Bfg

^ I've spoken with these folk, over in Brierley Hill - West Midlands, who are primarily Villiers and other motorcycle spares specialists, and tbh the chap wasn't particularly forthcoming and said they were very busy. I'm to send the shoes to them, with details of what car they are from, whether I want standard width, wider or narrower, larger diameter to take up where a drum has been machined / refaced ?, and what the intended use would be. They will then select which lining material they think best. Cost for a motorcycle brakes is £21+ including return postage, and £30 per wheel for a car. I didn't ask but I presume that price also includes return p&p costs. I suggesting the Mintex M20 was the preferred for TR fast road use and racing, but that I'd not be driving the car hard. I asked what lining material he might use, to which he replied that I wouldn't be fitting nor buying that lining material. In short, he wasn't going to tell me, which I guess is fine as he doesn't know me from Adam and is prudent to keep his commercial secrets to himself. Turnaround time is a couple of weeks. I've also spoken with another advertiser on e-bay called JimJackServices, who are in Cumbernauld ..which I'm guessing is north of Watford gap, and according to their website is into all sorts of commercial brake and clutch lining services. I asked similar question of the more friendly gent on the phone, and he suggested he'd use a modern woven lining (non-asbestos) for these brake shoes. Regarding Mintex M20 used by the harder-use spec., he presumed they had more metal particles, which (I think) inferred were better for heat transfer when used hard. Their price was £60 + VAT + p&p which he suggested would be around about £90 for a set. Turnaround time is a few days. As I don't know one from another, all I can do is to try one and see if I can feel the difference between the old and a new set. I'll let you know how I get on. Pete

Thanks Johny, I'll give them a call (once my T-mobile top-up has kicked in).

Getting new brake shoes for this car is not a problem, it's just a question of which ones to get. Many appear to be unbranded and others are clones by companies who have bought the brand names of the better companies of the past era, and who use the same brake lining material on different steel shoe plates ..irrespective of vehicle weight, weight bias, front or rear wheel drive, or intended use. Unlike brake pads for the front discs - there seems to be very little interest in them, and almost no recommendations. It seems as if rear brake shoes are something which many owners find barely ever wear out (..nor make much difference) ..which must surely be because they are actually too hard for infrequent (cold) use.? As long as they pass an MoT handbrake test, then that'll do. There cannot be a more ignored component on a car. But my take is ; even if the rear brakes only contribute to 40% of overall straight line braking, then I'd much rather have a true 40% rather than 20%. After some web browsing it would appear that Mintex M20 liner is used for TR4 - TR6 fast road use and racing. As Mintex do not make shoes to fit, independent companies are relining existing shoes with this material c.£130 - £145 set.! That may be the way to go, for me to buy the friction material for 9" dia x 1-3/4" shoes and rivet them on myself. Pete

Yesterday I did, or attempted to do, a few jobs around the car. . . ^ the bonnet's LHS cone was seized in and therefore not adjustable. After cracking the overpaint off and scraping it out of the thread with a Stanley-knife blade I applied penetrating and let it to soak in ..while I attempted other jobs. After a while, and a few intermittent attempts, I managed to sweat it off, clean it up, Copaslip the thread and refit the cone 1/8" higher. I need to do something with the worn hinge on that side and its bonnet frame to panel attachment, but for the meantime, that another little job done without unintentional paint being chipped off .. little tick The other job I particularly wanted another go at was less obliging. . . ^ Front RHS lower wishbone trunnion. I tried before and it wouldn't come apart, so I reassembled it with a copious dousing of penetrating fluids and left it, hoping thereafter twisting and vibration from driving would help free it up a little more. However that corner of the car squeaks within this trunnion ..so as you can see - I crawled under and battled again. Clearly rust is washing out and I can just about turn the bolt, but those trunnion sleeves are still locked fast onto it. No coconut for today thank you While back and forth to the seized bonnet cone, I happened to note this peculiar detail . . . ..see green arrow ^ this is the fuel pipe from the tank, and the black rubber pipe is where its route turns up to the pump. There were no clips on it, and the bottom of that ('2013 unleaded') rubber pipe is cracked and otherwise just one half of its end was cocked on by 1/8". It was seeping, but at such a slow rate that the petrol evaporated as it ran over the chassis. I was lucky, not least because I've only recently added almost £60 of fuel to the tank and.. had that pipe come off - the whole tank would have drained. I've swapped the pipe for a length which is twice as long and, like we do in the marine industry, I've two pipe clips on either end of it. I'll give myself a tick for being so lucky but then need to remove it ..for my not having spotted it beforehand, so .. Pete

