More TLC for ‘t Kreng

Part two of the general service and maintenance check of ‘t Kreng, which was carried out over this weekend. With the most important job being flushing and bleeding the hydraulic fluids. From a mileage point of view this wasn’t really necessary. But both clutch and brake fluid were well over three years old. Where my normal interval for these fluids is two years. So time to call on the help of a friend for a traditional flushing and bleeding session!

Starting with emptying and cleaning the clutch cylinder’s reservoir. And this immediately showed why regular hydraulic fluid changes are absolutely essential. The fluid I sucked out of the clutch cylinder’s reservoir was almost completely black. Forgot to take the picture but the one in this earlier post gives a good indication on how it looked! After that the reservoir was cleaned and filled was fresh brake fluid (Bosch DOT4). Flushing and bleeding the clutch system was left till later though.

We moved to the brake system instead. Starting with the removal of the brake master cylinder’s pressure failure switch. Always tricky as this one is by now old and brittle. But I succeeded to remove it intact. Probably helped by the anti-seize paste I used when I re-fitted it a few years ago.

With that hurdle successfully out of the way, we could start flushing and bleeding the brake system. Starting with the front brakes which are fed through the rear chamber of the fluid reservoir. This chamber was also first emptied with a small manual suction pump, after which it was filled with fresh fluid. And the flushing/and bleeding could begin, starting with the front calliper on the right hand side. For both sides together, we used twice the contents of the rear chamber. No air came out.

As the reservoir’s front chamber can’t be emptied with my simple pump (a large syringe type affair) we had to empty this chamber by pumping the brake pedal with one of the bleed nipples at the rear open. My assistant was a bit overzealous though, emptying the front chamber too far. Which resulted in some air being drawn into the system. Luckily the air could be bled very easily though one of the two bleed nipples at the back.

Next job was flushing the clutch system. With the reservoir filled with fresh fluid, and the old fluid still in the pipe, it should be clearly visible when all the old fluid was expelled from the system. It was! But just to be sure all the old fluid was expelled, the contents of a full reservoir were flushed through the system after clean fluid came out of the master cylinder. Job done! Actually the biggest problem here was removing the rubber dust cap from the slave cylinder’s bleed nipple underneath the car! It had collected some oil, resulting in a rather slippery dust cap.

Next on the to-do-list where the wheels. They would certainly benefit from a good clean. Rather straightforward with warm soapy water and a collection of different brushes. I did need a shower afterwards!

Final job on the on the to do list was cleaning the two earth points behind the head lamp mounting panel. Hardly any oxidation there, only a lot of paint. So I cleaned away the paint around the mounting points and refitted the earth points using some copper slip to prevent future corrosion.

And the final job for the day was cleaning the steering wheel and treating it with a leather conditioner. The lack of use in the recent years had dried out the steering wheel’s leather cover. And after well over thirty years of service (it started life with me when I fitted it to a Mini Cooper, in 1994!), it could do with some tender loving care. It did soak up quite a bit of leather conditioner fluid.

FHC resto nr. 155; 10 Years into the project

The coming week (on October the 17th to be precise) it is exactly 10 years ago that I purchased my last TR7. A pretty early Dutch FHC which was first registered on the 6th of October 1976. It left the factory clad in a Pimento Red (CAB) coat of paint and was fitted with a black cord (CPAA) cloth interior.

I actually stumbled upon the advert for this car while I was doing my periodic internet search for a set of Wolfrace Turbo wheels for my DHC. The rest is history as they say!

2013-10-12 After a short test drive to get an indication of the cars mechanical parts,

before agreeing on the actual purchase;

The original plan was to give it a proper service, a few repairs where necessary, a fresh MOT, and sell it on minus the Wolfrace wheels. But I was never any good at selling cars. And I have always been longing for an early Dutch registered Speke built TR7. Mainly because I really have come to like the clean lines of the early bonnet design.

So I decided to restore it to a more or less standard looking car, with a few (reversible) period detail changes incorporated in the process. And the schedule wasn’t too ambitious either! It should be completed by the time the car became tax exempt some three years later.

Sadly life (and death) intervened several times in the past years. As a result of which the car is still not finished 10 years on! Though I am getting there slowly but surely. At least this 10 year “jubilee” gave me an excuse to trawl through the well over 2000 digital pictures shot so far during the restoration. And post this pictorial summary of the work done so far. In chronological order;

2014-01-29 Removal of the engine while dismantling the car,

in preparation for the body repairs;

2014-02-12 The empty shell remaining after dismantling of the car was completed;

2014-03-15 While the body was away for paint removal and shot blasting,

I started on various parts needed in future. The rear suspension in this case;

2014-03-29 The drivers footwell after shot blasting;

2014-03-29 The left hand front inner wing area after shot blasting;

2014-03-30 Another part that arrived well ahead of schedule;

a slightly customised 14” Moto Lita MK4 steering wheel;

2014-05-24 Reconstructing the incorrect small fuel filler rear deck,

and the heavily butchered boot floor;

