That was a year that was..

[Bfg]

Peter, to be honest I didn't look at the needles closely but I'm sure they had black pointy tips, which suggest Viton.  They came from a long established carb-rebuild specialist - Southern Carburettors (..very quick delivery too) who ought to know what they are doing, rather than buying from a shop keeper.

If you have fuel smells within such a tight speed range, I would tend to think vehicle aerodynamics are emphasizing what may be no more than fuel tank vent vapours being drawn into the car. Perhaps the pipe from that vent needs to be longer or re-routed.?

Pete 

[AlanT]

Had similar issues. Viton tip valves worked for me vs new brass ones + new adjustable floats so can run lower.

[Bfg]

I've take a couple of days off, not least to overcome my upset with the gearbox rebuilt / leak fiasco (which is now dripping from its rear joint with the overdrive, despite being unused in six months),  and while my neighbours were on bank holiday took the opportunity for several long nights of sleep (as normally I'm woken around 5:45am each morning).

^ I also took the time to clean up my workspace of wiring and other 'stuff' ..and to restore it to something like a home patio again, albeit still within a polytunnel.

Then getting back to work ..with a more positive mindset . . .

^ the oil filter as removed.  I'm not sure this is quite as Triumph quite envisaged it to have fitted.  

  

^ Bob (the prior-owner) must have bee strapped for time &/or money to have reassembled it with such a bottom washer.  The top washer 'A' is also absent. I wonder if it is needed when the replacement filters have a metal cap on each end ?  Perhaps someone might advise.

^ Yesterday I dropped the sump, which was not an easy task because it had been glued on.  A lump hammer and block of wood at one of the few places I could get in (besides the distributor) buckled the flange enough for me to then get a chisel in and prise the darned thing off.  Yes, it really took that much effort to get the glue to release its grip.  I left it to drain overnight, and this morning cleaned it out.

^ Does no-one every take the sump off to clean it out once in a while.?  The water contamination has evaporated so this, now black gunge, is just a reflection of owner-neglect.

This afternoon, I re-torqued the head, as recommended by Mickey slackening the nuts off to break their bind before resetting them in sequence at 105 ft.lb.

^ After re-torquing the paint marks I'd added, at the corner of each nut, reflected that some had returned to where they were while others pinch up a little more. 

Recalling the advice from RobH, from back in March last year < here > to check that core plug (seen in the top left of this photo), which I poked around at with wire but found no penetration, and was otherwise advised to leave it alone. I checked it again today and lo n' behold a very-fine but stiff wire (from one of the rotary wire brushes) did ..poke through. 

Last year I'd heeded the head's up and ordered a new core plug ..just in case, and today I discovered I needed it.  Thanks Rob    And I do actually mean THANK YOU  ..because that may well be the present cause of the moisture in the rocker cover and the oil's contamination.  And this problem offers a much happier fix than my having to remove the cylinder head and wet-liners to swap out their figure-of-eight bottom gaskets.  

I think originally the issue was mainly  with the head gasket (never re-torqued since being fitted) blowing into the water jacket, with symptoms of radiator water frothing and overflowing from the radiator's cap and expansion bottle.  But despite my not finding a perforation through this core plug at the time (with thicker wire if I recall correctly) I'd guess it was there.

So then how to get a flush fitted soft aluminium core-plug out of the top of the cylinder head ?  Well again thanks to this forum and in particular to topics posted by Brian Eldred and contributors to that  < here > I had some clues . . .

    

^ after putting a number of barriers between the core plug and the pushrod tubes, to contain any debris,  I drilled a couple of holes (..with vacuum cleaner sucking away at full blast) and inserted an old pair of long nose pliers as pins to try and unwind the core plug with.   It didn't work !

 

I tried alternative pins (from furniture castors) and a six point socket  ..which was a dismal failure

And so as recommended - I resorted to the crude but effective . . .

  

I drilled a third hole and broke through to the first two and then used a screwdriver to rip one half out. The other half came quietly and you can see (above right) what remained of its thickness, compared with a new one.