not arguing, but might I ask why ?

Cheers, but what about the rear - shoes ? I haven't any old stock and don't know what brand or part-number to look out for. Is there any difference between brake shoes for live-axle and IRS cars.? Aside from the early TR's which had larger drums, I believe the Tr4 and TR4A brakes are the same size ..but that doesn't mean what's best for one is also best in the other, one brake might generally be cooler than the other, for example. And I don't know if the brake master cylinder &/or calipers, or bias / balance ratios changed over the years ? Pete

^ Thanks Colin, I haven't attended to the brakes yet, that is aside from freeing off and adjusting the handbrakes. From a browse through the file, I see rear wheel cylinders were bought in Jan '04 and again in Oct '12, but no evidence of brake shoes from the past 22 years. I speculate any leaked brake fluid must have been washed off, as the wear of those shoes corresponds to they not having been replaced in many miles. When swapping out the half shaft on Saturday I ran around the brake drum and its shoe to de-glaze them, but I think its time to invest in new shoes. A brake caliper seal kit was bought in Jan '01, brake pads in Aug '02, and a master cylinder in Dec '08. Since 2001 the car's MoT mileages record she's doe 34,400 miles, including the 1100 miles I've driven in the last year. I don't know if brake lining materials deteriorate over decades, but as the caliper seals are perished again, I think it well worthwhile to soon pull both front and rear brakes apart and to reset the clock with new seals and pads. On the TR Register forum > Tr4/Tr4A opinions seem to favour Mintex 1144 brake pads, but these are for fast road use and perhaps better suited to the TR6 and faster-road drivers than myself. Others have suggested Ferodo FER167 as being good for a TR4A, so I think I'll try a set of those. I can't find any advice on which brake shoes to buy for the rear, save Stuart (on the TR Forum) saying that he's happy with original asbestos ones. Any thoughts ? Pete

