D'S TRIUMPH PROJECTS

No.1 on the "I hate doing" list

2012-01-21T06:59:00.000-08:00

I have finally started the tedious job of cleaning up the underside of the car.
This is by far the worst job in DIY car restoration and takes forever. First up I soften the underseal/stonechip with thinners which makes the underseal easier to scrape of with a chisel. The remaining layers can then be removed with a cloth soaked in thinner.
I have tried mechanical removal with a wirebrush and a flap-disc but this doesn't work.

I have done most of the boot floor, which has had a lot of welding done at various times, with the new metal not being treated with anything other than stone-chip.. I need to get it as clean as possible before sealing all the joins. I am undecided as to the next coat as ideally the clean metal needs a primer where as the painted bits just need a new layer of stone-chip.. On the spitfire i covered everything in hammerite before applying stone-chip so this is also an option. Before I get this far I need to treat the surface corroded areas with a rust stopper, I think I might try the Bilt Hamber products which have just been introduced in Denmark.

Cables continued

2012-01-07T11:33:00.000-08:00

The rear of the loom is now clipped into place, need to get some bulbs and test the lights! I also fitted the boot closing/lock mechanism... I had expected this to put up a fight but it only took 5 minutes... Only problem is that the lock doesn't work (Can't recall if it worked before the strip-down), I think maybe the key in the keyfob is the wrong one...I have an extra mechanism with key but it´s quite worn, so I might just get another complete unit or source the right key. For now I can open and close the boot lid, and I won't need the locking facility as long as the car is on jack-stands in the garage.
I need to spend some time aligning the bootlid (NOS replacement as the one had a rusty corner), and then I can refit the chrome trim.

Cables & Stuff

2011-12-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

Wiring loom (from boot to connector under the dash) is ready to go in again... I unwrapped the wires and have re wrapped them new self amalgamating tape.. just need to do the boot lid wire which was still in my old boot-lid.. Pictures to come once I get some daylight at home.

I managed to buy a lumenition magnetronic ignition kit incl. coil the other day (saved a little on the current retail price) so this can go in the box with "bling" things for the engine..

I will hopefully start on the engine bay wiring soon, I have bought a couple of relays and some wiring to go with my cibies...

Dropping the rear

2011-11-20T07:02:00.000-08:00

Today I unbolted the subframe (2 bolts securing the frame arms and 2 bolts securing the diff) and lowered it with no drama involved.
Prior to this I had removed the middle section of the exhaust as well as the propshaft.(they can be left in place) I had also undone the lower bolts which hold the shocks to the trailing arms. I had also disconnected the rear brakes.
With a jack under the diff. and scissor jacks under the frame arms I lowered the complete assembly to the ground. I now need to start cleaning the underside of the body and will be refurbishing the subframe assembly as well.

Back on the case

2011-11-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

I have finally made a start on the saloon again.. With a tidy working space (car is now the only thing in the garage) I have jacked up the rear end to begin removal of the rear subframe. I will clean/refurbish this during the next months before refitting. The biggest task will be cleaning the underside of the body (easy access when everything is removed anyway) giving it a lick of paint and a layer of stonechip/underseal.

So far I have removed the rear silencer and next up is disconnecting the propshaft. Everything should come apart fairly easy as I had the subframe of during welding a couple of years ago.
I have also made a start at refitting components removed for the respray - first up were the rear light units. These have been completely stripped and cleaned in my new ultra sonic bath and then reassembled with new gaskets. I gave the brake reflectors a coat of "chrome spray" hopefully this should give a better glare than before.
The rear wiring loom has also been removed and cleaned up and will be re-wrapped in new wiring tape before being refitted. So all in all some small steps but a a decent moral boost!!

A little fresh air for Big-T

2011-10-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

Had the saloon out in the open today for the first time in over a year...
I have hatched a plan to get the project going again and this involved clearing the garage to create some work-space..

It seems that both diff and gearbox seals have given up judging by the amount of oil on the garage floor, so I will probably need to renew these some time soon... adding to the list of things to get done on this marathon project...

What a difference

2011-09-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

Managed to cram in some quality time on the Spit, and am very happy with my little bit of progress.
First up the clutch, which has had an issue with proper engagement when the car was warmed up. I bought a cheap new master cylinder of ebay, which has a slightly larger bore than the original which I fitted along with a new braided clutch hose.

