion, cylinder-head stripping and valve replacing, plus broken engine mount-, fractured exhaust pipe-, blocked diff breather- split cv boot- and loose front crank nut- repairs. All in all, it was a busy morning and you can well imagine we were glad to stop for lunch!

More at Moordale Motors site

Body and chassis repairs to Triumph TR6

No two restoration projects are ever the same. In the case of this TR6, someone else had already started the job, but was unable to finish it and the vehicle owner had already elected to finish the job off himself. Effectively, we were tasked with carrying out all necessary body/chassis repairs which had not already been done, or which, perhaps, needed to be revisited. 

It is not usually necessary to separate the body from the chassis, however sometimes there is simply nothing else for it. When you have to get to certain parts of the chassis you just can’t do it with the body in place. This also makes it easier to get to the underside of the body.

However, you have to be careful to measure everything, brace the body shell and keep checking your measurements throughout the repairs. That way you might stand a chance of them fitting back together!!

More on this next time…http://www.triumph-car-restoration.uk.com

December 2012 - MK1 Triumph 2000

Reconstructive surgery on a Mk1 Triumph 2000 front chassis leg where the drag strut mounts before the whole thing tore out! Both sides were fitted with Superflex urethane bushes.

We also carried out an alternator conversion, rebuilt the carburettors, replaced all of the very old & perished tyres, collapsed engine and transmission mount rubbers, rehung the exhaust to prevent fouling on the propshaft and serviced, tuned & MoT’d the car.