I've now done 300 miles since putting the car back on the road a week ago < here > was from Sunday. And "touch wood" all is going well now the rear of the car is accord with the front ! I've done various other jobs this past week, including pulling out the unused wires to the flasher relay (from when it was positioned in the passenger footwell), but that was only part of my connecting up the windscreen washer pump. This is something I presume the last owner fitted to save the effort of having to push a washer pump several times. However the push button switch was iffy, the washer pump is iffy, and its electrical-earth was also iffy, so all together I ended up chasing my tail. I got it in the end but then the rubber into which the jets screw was perished and cracked and so water squirted every-which-way but hardly at the windscreen.!! The driver's side now works, but I'll need to change the rubber windscreen wiper blocks at some time ..and if the pump gives me problems again it'll be flung and I'll go back to a manually operated one. I've also (re)corrected the front suspension / steering toe-in. Now that the back is good to go the toe-in at the front could go back to standard spec. The handling is now fine and happily undramatic. Tracking is straight. Tyre pressures I'd likewise reset to 30psi all around (a datum I'll adjust from) ..but after my drive on Sunday and the car's transmission of poor road surfaces and transverse ridges on certain road sections, I'll next try them at 28psi. Feeling the temperature of the hubs and brakes after a run, I noted the rear right was just a little warmer than the rear left and so I've slackened the brake adjuster off 1/4 of a turn as the handbrake was just slightly binding. Brakes are not much to write home about but I guess that's largely because I'm used to the servo assisted of modern cars. Having now got a car with a fraction of the shakes & rattles she had 14 months ago - I sought, to identify a reverberating harmonic, not quite but almost a rumble noise ..especially apparent on corners. That it turned out, with the aid of a passenger to listen, was thought to be coming from the rear. And as this noise sympathised with road speeds, rather than engine engine or driveshaft revs, it was shortlisted to be coming from the LH half-shaft & or that wheel-bearing. Down-under Investigation found slack in the inboard UJ. So, here we go again. I did this on Saturday afternoon, just 1-3/4 hr from start to finish, including a bit of cleaning up, replacing one grease nipple and the four wheel studs (from short wire wheel ones to the longer ones used for pressed steel wheel). Job done, and the noise has either gone altogether or is beneath annoyance levels. Katie's very much more enjoyable to drive without it. The diff &/or gearbox is still noisy, which resembles the old mini 850 of my youth, but I don't know how much of that is 1960's 'original' swan-song versus wear. And/or how much that is from my having a quiet exhaust where very little is concealed. As things are settling, we're getting a few squeaks ..so I'll need to go around and make sure all the body mounts are pinched up, and to see what else might be making little noises. ^ and I've dropped Katie's front number plate one grille bar. Seen here at Flixton, enjoying the weather in good company with a 1956 Lockheed T33A and a DeHavilland Sea Vixen (XJ482 ; 1958-1972). As you might gather I'm leaving the bumpers off for the time being. Pete

is Sue the SWMBO ?

also a sight cheaper to restore !

That was I'm sure a great relief. my horn occasional toots as I turn the wheel, only when people are around though. I need to replace the horn push if anyone has a spare in black on white (rather than blue on white) cheers, Pete

Katie alongside a Gloster Javelin F(AW).9R which was built in 1958 and saw service until 1966, the year before Katie (amongst the last of her line) was first registered. 80 mile round trip from home, country village route, and in this weather very a pleasant trundle. Flixton had a good crowd today as the Copdock bike club also visit with around about 120 bikes, and there was also a contingent of amazingly spotless classic Honda (Owners Club), and then again a few of the 'Distinguished Gentlemen' motorcycle club on their way back from a charity run. One of the bike's there was a limited edition (just 500) CCM 600cc single street style bike. There was a flying model club too and also static model attendees too. I enjoyed a good banter with some of the museum's volunteer staff, and some other old gaffers who came to visit this extraordinary museum. Otherwise, classic cars spotted included ; a couple of early short wheelbase Land Rovers, a Morris Minor 1000, a plastic bumper MGB-GT, a Rover P6 2000, and what looked to be an early 1960's Bentley Continental coupe. Very nice too. On the way back, just a few miles down the road, I dropped in at Billingford Mill . . . The mill was built in 1859-60 to replace a post mill that had succumbed to excessive winds. The mill closed down in 1959, which is somewhat amazing in light of that being in the Javelin's era ..and its twin turbo-jet with 13, 390lb of thrust (with reheat). The mill is now in the capable care of 'The Norfolk Windmill Trust' ..and friends of the windmill, who raised funds for restoration between 2017 and 21. It's a tranquil place to visit and perhaps stop for a picnic. Katie, behaved very well, although I was shocked when I stopped for petrol and 30 litres cost close to £60.! Aside from that things are settling (I've done 300 miles these past 7 days) and I'm getting a few squeaks so perhaps tomorrow I'll wander around and check that bolts are pinched up. I'll also drop the tyre pressures again, things jiggle a bit on the old Suffolk back roads that may appreciate a little more compliance. All in all though confidence is building Bidding you a pleasant summer's evening. Pete

it's only one nut to undo to remove the wheel Colin. Smartarze madness n my methods with Katie you see. doing all I needed to do in the footwells before seats and steering wheel were refitted.

