Richeee

Another 6 hours of my life today that i will not get back and its not done yet. My resolve to replace it when working is even stronger. First of replace the Variable Valve Control belt. I did watch a dealers video from the mid 90's on how it actually works. When i find it i will try and post. To change the belt you have to relock the cams. They were previously locked but funny enough to split the head and block you have to remove the rear of the timing cover. This is only doable by removing the belt pulleys. Great bit of design. Next to repair the the sender connecotor i broke. Solder and jb weld to rescue. Time to put gaskets in place. Head then lifted into place. Sounds so much like a haynes manual. But standing on a little stool hanging into the engine bay is not easy. Straight legs and bent back. Not exactly what the doctor ordered. Time for new stretch bolts. 20n followed by 2 lots of 180 degrees. But my decent torque only starts at 30. So set at 30 let of 10 on vernier. Then noted position. Tried with my christmas cracker cheapy and surprise both the same. So now sorted. Turning 180 though the paint ony tell tales was not dry. Dots on the bolts. So i actually transferred new dots as i progressed. But i was able to differentiate. Also making sure i kept to best 90 degree turns as i could. Followed by cam cover gasket and cam cover. Of course using the best tool of the day. The retractable magnet. Next tried to lock the cams again. Even though it will be unset. But trying at every stage to lock. This time using an led mirror. Right now exhaust manifold back on. Under the car to fit downpipe using new shiny gasket. Plenum box bolted on and a myriad of electrical connectors and pipes, fuel and emmissions. Good job taken photos. Time to pack up as going out for tea. And i find a heat shield bracket i had forgotten to fix to exhaust. 16 hours in and .... To be continued.

It does, and front. But on a sdeways engine it did confuse me. But front is towards the timing belts. In reality the head is not symetrical and can only go one way. But i am probably the fool that foolproof was designed to test.

Right , these have arrived. A multi layered shim gasket and a box of goodies. Just like christmas. New belts, bolts, tensioner, pump, and assorted bits and pieces. The head gasket sppears to comprise of 5 layers of steel shims comprising 1 head gasket which is pressed in to conrours around the penetrations and then there is a seperate gasket flat gasket called a saver gasket that goes on top. Full instructions included with the gaskets. Time will tell. To be continued.

Exactly. This was purchased for 650. Spent 400 on tyres, fuel pump and cam belt kit. That gave me a 5 year open top runaround. Now probably time to pass on. Wont pass on a dud because im not like that and enjoy working on things as much as driving some times. So will be got going with a decent head kit. But tinkering sat on a tyre of a spit , vitesse or herald is certainly beguiling me back in.

Realise that its not Triumph but......... Well 10 hours in now and head finally removed. Could not physically with my big hands get to some of the inlet manifold bolts that were on the underside of the manifold. So.that came out attached to the head. Broke 1 wire connector that was still attached. Whoops. Solder required. All i have to do now is order head gasket kit that includes water pump timing belts etc, and try and fix back together. When all done i may well dispose and get another Triumph as a runabout. Whilst my Herald Restoration stumbles on. Bit annoying that on drive it day a. Nothing to drive as broken, and b. Would have liked to have driven a Triumph anyway. Thats for the future. The redish seals aroung the oil water ways were all pretty soft. Gap in one. Not sure if originally there or i rub it off whilst cleaning. Anyway it should stayed put. Thanks for indulging in a different marque but as we have a non triumph section in forum and we all like looking at pictures........... To be continued.

2 weeks ago had not found where my coolant was going. Had suspicions but not certain as sniff test proved negative. Anyway had water sloshing around inside so interior had to come out , which would also expose the 2 steel pipes that ran in a trough in the center console to the heater. As opposed to the 2 that run under the car to the radiator. These are stainless steel and i replaced these 5 years ago. Must admit did feel sorry for my parts car and ignominiously having to act as an airer for the mg's carpets and trim. All dry but coolant dropped again. 20mm in the last 2 weeks. cheched the dipstick and found it was way above full. Pulled the sump plug and firstly coolant came out followed by oil. Heard of two tone music. Now have 2 tone oil. Access on mgf is not good. Had changed the cam belts before. This time just have to go a bit further and change the head gasket for a multi layer all singing dancing one. So jolly dee. Off to work Finished up with exhaust manifold off. Cam belt removed. Engine mounts and frame out through small hole by rear wheel. Plenum box , throttle body removed. Inlet manifold unbollted. But then thwarted as could not locate my torx heads for the cylinder head bolts. Had 1/4 drive one which i would only end up breaking. Eventually found my bigger torx but toom ate by then. To be continued.

