FHC resto nr. 171; A few rectifications

It’s six months since I last worked on the ’76 car. And as you can read in my blog, there are several reasons for this: ‘t Kreng's water pump, the work on the DHC, and my regular work of course. But with a few weeks holiday ahead of me I decided it would be nice if I could finish the rear of the car’s interior. Time to pull the cover of the car and start to work. But first there were a few (small) jobs that needed rectifying. Starting with the mounting hardware for the brake balance pressure reducing valve. While fitting the steering column I found out I had used the wrong bolt to fit the valve. It was the bolt for the column’s G-clamp, which is longer than the one for the valve. As I had prepared only one bolt of the correct length it was taken from the valve and used on the steering column. But that meant I needed to prepare new fasteners for the valve. Luckily I had a few rusty spares lying around. And with the help of a friend’s blasting cabinet, a blow torch and a small container filled with oil, it was blackened and fitted. Looks quite nice.

Next job that needed rectifying were four small holes in the cabin floor. These needed their rubber plugs fitted. Something I forgot when I fitted the sound deadening pads almost 10 years ago. First Idea was to just open up the holes and insert the blanking plugs. But that didn’t work. The combination of the steel panel, the underbody protection and the sound deadening pads was too thick to fit the blanking plugs. Time to borrow a professional (and very sharp) hollow punch set from a friend to remove the sound deadening pads around the holes. These punches are designed to cut through material when hit with a (big) hammer. Not a good idea on steel panels. But being very sharp punches, they could cut through the sound deadening by simply pushing and turning them through the sound deadening pads. This way a ring was cut loose from the sound deadening pads. And this remaining ring could then be removed quite easily using a pen knife and a small sharp screw driver. And this removed enough material for the blanking plugs to be fitted. Some clear wax oil was used for rust protection.

The last correction concerned the carpet over the transmission tunnel. When I fitted it over the 2024 Christmas period, I wasn’t impressed in the way the carpet ballooned coming down from the top of the transmission tunnel. So I decided to use some fancy high strength “gecko” tape to glue the carpet to the top and the sides of the transmission tunnel. And this worked very well. And it enabled me to perforate the carpet to fit the plastic carpet protector and the mounting bolts for the seats.

The last tasks for this productive afternoon were the preparations for mounting the parcel shelf. A job I've been putting off for a while now, because I'm afraid I'll make a mistake with the dimensions for the holes I need to drill. Measure three times, drill once! The fact that the guy who covered the parcel shelf has died since he delivered this quite nice job, didn’t help! Also checked and corrected the sound deadening panel I made and which fits between the parcel shelf and the rear window. More on that later!

FHC resto nr. 170; Fitting the steering column

Another job that needed redoing was coating the steering column’s outer tube. Actually I had to find a spare one as the original item that was powder coated got seriously distorted in the process. And with only one part to do I decided on a traditional line of approach: Cleaning the dirt from the tube and bead blasting it. After which I used primer and satin black paint from rattle-cans to coat it. Looks quite good for a piece that will be completely hidden from view!

Next stage was rather straightforward; fitting the two new steering column bearing bushes to both ends of the tube and adding the steering shaft to the outer tube. Decided to use a silicon based bearing grease as lubricant between the bushes and the steering shaft. Feels quite tight but also very smooth. Will see ones the car is back on the road!

Final jobs were fitting the steering/ignition lock and fitting everything to the car. Though while fitting the lock mechanism to the outer tube I found out that I prepared four Allen head bolts with an incorrect thread to replace the original shear bolts. I thought they were metric M8. But they were 5/16”. First idea was to drill out the holes and use a metric thread repair to get the necessary M8 thread. But I decided to try out a little bodge first. Changing the 5/16” thread with a M8 tap. The result was actually far better than expected, with smooth threads. And I could even torque down the bolts pretty tight without stripping the new threads. And much tighter compared with the original shear bolts which still had their shear heads in place. So more than good enough for a non-structural part!

The two M10 Allen head bolts, I prepared for mounting the steering column to the support rail, were a perfect fit. So no issues there.