Today I think I'll head up to The Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton, NR35 1NZ (off the B1062 not far from Bungay) this afternoon in Katie if anyone wants to meet me there for a wander and a cuppa. < here > Well worth a visit if you haven't been recently Pete

Oiled up or sooted up ? As this was an issue previously, might I ask - have you tried the next hotter sparkplugs ? By coincidence this was being discussed at our last TSSC meeting, and a number suggested that 25w/50 was too viscous. I didn't have an opinion, but was interested to learn. One of the chaps said that it was one of the first things their rolling-road did - to flush the oil out and replace it with very light oil. Perhaps with a lighter oil in the dash-pots, and lighter springs, the carbs might have responded more quickly to the drop in revs (and venturi flow) at tick over, rather than stalling. I don't know - I am asking. I'm wondering if Glen has set the carbs up for faster road use ..and those springs necessitate a faster tickover ? again I'm only asking. ...You are a heckling toad at times Pete your implication regarding Glen's work sounds rather unfair to me. ..be careful you don't topple off that high horse of yours. Personally, I don't read BC's posts as being in any way dissatisfied. On the contrary he was simply asking a very sensible question ..which I thought was answered well by NM. It certainly enlightened me. Furthermore, BC did state that . . . Surely, Glen might only make an estimation of the settings required for any particular engine and environmental conditions ? ..according to the information he is given & whether he has direct experience or feedback of those particular 'modifications'. By the sound of it - setting things up on the rolling road was on the cards anyway. Otherwise he's done right in returning the previous needles "in case they might suit better". That may be read as a disclaimer ..as he hadn't set the carbs up on the car himself. . . Glen rebuilt a set of carbs for me, but then I did send him the complete setup with rods and linkages still on the inlet manifold. He refurbished the lot beautifully. Perhaps he then has a better chance of adjusting n' balancing things to work straight-out-of-the-box, so to speak. Personally speaking, I will use Glen again for Katie's SU carbs. Pete