Just watching some dolly sprints racing some escorts and minis at Goodwood. Watch on youtube for the weekend.

Will have a look , good shout. Thanks.

It does blow hot air. Know where the bleed points are but as you say. Could do with a bleed. Will try. The gauge moves to a nothch below half and stays there. But the rover software as known from my discovery has 3 positions for the gauge. Cold, warm, over heating.

Thank you both. Seems to mirroe my thoughts that may be not head gasket. Just been researching and it appears that the inlet manifold gasket can leak. It can either let water into the engine or out down under the manifold and happens when cold or hot. Seems a telescopic mirror and a light is required. And arms like an octopus. Will report back.

Of course I realise this is a Triumph club , but as we have a Forum section entitled Non Triumph Cars thought i might post as need some help. 2000 Mgf , purchased 5 years ago as a non runner. Been stood for 3 years befor that £650. For new tyres and for £250. Another £100 on an in tank fuel pump and 5 years worth of leave out in all weathers sports car. Gets ignored apart from mot. Has to live out moss on roof etc whilst garage is full of ' my precious herald restoration' Anyway its been losing a bit of water, just a bit, not to bad but fitted a water level sensor for reassurance. But not getting worse and lost nearly all the water in its expansion tank since christmas. Just sat there with a couple of minor warm ups. Am totally aware of head gasket problems with k series engines. So performed a sniff test. 20230410_113541.mp4 No change of colour. Ran for about 10 mins when warm. Afterwards i blew through the test kit and it instantly changed colour proving im knackered. Yes lots of mayonaise on dip stick. But it seems all mgfs have this as the configutation of remote dip stick causes a lot of condensation in dip stick tube. But level was high. Hmmm. So next job was to raise the car on ramps and have a look at pipes. Not an easy job on an mgf. Nearly 2 hours work to raise car as its too low for ramps and then nearly an hour removing rear roof and engine cover. To eventually see the top of the engine. Had alook in the cap on the top of the engine . More mayonaise. Checked every pipe, from front to back. Lying under car in puddles. Engine running and not running. Could not see any leaks or drips at all. 2 left to check are the two that run in centre console to heater matrix. There is water under front carpets. Clean though and almost certainly rain water, but seats and carpets will need to dry out and come out , so whilst at it the consoles can come out. But dont think its those. So for the experts out there, can a sniff test be wrong.? Can an engine have a headgasket gone and still pass a sniff test. ? I can replace the gasket myself. £150 for parts , belts pumps etc. Its just the contortionist in me, hoping its not that. Any body got any advice.?