I now have a fully operational clutch, the only issue being a slightly harder pedal.
In hindsight I think the problem with my previous set up was a clutch pipe which had to many sharp bends in it (it looked nice though) where as the new braided hose has no bends or kinks at all. I might try reverting back to my original master cylinder and see if I can get a softer feel and retain the original look.
Next up I decided to try a richer set of needles in the carbs to cure the mixture problems I had. I bunged in the AAO needles (replacing the standard BO needles) and the car is transformed! The mixture at idle is now much more acceptable and there is enough fuel at higher revs as well. I think there is a little more to gain with some more tweaking but this will be a project for next season once the megajolt has been fitted.
So with the car running beautifully I gave it a good clean in readiness for an end of season club run on Sunday.
I had a great day out Sunday enjoying lots of smaller roads along with fellow enthusiasts.. a perfect end to a driving season (which I have mostly missed out on).

OD now almost fixed

2011-09-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Managed to have a look at the spitfire today. I feel a bit guilty having neglected the little thing most of the summer...
It started up without any hassle despite having been dormant for at least a month.. I finally traced my overdrive fault to a defective relay along with some dodgy wiring (my own doing).. I borrowed the horn relay from the saloon which has the OD engaging again, so now I just need to tidy the wiring.
There is a club outing on the 25th and my aim is to have the car out for this final run of the season. I am also replacing the clutch master cylinder with an uprated item along with a new pipe as I hope this will cure my gear shift problems.

A nice day out

2011-08-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday the family and I managed to drive to the DTAK meet in Hillerød... we were in our euro-box, but hopefully next year should see the saloon ready...If not I will be there in the Spitfire!

...Where does the time go?

2011-07-23T03:41:00.000-07:00

Life in general has certainly gotten in the way of Triumph tinkering this year, but I am not complaining!
With the baby and more recently a new job time does indeed fly. House projects are also a priority with the christening of Junior coming up in a month.
2 weekends ago the spitfire moved into (another) temporary home this time just in front of our single garage which houses the saloon.

Earlier this summer I had to return the borrowed distributor, but it seems the old one is fine after I cleaned it and gave it new points and a new cap :-) Yesterday evening I managed a 25min blast to get rid of the cob-webs...
Car is to rich at idle, and a bit lean at rpms - but the thing runs which is currently a priority..
Finances are sorted for a nice new workshop - I am currently drawing up the plans, and a contactor will hopefully start later this year....
In the mean time I hope to do some maintenance in my "tent" when I have a couple of weeks of work in about a months time..The list is long...

New arrival and OD tinkering

2011-05-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I updated the blog... I have had my hands full with general house work and a new arrival! This new arrival has also resulted in a new set of wheels... alloy tubular spaceframe with a canvas body... Seems to run fine with a softer tire pressure than the Triumphs!

Yesterday I was allocated some free time so I tinkered with the spitfire's overdrive (which isn't engaging). I removed the gearbox cover and then removed the little panel on the gearbox to check solenoid movement. There was no movement when triggered through the relay but it worked fine when tested with a live feed from the ignition switch (same place that feeds the relay).

Next up I checked various connections with a multimeter... At the relay terminal I had 12.66 volts with the switch engaged. I also had 12.66 at the solenoid end of the wire from the relay. I checked the voltage at the ignition switch (feedding the relay) and this was 12.73 volts. Seems a bit strange that 0.07 volts could make a difference so I will have to check again with another multimeter..... In the meantime I will get a couple of extra relays of Ebay and also buy some more wiring/connectors so I can tidy up the install once it is working again..

First proper drive of the year

2011-04-23T03:37:00.000-07:00

Had the spit out for a drive last night, an hour or so with the missus (junior is expected within a week so this was the last chance)...

Engine (which has a new crank/bearings) seems fine with good oil-pressure, but I still have a clutch problem when warm. From stand still the car can be difficult to get into gear, but pumping the pedal helps.. I will try bleeding the clutch again. OD has stopped working, but the relay clicks as it should.. will have a look at the solenoid when bleeding the clutch....

We have lift-off

2011-04-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

Some tinkereing has resulted in a Spitfire that now starts and stops on the button! result!
I fitted a borrowed distributor last week along with seniors battery (my own wouldn't charge) and the engine spluttered into life immediately.

Today I took the car for a cautios spin up and down the street, but it was lacking power. The car was running but the timing was out, so after hooking up the timing gun and re-setting the timing (6BTDC) the car ran fine. Now I just need to refit the airfilters and tweek the mixture before taking it for a proper drive.

Somehow the steering coloumn has worked itself loose to the point where I can move the entire bracket in the cockpit..need to nip this up also.

So it seems that I missed out on a lot of fun last summer at least partly because of a duff dizzy! Bring on the mega-jolt!!!

Saloon Seats

2011-03-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Had a clearout the other day and my "old" seats were in the way.

So today I decided to strip one, as they were badly worn anyway and unfit for use.
I will save the frames as spares. The vinyl from the seat covers (cloth centers are torn) can be used for trimming the interior etc. All the clips have also gone in the spares box.
I would not recommend pulling the seats apart if they can be re-used, I presume they are a swine to put back together.