I've tried cleaning the thread into the block out but so far to no avail . . .

  

^ The tapped hole is 1" diameter, but even with my smallest rotary brush I cannot get the thread clean and straight enough for a soft aluminium core plug to screw in.  The screwdriver slot I cut in the top is not robust enough to take the torque.  

Tomorrow I go out to get a bolt, or piece of steel pipe, or a tap to redress it.  Confirmed by Revington, as stated by Brian "For info the thread is 1" UNF 12 tpi "  Thank you Brain - that'll be useful to know, even though I'll have the new core plug with me to compare with.  

Onwards and upwards then ..tomorrow.

Pete

[Pete Lewis]

to be sure this car has tested your patience for so long  

upward and onwards...YES     just bekieve One day   she will be under your control  so far she has been in the driving seat  too long     

its amazing so many misguided enthusiasms have ended up all in one car 

seems every corner you turn ends up with another headache 

keep smiling 

Pete

 

 

[Bfg]

I seem to have turned into yet another no through road  ! 

 Following expert advice, and buying the new aluminium core-plug from a reputable TR specialists . . .

22 hours ago, Bfg said:

 

  

I drilled a third hole and broke through to the first two and then used a screwdriver to rip one half out. The other half came quietly and you can see (above right) what remained of its thickness, compared with a new one.

I've tried cleaning the thread into the block out but so far to no avail . . .

  

^ The tapped hole is 1" diameter, but even with my smallest rotary brush I cannot get the thread clean and straight enough for a soft aluminium core plug to screw in.  The screwdriver slot I cut in the top is not robust enough to take the torque.  

Tomorrow I go out to get a bolt, or piece of steel pipe, or a tap to redress it.  Confirmed by Revington, as stated by Brian "For info the thread is 1" UNF 12 tpi "  Thank you Brain - that'll be useful to know, even though I'll have the new core plug with me to compare with.  

 

 

WRONG !  .. up n' down the garden path, or in my case back and forth to the ever patient Suffolk Fasteners < facebook here >   Unit 38, Boss Hall ind Est, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 5BN, and I've now got a bolt which fits . . .

^ Naturally this will need to be cut a little shorter !   ..but the important thing is that the thread fits the TR4 cylinder head (..the head was an exchange by the prior owner for unleaded ).  This bolt's thread is 1" x 14 tpi  ..and not the 1" x 12 tpi  of the aluminium core plug supplied for this car. 

Although Brian also has a TR4A, the engine he was working on is a TR2, ..so presumably the specification of these core plugs changed inbetween times.

^ I've chop this bolt's thread to 1/2" in length and am using that as the core plug. 

Btw it cost £4  from Suffolk Fasteners, Ipswich (who also mail-order fasteners out) ..and it has enough thread to make three or four core plugs from, which are less prone to corrode through in just 55 years !   Or if the threaded hole in the head is difficult to clean out, then simply a hacksaw vertical slot in the side of this bolt, and that ought to clean out the oxidised aluminium very easily

^ new core plug in and sealed.  Hopefully the engine's compression & oil will stay out of the coolant now, and the coolant will stay out of the rocker cover and sump !   

Since this photo the rocker shaft, heater valve and rocker cover have been refitted, so very encouraging progress today.

Next I'll be down under the car to check the sump's threads (as one bolt was missing).

Pete

 

[Peter Truman]

Gee Pete you are getting problems from left field that are taking lateral thinking to find and resolve, well done!

You have quite an audience out there, honest were not waiting for the next installment of TR4 ownership we just want you to enjoy your dream. Hope your on the home road now & can get back to the trailer & boat.

[Bfg]

For an Aussie to suggest I'm doing OK with lateral thinking is a huge compliment.  Thanks.  I'd rate Australians as about as resourceful and able to think outside the box as any nationality. I certainly hope that hasn't changed in recent years as I have a big regard for those of you from down under.

[daverclasper]

On 14/04/2022 at 16:21, Bfg said:

I'm really impressed with how Lucas produced such good quality OE equipment, that cost so little and yet has lasted so well, despite it having been fitted and forgotten, with little or no maintenance in all that time. 

