Neil Clark

Thanks Josef - I've been away up at the Great British Car Journey in Derbyshire and couldn't check the forum. I've already started cutting up the box!

Yes, fuse box and flasher unit on the bulkhead. Not sure whether to cannibalise it or send it back and make something up..

Good point, eventually I will learn from my mistakes!

The steering rack clamp plates turn out to be either aftermarket "home made" or from another model. The slots were too short. Of course I couldn't find my hub splitter and tried tapping the track rod ends out. One was fine but I have a very dodgy left elbow, missed the bottom of the other TRE and damaged the thread beyond repair. Hopefully, after a lot of filing the extended slots seem enough so I've re-assembled it and, thankfully, have a spare TRE in a storage box. I've also got the core plug now and a handbrake cover that seems to fit. The passenger parcel shelf I inherited had just looked wrong, made up of bits of an original and Gorilla tape and had to be ripped out when I dismantled the car. I've splashed out on the right item from Rimmers but it's not right, being too "deep" for the knee rail and even pushed hard against the back of the battery box sticks our 1" or so. If I bodge it I won't be able to get to the fuse box etc without destroying it.

That's great Clive

This year the TSSC had a small stand at MG Live at Silverstone which was a nice surprise. It's a busy weekend of clubs, suppliers, lots of excellent racing etc, lots of space. Because there is lots of space is there any merit in suggesting that Triumph take a bigger part in MG Live next year and avoid diluting the potential number of attendees by having too many events?

Had a happy day bumbling about locally. I need to re-seat the steering rack clamp plates on the bushes because I can't have set them closely enough to the chassis sides and the rack started to slide very slightly left and right when turning the wheel. Timing is a little out and needs doing but when the car picks up the engine is lovely. Spoke to several people on the phone about the core plug leak repair without much progress. Then I went to a place I had heard about less than a mile away, tucked in an old industrial yard. Found a spotless, beautifully organised workshop with an elderly Rolls Royce being worked on and a couple of more modern cars. Found we have a mutual friend but neither of us knew of the other. Clearly know what they are doing, they'll do the core plug at the back of the engine in September as they have a waiting list, and their estimate is really sensible. As I left, they said "look after her". If they work out I've a couple of jobs need doing on the B GT soon too. The MG / Triumph place I like, I trust and I used over in Twickenham when the B GT was stolen and damaged is so very busy (and not cheap) that it will be great if they turn out to be as good as at first sight.

That's a great shame.

Thanks Rob

Do you want to let one go? I would be happy to buy a stop / tail light assembly. My lenses are fine, it's just one of the base units.

It's a great solution! I made the strap out of Velcro. The hood folds neatly into the space between the cockpit back panel and the fuel tank.

It's definitely weeping. I've been trimming the interior this month so deliberately not running the engine to see where the problem lies. I've no garage to work in and this is almost certainly going to need the head off so that I can work on it.

Mine was done by TJR Bodyworx, 7 Ardath Rod, Kings Norton, B38 9PN tel:07894 947487. Including a lot of hours of positioning, cutting and welding to fit the Mk1 hinges to a Mk3 chassis front cross member it was £3,500 inc VAT. The owner is Gaz and his customer base is largely upmarket Porsche / Lamborghini etc so quality is good. Worth going to see him with photos. I deliberately didn't ask for perfection because the body panels have many flaws but I am delighted. Photo is from the day I collected it.

Thanks Colin. I'll give it a go!

The springy steel bulb contact has fractured from the mounting so the bulb doesn't have a decent contact. Is there a solution that avoids buying a new assembly?

Good point

My neighbour a few doors away tells me that his elderly Dad, having seen the project under way here and said nothing, admits that he used to work on the Spitfire assembly line in his youth! Next time he's down to London I will try to get him to sit for a cuppa and chat and then write it up.

I get it Peter! Brilliantly helpful, thanks.

Thanks Peter. Yes, avoid the Covid. My daughter has had it three times despite vaccinations and being extremely fit!

Peter just to clarify, do you mean that the strap for the roof frame bows would be held by the centre bolt at the top of my back panel?

That makes sense Adrian thank you. I recovered the boot panel I inherited with the car and found that it too was bit of hand cut hardboard. The glue had separated from the vinyl so we re-glued and fitted it they afternoon and it looks OK. The spare wheel is brand new and unwrapped but it all seems to fit correctly.

It looks very much like that. Magnifying the Mk1&2 and then the Mk3 pictures on their website it looks as if the press studs on the Mk3 panel are smaller but I can't see any other variations. Maybe it was for securing the tonneau if rolled up?

There seem to have been a lot of little tweaks to the rear compartment between versions but I was able to check that this was correct for the Mk1. The back panel in front of the fuel tank is, as you can see, a bit tatty at the top because the place where I stored that panel for the last 2 1/2 years was often boiling hot and I didn't realise that the glue would be affected. It's held with Velcro strips so easy to lift out and work on to tidy up. The PO has fitted press studs at the bottom of the back panel which it looks like will engage with the hood press studs when it's stored on the back parcel shelf. Do you have those?

Getting the rear wheel arch trim done was a bit of a struggle but once that was done it all came together. Still got the parcel shelf etc to re-fit and the radio blanking plate but finally starting to feel like a complete car. Now I need to drive it around a bit to check that my work on the steering has been worthwhile.

By the way, if using a Bostik contact aerosol the time to tack is far far far shorter than Newton's instructions suggest!