This is how I took my seat apart:
Remove the single screw securing the lever.

Remove the screws securing the the trim to the frame (one in each corner).

Remove the small trim caps on the map pockets and remove the screws.

Remove the clips securing the trim to the frame.

Remove the wire clips securing the seat cover to the frame along with the pirelli webbing straps, and then pull off the back cover.

Remove the clips securing the seat squab. Remove the rubber diagraphm.

Pull of the seat cover and squab (the foam on mine was glued to the frame).

Future projects

2011-03-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

Mappable ignition and fueling...
I am no where near doing any of this, as I still have lots to learn when it comes to SUs and Strombergs..my reasoning being that there is no point in going "space-age" before all the Old School tricks have been perfected...

I have a megajolt-kit for the spit and most of the parts needed for the conversion...

For the saloon I can go a bit further, as the orginal 6cyl PI setup can be modified for EFI..
https://sites.google.com/a/mintylamb.co.uk/triumph2000efi/home

Ultimately of course I hope to build a sweet 2,5EFI for the "PI" lingering in my lockup, but that is still lightyears away...

Gearing up for "THE EVENT" 2011

2011-03-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

The countdown for the best Triumph event of the year has now begun... RDRR 2011!!

I certainly hope I will make it this year... I completed the run in 2007, but didn't quite make it for the 2009 event.
My "usual" co-driver will be staying home this year as we are expecting a "little one" in 2 months time. I have been granted a free pass for the RDRR weekend which I am very happy with.

So I have 2 options:
The first is to blag a ride with someone from the Triumph fraternity. This would mean leaving all the prep-work for the event up to the owner... nice and easy!!
The second is to use something from my own "fleet". The prep work would then be up to me.

I can't see the Saloon being ready for September (I am taking my time putting it together) but the Spit with its freshly installed OD Box should be up to the job.
So getting the Spit up and running has just moved to number one on the priorities list... I am already dreaming of cruising the West-coast of Jutland in top/overdrive with mega-jolted ignition.... BLISS!!

Check out triumphdk.dk for further info....

Blast-off

2011-03-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a mate and I made the trip to a show in Fredericia. We had a busy schedule as the main purpose of the trip was to pick up one of these babies:
http://www.powerplustools.dk/shop/sandblaeser-kabine-al-227p.html
I got it cheap (and I mean really cheap) from my mates father who is about to complete his third E-Type resto......
We had a great day browsing the classics at the show, and luckily for me I am quite content with my current selection of cars, though I could do with a few more saloons if I had the space!
After lunch we had a good look at the resto work completed on the E-type, and I must say I was really impressed with the standard. I snapped a few pictures, but I think this car should be seen in the flesh when completed.
I have been assured that one of the first outings well be the CHGP 2011(not racing).

I had hoped to find something interesting at one of the jumble stands at the show, but I returned home empty handed... On the plus side as I have mentioned previously the screenwash pump on the saloon is identical to the one on a jaguar....so the hunt continues!

And then some..

2011-02-23T03:37:00.000-08:00

What a boring blog this is eh?
Well I´m off work today, so might as well do some more rambling....
I am sure at some point I will manage to "blog" something of significance to someone.
Last thing remotely Triumph related was to visit a fellow Saloon enthusiast, who has just aquired two more saloons (what a HERO!!). You have all seen the pictures on the other blogs so I won't upload mine as they are the same. I came home with various bits including a radiator (for recon) and MKII Dash, a near "mint" center console as well as the later style gauges. I also "pinched" a bonnet stay on my way out...I am re-visiting the place late March so I better bring some cash and a trailer for more bits.
So what to do with these parts ? I already have the parts to complete saloon number 1, but the radiator will come in handy for the PI project, and the center console is also destinned for this project.(that just leaves me with the spare bought on EBAY last year). I am stilling missing a diff engine/box for the PI but I won't bother with these untill I have adressed rust etc....(so that will probably be at least 5 years)
Now that I have the space (well space for the cars still has to be built) I am also planning to do a bit more of the work which has previously been "farmed" out.
I have been offered a blasting cabinet for peanuts, and I also have semi-industrial compressor on the way. The first items to get a home "make-over" will be my ARB-setup for the saloon (subframe and dragstruts" and the TR6 cast manifold.

If this goes well I am also considering a DIY powder-coating setup... I have access to pottery kiln which I think will hold two wheels at a time for the curing process...
But first things first - getting a Triumph on the road , though ramblings and future plans are much easier when you have a cold.

