FHC resto nr. 160; Dashboard switches

Started another small but time consuming job for this car. Searching through my stock of spare parts and selecting four dashboard switches and cleaning them. But first I had to dismantle them. And as can be seen in the pictures below they are all in pretty good condition. With only minor corrosion on the heated rear screen and fog light switches:

Light switch (TKC3963)

Heated rear screen switch (TKC3965), I still haven't found

the missing purple lens that goes into the top of the switch …

Fog light switch (TKC3964)

Hazard light switch (TKC3962)

Next step was cleaning the various parts of the switches, staring with switches tumblers. I used my proven cleaning method on them; hot soapy water in combination with an old electric toothbrush. It clearly got rid off more than the tumblers dirt. They came out rather dull and grey.

And after treating them with a good degrease with Vinylkleen the flat grey appearance worsened considerably. But with a few coats of Vinylkote they came out pretty nice and fresh again.

The final job for the day was cleaning the tiny toggle pins (warm soapy water) and ditto springs (brake cleaner). Taking extra care not to loose any of these tiny parts down the drain or sending them of into the unknown!

A lovely spring Sunday

Last weekend I stayed away from my Triumphs again. Instead I enjoyed a lovely walk through the southern area of my hometown. A few pictures taken during this circa 25 kilometre walk;

Nature reserve Hühnerkamp on the border between The Netherlands and Germany

(Maalbekerweg Belfeld).

Enjoying lunch in the beergarden of the former Trappist abbey Ulingsheide.

Again on the border between The Netherlands and Germany (Ulingsheide Tegelen).

The former Trappist abbey Ulingsheide

(Ulingsheide Tegelen).

The perimeter wall of the Abbey complex Ulingsheide

(3e Landweerweg Tegelen).

“De Wittebeek” in the so called Jaomerdal, or Wailing Valley.

Legend has it that Julius Caesar's outgoing 14th legion was ambushed in 54 BC, after promising a free retreat.

The Eburone tribe led by Ambiorix is said to have massacred the 14th legion here (Jaomerdalseweg Venlo).

Major construction work for a new underground railway crossing

(Vierpaardjes Venlo).

Café De Klep. with one of the best beer gardens in town

(Floddergats Venlo).

New nature along the banks of the River Meuse

(Springbeek Blerick).

The Holy Spirit Monastery, one of the many monasteries for which the village of Steyl is famous,

seen from the opposite bank of the River Meuse (Brangk Baarlo).

308 Days

At last I found some time to dig out ‘t Kreng from the shed and take her for a drive. And as the title of this post suggests, it was quite some time ago. 308 Days to be precise. So I was slightly reluctant when I went over to the shed to pick her up. I needn’t have worried. On the third attempt the engine fired and even settled in a fairly even idle. Time for a short circa 100 kilometre tour in the neighbourhood.

It was good fun driving this car again after such a long time. And while enjoying the drive I decided not to return the car to the shed put park her at home, so it is easier to do some routine maintenance and checks in the coming time. And use her a bit more hopefully!

The first 105 kilometres of the year, hopefully more to come!

The rear decals showing signs of old age.

FHC resto nr. 159; More interior refurbishing

Last weekend I started on cleaning and refurbishing several of the (hard) plastic interior parts. And that’s where I continued this weekend. Starting with the finished results from previous weekend:

Console insert XKC541, facia switch panel RKC4660, which both used to be light grey,

and the carpet protectors (which don’t appear in my parts manuals).

Early grill moulding XKC291.

Centre console WKC531, which also used to be light grey.

Next on the to do list was a thorough clean of the centre console’s armrest (WKC541) and repairing a typical cracked mounting hole at the back of the armrest. I will probably make a pair of steel plates to go behind the mounting screws head, to spread the load better and prevent future damage in this area;

Clearly visible is a discoloured area on the side of the armrest that couldn’t be removed with the normal cleaning fluids. But the Jet Black Vinylkote covered that quite nicely. As it did with all other areas of this part.

Dashboard switches next.

FHC resto nr. 158; Interior refurbishing

In my previous post I mentioned that I had managed to acquire a few rattle cans of RAL 9005 (Jet Black) Vinylkote, supplied by Rawlins Paints. And this is needed to refurbish some of the plastic interior parts.

But first all parts needed a good clean. With the first stage being a good scrubbing with warm water, dish-washing liquid and an old but still functional electronic tooth brush. This was to remove most of the dirt that had accumulated over the years. Next stage being the final paint preparations, cleaning and degreasing all the surfaces with a Vinylkleen solution (1 part Vinylkleen and 3 parts water). Quite amazing to see how much dirt the Vinylkleen solution still removed from some of the cleaned surfaces! Actually so much that some of the black plastic parts probably don’t need a new coating;

Early A post trim WKC481PAA / WKC491PAA

Steering column shroud XKC593 / XKC594

And with some of the later (grey) parts also cleaned properly, it was time to get one of the Vinylkote rattle cans out and cover the boring grey or weathered surfaces with a few layers of jet black coating.

At the time of me typing these words the freshly coated parts are still drying. But first impression is that the quality and finish of the used coating is still to the same level as when I first used it on the interior of ‘t Kreng in the mid 90’s. Detail pictures of the finish hopefully in one of the coming posts!

FHC resto nr. 157; Slowly starting again after winter

It’s been far too long since my last report on this subject. Well on any TR7 related subject actually! But I haven’t been completely idle on things TR7 over the last few months.

To start with I had to search through my spares again. This time to look for another rear screen, as on closer inspection the chosen one had badly corroded heating wires. Luckily I found one that turned out to be much better in that area.

Next problem area (still) are the mounting holes for the rear parcel shelf. But as soon as the weather improves and I have enough time that should be rectified, together with fitting the newly chosen rear screen.

And while trawling through my spare parts I thought it might be a good idea to use the opportunity to sort out some more stuff; various electrical stuff this time. Plenty of spares left, but with three 40+ years old cars one never knows when something fails.

Back to the interior. Thanks to Russ I am now in the possession of an early US spec steering wheel. For no obvious reason I always liked the style of their design. Probably because they shout 1970’s. So when this one was advertised I couldn’t ignore it. In the pictures Russ sent to me, it looked like there were some tiny blemishes. But after a few hours of cleaning with hot water, dish-washing liquid and some brushes, it came out pretty nice. As new actually! A trip to a friend’s workshop, to use his blasting cabinet for the centre pad’s steel mounting plate, certainly helped with the finishing touches. Together with some new fasteners that is;

But that immediately leads to another problem, what steering wheel to choose for this car? As I also have this Moto Lita steering wheel which I ordered earlier in the cars restoration. Also very 70’s. Choices! Luckily the last one can also be used as a replacement in ‘t Kreng or my Defender.

And thanks to a recent trip to England I finally managed to get black (RAL 9005) vinyl paint (Rawlins Vinylkote) The joys of Brexit, as a result of which they didn’t deliver outside the UK anymore! But I can now start to rejuvenate some of the interior parts. So more cleaning to be done in the following weeks.

More interior parts to follow!