Back again. Perfect garage weather. Chucking it down. Garden squelchy, and no guilt about not cutting the church grass. Another job i seem to have inherited from honouring my mother. The old boy who normally does it is 80. And wondered if i could. I could not say no. So pie in the heater tray. Michael cain as Harry Palmer on the telly and set to work. Trial fitting the wing. The wing came with a extension piece that fixs to the bonnet top bulkhead end. This was getting in the way. So at first cut it to bend it. Eventually cutting it off completely. It will go back on later . When welding the wing on finally and the cone locating bracket. Trial fitted again to see how it fitted at the front. Using the rear of the bonnet as the flush ref point. As mentioned befor the wing flange to the grill panel pokes forward not rearwards and also the wing overlaps the grill panel. Also the brazed connection to the bonnet top and wing was preventing the wing sitting snugly. So a little metal was removed with the 75mm cut off disc. They are great for small cutting and grinding jobs. (Though not really suposed to grind on the edge) Memory getting bad and had to keep checking the layout on my parts car. With the wing to bonnet top cleco'd along the edge it was time for the front. Marked up what had to be cut off and cut it. Leaving me with this connection between the grill and the wing. Bent the flange rearwards, in.the end most successful with pliars. Not really the best but in such an awkward spot. The grill panel was actually a couple of mm higher than the wing. I know in its correct orientation other way up it might not ever be spotted. Made a thin cut in the grill.panel and gently tapped down. Looking ok. Quite pleased how that turned out. Next onto D plate supporting wing and grill. Without to much fuss. This is an oldpanel that came with the car from my brother , many moons ago. Now confession time. The inner arch's i was repairing and then threw in the corner on my junk pile. Stayed there and 2 more were procurred via the club and came very quickly. And proved to be a very good fit. Right fecision for me, but maybe not for everyone. Next the outer arch i had trialed fixed to the wing was re pinned to see how it coordinated with the D plate etc. Bit of bending to front flange required. Then taken off again and the new inner flange trial fitted to the outer. After which it was all pinned in place. Finishing off with the bracket for cone location. This was initially to wide to fit in the new wing return flange. But a bit of cutting and it will slide into place. After that massive jigsaw puzzle it was all taken apart and cut edges etc painted in weld through primer. When i can next find some time i will break open the welder. Punch some holes for spots and see if i can set light to my self again. To be continued.

Work continued on the bonnet today. Removing the old wings, and brackets that the cones locate into. Spot welds were drilled out, and with an cut off saw , finger file, and an old screw driver as a chisel, carried on. Before I cut the other wing off, i was still perturbed by the flange around the sidelight pointing forward instead of backwards. As i offered up the wing in order for the semi circle to fit snugly around the headlight ring , it was obvious the actual wing was a bit long before it hit the grill panel as well. Oh well, will have to be reshaped. Maybe i have a cunning plan. Couple of rust spots on the little brackets that give a support to the front grill panel was poked out. Will be welded later, but was treated in convertor. Finished off with both wings removed, the flanges prepped and coated in primer. Next job will be starting to fix the new wings. Not sure when i can get back to it, as have some work for at least a couple of weeks to pay some bills. But as normal, To be continued.

Unfortunately quite a bit will be new. Panels ,interior, mechanics. When you start with a basket case that i suppose is what you get. I realise i could have purchased a running herald for about a 3rd its going to cost me , and i will lose money, but thats not what i do it for. This is my 5th Triumph over many years. Started with a Tr7 when i graduated as an engineer in the early 80,s. 3 months later i had to sell it as repair bills were crippling me. Along came a Ford Capri only 2 years old and ran perfectly. Had a Volvo 122s, another Tr7, this time i could afford to have it as a toy. Still had to do a lot of maintenance to keep it going. A herald saloon , and 10 years ago acquired this basket case off my brother. He had it 10 years before me and it was a basket case all the time he had it as well. So its time had come, for some TLC. My dearly beloved passed 7 years ago and i purchased a series 2a land rover to restore in my happy place. The garage. This was completed after 3 years. Drove for a month and then sold. Mainly because i was too big to drive it with out my knees giving out. 6ft 3 and 19 stone. Kids have left home although they come back regularly to keep an eye on me. Semi retired and i can do a bit what i like. Although I still do freelance work to pay the bills, And some of my clients call me in to help out in holiday times etc. The herald is a bit like climbing a mountain. Why. Because its there. I will try and repair where i can but what i cant will be replaced. The alteration of the chassis for instance to fit an auto box. I like automatics. So relaxed driving. And with this herald being a keeper its got to be how i want it. And I was told it could not be done. Red rag and bull came to mind. I have since learnt there may be 3 others. Tom L having a vitesse I understand. Must get up to see it So today it was one of my 3kw heaters in the garage running and as the new John Wick film is released to day, watched John Wick 3, in the garage followed by Jaws, and then Clint Eastwood in Cry Macho. An update of todays progress will follow later. To be continued.

