Monday 28 September 2009

DHC report nr. 50; Fuel tank check up

Slow but steady progress on preparing various parts, in preparation for the moment when I can start with reassembling the car. One of the jobs I tackled last week was the fuel tank. There are loads of horror stories about TR7’s with rusty and leaking fuel tanks, but this one clearly doesn’t belong to that group. As you can see the most vulnerable part, the underside, is completely free of the dreaded tin worm;


There's only some slight surface rust on top of the welding seam;


And this despite the fact that the factory protection is rather flimsy to say the least, just one thin layer of paint without any primer. Although it is possible that the tank has been replaced somewhere in the past, as the area above the tank had some rather non factory rust protection. So only thing I had to do was remove the fuel gauge sender and fuel pipe, sand the tank down;


And with a few rattle cans of matt black paint, give it a new and hopefully better coating;


With the coating done I turned my attention to the fuel pipe and fuel gauge sender.


As the last one had been working properly before I dismantled the car I presume it still does. So only thing I did to it was give it a good clean.

The fuel pipe was an interesting one as there was quite a lot of dirt between pipe and filter, but none inside the pipe or filter. Then there was some (very fine) dirt trapped in the filter gauze itself, but I couldn’t get that out completely without damaging the gauze, so some of it is still there. But an inline filter between tank and fuel pump should take care of any dirt slipping through.


And last but not least I inspected the inside of the tank before I put the fuel gauge sender and suction pipe back. Inside was rust free with no dirt worth mentioning, only what looked like chalk or crystal deposits. As this didn’t come of when I scraped it with a screw driver I didn’t waste any energy on it. This will also being taken care of by an inline filter!

As you can see from the pictures above the tank is from a PI (or TR8) which isn’t strange as the donor car started life as a PI. But this means the tank has something like a built in swirl pot, in which the fuel pipe is mounted. This of course is an added bonus as it helps with preventing fuel starvation while cornering with an almost empty tank.

Wednesday 23 September 2009

DHC report nr. 49; Dashboard rejuvenation

Spent a good few hours on the dashboard assembly over the past few days. After a good clean it turned out that it indeed was in very good condition. But it wasn’t possible to get it cleaned completely, there remained some discolouration’s caused by dirt accumulated over more than 30 years. So time for a re-spray with black (RAL 9005) Vinylkote. Well pleased with the end result;




Being a very early dashboard also meant that I had to drill a few extra mounting holes in it, mainly for the centre console. Luckily there was enough material to accommodate these holes. Also having a few later dashboards as guidance made life a bit easier;



So with the measurements and drilling done it was time to reassemble the various parts, like fresh air vents, cubby box lid and cover.




Another item ready for assembling when the car comes back from the painter.

Sunday 20 September 2009

DHC report nr. 48; Colourful thoughts

A few weeks ago I encountered a new VW Sirocco in a very bright green metallic colour, which I did like very much and which looked very much like Triton Green;


Some research learned that this green was also used on the Siroccos in the late 70’s. It seems that even the name remained the same, Vipern Grün.


As I wanted a good indication as to how this colour compares to Triton Green I had another colour sample made.


On the right is Leyland’s Triton green on the Left Volkswagen Vipern Grün. As you can see they look almost the same. Triton Green is slightly darker and greener. Also the metallic particles in Triton Green are finer, looking better overall in my opinion. Can’t wait to see the car when she’s painted.

Friday 18 September 2009

DHC report nr. 47; Dashboard choice

More small jobs today I am afraid. Went over to the shed this afternoon to search for a decent dashboard. Thought it a nice idea to use the oldest one I have. It’s from a TR7 FHC that was broken by a friend a few years ago.




The chassis number of said car was ACG96L. So must be one of the earliest LH drive European spec cars I presume;


Production date of the dash is rather obvious;



The dash itself looks in very good condition with no visible scratches or other damage. As you can see only years of dust and muck on it. Will probably add a few thin layers of Vinylkote to make sure it has the same look as the other parts. Depends on how it looks like after a good clean.