Same here. lucas appear to have a bad name.

My first three cars were 10+year old Heralds, very badly neglected bangers.

First one failed first MOT on terminal corrosion (my uncle, car dealer sold it me very cheap, with an MOT?).

Second got nicked.

Third, scrapped it (before I learnt some mechanics), as trunnion collapsed, at low speed.

I don't remember any failed electrics during that time.

Current car for past 9 years is a Vitesse. I do grease the loom connections and I think it may have been re-wired at some time, as is in great nick and all how it should be.

Only problem in that time, has been a failed indicator switch, and rear light bulb, even Lucas fuse box has been fine.

There, I've done it know, be breaking down every week. 

So hats off to Lucas, from my experience.

  

[Bfg]

Thanks Dave,  Lucas Prince of Darkness is I think very unfair when the cars rotted away around their earth connections !   And anyone who thinks Lucas was bad ought to live with Italian electrics through British wet winters. 

 

Today's antics included the all too familiar limbo crawl under the car. . .

I started off by taking photos from underneath, of the inside of the engine. 

^ Thankfully nothing too dramatic to see there, in particular I was concerned about rust (from the moisture within the rocker cover and emulsified in the oil) but aside from some on the crankshaft bob weights (highlighted by the camera's flash and which mostly wiped off with a cloth anyway) and a little on the fuel pump cam, there was remarkably little to be seen - phew !  

Next up I wanted to investigate the missing sump bolt (..hex hd set screw).  I was mistaken insomuch it was the central one at the front that must have been missing rather than one of those by the bell housing. How do I know ?  . . .

^ no screw thread in the hole in the front sump flange cap.  This is one of the places the sump's bolt has to be a short one, only along the sides of the crankcase are the holes drilled through the flange and longer bolts can be fitted. Put too long a bolt in and try to tighten it enough to stop its washer turning and what happens - the tread rips out.. 

Short (5/8" long) 5/16" UNC bolts are used for both ends of the sump (the four at the rear and the three at the front end), yes longer ones can be used in some of those holes, especially if you're also  fitting thicker washers but please do check first. And remember the cork gasket may start off as being 1" thick but it compresses. On this car the sump bolts had been so tight - the gasket was crushed to next to nothing in thickness.   The sump's side bolts (screws) are 3/4" x 5/16" UNC.

So, here we go again with the thread insert kit. . .

  

^ when a thread strips out, right the way to its bottom thread, then I've found that the hole doesn't need to be drilled before tapping for the thread insert.  In some cases (where I cannot get a drill in there) I've run a bolt right into the bottom of a mostly stripped out thread and tightened it to tear out the last remaining threads, and then I could tap the hole without fear of snapping the tap off.  It's not good engineering practice to do so, but on the other hand at least there's no fear that the drilling is not square.    In this particular instance the tread was completely gone anyway.  

With the chassis cross rail being in the way I couldn't have got a drill i there anyway.  The tap (for the thread insert) has a 1/4" square drive and so to reach to cut this thread I used a 1/4" socket extension (upside down) to add to the tap's length.  Again because of the chassis rail being so close I knew I could get the thread insert's special screwdriver to turn. It also wasn't long enough..

     

^ By extraordinary coincidence I picked some pieces of rod out of the skip, here at the apartment block some while back, and it was exactly the right diameter to use for this.  I simply cut a slot across its end, to take the end tang of the thread insert, and used that as a make-shift tool to fit it into the tapped hole. The force needed to wind the insert in is very little but a small pair of grips helped give me the feel I wanted while doing so.   That insert was put in with Loctite 2480 thread lock, and then a bolt was screwed in, removed and wiped clean of excess, a couple of times to ensure that when the time comes - I'll be able to get a bolt in there.   Job done.. Sciatic nerve non-the-better for laying under there x-number of times.

 

  

^ Next job was to drop the the oil pump, to clean the gasket face (above), and to wipe off some of the surface rust marks (above right) ..I never notice such a number before.