To be honest I wasn't impressed with the handling at all. Indeed considering the chassis modifications, the amount of investigation and checking, adjusting and checking again of the rear suspension back in October, and the work I put into the steel gearbox tunnel and getting it to fit well to stiffen the car ..you might well say I'm pretty disappointed. . . I lowered the front tyre pressures from 30 psi to 27-1/2 and that settled the overly quick response of the steering. And then I adjusted the track rod end to add a little more toe-in to the front wheel geometry, That again noticeably improved the feel of the car and its steering. But still she was over-steering, and feeling as if there was too much roll, and that the tyres were about to loose their grip around even quite modest country lane corners. That's not a reassuring feeling. I couldn't understand it. Something was wrong, but what ? I thought I'd been through everything.. And then in the evening it clicked.. Subsequent to setting the rear suspension's tracking, camber, and ride height, in October, which itself was interrupted by an intrusive hernia op - I turned my attention to the front suspension and then to the broken-off grease nipples on the half shafts, the insecure fuel & brake pipes, the exhaust run causing the pipe to clonk against the chassis, and the #@$%ing OIL LEAK !!! from the gearbox and O/D. Plus water dripping from the engine-block drain plug onto / into the starter motor, and the dynamo giving up its ghost, all inbetween my repeatedly getting rained upon .. which then set me about extending the car's polytunnel.. .. and before I knew it, it was November and I was replacing the RHS trailing arm. < November 6th - here > Quote "There are quite a few detail differences, and the castings were clearly re-tooled, so it may be that the new one may be from a later car, ie., a TR6 (edit ; that was incorrect - its not from a TR6). Aside from the fact that Katie's had a big STANPART cast into it, whereas its replacement doesn't - the most obvious difference is in the stiffening web between the coil spring cup and the tube which encloses the half-shaft. I haven't run a tape measure over them to compare but as the part numbers are the same (marked onto each of these arms) I'm guessing they are dimensionally interchangeable. I flipping hope so anyway !" After fitting those, I immediately moved over to dealing with the loose steering and torn rack gaiters, the seized lower-wishbone trunnions, the brakes and seized hand-brake adjusters. There was no break.. it just went on and on until I found myself pulling the gearbox out ..to correct its stripped threads.. What I'd neglected to do, back in mid-November, was to recheck the rear suspension's geometry ..post my swapping out that trailing arm. So that's what I've been doing ..and correcting, yesterday afternoon and today. There's really not a lot to show you that I've not already posted, last October, but yesterday I corrected the rear wheel toe-out tracking by removing the two shims under the outboard trailing arm bracket. It was toe out, whereas it should be zero to 1/16" toe in. After a road test.. Yes, I could again feel the improvement - very much better tracking on straight but undulating roads surfaces, and less under-steer around corners ..but still things didn't feel right. What I was doing was in the right direction but not enough. Today, I checked the rear wheel's camber, not by loading bricks onto the leather seats, but simply as a comparison between the two sides. The chassis was 1/2" lower under the RHS chassis rail (by the body mount) and the RHS rear wheel's camber measured +1.81 degrees (a 10mm difference between a vertical spirit level to the top & bottom of the rim). As this was in an unladen state, I didn't know what it should be, but for direct comparison the LHS rear-wheel-camber measured +0.34 degrees, in the same state. When the car is loaded (persons in it, etc., and around corners) the trailing arms turn to negative camber, which in turn helps keep the tyre's contact patch flat to the road ..and the car's handling feels a little more surefooted. I knew one of the trailing-arm brackets would need to be changed, and the inboard bracket already had it polybush pivot in the lowest position. So whatever I did.. it would have to be to the outboard bracket (by the sill). This was a two-notch bracket fitted with those notches down. Referring to the model and the charts I draw back in October I opted to swap that bracket for a one-notch, with its notch down. This would alter the pivot-axis (raise that polybush) by 1/2" . . . ^ The yellow line in the middle shows the angle the polybushes were. The magenta line shows the angle I was adjusting things to. That angle does look sorta radical (as it is drawn to scale) but drastic measures were clearly needed. I also knew this bracket change would raise the suspension's ride height on that one side, but as it was now sitting low again (with this trailing arm). lower than the passenger side anyway - I chose to accept it. ^ Again to avoid torturing the polybush with twist (which is also a pain when fitting) I slotted just one of the bracket's mounting holes sideways to allow it and the polybush axis to align with the inboard bracket and its polybush. I've illustrated this across the bottom of the previous drawing, where you can see the rotated brackets. ^ Yes, the bracket could be swapped out, and refitted, without dismantling anything else off the trailing arm. In fact all else I needed to do was to slacken the two chassis-fixing-bolts of the inboard bracket to get the twist I needed to remove (and refit) the outboard bracket's bolts. ^ to get the outer bracket's pivot (polybush) bolt to align, and back in (finger pushed in only), I did have to ease the trailing arm forward. against the tension of the spring pushing it backwards. I simply used a block and a wooden wedge between the rear of the trailing arm and the chassis rail to do that. I say 'simply' but the awkwardness of this is in doing it on your own and not being able to see as and when the bolt hole aligns (hence the wedge to progressively work the block outwards, which in turn swivels the arm and that polybush forward. My test drive was limited by numpties driving slowly ..whenever I wanted to push Katie faster around corners ..but first impressions of this setup are that the car now handles very much better. Upon our return, and with the suspension settled, I checked the camber of each rear wheel (again without driver / passenger's weight but..) as a comparison against each other, when measured from the vertical spirit-level to the wheel rims. Each are now the same with just 2mm difference (0.06 degrees positive camber) between the top and bottom measurements to the rim. Suspension ride height (underside of chassis to level floor) is now around about 6-1/8". That's a little more than I would have preferred but more importantly.. they are very close to being the same It is no longer sagging on the driver's side (..until I get in ! ) And the rear wheels tracking on both sides.. is also now the same and good to go.. I cannot say why this replacement swinging arm, with the same part number, should have been different enough (production tolerances that slack ? ) to necessitate these changes, but that's immaterial because the IRS suspension's design, via the selection and orientation of those polybush brackets, easily accommodates them. Job done. Hopefully more enjoyable driving from now on. Bidding you a good evening, Pete