FHC resto nr. 169; Gearbox extension take 2

One of the two jobs I unfortunately had to redo recently; cleaning the gearbox extension. I put everything together after I cleaned the alloy part in question thoroughly in 2018. At least that was what I thought. Fast forward 8 years and I found what looked like old grime and oil was coming to the surface of the alloy gearbox extension.

Time to redo the job and hopefully this time with a better end-result! First step was thoroughly washing the casting in very hot water with a good degreaser and a collection of different brushes. This removed a fair amount of grime and oil. Actually much more than expected. The water was pretty black afterwards. Needless to say, the extension was rinsed of with lots of clean hot water. After which it was time for an extra treatment, blasting the alloy parts with glass beads. Well pleased with the end result! Hopefully this time I got rid of all the oily muck in the casting.

And the final step was fitting all replated steel parts back to the gearbox extension. All rather straightforward. I only have to adjust the reverse gear baulk plate to its correct position. But for that the extension needs to be fitted to the gearbox.

Edited on the 8th of March 2025: added the finishing touches to the gearbox’s extension today. This meant fitting the new reverse light switch plus a nicely bead blasted and blackened lock nut and fitting a plastic cover over the wiring harness clip.

FHC resto nr. 168; A few small jobs

Over the weekend I spent some time in the shed. Mostly to do some work in preparation for the repairs of the DHC (more on that later). And in between I carried out a few small jobs for the ’76 car. Starting with the gear lever gaiter. This was refurbished over 10 years ago, but it was still missing the top finisher. This part was 3D printed already 4 years ago but I never got round to fit it. But that is sorted at last!

The next job was to trial fit a new reverse light switch. As the original items have the wires fixed permanently they are becoming prone to failure with age. This is caused by the aging wires breaking of where they are soldered to the switch. And the original switches are no longer available. So I went in search of an alternative, which I found in the parts list for LT77 equipped Land Rovers (part number PRC2911G). And as you can see it is a perfect fit. Now I only have to fabricate a short loom with two spade connectors on one end and a two pin super seal connector on the other end. Spot the difference!

It looks like old oil and grime is coming to the surface of the alloy casting!

And final job should have been fitting the mounting tube and bearing carrier for the steering column. But an inspection before started work revealed some serious distortions of the mounting tubes for the column switches’ shroud. Probably caused by excessive temperatures during the paint removal process (pyrolysis). So another job that is added to the to do list (cleaning and painting the sourced item from the shed.

FHC resto nr. 167; Steering column

Finished another small job today, the steering column to be precise. Actually this job started in the summer of 2017 when the parts from the column (together with lots of others) were sent of for coating. In this case e-coating for the two parts of the column itself and zinc plating and (black) passivating for the other parts of the column.

Time to search together all the necessary (coated) parts and assemble the column. Here the biggest problem was remembering where I had stored them. But in the end all were found in various locations. A few hours wasted there again I dare say!

And with the handful of parts back home in the garage the assembly of the column was pretty straight forward. Though putting the two pieces of the column together did need some persuasion with a light copper hammer. After which fitting the two clamps was easy. I even remembered to use the correct torque figures for the allen head clamp screw (20 Nm) and the lock nut (50 Nm).

And maybe you are wondering why the teaser picture at the top of this post? Well that picture is hiding something that is about to happen in the next few weeks if all goes well!

FHC resto nr. 166; Interior light

Or small steps at a time, to get the ’76 car finished! Several years ago I spent some time cleaning this early roof mounted interior light, which I found among my spare parts. This was removed from a parts car a friend broke in 2016. The light corrosion on the metal parts is clearly visible in the pictures below

Fast forward to September 2020 and I found some time to clean the light properly. For this I used the same method as for cleaning the connectors of the various wiring harnesses. Which meant immersing the armature in a solution of rock salt, dissolved in hot water and cleaning vinegar. After leaving it in this solution for 15 minutes it was rinsed of with clean water and dried. Final job was getting rid of any remaining oxidation with an assortment of small wire brushes.