^ And to check the crankshaft's end float. Using a screwdriver to gently lever the crank back and forth, I've measured the end float to be about 0.007" which is just fine.   I'll not disturb the main bearings or big ends for the time being as i would still like to put the car back on the road one day soon.

The oil pump though, I was a little more concerned about. . .

^ once cleaned it looked quite respectable, and inside I cleaned the emulsified oil out and checked its tolerances.  I'll not repeat how to check it's condition as I've already posted it before < here > on my 'spare' engine.  On this pump the spindle has too much play and will need to be replaced.  It's a shame because that'll hold me up, so tomorrow I'll go to my storage container to borrow the rebuilt pump from that motor, or perhaps just the bits left over from its rebuild.

That's it for tonight, I bid you a very good evening.

Pete     

 

     

[Peter Truman]

5 hours ago, daverclasper said:

Only problem in that time, has been a failed indicator switch, and rear light bulb, even Lucas fuse box has been fine.

Same on daughters Spitfire, brought a Lucas replacement ex UK eBay when postage was cheap, Lucas made in Taiwan, Ha but on checking it against the original as well made and exactly same construction.

A couple of months later we were in Taiwan attending my sons local wedding to a Taiwanese lass, whose dad was VP in a large engineering & manufacturing company, we got to know the Co Pres very well and because a video of the Aus wedding was shown at the wedding where a fleet of club Triumphs were used for the bridal fleet we discussed the indicator switch and assuming the item had been thro 3 wholesalers at 100% profit each the item must have cost under $5 to produce, his comment was we can build/copy anything for a price BUT the difference between poor quality and good ie fit for purpose really wasn't that much! They produce power tools for a lot of the top quality names, as well as unaligned products, during Covid they were shipping over 500 containers weekly to the USA full of state of the art exercise equipment, running 2 shifts daily.

[Bfg]

  

Thanks Mike and others for your encouragements

20 hours ago, Motorsport Mickey said:

+ 1 Mike.

With the engine in the car I use 2 long studs per side for location and with a scissor jack underneath a ply panel under the sump about the same size as the sump wind it up to present it the the block face. Always worth checking the tin sump faces for distortion caused by the last owner desperately screwing up the fastenings trying to get that dry engine underneath. Use a straight edge and dress out the wavy surfaces with gentle hammering  making sure NOT to flatten the pressure areas between the bolts.

Mick Richards 

This is what I'm used to doing, albeit I've not much experience of TR sumps. My usual practice is to use Wellseal jointing compound between the sump and the gasket and then a smear of HT grease between the gasket and the crankcase.  I screw a number of the screws through the sump and gasket, and they're held in place by the pinch of the gasket ..and of course the gasket is held in place by those screws. So then it's just offering it up and getting the first easiest-to-reach screw to locate in its hole.  I've not had difficulties doing this before but as I say I've not refitted TR sumps from under the car before. 

^ After cleaning it out, I noted pitting in the base plate of the sump. This happens because when water and oil are together - the oil will float on top and therefore the bottom of the sump is in water and so will tend to rust (..this can even happen even from atmospheric condensation inside an engine).  I've power wire brushed the inside, redressed the flange ..straightening and flattening its gasket face from where I'd had to hammer (via a wooden block) to get it unstuck, and where inappropriately small washers had pulled the flange in around the bolt holes.

After de-greasing white spirits and then carb cleaner, I've painted (sealed) the base of the pan and the scored gasket face with POR-15 (fuel tank sealant). This paint, when thoroughly cured, is really tough (hanging drips from where the chassis was painted with it remain intact even when the car is jacked up on them). I'm sure this will attract a few frowns and head shakes, but had I not done so - then I would have been anxious of the rust pits soon becoming pin holes through the sump !

I've also bought a set of 2mm (thicker) flat washers 8mm ID x 19mm OD which will sit flat between the pressed stiffening ridges of the sump's flange. Previously the screws were locally scouring and distorting the pan's flange via an assortment of sometimes skinny lock washers. 