Thank you but perhaps a bit hasty. Was working on the inner arches again today, and where i had been grinding the welds down held a light behind them and it was like a lace curtain. Welded some more and ground some more, burnt through, chasing holes, grrrrrr, then gave up and put them (threw) back in storage. Jurys out on them at present. It was at this point i put Zulu on the telly and pondered what to do next whilst i calmed down from my hissy fit. At this point heard a van on the drive. The outer arches had arrived. Ordered yesterday morning from James Paddock. Excellent service. That was just standard delivery. so went ahead and trial fiited them to my new wings. How on earth your supposed to paint or protect the non accesible void between them is a question being posed on another thread. All i can quess is some very runny paint dribbled and allowed to flow in followed by some wax protection. Anyway with a bit of jiggling both were trial fitted. Eaisier to trial fit now when there is full access all round. The return flages on both needed a bit of fettling but the fit was pretty good straight out the box. Now disassembled to be installed after the wings are fitted on. Now time to attack the old wings and remove from bonnet. Marked where to cut & span the cutting disc up. Then started to remove the spot welds to remove old flanges. Noticed a problem with the wings however. Around the headlight ring is a foward flacing flange which then returns backwards as it meets the grill panel by the side lights. However when i compare to the new wing the flange continues to point forward. Not insurmountable, just a pain. And as for the hedge cutting. Decided to 'get a man who can' to cut them for me. So more garage time. Although i do have some paid work coming up next week that will restrict my efforts. To be continued.

Bonnet ... After the morale booster of putting the on the bulkhead chassis it was time to address the bonnet. The bonnet had been sent up to stripped and dipped along with the other body sections 9 months ago. So overall does not look to bad in shiny primer. However the only panels were saving are the bonnet top. The front panel and the two inner arches. The two wings are badly holed , distorted and dented. Even though they dont look to bad from across the street or on photos theyare not worth saving. Now some of you may differ on that point. Fortunately in my travels had picked up 2 wings. These had been around a bit, but straight apart from a couple of pea sized dents. They were older in black primer. These had been stripped as well. The inner arches were no longer and replavements have been ordered. Unfortunately i had over looked sending the inner arches to be stripped. They were in the boot of my parts car. They needed seperating from the remains of the outer arches and some holes patched where the bonnet tube holds mud and the leading edge of the rhs was a bit ragged. But repairable. Hiding away in my parts car. Looks lot worse in real life. Not easy to tell but dented and distorted. New wings and corner brackets. Holes on inner arches covered by tube. So settled down with The Hunt for Red October and started patching the inner arches. Slight health and safety issue when i set light to myself. Best find my leather apron. Getting there on rhs inner arch. And left them covered in screwfix paint stripper. To be continued.

Only 5 mins work lifting bulkhead off trestles and putting on chassis with the tub. And i know it will be coming off again several times but gave myself quite a boost to think i am getting there slowly

To be honest was thinking the same thing. With the outer arches fixed to the wing how do you get paint paint down into the gap between the two and look nice. Even with the bonnet removed. Spray and hope , would there be sufficient coverage. Just about to start the refurb of my bonnent on my 13/60 and was thinking how to protect as well. Any help from the more experienced?

Hi. My last post was nearly 3 weeks ago. Spring holiday to Malta got in the way. 20.c sunny weather, plenty of eateries just outside my hotel, and as it was a solo's organised tour holiday plenty of trips out. Any way back to blighty. My freelance work was cancelled and as too wet today to cut hedges again. (Always an excuse not to cut hedges ) it was back working on the bulkhead. Left with have just used rustbuster epoxy mastic on the base. It was now time to rub down the rest of the bulkhead to recieve its first coat. Also used a flexi drain cleaning rod in my drill to clean out inside the a post and bulkhead frames. Was going to spray in rust convertor. But my flexi hose and my schultz gun were not compatible with my container. Have now ordered new to rectify. Rubbed down the novol primer. Then brushed on the epoxy primer. Thats now the tub done and the bulkhead. When my proper schultz tin turns up i will spray rust convertor in the a post and windscreen frame. But next major job now is the bonnet. To be continued.

