2 years

At the end of 2006 I bought my Bordeaux Red DHC from a friend. Most important reason for me to buy it was the 10CR 2007. I wanted to do it in a DHC, which I did. All in all I covered over 10.000 kilometres in it. Although it isn’t the best looking TR7 around, the body shell is almost rust free. To keep it that way I have decided to strip the car completely enabling me to have the body repaired were necessary and get a decent paint job done.

So today, exactly 2 years after I brought here home with me, I started dismantling the car. As a farewell one last picture as she was, waiting patiently to be stripped bare ...

The first day of dismantling didn’t quite go to plan, with lots of small but irritating setbacks. To name a few;

• A front bumper that didn’t want to part from its centre pivot;
• Washer hose refusing point blank to come of the washers;
• Loom for the licence plate lights getting stuck somewhere in the boot lid.

But by the end of the day I had more or less reached my goal. Boot area is stripped, as is the nose area and the door trim;

Target for tomorrow is to get the interior trim, dashboard and the hood assembly of the car.

Last trip for the DHC ...

Fond memories of the Alps!

Yesterday was the last time I “drove” the DHC. Actually I only drove it from the garage accommodation to the workshop. Plan is to start dismantling the car tomorrow, in preparation for the repairs and repainting of the body.

As I quite hate body work, I want to do it thoroughly so I won’t have to worry about it for the next few decades (I hope). So one of the first things to do in the new year is find a good place to get the body acid dipped and/or shot blasted.

Also on the to-do-list is an upgrade for the interior. As mentioned on a few forum's I'm going to use the leather seats which were originally meant for 't Kreng. But after not to many kilometres I had to replace them, because they weren’t supportive enough;

Depending on how the interior trim is structurally I’ll have the panels re-trimmed by a local upholsterer (actually the same guy who did the seats 12 years ago) or order new parts. That will be clear in a few days time.

Merry Christmas

A bit quiet with the TR7’s for the moment. The new suspension I ordered for ‘t Kreng won’t be ready till early next year. But I haven’t been completely idle though.

Last week I visited the guy who’s going to do the bodywork on my TR7 DHC. We went over the car together and he thought he wouldn’t need more than a few days work to rectify the dents and the (little) rust on the body. Plan is to completely strip the body, have it blasted or acid dipped and then sent it over to him by the end of February. So more than enough time to work out what colour she’ll get. The colour choice is down to three options now;

• Platinum Grey (MCA);
• Argent Silver (MCB);
• Triton Green (HAG).

But I wouldn’t be surprised when I switch to a fourth option before she’s in the spray booth!

Also been working out some ideas for the future of ‘t Kreng. As soon as the DHC is back on the road it will be her turn for some rejuvenation work to be carried out. At the moment working on the detailing of another change in the front suspension. For that I contacted one of the better known Escort specialist in Britain, but they haven’t replied to my message yet.

X-mas present for Het Kreng

Ordered a new set of suspension uprights for ‘t Kreng this week from a firm called AST Suspension, which means I am going to adjustable coil overs on all four corners of the car. The great thing about this company is that they take pride in making one-offs for a rather reasonable price.

As space for the top mount is a bit limited at the rear;

I can’t use one of their standard top mounts. So at the moment I am working on the dimensions for the rear top mount. They will have to make up a pair for me, should look more or less like this;

Another advantage is that they can supply rather slim 50mm springs. This is rather convenient as clearance with their standard 60mm springs is a bit tight all round;

The set should be ready just before Christmas. Depending on the progress with the body work on the DHC, I am tempted in doing some welding on ‘t Kreng too. Thinking of welding on a pair of mounting brackets to change the front suspension lay out a bit, thus getting rid of the combined function for the anti-roll-bar. Just might combine this work with the fitting of the new front struts.

Needless to say the front coil overs from ‘t Kreng will find a new home under the DHC.