Girl in a TR boot ? ..she'll have to be a blow-up ! . . . purely for safety reasons, a buoyancy-aid, when parking next to the water you understand

Drop me a quick note as to when you may be passing by and then please do drop in. Pete

I remember having the film in my DvD collection but I don't recall the scene you mention. I'll have to check it out. I'm leaving the bumpers off for the time being. I've duly informed the insurance company, and locally added LED number-plate lamps (originally the lamps were in the bumper over-riders). I don't like a lot of weight hanging off the front or rear of a car, and I like the look of the car with pressed steel wheels and without the bumpers, but will probably drop the front number plate one grille-bar. Pete

Thanks Colin The new float-level jets and needle in the carbs seems to cured their incontinence. I did note a sudden squirt out of the front one, after she had been ticking over for a long while, but I'v not seen nor whiffed evidence of it happening again. Still I'm glad to not have the wiring loom running under them any longer. I've no problem with others not sharing the same good taste as I have ! I like the green carpets, save the less-than-invisible patchwork around the gear-change gaiter, although I would accept they do look better when viewed from inside the car than set against the black seats. Conversely, the black carpets, which were previously in the car, looked good (aside from them showing every spot of dirt & countryside dust) from outside the car, but were dismally dark and gloomy when sitting within. Conversely you'll have to concede that not many owners have the foresight to colour-match the engine block with the carpets ! I find the driver's seat, the seat back in particular, is surprisingly firm. The backrest squab feels quite a flat board in comparison to the TR4 originals or indeed to those in my Chrysler. As a consequence, of my not settling into the squab, there is less lateral support from the seat than I had expected. But as the underside of my shoulder is hard against the folded-hood's frame that is not an issue around left handers. And because I'm pushed (by the hood frame) across to sit in the left hand side of the seat, then that side's backrest bolster supports me around right handers. It works for now but it will be interesting to see what happens when I throw the hood-frame out. Leg room is good now, as is my eye-line (height) through the windscreen. Very surprisingly for someone of my size - that is midway down the screen. I will need to invest in a new windscreen though as this one is badly scratched and otherwise has 50+ years of tiny stone chips and weld splatter burns. I cannot remember which but I think a spitfire &/or GT6 screen fits these TR's frame. See you at the next meeting ? Pete

Thanks Gentlemen, It's good to get Katie back on the road although at present I have more mistrust than trust, and so am constantly on the alert for issues. And of course if your focused on finding a problem, inevitably you will. And the more you drive, the more you'll find. Yesterday afternoon I drove across to Bawdsey Quay, locked my bag in the boot of a car whose agreed insurance-value is close to double my annual income, and walked away anxious that someone might touch the car. And so what if they did ! ? . . . Get over it Pete, it's not a Fabergé egg.! The mileage driven this weekend records as 109miles, but I don't know how accurate that is because the speedo reads 8mph slow. Still.. none of the wheels have fallen off, the gearbox hasn't dumped its contents along the road, she hasn't burst into flames, the engine oil pressure is fine, and the water temperature is low and steady ..even though the exhaust manifolds get up & beyond 300 deg. c. Oh how the older mind works.. ! Life seemed very much sweeter when I was an ignorant 20 year old, enjoying the financial independence of my first job, and the car was an £80 MkII Spitfire that I constantly drove as if being chased by a blue flashing light (..as on occasion I was). And when I parked, look back over my shoulder ..and with a broad goofy grin think "that was bloody fantastic". Hopefully in time and with familiarity I'll find my way back to that sort of mindset. Pete