To be honest the sun was shining birds a twittering and I should really have done some hedge cutting, but really wanted to work in garage. So i did. You can see i live alone. Nobody putting jobs in my way. First off fit the other windscreen gutter. All ok. Not to many problems. Went better when i remembered to turn the gas on the mig....... Also to repair a small hole where the heater blower sits. Turn your back and you see another one. That should be the bulkhead ready to go. So wire cup in a grinder and prepared the underside. You can clearly see here the work i had to do previously to reduce the footwells , to relocate the chassis rails for the borg warner auto box. The actual tunnel width is the same as the flats pass over the new rails. But the actual recesses are narrower. Good job theres only 2 pedals. The day was finished with some Rustbuster 121 epoxy mastic primer / chassis protector being brushed applied. Again this will have a second coat after the car has been dry assembled. Then stripped again, and will also recieve body colour. To be continued.

Cleco pins. Took myself a bit of searching first time. Excellent for trial fitting of panels.

Bitterly cold wind again today, so hedge cutting could wait again. Oh dear, never mind , how sad, get to spend few more hours in the garage with 2 heaters running. No point having a hobby if you dont enjoy it in the warm. We have some brilliant suppliers. Ordered 2 gutters sunday afternoon from John Paddock. Lunchtime today they are on my doorstep. Fantastic. Continued with left hand windscreen pillar , repairing and letting bits of steel. More patching and welding and could try gutter for fit. The bottom return drip leg being a bit of a fiddle but eventually a decent fit. It was punched for plug welds and then both surfaces coated with weld through primer. Next to rove the rh gutter whilst the primer was drying. Good job i decided to do both gutters. Certain that the baking and stripping process caused some of this as the old trapped paint from 60 years ago turns to powder. But the greater amount is just pure old fashioned rust. This was cleaned , welded , the gutter trial fitted and rust converted. Now back to the lhs , the now dry gutter was welded in place. Again fiddly on the drip piece, but all worked out in the end. To be honest am quite pleased with todays efforts. To be continued.

Lazy morning then decided to progress a bit more. If progression today was the right term. Was able to manhandle the rear tub onto the chassis and tempoarily basked in what it might be in a couple of years time. But time to move on. The bulkhead was removed and placed on a trestle table. I thought for two minor 1 second welds and then a rub down and prime. But unfortunately like a scab i picked at the spots. Nothing for it. The gutters to the windscreen needed to come off. The gap between the pillar and the gutter trim was powdery rust. Oh well , rub it down and see whats left. It was left with a coating of rust convertor and a note to order 2 new gutters. To be continued.

Yesterday was either cutting hedges in north esterly wind or working in the garage. Decided the garage. Spent the day coating the tub in epoxy mastic over the red novol primer. Rubbed it down first. It was applied by a mixture of brushing, rolling and spraying. Some areas difficult to get into especially the depths of the B posts. These will recieve treatment anyway later. The tub will be stored back in its rightful place on the chassis whilst the the bulkhead recieves the same treatment. The finish is not perfect but the idea is to give it some better protection than the primer it already has whilst other work carries on.

Well a month later am i able to get back in the garage. Work got in the way , this freelance stint now over ,and my son who has been living with me since he was pushed of the road by an hgv and broke his arm and leg, has required attention. Just that hes repairing well and we live in the middle of nowhere so come weekends We have been out and about trying to stop him going stir crazy 🤪. Hes now returned to his digs in Reading and is on a phased return to teaching so normal service is now resumed. Left it with the bottom of the rear tub being epoxied mastic. This is it 1 month later. Time to flip the tub upright and rub down the rest for the mastic 121 from rustbuster. But then remembered holes i knew about but had been putting off doing. These are to the rear deck where the hood would sit harbouring damp. Bit of a go with the welder and ground a bit with the finger file. Then i was inspecting under side of the wing tops by the b posts and decided i needed ro rub down and apply more rust convertor before apply the epoxy. So a few hoursdoing things I was not expecting to do. But is that not the way of it sometimes. To be continued.