DHC repairs #12: Start of the body repairs

Last weekend I visited the workshop where the DHC’s body is undergoing some much needed repairs. First job was inspecting the pile of body parts left over from the donor body shell. The result of drilling and grinding every evening for two weeks. A small selection of the most important parts for the body’s repairs;

The left hand rear wing.

The panel covering the front of the right hand rear chassis leg.

The strengthening on the inside of the right hand B-post

The inside of the left hand outer sill and the B-post panel.

Strengthening panel inside the front of the right hand rear chassis leg

The rear chassis legs.

And with the various parts inspected it was time to put the angle grinder into the body. But not before a simple brace was fitted to prevent distortion of the body. To check this, the doors were also fitted to the body. And some control measurements were taken.

After which it was time to put the angle grinder to the right hand sill. As you can see there is a fair amount of tin worm in that sill;

The old sill and its second hand replacement.

DHC repairs #11: Picking apart the repair panel donor

A few weeks ago I dropped of the repair panel donor body at a friend’s work shop. And earlier this week I received a few pictures of the progress of picking apart this body. A lot of spot welds had to be drilled out to get to this stage. And this (again I dare say) highlighted a lack of quality awareness on part of the British Leyland work force. Some of the spot welds were at an almost 45° angle with the sheet metal they were supposed to hold together. Not good when you have to drill them out!

A few pictures of another TR7 that is now officially scrapped. Lets say it’s "For The Greater Good"!

Next now on the to-do-list is removing all panels that need repairs or replacing from the cars original body. To be continued!

My last instrument?

Seven and a half months ago I used testing ‘t Kreng’s water pump as an excuse to visit renowned trumpet builder Van Laar Trumpets in Margraten. The brief for the visit being to pick a date to select a new trumpet. And as the title suggests, I assume this will be the last new trumpet in my 55 year long career playing all sorts of trumpets, cornets and flügelhorns. So I decided on something a little different.

Of course being a trumpet the most important selection criterion was how it sounds and plays. But the trumpet’s looks was also important. And glad the instrument I had initially chosen for its looks (an Oiram light III) also came out best with two other models being equally good! The long wait for its completion could begin. Till yesterday that is, when I picked it up. And yes it sounds as good as it looks!

Testing ‘t Kreng’s water pump

Over the past two weeks I have been using ‘t Kreng a few times for some local trips. So far the car has covered well over 200 kilometres since the new water pump was installed. There still is a slight water leak from the pump. But that has been gradually decreased over time. Though when I returned home from a longer drive last Saturday there again was a small trickle from the slot underneath the pump when I switched off the engine. The coolant level hadn’t dropped visibly though.

Another positive point is that the coolant light hasn’t come on during the various tours. That might partly be due to the fact that I polished the coolant level probe in the header tank before filling the system with coolant. And the temperature guage is fairly stable too. This might point to a better sealing water pump, causing less pressure changes in the coolant system. Fingers crossed!

Time for a tank full of RON 102 octane fuel

DHC repairs #10: Repair panel donor

With ‘t Kreng’s water pump issues hopefully resolved (knock on wood), it was time for another chapter in the DHC’s body shell repairs. Today the rust free but badly accident damaged shell from a Solihull built Californian spec car (TPZDJ8AA4•••••), was dropped off at the workshop. This body will be picked apart to provide the necessary repair sections for my DHC that are still missing.

The most important bits this body will donate will be the sills on both sides, the right hand inner front wing and the rear bulkhead. This body used to be part of a complete and running low mileage (71.823 km) Californian PI car. I purchased this car in 2004 as a parts donor to help restore my 1980 DHC. But as it often happens the plans changed as the time passed! As a result the body with all the other parts were put in storage for well over two decades.