RIP POLO

2011-01-14T07:41:00.000-08:00

Today we i handed in the keys to my trusty Polo which has served us for 4 years....
Very sad but I am sure it wouldn't pass its MOT.
Our "new" car is 98 Escort STW which will hopefully prove equally reliable so I can devote tinkering time to the "real" cars...

I seem to spend to much time thinking about doing something with the Triumphs without actually doing anything... this has got to change!

Windscreen washer

2011-01-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

On the first day of the new year I managed to sneak in a Triumph related project!!
(first one in months)

I checked that the saloon was still in the garage - which hasn't been opened since October. There isn't room to work on the car in there currently as all available space around the car is filled with various materials from the house project... at least it is nice and dry in there.

I then went down to the cellar where I have my parts yet to be refitted and a spares stash. I dug out the windscreen washer bottle and the washer motor which was a replacent item (mounted on the suspension turret with double sided tape when I got the car).
The original washer motor is mounted in a "Lucas" box on top of the washer bottle lid and according to the workshop manual this drives s "submerged centrifugal pump". I still have the original Lucas lid (it has some chips though) and the lid still has the complete pump assemply which turns freely.
To get the orginal pump working i will need a complete assemply or at least the motor and a drive coupling to connect to the submerged pump.

I have looked briefly on e-bay but have been unable to locate the "black box & gubbins", and a correct spec. reproduction (incl new bottle and bracket) retails @£90 !!
Until I find the parts I need I will stick to the replacement which I have tested (mental note - always prime the motor as it only turns freely when "wet"). Instead of the remote mounting I will put in on the washer bottle lid, as this (as far as I can see) was how later models came equipped anyway.
New generic washer motors are only arond @10 but after a clean and some paint this one will be fine!!

I am contemplating adding a relay but this may be a bit overkill for a "summer" car.
If anyone has a complete washer motor and box please get in touch.
I am also on the lookout for a front door check strap (MKII type without hooked end).

First update with Spit in hibernation

2010-11-20T23:52:00.000-08:00

Helped senior turn the Spit around in his garage which means I am now theoretically able to work on the front of the car.

We noticed a sizeable pool of oil (a bit more than a few drops) on the floor, so seems something is still not quite right despite the bottom end rebuild... well thats another job then.

Will I manage to get both cars back on the road for next year?

Ending the season

2010-11-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

Well today was the day the season ended...
Senior has just completed a garage extension, and I have been offered a dry and warm place to keep the spitifire this winter.
The little bugger wouldn't start so we towed it over. (I think I flooded it, but the timing also seems way out, even though it was set up and ran a month ago and hasn't been touched since)

This season has been a bit crap, with the only upside being that I managed to get the engine back together and into the car. I haven't managed to sort the running, so my aim for spring is to start at the fuel tank and work my way forward to ignition and carbs slowly and methodicaly to find the fault.

I haven't touched the saloon for ages but at least it is warm and dry in my own single garage.

I need to sort the rust-bubbles on the spit this winter, and would also like to move along with the mega-jolt install... Lets hope I get a bit of tinkering time soon.

Exhausting times

2010-10-30T00:46:00.000-07:00

Nothing new on the Triumph front but car related none the less...
Dropped the exhaust on the daily hack (again) this time I am fitting a new u-clamp that can be tightened!! (well not new per say but in better shape than the current one).

As for the Triumphs the Spit is still sulking with ignition problems - it will be deported to seniors nice dry and warm garage for the following months, and the Saloon is still having a beuaty sleep in my own garage.

Teething problems continued

2010-09-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

Managed to go about 50kms to a club meet today... good turnout with a few spits, a vitesse a saloon and a TR3. There was also a guest appearence by a lovely Jensen V8 thingy. (forgot my camera though)

The topic of the meet was carbs and tuning, so I managed to get my car on "the operating table". Preliminary diagnosis revealed that my throttle discs needed to be reset, as I even though I had syncronised them at idle speed they went out of sync when throttle was applied. With this done it was also much easier to get an acceptable idle speed.
The test run showed that the engine was still fluttery, and after a bit of parts swapping (dist. cap / coil leads) some genious tried disconnecting the vacuum. I was then dispersed for a test run and there was a noticeable improvement.

Running out of time we kept the vaccum disconnected and gave it a bit more advance.

My mission now is to check the vacuum unit as well as the internal gobbins of the distributor to see where the problem lies.

Other than that I had a good run totaling 100kms. Sadly my overdrive packed up - but I am sure this is just an electrical fault which will be easily rectified..

Handbrake fixed...

2010-09-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

After a good rummage in the spares pile i couldn't find a suitable clip/washer for the handbrake.

Today i went to my local discount hardware store and bought a pack of these. (I am not sure I would trust these with anything more critical, but they are nice to have if you get stuck temporarily)

Deciding that I din't feel like swearing to much i used a clamp to conpress the bracket and everything then came together quite easily.