2014-05-28 Rear deck and boot area finished;

2014-06-11 Adjusting the left hand door gaps;

2014-06-25 Repairs on the right hand inner front wing area;

2014-07-10 Welding finished and waiting for final shot blasting

and coating with a primer;

2014-07-30 The refurbished seats covered in a specially woven red/black McBeans tartan;

2014-07-30 Recovered GRP parcel shelf;

2014-08-20 One of the repaired doors after returning from E-coating;

2014-09-09 Traditional paint preparations, filling and smoothing the roof;

2014-10-11 The car’s chosen colour combo;

2014-12-11 Nearly ready for painting;

2015-01-10 Applying the anti-chip coating to the body’s

underside in preparation for painting;

2015-01-19 Ready for painting bottom and inside;

2015-02-05 After the first visit to the painters. The interior, the engine bay

and the underside painted in lovely and bright “Nearly-Topaz-Orange”;

I have since found out that RAL2000 Yellow orange is a pretty close match.

2015-06-12 Home made striping and decals ready for application;

2015-06-13 The body, doors, boot lid and bonnet are ready for painting;

2015-09-08 Painted in its chosen colour at last, and waiting for the

satin black paint to be applied to the sills and the rear light panel;

2015-09-14 Back in the shed in lovely “Nearly Topaz Orange”;

2015-12-22 Fitting the sound deadening (or anti resonance) pads to the interior;

2016-01-09 The original VIN plate and body tags,

clearly not fit to be reused on a fully restored car!

2016-01-14 One of the little projects that got out of hand a little, especially time wise.

Remanufacturing the body tags (with a twist) and the VIN plate.

The joys of modern software and online remanufacturing possibilities;

2017-05-10 The refurbished early Speke model throttle pedal;

2017-05-21 The refurbished parts for the pedal box, plus a few new ones;

2017-06-03 The inside of the newly coated fuel tank;

2017-12-20 The small parts shot blasted in preparation for plating;

2018-01-04 The small parts after zinc plating and (black) passivating;

2018-01-10 Refurbished gear box extension;

2018-03-31 The end of an era and a sad farewell. Clearing out the shed at René’s premises,

after he passed away. It was also the first time I saw the body outside in bright sunshine.

It did cheer me up a little;

2018-09-14 The refurbished head lamp supports;

2018-10-06 Fuel tank and fuel filler neck in position;

2019-01-06: Refurbished parts for the boot lid lock mechanism;

2019-03-23 Pedals and refurbished heater fitted;

2019-12-08 Refurbished parts for the door handles and ignition lock;

2020-02-27 Modern aftermarket (Volvo/BMW) brake light switch fitted;

2020-02-29 Fitting a few exterior trim parts;

2020-03-15 The new heart for the car, a NOS Sprint short engine

(with Mahle pistons!) and cylinder head;

2020-05-09 Adapted Allen head bolts for mounting the ignition switch;

2020-06-01 Cleaning and detailing the front side lamp lenses;

2020-09-23 Spot the problem! A water pump cover that escaped British Leyland’s quality control!

Needles to say I opened up the blocked passage leading to the radiator

2020-09-24 Refurbished water pump cover and a very rare original TR7 Sprint water transfer housing.

And yes the blocked opening of the pump cover was opened up;

2020-09-29 Fitting the homemade decals to the boot lid;

2020-09-27 And fitting part of the striping to the sides of the car;

2020-12-06 The refurbished front side lamp units;

2020-12-12 The side lamps fitted to the front bumper;

2020-12-19 Detail of the striping on the front wing and bonnet area;

2020-12-19 The striping running along the left hand side of the car;

2021-02-13 In the shed and the winter Sun just catching the vibrant paint work;

2021-05-10 Remanufactured alloy 5-speed shift pattern on the gear lever knob;

2021-05-13 Completed Sprint/SU inlet manifold, including my own design

alloy carburettor mounts and insulation spacers;

2021-07-06 Detail of the home made nose decal;

2021-11-13 Close up of the early type bonnet safety hooks;

2021-11-13 Brake balance valve and cunifer brake pipes;

2021-12-24 Remanufacturing the brake pipes for the back axle

using conifer pipe (top is the original);

2022-01-07 Locally fabricated stainless flexible brake hoses;

2022-01-08 Fitting the brake pipe running from the brake balance valve to the back axle;

2022-07-31 Refurbishing the engine harness (RKC 5511);

2022-09-28 Refurbishing the main harness (PKC 1946)

2023-01-21 Notes to help me refitting all the wires in

the correct order in the various connector blocks;

2023-02-22 The refurbished fuse box in the main harness (PKC 1946)

2023-05-20 The main harness in position, seen through

the opening for the right hand head lamp pod;

2023-10-08 Original pattern remanufactured door seals fitted;

Looking back over the past 10 years there have been a fair amount of ups and downs. But overall I am well pleased with the work done so far. And stating the obvious; I’m really looking forward to get the finished product back on the road. And that moment is slowly but surely drawing near!