 

Hamish's post reminds me that one of the screws is longer than the others (1" long x 5/16" UNC) and that's for the clutch stay bracket.  On this engine I'd already fitted another 1" long one, in the hole immediately behind that for the stay bracket, ie., directly under the fuel pump, which is where I've taken the battery earth-lead to.  The battery lead also earths to the LHS bulkhead (..the body tub) into a captive nut, on the bulkhead, immediately besides the fuel pump. I don't know what that captive nut was originally intended for, but on this car it was previously unused.  Katie  now also has an engine-to-chassis earthing webbed strap, from the engine mounting plate (timing chest bolt) to the f. suspension tower's cross-beam bolt.     

 

18 hours ago, BlueTR3A-5EKT said:

Drop at least one big end and the centre main for peace of mind.

I don't want to go looking for more problems !   ..and peace-of-mind is only if I find nothing wrong there !

However, you're right (again ! )     And although I would leave anything but thoroughly-worn bearings until next winter to do (..not least so that I might have some fun driving the car rather than running it in through the summer) I would like to have an idea of how long it would be before they really needed doing, and of course the size of bearings in this engine . . .

  

  

^ The centre main-bearing looks to be perfectly serviceable for a good few miles yet. 

  

  

^ As does the front big-end bearing.

Now I know and have peace of mind

18 hours ago, BlueTR3A-5EKT said:

I have a NOS Triumph oil pump spindle and rotor assembly if you get stuck.

BIG Thank You Peter.,  I might need those, I'm just off to my storage container (..after a coffee and a hot-cross-bun) to see if what I have in the box will sort this pump out. It may be that the bore in this pump housing is worn and so replacing the spindle and rotor assembly would be a waste of good parts.  If I might, I'll drop you a PM to let you know, in due course.

cheers, Pete 

 

 

[Bfg]

Hi y'all.  Hope some of you had a great drive-it day  ..beautiful weather here in Suffolk today,

For me it was nice to be working in the conservatory / poly-tunnel without six layers of clothing on. But first I was working at the kitchen table. . .

    

^ I'm not keen on card gaskets for pressed-tin covers like the sump, timing case, or rocker cover. I much prefer cork which I've found seals well without a lot of bolting down pressure needed. However, the card gaskets supplied in the pack I bought, once checked that it aligned well with the sump holes, was an excellent template.  As you can see from the red felt pen markings I'm making the cork gasket 1/8" or so wider on both the inside and outside. The holes aligned well with the sump but were bigger than I would like, so I've used a 7mm diameter punch (bought when I happened to see them in Aldi.. set of six different sizes; £2.99). The 7mm holes will pinch on the 5/16" sump screws nicely.  And the card gasket was perfect for centering that punch exactly where it should be.  The cork gasket matrerial I have is 1.5mm thick, so about the same as the card one, and easy enough to push the punch through without needing a hammer.

Holding the  template-gasket still, as one works from one end to the other is of course critical if all the holes are to align when its fitted . . .

^ was a pig of a job !    

 

     

Job done. according to the timing of the photos it took just 34 minutes from start to finish including taking the photos and clearing things away afterwards. Not economical commercially but pretty convenient at home to get the gasket I wanted.

The next job, I really don't know why I did it, but with sitting down to work in the warm conservatory, listening to good music ans drinking decent coffee, it wasn't much of a chore . . .

  

^ As I was sitting here in my garden chair scraping the bitty, scratched and oil smeared paint off this sump pan, I was thinking of the man who went to the factory early each morning in the mid-1960's to stand at a noisy oily machine which deep-pressed these and similar panels out  ..."another 2000 of these for Standard-Triumph this week please George"   Day in and day out.. repetitiously Whap Bang, Whap Bang, Whap Bang....    Those guys ..who are probably now long passed, would not have given a thought to enthusiasts like us appreciating their work some 50 or 60 years later..  So I dedicate my cleaning and this Sunday's repainting to all those anonymous factory guys and gals.  In this small way - I hope to thank them. . .

  

^ hand scraped, rotary wire brushed, hand sanded, and ready for paint..