Next up is that damned choke knob and then hopefully a nice drive on Sunday to a club meet.

Hopefully a quick fix

2010-09-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

Today I managed a little car tinkering (in between various social commitments and house chores) so set to investigate the handbrake mechanism.
Seats and carpet removed I was actually quite relieved to find nothing broken!! It seems the mechanism was missing some sort of retaining washer causing the handbrake to twist out of the tunnel bracket.

The only thing I need to do is bend back the brackets, fit everything back together this time remembering the retainer (hopefully I have one lying around somewhere)....
I still need to fix the choke mechanism though!

One down one to go

2010-08-28T03:59:00.000-07:00

With the help of senior we cranked the engine yesterday with a plug removed and up against the block to check for a spark... there was a a spark so plug was fitted again.
The engine started right up, so it must have been flooded thursday when it wouldn't start. So problem solved, though I still have to fix my choke mechanism.
I still believe there is something iffy with my mixture and choke as there is a very fine line between drowning the engine and getting it up to running temperature.
Hopefully I will get to "dive" in to the handbrake issue later today.

Not the best of days

2010-08-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

Seeing as the weather was quite nice today I went to start up the Spitfire, which had been "nesting" for about three weeks.
At first I couldn't get it to run and once the bonnet was up I discovered a severe leak from the hose out of the fuel-pump. The fuel leaked down on my freshly painted starter motor and took of the heat resistant paint....
I renewed the hose and tried to start the car again, which is when my choke cable let go at the linkage end. Once refitted and tightened I pulled the choke to test everything. This time the choke knob came of the cable (this was the one I had put together with a fast drying metal epoxy, which obviously isn't strong enough). I will need to fix this as I am set on retaining the original choke knob.
After a rummage in my spares box I found a suitable cable with a handle which I "bodged" in to get the car running.
I got the car started and after re-synching the carbs it sounded sweet. I went in to have dinner with my girlfriend and declared the the Spit ready for a nice evening cruise.
After dinner I started the car and drove it down the driveway... As I reached the gate the engine cut out and now the bugger refuses to start despite several attempts!!! There is plenty of fuel at the carbs so this weekend I will check for a spark .. Any suggestions welcome...

Oh and as an added bonus I also managed to mess up my handbrake by pulling to hard... At first I thought I had broken a cable, but they seem fine so I think the fault is in the handle itself or in the ratchet mechanism which feels a little strange now! Of course to check this I will have to remove the carpet, which means I will have to take out the seats and seat runners. OH JOY...

The daily grind

2010-08-23T06:35:00.000-07:00

Have been back at work for a week now and the weather has been really bad.
Haven't done anything Triumph related bar ordering one of these:
http://dancovershop.dk/product.asp?product=2304
This will house the Spitfire as the Saloon is in the single garage which I currently have at the house.
The plan is to extend the garage so it can house both cars, but this project has been postponed until spring...

Hopefully we will get some fair weather soon so I can put some kms on the spifire before winter sets in.

Moving day

2010-08-13T06:22:00.000-07:00

Some of yesterday was spent moving my "project PI" from its temporary resting place in my parent´s front garden to my lock-up.

I have had the PI for about a year, but haven't really had the time to see how rotten it really is.
It is missing its engine, gearbox and diff, but is otherwise complete. Rumour has it that this particular PI in its prime was fitted with a tuned TR5 unit. The engine and gearbox are now resting in a GT6 MKI (i have met the current owner, though the car is now up for sale), and the diff and driveshafts are with another Triumph owner.
I got the rest of the car for free, and luckily I had a spare set of driveshafts which are now loosely fitted to make the car mobile.

The car is now tucked away awaiting my attention, I have a vision of a Royal Blue PI without bumbers and roofgutter trim with TR5/early TR6 spec engine etc. I am contemplating EFI but also quite like the thought of keeping it "old school" with Lucas injection.
The car will most certainly need a great deal of bodywork including sills arches and door bottoms (it is showing signs of previous repairs but I think corosion has set in again). Of course I will also need to procure and engine and gearbox but this can wait until the bodywork is finished.

But before even thinking of getting stuck into the PI I have promised myself to complete both the Spitifre and other Saloon rebuilds.....

Fine tuning

2010-08-07T01:21:00.000-07:00

Spit is running and can be used "as is" but there is scope for a mucher better car still. I can feel it is still less than "the sum" of its parts.
I am still not happy with the mixture - it is to rich at idle and to lean up the rev-range. I tested this by pulling the choke during acceleration. With the choke out there is much more "punch" in the power pick up - but the downside is that the car then stalls when idling because of the rich mixture.
I have a slightly richer needle profile to try - but I am sure the car should be running better even on standard needles ?!!

