FHC resto nr. 48; Work slowly resumes

At the closing of the year I am able to report some (though very slight) progress on the restoration. I used the Christmas period holidays as an excuse to resume work on the FHC. And I started where I left it earlier in the year; searching through my spare parts to pick out the best ones and sort them for coating. Almost finished the first batch, the parts that will be powder coated. Hopefully I'll be able to drop these of early next year ...

Next to be sorted are the parts that will be galvanised. I have made a start there with searching and registering the easier parts, but there are a lot, mostly smaller, parts that still need to be sorted. I decided to have a few spare coated too ...

Current schedule is to have all the parts coated in the first quarter of 2017. This should enable me to start fitting parts to the car in a short holiday scheduled at the end of May, early June. Hopefully I will be able to fit the stripping in that period too. But that means doors, bonnet and boot have to be fitted ... 

Calendar Girl 2017

With 2016 almost over it is time to look back at the work done to my TR7's in the past year. Actually not much to look back on to be honest. So for some extra motivation I used one of my traditional end-of-years activities (the new calendar to grace the study) to boost morale! As a result of which every time I enter the study I will be reminded of the work that still needs to be done on my current restoration project, the 1976 TR7 fixed head coupé ...

January: The 1976 FHC in the shed waiting for dismantling to start.

Picture taken a few months after I bought her, with the main reason for buying her

(the Wolfrace Turbo wheels) replaced with one of the standard alloy sets I have lying around.

(11 January 2014)

February: Patiently waiting in the shed for the restoration work to commence.

(20 October 2013)

March: Removal of the engine during dismantling.

(29 January 2014)

April: Dismantling complete.

(12 February 2014)

May: The two chosen seat frames after dismantling 3 pairs.

Found some interesting and rather lethal botch repairs on some frames.

(15 March 2014)

June: The first (suspension) parts ready to fit.

This was easy as they were part of my spare parts collection.

(15 March 2014)

July: Various jobs that have been carried out, from top left clockwise;

Part of the file for the striping set, based on the Jubilee striping;

The refurbished trim panel for the rear bulkhead;

The springs back from powder coating;

The first paint sample compared to a 1974 BL Colour and Trim leaflet;

August: The welding finished and waiting for final shot blasting and first layer of primer.

(10 July 2014)

September: The body after painting outside the spray cabin,

awaiting the (black) finishing touches on the sills and the rear light panel.

(8 September 2015)

October: The painted body back in the shed.

(14 September 2015)

November: Slowly regaining its identity.

(20 January 2016)

December: Rear lights and period licence plate fitted.

(11 January 2016)

Seasonal greetings ...

Cue the music! Looks like another green Christmas on its way for the Low Countries. So time for an older and more fitting seasonal picture.

And it is still rather quiet with my TR7's at the moment as they are tucked away for their mandatory annual three month rest. But maybe I'll have something to report on the progress of the FHC by the end of the year ...