steveo

Took all the old stuff off with a stanley knife blade, came off quite easy but I did make some small marks by not keeping the blade flat on the more stubborn bits, in too much of a rush to get it done, so easy does it, very light sand with the 400 grit ( DRY ) wet flat with 1500 grit between coats allowing the varnish 24 hours to dry, maybe longer if is cold weather, left mine to dry in the conservatory by day & put it on the dining table by night to stop it getting damp. Think it was 4 or 5 coats, but more is better, wanted the car back on the road, if you have lots of time you could get a better finish, making sure it 100% dry between coats is the key.

This is this stuff I used,

It had gone yellow & peeled / cracked around the glove box & drivers side end / bottom edge, 2 small holes and a mark between the dials, I think it had a badge in the past. Worked out better than I thought it would, so bad nothing too lose so got on with it, quite prepared to cover it with fablon or alloy if it all went wrong. Watching woodworkers on Youtube was a big help as never worked on veneered wood before. Cheers, Steve.

Red is the best colour for a sports car, lucky to have 3 to pick from with cars that age, my Herald is white but have thought of a colour change to red but it's too much work. When I was MOT testing I done 3 TR6's every year, all yellow!

No, done with a bush, did try rattle cans but it was too thin & not filling any pits & imperfections, found some varnish in the shed I used last year for some church gates, only downside was waiting 24 hours between coats, did find my good brushes, think they are Ronseal ones, very soft.

Due to poor weather last week thought I would have a go at tidying up the dashboard as the original varnish was peeling off & it had all gone yellow, after removing it got a stanley blade under the loose stuff & peeled it off. After a quick look on youtube at furniture restoration rubbed it down with some 400 grit wet & dry, careful not to go through the veneer then 5 coats of polyurethane varnish rubbed down with 1500 grit in-between each coat & a final hit with 2500 grit & a wax polish. Well pleased with the result, nicer to drive looking at glossy dash, bloke next door didn't believe it's the same one !

Looks like a nice car, never had a turbo, had a few XR3i's, work mate had a RS in the same colour as yours, adjusted the wastegate to get more boost, it was all over the road when the turbo cut in, loads of fun, but only lasted 3 days & went bang!

I think the white Herald was on ebay a few months ago, remember the sills welded on, UK registration plates, if it is the one I am thinking of it was parked on a posh gravel drive with a pile of dog poo behind it, thought that summed it up really !

My 2001 Ford Ranger chassis was in amazing condition for a 20 year old pickup, with only surface rust & never welded, to keep it good it got the wire wheel treatment, 2 coats of red oxide type anti rust primer then 2 coats of black gloss & waxoyl on top. I spray with it with waste oil when it gets serviced, after 18 months of living outside in all weathers its still looks good & the MOT tester loves it !

We did use BOC at work but switched to a local motor factor ( Mill autoquip ) as they did a much better price & delivered quick. At home using disposable bottles ( £15 each and going up every time ) for my Cebora turbo 130, took 3 bottles to weld up the Herald ! Cheers, Steve.

Due to lack of storage space hardtop is now for sale on eBay, Still don't know who made it ! Cheers, Steve.

For some strange reason my Herald is fitted with wolfies on the back & cobras on the front, look very similar but the centre holes are slightly different sizes, this made getting matching centre caps difficult ( and expensive ). Wife had some over the spoon gluten free cheesecakes the other day, & after a quick dig through the recycling found the pots, and they fit both wheels ! Cheap centre caps ( + black paint ) & you get a yummy cheesecake, just been to Tesco to get some more, pays to have some spare caps in stock.

Went to our local meet in Cornwall a few weeks back, we were the only Triumph ! only one couple in the bar from the club ( driving a MX5 as the TR8 wouldn't start ) Very nice people but we were disappointed with the turn out, apparently we went on a quite day, looking at this it maybe worth a trip to Devon once a month, have to find my passport & put up with cream first !

Evening all, got a job lot of spares for my herald today that included a hardtop, previous owner was told its a Ashley Bermuda but I can't find anything on google. Fiberglass with Perspex rear window & sunroof panel, full lining in white pvc type stuff, 2 grab handles on top ( not sure if they are original ) Any one know ? Cheers, Steve.

Worked for a independent Volvo garage in the 1990's, to weld up 240 / 260 series we rolled them on there sides resting on old tyres. Put them back the right way up & left them for a hour before starting up, never had a problem, did get some funny looks from customers but its much easier to stand or sit welding than doing it upside down ! always looked neat when finished. Something you couldn't do on modern cars with loads of sensors / airbags.

Previous owner of my Herald was using Wynn's lead substitute & left a full bottle in the boot so I am using it mixed with Silkolene super 2 two stroke oil. Any old cars I run that are pre cat always stick a bit of two stroke in with the fuel, never had a problem.

Rebuilt the front end of the Herald a few months ago, uj from eBay, solid rack mounts, GT6 anti roll bar ( I think ! ) took the rack to bits & cleaned / greased everything, few new wishbone bushes, new track rod ends / gators. Done the tracking with bits of wood & by eye, then borrowed laser tracking gauges a few days later, it was miles out ! Had to adjust the uj as the indicator cancel thing was in the wrong place, now drives like a dream & handles like a racing car, very impressed with it for a old car, loads of fun on twisty Cornish lanes !

Hi Colin, may see you on the road, is yours Cornish registered looks like OAF on the plate. Happy motoring, Steve.

Did you get back to the big milk maid girl in the squeaky suspension thread Colin !

LOTSW Herald sold yesterday at H&H auctions for £15600 !

1965 Bedford 2800cc ( looked on DVLA website )

Got to be a Bond Bug, easy shape to make, cheese wedge, get ordering the orange paint !

Built the body out of MDF using cardboard as templates ( thanks to my local LIdl for boxes ) copied from pictures of the proper Toylander kits on the net. Most use Landrover or Jeep style bodies due to flat sides, never thought of Herald / Vitesse at the time but the shape may be ideal for it, quite flat sides, Range Rover classic & 1979 Trans Am also made the short list as I have owned real ones. Sold it a few years back as the kids lost interest in it, think I used it more than them ( made it so I fitted ) cant compete with playstation / x box type things, if I had one as a kid I would never have got out of it ( we only had the cardboard boxes ! ) I keep watching Red Bull soap box race on Dave, so keep a look out for a 68 Herald, may get around to it one day ! Cheers, Steve.

Maybe you could make it have a bit more street cred like the scooter I converted for my niece & nephew, 8 mph Invacare Meteor / s2 Landrover !