Senior suggested i re-vistit my timing so I might also try alterring this before going to a richer set of needles...

Other than that my car needs a god clean and a polish.

It's now officially a runner

2010-08-04T01:08:00.000-07:00

Had the house to myself yesterday, so of course headed for the Spitfire parked in the drive-way.
I managed to get my other half to help me re-bleed the clutc before she left.

I started off by draining the raditiator, and then removed the thermostat housing. There was a fair amount of gunk in there. I think maybe I should have spent some time cleaning the waterways when I had the engine out. What I couln't understand was that the fluid in the radiator seemed very clean compared to the fluid in the block.

With the thermostat out I popped it into a pot on the stove to check if it did indeed open and close, which it did . I think maybe all the gunk i cleaned off has prevented it from opening fully thereby restricting cirkulation through the radiator.

With the everything fitted up I started the car and let it warm up, and all seemed fine so I set to further tuning of the carbs. The car is running better and better and has a respectable idle @800-900 rpms, but I have ordered some richer needles which should make it even better matched to the K&N filters.

By afternoon I was set for a longer testdrive so I drove the app. 30kms to my TR6 mate.
I am happy to report everything works as it should, and motorway driving is very relaxed crusing at somewhere around 100kms @3500 rpms. (can't bee sure of the exact figures as my speedo is broken and the revcounter is off by 500-600rpms).

A few teething problems

2010-08-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

I must admit it is taking a little bit longer to "leave" the car alone and just drive it than I had imagined..
Issues keep popping up, but I guess as long as I can solve them I can put them down as experience.

When I put the gearbox tunnel cover back on I realised that the OD wiring was to short to reach around the outside of the bulkhead and inside the cover. To solve this temporarily I "fabbed" up some wires and crimped on some bullet connectors. I am not impressed by the crimp type bullets despite having spent some cash on a proper bullet crimping tool. I will order some wiring with the correct colour coding and some solder type bullets as a winter project. I need to do a bit of re-wiring on the saloon headlight loom as well (I intend to add relays and use the old loom as a trigger switch only, adding a new power wire) so I will be buying various items from:
http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/home/homepage.php

With the tunnel cover loosely fitted I wanted to bolt down the "H-bracket" but the threads in the chassis are past their best. I am still undecided whether I should cut a larger thread, but I will make one last attempt at cleaning the existing threads and adding a new set of bolts.

When I started the car today it decided to leak from the front float chamber, so I re-set the float hight and added a new gasket. Problem solved!

After a test-drive I am still not quite satisfied with the fueling. I still feel as if I am missing some power so will try to go a tad richer (I had set the carbs to extra flats before the drive) still. The plug colour indicated the mixture was spot on, but seeing that I have still only done "town driving" I would expect a more "sooty" appearence.

Another issue was the gear change which got worse after about a 10 minute drive... this was what had me take the car of the road last time. I sincerely hope that it turns out to be air in the clutch system and not crank endflaot as last time!! I can't see any movement so fingers crossed...

Lastly the engine seemed to get very hot, despite not showing more than 2/3 on the temp gauge (normal). I have a feeling that I have a blocked thermostat and this with a fuel misture which is still on the lean side creates excessive heat.

Seems I still have a long way to go - before returning to putting the saloon back together.

TR6 in the pouring rain

2010-07-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

Went to see my TR6 mate yesterday.

Plan of action was to get the car to run on Strombergs (previously on webers which didn't work) and we had enlisted expert help from a fellow TR6 owner.

There really is a lot going on with these US spec. Strombergs, with all sorts of valves and emision wizardry which I have yet to comprehend!!

We ran the car up and down the motorway a couple of times (in the rain), pulling in to a service station to check plug colour. I had the role of TRIUMPH SUPPORT VEHICHLE in my rusty Polo and enjoyed seeing the TR getting some welly through the deep puddles.

The first three plugs were a nice "beige" indicating a near perfect mixture where as the rears were very sooty. No amount of needle tweeking helped, so after some dissasembly we found that the float was set incorrectly with to much fuel being slushed in.

With this rectified and no other ajustments the car now ran lean!!!

The car is now running but still needs some tweeking to get the mixture spot on.

My evening was completed as we were treated to pizza, beer and homemade cake.

Almost there

2010-07-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

Well - managed a test drive the day before yesterday, and the OD does works just as it should engaging nicely in 3rd and 4rth!

I wasn't entirely happy with the way the engine was running so enlisted "senior" for a second oppinion... after a bit of head scratching and some more fetling he diagnosed 2 problems areas related to my freshly "rebuilt carbs".
1. The rear carb's jet was a smidgen of center resulting in 2-3mm of friction before the needle and piston assembly cleared and moved freely.
2. The needles were both pushed to far in to the pistons which caused problems with the mixture ajustments.