Also started on repairing the “hungry- mouse” damage on the steering wheel rim. But that is a rather time consuming business, light sanding down, filling in with varnish, sanding down, filling in with varnish etc. But looks like I will get most of the damage repaired.

Thursday 17 September 2009

DHC report nr. 46; Trim preparation

Today I busied myself with various small jobs, mainly cleaning and coating trim pieces. Started with assembling the quarter lights. I started with the rubber at the top so it should be easier to fit it, but it still took a fair bit of time to get them in. After that it was time for a good clean of the glass and rubber seal. Putting everything together was straightforward.


Next victim for refurbishing were the fuel filler cap, surround and filler pipe. But before I could start on them I first had to get them of one of my spares cars. Luckily everything came of rather easy so with these parts ready;


There was some time left to do the plastic mouldings that protect the carpet against wear from the seat runners. Got most of the scratches and damage out of them but not everything. But they’ll have to do as the car’s not supposed to be a concourse winner;


To finish the afternoon I started on the steering wheel I am going to use in the car. First I was thinking of buying a nice new Moto Lita wheel. But then I found out that the original steering wheel centre from a late TR7 steering wheel fitted perfectly in the wheel centre of the wooden Nardi wheel I had lying around. As this wheel has a bit of a personal history for me, I decided to tidy it up a bit. After trial fitting it in ‘t Kreng to see how it looks in a black interior, I decided that the spokes’ grey colour needed to be changed to match the interior. Picture before;


And after I painted the spokes black, polished the leather inserts and changed the Nardi centre for a Triumph one;


Looks very nice in black. Only thing left to do is remove the scars from a hungry mouse on top of the rim;


Wednesday 16 September 2009

DHC report nr. 45; Nearly ready for painting

Underside of the body is finished. Bottom and wheel arches are painted in a non metallic 2-pack uni-colour bright green which comes close to the chosen Triton Green. Looks very bright indeed!



Did this as this paint has a much higher resistance against chipping then the (water based) metallic top coat. The wheel arches will also get the top coat, so when the top coat gets damaged it will still look green. Also the primer for the top coat has been applied.



Guy doing the work wasn’t really satisfied with this primer coat. So this needs another flatten down. Also on the inside the seams need yet to be sealed. Sadly he’s going on holiday next weekend so painting will be postponed for another two weeks. Gives me some time for a color experiment!

Today the body was transferred from the body spit to a simple horizontal stand which will be used for the actual painting.


Monday 14 September 2009

Club Triumph's 10CR 2009 – The Control Stops

We made it ‘round 10 European countries (at least I did, hopefully Barry arrives safely back home) So as “proof” some photographs of the various control stops!

Crews Hill (Thursday 10/9 - 9:52 GMT): 0 km

Les 2 Caps Services (Thursday 10/9 - 15:22 CET): 244 km

Le Mans (Thursday 10/9 - 20:32 CET): 671 km

Condom (Friday 11/9 - 4:27 CET): 1237 km

Andorra (Friday 11/9 - from 12:14 to 13:44 CET): 1584 km

Beziers (Friday 11/9 - 17:48 CET): 1838 km

Millau Bridge (Saturday 12/9 - 10:29 CET): 1965 km

Beaufort (Saturday 12/9 - 20:38 CET): 2436 km

Nürburgring (Sunday 13/9 - 8:21 CET): 3273 km

Malmedy (Sunday 13/9 - 10:32 CET): 3367 km

Rolduc (Sunday 13/9 - 15:17 CET): 3586 km

Tuesday 8 September 2009

DHC report nr. 44; Under body protection

Went over to the car a few times over the last week to have a look at the progress but also to make a small stand to make transportation and painting of the body a little easier. Last week the seams underneath the car were filled in with sealant;


After which it was time to mask of the body in preparation for the under body protection;


Just visible on the left is the (light weight) stand that will be used for support in the spray booth. And with the masking done the under body protection could be sprayed on;





Followed by a thin coat of spray filler, as a final base for the top coat.



This needs flattening down, after which the underside will be painted in a 2-pack uni-colour, this is planned for early next week. After which the body’s outside can be painted. It is booked in with the paint shop for the second half of next week 😎