 

^ again I've used POR-15 for its toughness.   I know it will discolour, but In the meantime it does look prettier !   2 hours work, a little left over paint, and now ready for another 50 or 60 years of service.

Bidding you all a pleasant evening,

Pete

     

[Josef]

I often have the same thought and wonder what the people who put these cars, or the bits of these cars, together in the first place would think of us and what we do to keep them going. Especially as I know one of my grandmother’s many jobs was building wiring looms for Ford in the 60s/70s, we still have her wire cutters from then somewhere around here. 

[PeteH]

In the course of something else, I have been tracing cable(s) on a 2008 Sprinter. The main loom is over 1" thick, and has literally dozens of (thin) wires, how you trace that lot?. IF they last that long, what will future generations make of that?.

Pete

[Pete Lewis]

7 hours ago, PeteH said:

I have been tracing cable

Renault in their wisdom coded the ends of each wire in enormous hanrness bundles  great !   

what happened inbetween each end was they  are all Black .  hopeless to break into 

there were wires with numbers printed on but vibration and exposure soon wiped that off 

comiserations  

the old lucas style colours works well but not enough colours for modern electrics vast aray of options .

Pete

[NonMember]

1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said:

not enough colours for modern electrics

That's one benefit of the CAN bus system - no need for the separate main, dip, side, indicator and fog light wires, just power and CAN.

[PeteH]

2 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

Renault in their wisdom coded the ends of each wire in enormous hanrness bundles  great !   

what happened inbetween each end was they  are all Black .  hopeless to break into 

there were wires with numbers printed on but vibration and exposure soon wiped that off 

comiserations  

the old lucas style colours works well but not enough colours for modern electrics vast aray of options .

Pete

Hence why I have elected for the "Analogue" option. Run new cable from battery via fused relay Requires crawling the full 7 M under the bus, with a fistfull of tie wraps, but saves shed loads of time and frustration. with the added advantage that I don`t get a load of stupid Errors, on the dash readout!.

Pete

[Bfg]

I guess any future generation will just replace the looms.  Hopefully some thinking individual will add a few connectors for through bulkheads !

I'm told that Jaguars in '70's addressed electrical reliability by duplicating a lot of the wiring, with the consequence that the looms were vast rats nests and when there was a fault the warning light came on as the car burnt to the ground !

 

On Saturday I popped out to the storage container to pick up the oil pump from the engine I'd started rebuilding last year.  I wanted to try the 'upgraded' spindle and rotor assembly bought new from Revington in Katie's  pump body ..to see if how much it was worn.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the spindle was a little tighter in Katie's oil pump body than in the one from other engine   (..and that one I'd regard as 'good'). 

Having accepted (TR forum's) Peter W's very kind offer for a NOS spindle and rotor assembly, I hope they will be even better for the engine I started rebuilding with new bearings, bores, pistons, camshaft & new valves, guides, followers and springs, as well as the lightened flywheel and balancing.  Naturally with that sort of investment - I'll be glad to have the best possible pump I can fit.   BIG Thanks to Peter.

As for Katie's  well., Revington's spindle and rotor assembly are a good fit, well within tolerances and so with a little rework of the end cap faces, it ought to be a very good oil pump. . .

   

^ Work in progress, redresssing the top of the pump with emery paper, 240 grit to start with and then 1000 grit. You can see from screen in the first photo that the surface wasn't flat, but carefully dressing that down tightened the tolerances between the cap (similarly redressed to be flatter / smoother) ..so there's now less than my 0.001,5" feeler gauge tolerance between the outer rotor and the top level.  That same feeler gauge is a 'fair - good' fit between the spindle's inner rotor and a straight edge across the top face.  As far as I'm concerned one thousands of an inch (just enough for a film of oil under pressure) would be excellent, but this pump is now very good indeed. 

The pump's pick-up strainer needed just a minor repair . . .