After correcting these errors the engine ran much sweeter.

The car has now been declared fit for summer motoring !!

Click Click finally

2010-07-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

OD solenoid is now engaging as it should!

After testing everything I found out that I had misread the wiring diagram.
I had connected the loom at the starter solenoid when I should have connected it at the ignition switch. Once this was rectified I had the column switch engaging the relay as I could hear the familiar "click". I was still missing power from the relay to solenoid but after a lot of head scratching I remembered that my ignition switch isn´t wired "by the book". Once I switched the wire feeding the constant power from ignition to relay I could also power the solenoid !

Now I am just waiting for the rain to clear before taking a little test drive...

All those little jobs

2010-07-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

Before tackling the (hopefully) final tune-up I have busied my self with some of those little jobs which always seem to pop up..

I noticed my choke was sticking, despite having testing the linkages etc. before everything was fitted..
I hope to have cured the problem by adding a longer choke-cable, with a bit more travel.. (the old one was to short because i had cut it at the linkage during dissasembly)

I didn't have a new cable with the correct "knob" so I modied my old one. I used a dremel to cut out the old cable and then "glued" a new cable in with a quick setting metal paste. The new cable is a bit thinner than the old one and is actually a cable for a bicycle gear selector...

As the cable was drying I set to wiring up the OD - quite simple or so I thought!!
Despite following the wiring diagram in the workshop manual, and double checking with an online version I have been unsucsessfull in getting the solenoid to trigger via the switch. I have tested the relay, the column switch and the inhibitor switch as well as the solenoid and they all work inddividually. Next up is testing the connections on the OD loom (which I bought new along with the column switch).

Luckily my summer holiday started today so I have a bit more time to tinker than usual.

First Testdrive

2010-07-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

I have driven the beast today!

Still needs some fettling but everything seems to be working! I have yet to wire up the overdrive.

Pics to come later on....

IT LIVES

2010-07-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

It's now official, the spit is running again...
Fired up yesterday and kept decent oil pressure etc.

I had to ditch the "Grosse Jets" as I couln't get them to seal, so as a quick fix i fitted the float chamber lids incl. floats and old valves from my "dirty" carb set.

I need to tidy up the wiring and will go for a test-drive soon.

Start up - first attempt.

2010-07-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

Got everything pretty much back together - added fluids and so on.

Car didn't start though, and I had a large leak from the rear float chamber, and fuel running out of the carb mouths.
So next on the list is setting the floats, and I think I will have to double check that my timing isn't 180 degrees out!

On the bright side the oil warning light went out quickly and the engine turned over nice and easy.

Think I will have a nice runner soon!!

Carb fiddling

2010-07-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

Had a good session on the carbs.
I have two complete pairs both sourced from UK Triumph breakers a couple of years ago. I cleaned and fitted one set when the Spit was put back on the road some years ago. I was never happy with them so switched to the "dirty" untouched set which ran OK.
Now I have done a mini rebuild on the "clean" set, which included fitting new spindels, and I swapped the float-needle valves for a set of "grose-jets". I also fitted a second hand jet bearing carrier to one of the carb bodies as I couldn't get the jet properly centralised. Now I have no slack anywhere, and the carbs and linkage are fitted to the car.

I plan on a complete rebuild of the "dirty" set this winter, but first I need to get my hands on a copy of "How to build and powertune SUs"!!

Ideally next year once the mega-jolt has been fitted and I have some maps, I would like to visit a rolling road with a selection of needles and some perfect carbs.

Oil Filter

2010-07-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

Thought I had an oil filter sussed, but it didn't fit.... Seems some of the online databases I used were wrong!
My research had led me to a filter which had all the correct dimensions, except the thread for the adaptor turned out to be 3/4-16 and I need a 5/8-16!! Never mind at least it fits the spin on conversion I have on the saloon.

I guess I will have to order one in from one of the "specialists", though I would much rather pick these things up from my local motor factor.

Exhaust

2010-07-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Fitted the exhaust which just needs a little more fettling before I can lower the car again..

I am getting a bit tired of my limited "workshop" which currently consists of a very uneven driveway... Took me about 40 minutes to get the car up on the ramps, time I would much rather spend fixing the car!

Next up is fitting the remaining ancilaries to the engine, connecting the loom and firing her up gain...

Further progress

2010-07-07T22:54:00.000-07:00

Propshaft is now fitted with no modifications to the tunnel, which I am quite happy with.
Exhaust manifold is also on - and I have sourced some better clamps for the collector which was a bit iffy before.
Ideally the manifold could do with some head-matching and a bit of porting, but this will be a winter project.