I'm running Katie on new Continental Contact CT22 165/80 R15 tyres, and this afternoon I dropped the front tyre pressures from 30psi to 27-28 psi., which seems to have improved matters (..or else I'm just a little more used to it). The rear tyres are still at 30psi. Pete

what's next ?? .. indeed . . . Take her for a drive, away from demanding traffic conditions in the Suffolk countryside ..and then stop to check that all is well (it was). ^ the sill is yet to be repainted, and there are a hundred other jobs still to do, but hopefully now Katie will be a driver on which I can spend a few hours here and there to potter around doing, inbetween my finally enjoying driving a TR4. I like not having the bumpers on and the pressed steel wheels. To my eye's she looks a purposeful British sports car ..and less a boulevarderie. In response to Katie's mid-life crisis ? I think she looks fabulous ! ^ the interior now has the MX-5 seats with their adjustable seat backs which are surprisingly firm but very much more acceptable than the TR4A seats previously fitted. I like the colour of the carpets and the black seats, but each look better in the evening than in the bright daylight. I also like her black dashboard and warning lights, and in driving - my revisions to which switch does what. Relative to the B-posts (which I have not moved !) you can see how far back I now have the seats. Alas, the hood frame will soon have to go, to get its hinged joint out of my shoulder. ^ Under-bonnet is nothing special, but at the same time it's uncluttered, purposeful and clean. The car's handling, still needs a little fettling, or is that just me not used to the narrow track of a 1960's car and such quick steering.? Possible the suspension will settle a little, but in the meantime I'll lower the front tyre pressures a couple of psi. I'll also recheck the tracking. Noise levels and rattles when driving are now exceptional, a contradiction to what they were, and in stark contrast to my friend Rich's TR4 or Mike's TR4A each with their distinctive exhaust notes. I'm very happy with the new LED lights, together with the sidelights I've added into the headlamp bowls ..and I ought now trust the wiring is going to behave nicely. While driving, the ammeter shows reads a charge of about 5amp, and so I'll charge the battery to see if that settles down a little. An oil drip from the bell housing (rear crank scroll I guess) and a a couple more from the overdrive are annoying. It's on the job list but hopefully they'll not become a more serious issue. Condensation in the engine I'm anxious about and so I've bought a pot of K-seal to see if that resolves the issue. . . . BIG THANKS to everyone who has supported me, both in the supply of parts, with advice and experience, and just through being there through this forum. It's no secret that I've been at the end of my tether a number of times. Even my neighbours know only too well when things are not going well ! But I now hope to just drive the car ..very often, to become familiar with her, and to steadily work through any further teething problems. Thank you. Pete