The cover was cleaned using hot water and liquid dish soap. With a final polish with tooth paste and an old electric tooth brush. And as a finishing touch I painted the outside silver, using a Tamiya paint marker.

And while I was in the shed today, to check a few things for the repairs of the DHC, I thought it a good idea to fit the interior light to the inside of the roof. Mainly because I had it in my hands for the umpteenth time! A rather straightforward job. Although I took a little extra time to make sure I had the correct location, before cutting a hole in the custom made head lining!

FHC resto nr. 165; Restarting on the interior

It has been well over 6 months ago that I last reported any progress on this project. But with a two week break from the office scheduled around the Christmas and New Year period, it’s about time to restart work on this '76 car. First task being to make an inventory of the parts and fasteners needed to finish the interior.

And to trial fit the carpet that is going to cover the transmission tunnel. I had planned to fit it over the weekend but found out it needed a bit of trimming, but also (and more importantly) that I really need an extra pair of hands to get a decent fit of this carpet. Definitely something for the Christmas break! Though having the carpet in position gave me an opportunity to get a glimpse of the car’s future interior. Especially combined with the rear bulkhead trim panel in position!

And because I wasn’t able to finish the tunnel carpet, I decided to fit some parts that I have had in my hands far to often: The various brackets and supports for the dashboard. I was glad I had a car in the shed to use as reference, especially for the three support tubes for the steering column rail.

FHC resto nr. 164; Trial fitting the carpets

Slowly preparing to get back to the ’76 car’s interior. As both the inner sill carpets of the custom carpet set were slightly to long, I decided to trial fit the carpet piece for the transmission tunnel. The carpet piece did fit, though a small alteration was necessary for the hand brake lever cut-out. But I also found out that the alloy extension for the throttle pedal was sitting to close to the transmission tunnel. As the pedal was rubbing the carpet, there was the risk that the pedal wouldn’t return completely when the throttle was released. Luckily there was some room for adjustment! Below two before and after pictures taken a few minutes apart. Spot the difference;

But while moving the pedal extension, I noticed a lot of light grey dust on the floor of the car. This turned out to come from the carpets backing material.

Not particularly impressed! Especially as the backing material for the floor mats that go over the foot-well carpets is made from the same material. Luckily the solution for this problem was fairly easy, a brush on rubber seal for flat roofing etc. But first I used a left over from one of the sill pieces to test it. And after drying for 24 hours it remained flexible, with good adhesion too. Mission accomplished.

But most importantly the dark sealant doesn’t shine through the light carpet material. And it will add an anti-slip layer to the back of the carpets, and maybe even a little extra sound proofing.

FHC resto nr. 163; Spreading the load

Or strengthening the rear of the armrest. With the facia switch panel back to its former glory, it was time to switch my attention to the rear of the interior. The Armrest to be precise. For those who have owned or worked on a TR7 that has had a hard life (read careless or incompetent owners) will know that the armrest mounting points can suffer. And all armrests in my spares collection had suffered! Luckily there was one item with only minor damage. But better safe than sorry. So I decided to fabricate a few small steel plates to go over the affected areas. The idea behind it being, that by spreading the load over a larger area, the mounting points will be more stable and further damage will be prevented.

The first stage of the job at hand was measuring the dimensions of the affected areas and putting them in a digital format.

This was than printed out in full size on paper, cut out and glued to some left over 1.30mm thick steel pieces (see picture above), to act as pattern for cutting and drilling. This gave me these three pieces (see pictures below). The first picture was taken after cutting the pieces from the steel left overs, with the remains of the pattern paper still in place. The bottom picture was taken after the paper and glue was burned away with a gas torch and the edges were finished with a grinding wheel.

And in their designed position, after adding a bit of black paint from a rattle can:

Trial fitting the two plates to strengthen the mounting points to the rear bulkhead.
One plate needs to be flipped through 180° in the picture above,
when the arm rest will be fitted to the car.

And the strengthening plate for the mounting area

where the arm rest lid is fitted to the cubby box.