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Thread: Tales form the workshop - The chassis is nearly ready! *Update posting #9

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    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Tales form the workshop - The chassis is nearly ready! *Update posting #9

    In fact, it would have been finished if we hadn't had a down-time morning due to the fact that we were running out of bolts and nuts. Most bolts and nuts are UNCs and a few are UNFs. Not something you pull off the shelf at the local hardware store. All this hardware is from Würth but even that company has a shipping problem every now and then. That took the best part of Wednesday morning.

    Anyway, with a ton of fresh hardware on the workbench, work restarted Thursday morning. I suppose that the completed chassis is back on its wheels next week. Then it's brake line time. Not the Triumph way of connecting this (i.e. using as less material as possible between fixtures...). No, this is going to be beautifully shaped, following the chassis' contours. It takes some extra time, but the result will look so much nicer.

    The first 4 pics were taken last Wednesday when work was down. The other 9 were taken 48 hrs later, this morning.

























    Last edited by thieuster; 6th December 2017 at 20:45.

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    Have you got a build thread on PH or other forum?

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    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ranger 6 View Post
    Have you got a build thread on PH or other forum?
    No, only here. Not even mentioned on other forums. Reason: no nitwits here commenting the build. When I did my own TR3A 10 yrs ago, I got a lot of flack for using a modern day wiring loom, modern vented brakes, non original interior etc. Here we are among members who have an interest in mechanics and tech builds in general. I enjoy posting here and answering q's. Instead of thinking: "...why did I post this?"

    M.

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    I could never hope to own a properly restored car but I love seeing these beauties being brought back to life. Thanks for sharing with us :)

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    Grand Master magirus's Avatar
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    Great to see some progress, and looking forward to seeing it standing with wheels on!
    F.T.F.A.

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    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JonRA View Post
    I could never hope to own a properly restored car but I love seeing these beauties being brought back to life. Thanks for sharing with us :)
    You’re welcome!

    Remember that it are the men in the workshop who do all the hard work. I am the one for the coffee, the cake, the internet searches, the source of names and addresses where we can find parts. And oh, something with money at the end of the month

    An example: yesterday evening I've been searching high and low for something I wanted to discuss with the owner of the TR this morning. His TR has -originally- no overdrive. Most TRs have one and benefit from it (500 rpm less in every gear). But getting a single OD isn't easy; you need the correct prop shaft as well and also a mounting plate - but you can make that yourself. Most g/boxed + ODs are bought on a exchange program: deliver a knackered one and buy a freshly restored specimen. It's hard to find someone willing to sell a single OD of a complete g/box + OD and prop without and exchange unit. But I happen to know an address of a guy who...

    On the other hand, I wouldn't go the route of another old box+OD anymore. My TR has one, restored et all, but still not flawless. No 10 yrs on, I should have opted for a modern 5 speed box; Ford T9, Toyota Celica (rwd). One can buy conversion kits for that.
    But I stumbled upon an E30's Getrag box! The one with the removable bell housing as under the M3! Prices for these boxes are high, but so is the price for a TR g/box+OD+prop!
    Last edited by thieuster; 1st December 2017 at 19:50.

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    You sound a bit like Tim Shaw off 'Car SOS' :)

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    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JonRA View Post
    You sound a bit like Tim Shaw off 'Car SOS' :)
    Indeed, i hadn't thought about that. The thing is that TS gets a lot of money at the end of the month, I have to pay people every month. Furthermore, I lack his 'social skills' (for some people that's positive, for others negative...). Point I want to make is that the guys in the shop are far more technically skilled than I am. And a lot quicker. I admire that tremendously.

    I know that both have a different skill set: one loves to tackle 'short term' project: repairing, welding, fault finding etc. The other has the patience to start a project and finish it. And when it's not good enough, it's torn apart again and redone (especially interior jobs). I don't ask what the sequence of the job is. As I have found out, it is impossible (e.g.) to stay focussed on the front end of the car for 3 days. Sometimes it is good to step away and do something else. The whole proces is divided into sections (like now: getting the chassis on its wheels again). And it's important to know what the next project will be. In this case: drive train. That's 'Tim Shaw' time: making sure everything is ready for the next step; parts, overhauled engine, enough bolts(...) and perhaps the discussion about the g/box.

    M

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    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Tales form the workshop - The chassis is nearly ready! *Update posting #9

    Progress up until last Tuesday evening. Things are looking better every day.
    Slowly but surely, the attention turns towards the engine. Well, that is... the powder coater finished the air intake/plenum. From a distance, it looks like silk!

    Menno








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    Grand Master magirus's Avatar
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    Looking good!
    F.T.F.A.

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    Looking good!

    You’ll have fun setting all the suspension geometry when the car’s finished. Triumph factory manual explains how to do it but it’s still a tricky job. Well worth taking the time and effort to get it right, I did that with mine and it certainly drove better for it. Front’s easyto set up, rear is not so easy! Mine had lowered springs and that made the job harder.

    Still think you should’ve built it right hand drive!

    Paul

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    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Yes, setting up the rear suspension will be fun. The car came with 5 shims on each side. It's reassembled as it was: 2 or 3 shims per attachment point. We're lucky to have a very good tyre fitter closeby. That company gets it 'clientėle' from all around the country. On certain days it is a feast for the eye! Complet with a Ferrari Daytona (a real one) on the ramps last Summer. We'll leave it to them to set it up perfectly.

    Menno

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    The brown-backed Triumph factory manual has all the data/info for suspension settings, but a lot of it is common sense. Basically, the distance between the front and back wheels on each side has to be almost identical, the diagonal measurements have to be identical, and the camber on the back wheels has to be the same. The toe-in has also to be correct at the back. Taking shims in and out will everything due to the angles of the pick-up points on the chassis, and it can take some time to get it right. Unfortunately I sold my manuals when I got rid of the car several years back so I don`t have the data any longer. According to the manual CP and CR cars have different numbers of shims fitted.......can`t understand why that should be, Triumph did some strange things in those days.

    Front is easier provided the wishbones have been assembled the right way around!.....it's easy to get them wrong and the car ends up with too much negative camber on the front plus the ride height isn`t correct. Usually it's obvious which way the wishbone arms go but it isn`t on the TR6, the manual shows the slight difference between the right and wrong way.

    From what I remember, I set the front up first using shims. I measured the camber angle using a spirit level and feeler gauges against the wheel rim. This gave me a good approximation and allowed me to get things in the right ball-park. Then I sorted out the back as best I could. I then took the car to a garage with correct equipment and they made further adjustments using the shims at the back. In the end my car was just within tolerances, and it drove noticeably sharper.

    Good luck with the car, seeing this is making me wish I still owned mine.

    Paul

  14. #14
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    When cars are restored to this sort of standard I often think it a shame to put the body back on the chassis.

    I remember years ago when Steve Langton was restoring my 1925 3 Ltr Bentley, once the running gear and the ash frame were complete I wanted to say stop. Bentley long gone, sold for £695, that'll give you a clue how long ago. :)

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    Really enjoyable. Thank you for posting.

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    Quote Originally Posted by thieuster View Post
    No, only here. Not even mentioned on other forums. Reason: no nitwits here commenting the build.....
    Thanks - I'm with you on that :-)

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