. . . (re)fitting carpets and seats. I'll try to keep this brief, because it's not applicable to most owners or restorers ..because I've fitted used carpets that were not previously in this car. I bought this set from Conrad (aka OpenRoad, on the TR forum and on e-bay) a while back ..and they were in good condition ..regarding minimal wear &/or sun degradation, but they had also been crudely cut when previously fitted, and then also suffered a little damage when removed as a result of their having being glued & screwed down. These had in places pulled tuffs out. This is no reflection on Conrad who was transparent in his description, and offered the set for just £40 ..if I recall correctly, which is a fraction of the cost of a new set. I primarily bought them to see if I liked green carpets in my red car.? This carpet set might be described as 'Deep pile tufted carpet, using 100% polypropylene fibre with a latex backing and hand bound edges ', which roughly translated means of 'economy quality, of generally poor fit ..but which will do '. There are no claims as to original specification. ^ The primary issue with these carpets is that their edges fray when cut, and they don't like to be handled, in particular being folded or creased. This is because like a cheap tarp, the polypropylene (?) mesh that holds it all together is of loose weave and rather adverse to being glued to. And the supposed latex backing, is quite unlike the incredibly flexible and strong, impervious membrane that we might be familiar with in natural latex. And so, as a result of very little handling you'll begin to see cracked backing, tuffs dropping out, and fraying ..like this ^. Of course if the carpets are fitted and then never handled then such issues will not be an issue. Aside from edge binding, there is an inexpensive and easy-to-apply process which helps. This may be worthwhile for floor mats that are lifted out for cleaning &/or for drying. And that is to to paint the back face of the carpet, and carefully along any unbound edges, with liquid latex. ^ These are the (back faces) of the used carpet set from the driver's footwell. I've painted the liquid latex (bought off e-bay / used for mould making) and have laid the carpets face down and flat to dry (the oil-can is just a weight to flatten a curled up corner of that carpet). The latex covers the surface and penetrates the cracks in the carpet's original backing to bind it all together. As very worthwhile bonuses, the carpets become non-slip, the latex contributes to sound absorption, and is a waterproof membrane. You'll see that the above carpet has holes cut for seat runner bolts. These were crudely done and fraying. Although rarely seen, I wanted to fill those holes and lessen their visual impact ..not least because with my now fitting MX-5 seats the bolt pattern is different. . . ^ I think the above is self explanatory, save to note that the lay (pile) of the tuffs in a patch should align with the lay of the tuffs in the carpet. It's clearly not an invisible repair but for there being mostly under the seats - it'll do ! ^ from the modified seat brackets being refitted.. the new carpet stud positions could be marked (impressions) and holes were cut with an apple corer. Liquid latex was again carefully painted around the these hole's edges. ^ That'll do. I'm not fitting carpet to the inner sill. For the time being at least I'll leave that red. The footwell side-kick carpet had no backing card nor vinyl edging (to secure the vulnerable / kicked edge under the door seal), so all I could do was to cut it straight, seal the edge with latex and then use Velcro along that back-edge to prevent it from hanging loose. Unfortunately I didn't have black Velcro so I'll go back and paint the just-seen edge with the black seat's upholstery paint. The sharp eyes observer will note the edge binding at the forward end of the floor mat - tbh., I cheated with that . . . ^ the footwell carpet and its bulkhead end-kick were a single piece, and because I wanted easy-to-lift-out floor mats, I marked and chopped off the piece up the bulkhead. Again I sealed the cut edges with latex. I then refitted the bulkhead piece upside own (inverted). So it's top vinyl edge-binding is what you can see, now along the floor under the pedals (..it's not the floor mat which has binding along its edge). Moving on.. to tackle the impossible . . . ^ This is what I started with. The previous carpet fitter had not been very precise in his cutting around the gear change, because it wasn't necessary to do so. In the TR4A - TR6, the dashboard support / H-frame includes a big ugly box to hide this. ^ The crushing of the carpet pile, by the H-frame's box, were to prove impossible to get out, and the only carpet I had (used and similarly hacked) to try and make the above look any better were the narrow strips, with the pile running a different way, off the inner sills. I did try. . . ^ the result speaks for itself. I consoled myself that my efforts would at least be a useful pattern for new carpets to be made. Seats are back in, but on the driver's side I had to remove the cover from the seat-back's tilt mechanism, for the time being at least. The trim down the B-post was just too tight for the seat to go back as far as I need it to. In due course I'll take the cardboard out of that trim, just locally where the seat is widest. On the passenger side there's also an interference fit, but the seat pushes back and I doubt if it will be moved very often. Door trim panels and steering wheel are now back on, tyre pressures checked, oil and water rechecked.. what's next ?? . . . . . .

' Out and about in a Triumph ' seems like it ought to be a topic for us all to participate in, so it's opportune that Katie and I can hopefully set the wheels rolling . . . It's been a long time but it had to happen.. Katie is back on the road. ! First trip out in Katie for a very long time ..seemingly with many of those hours & days with my being wedged under the car or else inverted in the foot-wells ! After a final check, the intent was simply to take her around the block.. but she was driving so quietly and smoothly that I found myself over at Suffolk Water Park. That was just a round trip of 20 miles ..but it's streets ahead of where we were a month ago. Where did you drive to in your Triumph today ? Pete