It has been quiet on here

The last post on here dates back to the middle of June. Sounds rather quiet, and that indeed it was from a Triumph point of view. Unfortunately, a lot of free time goes into working, and the pretty hot weather didn’t help either to drive my only road going TR7, or work on the cars. The rising fuel prices (caused by the most stupid POTUS ever) didn’t help either …

But despite these problems I have been using ‘t Kreng on a fairly regular basis, slowly but surely clocking up the miles. And so far the coolant issues seem to have been solved. But on our way for a tour through the neighbouring province of Noord-Brabant. The low coolant level light came on suddenly while driving on the motorway. Going up or down the inclines for bridges would switch it off at first. But a few miles on it stayed on. So looked indeed like a low coolant level. The temperature gauge didn’t move from it’s normal position, so I decided to carry on to the start of the tour were the engine could cool of a but for an inspection. And after lunch at the start location I had a look at the coolant level in the header tank. And it was spot on. So probably one of the electrical gremlins caused by a hidden lightly corroded connector. And guess what, the low coolant level light Hasn’t come on since.

So time to bore you with a few pictures taken during some of the runs. To be honest the weather often didn’t help with taking decent pictures. As a result the camera was often kept unused in its pouch. But the past few weeks have seen some better weather:

But the most important TR7 related news is that the DHC’s body shell was delivered to the shed last week, after E-coating was finished. Time for an update: DHC repairs #34 an inspection of the finished product!

And now for the most important task of the shell’s repairs, paint preparations and painting. To be continued.

DHC repairs #33: The next phase

With the welding of the DHC’s body completed a few weeks ago I started with the preparations for the next stage. Which mainly consisted of planning the transport of the body shell into Germany. And this week saw the start of the next chapter in the resurrection of the DHC. On Tuesday the body shell plus the doors, bonnet, boot lid, lower front screen finisher and a US front bumper bar were loaded into a friend’s van. It was a tight squeeze to reach the front of cargo box to fit the ratchet straps. But my old bones managed it. I even got back out again without any help or injuring myself 😜

And at dawn yesterday morning we set of for the long drive in to Germany. To a small industrial estate near the also small town of Welzheim to be precise. Here the body shell was unloaded from the van at a company called Carblast, for the body to receive three treatments:

• First the removal in an oven of the remaining paint (mostly welding primer and e-coating of the used NOS panels);
• Next stage will be chemical rust removal (acid dipping);
• And the final stage will be E-coating the shell and its associated parts.

These jobs should be ready within the next 6 to 8 weeks. Which means I get to go on another 900 plus kilometre return journey!

Needless to say I am very curious about the final result. Especially after looking at a few finished body shells in the reception and dispatch hall. To finish this post a few pictures of the body in this hall, where I left it and where it will be prepared for the various treatments.

To be continued!

DHC repairs #32: Body shell repairs ready

During this Easter weekend, I received the final photos of the last jobs on the convertible's bodywork. Compared to the previous updates, the work done to the DHC’s body shell this time is fairly modes. But important. Drilling a few holes for various (mostly non-standard) exterior trim pieces. Starting with the mounting holes for the standard door mirrors:

The mud flaps:

The rally type front spoiler:

And finally the mounting holes for the aftermarket aluminium fuel filler cap:

But the most import job was fabricating a sturdy transport frame for the body shell’s next phase; chemical dipping, to get rid of the remaining paint and surface rust, and E-coating. Hopefully the car will be shipped to neighbouring Germany within the next few weeks.

DHC repairs #31: Finishing touches

When I restored my 1980 DHC in 2009 and 2010 I decided to use modified (custom recovered) interior door panels. Main reason being that I had a pair of structural sound door cards and doors from a model year 1981 car. Fast forward to earlier last year when I was collecting the parts for the body repairs. And the best DHC doors I had in stock were one of the original doors of this 1980 car and one from a 1981 Californian car. Which meant the inner frame from the car’s original door needed a small alteration to accommodate the later rectangular locking knob. The necessary repair piece was cut from the inner frame of a late and very rusty door that was lingering in the shed.

Compared to the work done so far that was a pretty easy repair. The next job was rather more involved. It was actually a job that I had planned when I restored the car in 2009-2010. At the time I only realised the amount of work necessary (including welding), after the car returned from the paint shop. So that idea was put on hold.

But when I was gathering the parts for the body shell’s repairs I stumbled upon the aluminium filler cap. So that job was added to the list of things-to-do! Main job was removing/replacing the metal directly underneath the filler cap’s plastic bezel. First of all creating a flange to which the new fuel filler cap and funnel can be bolted. And to create access to tighten the mounting nuts underneath the filler cap.

Another change was in the boot area. As with my other two TR7’s I opted to get rid of the, in my opinion, badly designed gas strut configuration. So I decided to reverse engineer the shell to the earlier set up to accommodate the earlier mechanical telescopic boot lid stay. An easy job when the welding gear is out, as long as you have the correct measurements for the location of the lower bracket. No bets will be accepted on the origins of this bracket 😝

The final change was in the spare wheel well. Here the two mounting holes for the period aftermarket tow bar were strengthened a bit. Just in case I want to go caravaning with this car when I am retired 😂

Currently looking into chemical rust removal and E-coating of the body shell. It looks like a trip deep into neighbouring Germany will be scheduled in the very near future.

DHC repairs #30: Front nearly finished

With the inner panels at both sides of the front repaired or replaced it was time for the finishing touches. Fitting the outer wings. But not before the fit and alignment of all the panels involved, were checked on the body shell.

After the body-worker was happy with the alignment and the various the panel gaps, it was time to get the welder out. And with a lot of plug welds later all the panels in position. It is slowly starting to look like a car again!

And the final job was welding the lower front panel (WKC86) in position. An additional check was necessary here, namely whether the front spoiler also fits properly over the bottom of the front wings. It does!

Not really visible in the picture above is the fact that the front spoiler got damaged in the accident, but it looks like it can be repaired. This should save my last spare for ‘t Kreng!

DHC repairs #29: RH strut tower and inner wing part 2

In my previous post I had a look of the rust damage in the area around the front strut tower. And it was quite obvious that part of the right hand front strut tower was in dire need of some fresh metal. On the left hand side it was deemed best to replace the complete top of the strut tower. Luckily this (right hand) side only needed a fairly simple repair section:

Also the strengthening plate for the engine mount on the lower part of the right hand strut tower was also corroded and was in need of some tender loving care:

And the final job was replacing the badly damaged inner wing. The replacement panel again came from the previously mentioned parts donor body shell. With hindsight, this project might have taken another turn. But there's no way back now. Nor is there a reason anymore!

DHC repairs #28: RH strut tower and inner wing

Since my last post on this project the right hand front wing and inner wing have been removed. This revealed more rust holes, very thin metal and an old bodge repair of the inner wing’s front section. A few pictures of the bad areas: