FHC resto nr. 75; Boot lock & trim

Since my last post de (SSD) hard disc of my computer decided to crash in a big way. As a result of which I had to spent a fair amount of time to get it repaired and to reinstall all the software. And as such I wasn’t able to make or report much progress on the car’s restoration. Though I managed to carry out a few small jobs.

The first being the boot lock. I put this job aside for a while because I needed new keys, and I thought it a good idea to take the complete lock with me when I went to visit the local locksmith. Which was a good thing as the original key was slightly crooked. As a result of which it wasn’t just a matter of copying the old key pattern. The new keys needed some tweaking with a key file to get a perfect match with the lock.

With the keys sorted it was time to fit the various parts of the boot lock mechanism to the car, starting with the boot lid’s catch. Which was pretty straight forward as there is no adjustment needed there. After that it was time fit the lock assembly. Also very straight forward ones I managed to wedge a small light inside the boot lid, to see properly where the spring clip had to go. Remained the striker. Took me almost half an hour to get the alignment right. Mainly due to the new seals which press the boot lid upwards a bit. Hopefully that will settle with time:

And as there was still some daylight left I thought it a good idea to have another go at fitting the right hand drip channel trim. Somewhere in the summer I had a first go at fitting this, but after a few failed attempts I decided to try the opposite side. This time I had success as this piece slipped on within a few seconds. Though a second attempt on the other side failed again. Turned out the trim piece had warped slightly during shot blasting and/or coating. As a result of this it looked like an extra pair of hands would be needed to get it on. And every time I visited the shed the following months, I had another go at it and was proofed right time and time again. So when I had finished the boot lid lock I decided to have a final go at the trim piece, and if it would refuse again I would arrange some assistance. I needn’t have worried! In all previous attempts I started from the curve at the front of the doorframe, but this time I decided to start with the straight part above the door behind the curve, and the rest just clicked in position. Indeed a few well spent minutes!

And while fabricating the new gasket for the boot lid’s lock, I thought it a good idea to make a pair of gaskets for the black grill-like black blanking plates that cover the cruise light recess’ in the rear wings. At the bottom of the picture is an original gasket:

Brake repairs for the DHC part 1

Those that have been following my blog might remember a problem with the brakes that first appeared during Club Triumph's 10 Countries Run in 2013. Applying the brakes with normal force would give no reaction from the brakes, as if the brake pedal was locked solid. Pushing harder on the pedal always solved the problem. As the problem disappeared after the event, I forgot all about it. That was till the 2014 edition of CT's' Taith o Amgylch Cymru when the problem reappeared. So on returning home I replaced the pads, which were rather glazed:

And that seemed to have solved the problem, as the problem didn't reappear. That is till last year, when during the various tours the problem randomly reappeared a few times. About time to get some advice from the experts. The general consensus was that the brake's servo might need replacing or reconditioning. Not very surprising as during the restoration of the car the servo that came of the car was labelled as "in good working order". But clearly the various long tours, combined with the servo's old age, had taken their toll.
As the brake master cylinder also was taken directly over from the same car, I decided that it would be a good idea to have that reconditioned too. The fact that I have entered this car in this year's edition of Club Triumph's 10 Countries Run certainly helped with the decision!

Time to visit the shed in search for some spares to recondition. And this set looks to be a pretty good starting point:

These parts were dropped off at my local brake specialist C&C Parts, with the request to refurbish them. Or replace them with new parts if that was more cost effective. Hopefully these will be ready to be picked up within the next 3 or 4 weeks. Which should be time enough to fit them to the car before the driving season starts again.

FHC resto nr. 74; Boot lock

One of those many small jobs that need to be done on any proper restoration. This one actually started at the end of November last year, when I visited the shed in search of a usable twist type boot lock. If possible with a matching key. All in all I managed to find four locks, including one that was donated to me by a friend. But only one with a key. Though one had a broken piece of key still stuck inside the lock barrel! I started with the complete lock.

As you can see it looked rather tatty, but it was complete, and more importantly the lock barrel was in good condition. And after some cleaning it looked much better. Sadly the chrome was badly corroded. I could have it re-plated locally, but that means that the knob's surface needs grinding back to remove the pitting from the corrosion and the loose plating. This will almost certainly remove the small rim that sits around the barrel. Time for a closer inspection of the other three remaining locks. Luckily one was in fairly good condition and deemed fit for use:

As by now I had dismantled three locks, I thought it a good idea to search for the best fitting barrel housing (or the one with the least play). After which it was a matter of reassembling the lock, which with a few pictures and a complete lock was rather straightforward. Final job was creating a new gasket to go between the lock and the boot lid. For this I used a thin (5 x 2 mm) adhesive closed-cell foam rubber.

The only jobs remaining is fitting the lock to the boot lid together with the catch and the striker. But that has to wait until after a visit to a local locksmith. See if he can provide me with some new keys. Also I'll have to go in search of a matching glove box lock. As the lock barrel I have used comes from this car, I hope the lock in the original dashboard assembly has a matching lock barrel. To be continued!