I have also decided to do a mini rehash of my SUs before I put them back on.

I will post some pics this weekend.

A sunny afternoon

2010-06-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

Senior came over today, and we installed the engine/gearbox.
Everything went smoothly, the engine "crane" built by senior for the job performed faultlessly!
It has an adjustable cross-beam so can also be used for dropping the engine in the saloon etc.
Next on the list is propshaft and exhaust.

Getting there

2010-06-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

A little progress..
Hopefully nex weekend the engine will go in!
My "mini" rebuild has included the following:

Recon Crank incl. new conrod bearings and main bearings (new thrust washers)
New timing chain
Used D-Type Gearbox serviced with a new selector bush kit & new inhibitor switch(s)
New Clutch release bearing
Crank pulley fitted with triggerwheel in preperation for megajolt
New propshaft

Saloon is patiently waiting in the background.

Out and about and back to the Bat-Cave

2010-06-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

Spent the day yesterday at a mate´s place.. He has a very nice TR6 which we tried to get to run on a set of rebuilt Stromberg 175s. I have previously managed to tune my spit and saloon, but we got absolutely nowhere with the TR!! I have put out a distress call on the Danish Triumph list, so hopefully someone wil come to the rescue. No pictures as we opted to spend the time with some beers instead of documenting our failure.

Mean while back at the bat-cave I am slowly progressing with the spit engine.. next up is fitting the timing chain.

Also received these for the saloon along with some other nice bits.

Trial fit & relay fitment

2010-06-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

Waiting for some bits to complete assembly of engine and box...
I shuffled the box into the car today to see how things looked with the mount/mounting bracket.
I have bought a prop/gearbox cover plate, but hopefully I won't have to cut into the prop-tunnel after all..

I had a Lucas 6RA relay in my spares stash(actually a horn relay from a 2000 saloon). My plan was to mount it opposite the horn relay letting the relays share the same mounting bracket.
I found out that the mounting flanges were wrong for my application after I had "colour coded" it to match the spit horn relay.
After some head scratching I came up with a bracket mounted to the coil ballast resistor, which isn't in use anyway.

I will have to come up with something else when I ditch the coil and go Megajolt, I will probably just get the right relay from ebay.

Bearing Cap Mod

2010-06-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my "modified" bearing cap (some might call it a bodge).

The sides have been drilled and tapped to accept two screws to replace the worn down "shoulders". Ideally the screws should have been brass, as the ones used will eat into the crank if the thrusts drop out.

I will probably modify the cap further in the future - this seems to be a better option

http://www.oocities.com/motorcity/speedway/1080/thrustwasherinstall.html

Other than that i wanted to refit my clutch release arm but managed to mash up the pin locking plate... A new one is on the way

2000MKII AKA "The Ferry"

2010-06-02T03:32:00.000-07:00

Just a quick intro to the Saloon project...

Currently in "bits" after the respray. Car has a rebult bottom end with new crank/shells and new piston rings. I have fitted a Vitesse/GT6 spec. cam and new followers.
Cylinder head has been reconditioned with hardended valve seats new valves etc.

Front suspension has been rebushed and fitted with lowered progressive rate springs and I have the bits to rebuild the rear as well.
I have just purchased 15" alloys as well as a front anti rollbar to complete the suspension "package".

Car should be back on the road later this year when it will also be featuring a TR6 exhaust manifold and a free flow exhaust system.

Background for crankproject

2010-06-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

So why am I changing the crank?

Initially I had difficulty engaing gears so I thought I might as well pull the engine and fit the spare OD Box I had acquired.

Engine/Box on its way out, very easy with a hoist or a ceiling mounted pulley. Access to the engine is even better with the bonnet removed.

Once I got the block on the workbench I noticed visible movement in the flywheel. The amount of movement could only mean one thing... knackered thrust washeres, and sure enough one of the little buggers had dropped out and in to the sump.

Since getting the car I have had issues with crank endfloat, but the final straw has probaly been the 2008 RDRR (a 2000km cross country dash) when I began to have issues with the clutch and gearchange.

The OLD crank is scrap with a large groove on the rear face - where it has been in contact with the rear bearing cap. The bearing cap has also been damaged but will be modded to get the car running again.

More to come.

First draft

2010-06-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my blog!

Current and ongoing projects are my 1968 MKIII Spitfire and my 1972 MKII 2000 Saloon.
First up is the spitfire lovingly reffered to as "Futte" (which only makes sense if you understand Danish).
This was rebuilt a few years ago but is now in for a crank change and an OD Box conversion.

Pics of the crank and a little bearing cap "mod" will be up soon....