  

^ around where the strainer gauze is soldered to the end of the pick-up pipe, the wire of the gauze had (most likely vibration) fatigued and broken.  Although I have little confidence in such a coarse gauze, I know that if I left it - it would just continue to get worse. It needed reinforcement (larger area of support) which came in the form of 1" off-cut from copper pipe (1/2" dia).  I cut and opened it up, reformed its curvature (around an appropriate size of socket) and drilled a hole (for plug welding to the original solder on the pick-up tube). After a thorough cleaning, with the wire brush, I tinned the parts to be joined. 

 

^ job done. reassembled onto the pump body, which in turn was refitted to the engine.   

Slowly but surely moving forward..  And I'm now both pleased with this pump and the prospect of an excellent one for the other engine.  I know it takes all sorts !

^ these thicker, larger diameter washers fit nicely between the pressed reinforcements. The bolts were cleaned, cut to length as required and a set of lock washers sorted ready for fitting. . .

 

^ I don't go crazy with the Welseal gasket cement, and I make sure it's wiped away from the inside (of engine) edge.  The dark-grey doughnut thing in the bottom of the sump is a magnet which now resides in there.  The cork gasket I made is a lovely fit,  and with 7mm holes the 5/16" set-screws just hang there ready for the sump to be offered up, even the four awkward to reach (short) ones across the back (because of the close proximity of the bell-housing) are ready in place.  Naturally the gasket cannot be knocked out of position as I refit the sump. You might note that just three screws are further in than the others. They're ready to index the sump with the holes in bottom of the crankcase. 

^ To refit, I simply used one hand to hold the sump up, and then with the other hand used a 1/2" with 1/4" drive socket on its screwdriver to get those first few screw's threads in.  Then with both hand free it, and all the screws together with their washers already in place - it was a doddle to screw the others up by hand. Once each had a few turns on their threads - I used the cordless drill, with the same socket, to evenly but loosely pinch them all up.

^ with the correct washer to locate the bottom end of the filter (to hold it straight in the canister).. refitting the oil filter was quick and easy.  Albeit care is still need to ensure the top of the filter goes cleanly onto its locating boss in the filter housing.

Getting there, but I'll not refill the engine oil until tomorrow.  The sump is on evenly but loosely for tonight, which gives the Welseal a chance to set before those screws are pinched up a little more. Although it would be nice to get on and finish the task, doing things this way helps avoid the gasket-sealant from being squeezed out. 

So that's (almost) about it. . .

Have a good evening,

Pete

 

 

[PeteH]

Looking Tidy. Despite the Setbacks, you must be pleased with the potential?.

Have to ask?. What happened with the Trailer?.

Pete

[Bfg]

The trailer is ..on the job list
 

And not exactly a hive of excited activity here at the moment either.   On Tuesday, I had a lazy day of next-to-no-work on the car, however I did receive the NOS oil pump spindle and rotor assembly from Peter W (via the TR Register forum).  I hadn't anticipated receiving it so very soon (..Thank you Peter), otherwise I might have waited ..to then have fitted those parts into Katie's pump. . .

  

^ Peter advised that these were NOS from 1957, supplied to the MoD, presumably for the Vanguard engines.  And as such they went through a number of quality & administrative checks. They were well packaged, I think for being shipped anywhere in the world, in whatever environmental &/or storage conditions.  I was however a tad concerned when I saw the deep orange-red colour through the greased wrappings.  I needn't have been. . .

  

^ The colour I'd seen through the wrapping was not the result of moisture ingress and rust, but the heavy axle grease that had been used to protect these precious parts (literally the heart of an engine).  They must have been quality checked, and then checked again, before hot grease was poured into and around them. And then the grease (?) cloth wrappings had sealed them away from the air for these past 65 years.  Result ; wonderful as new condition.

 

^ The old, worn and scored original rotor assembly (top), and the NOS spindle and rotor assembly bottom.  In this pump body ; the original spindle tip to rotor measured 8-1/2 to 10 thou. < here >  "..so not brilliant and only just within tolerance".  The new parts measured between 0.001,5" and 0.003,5"  which is excellent, not least because those figures are adversely affected by wear in this pump body's spindle bore.   So I'm well pleased with these parts, not least because they are destined to be used in the TR4A engine I was (..and will in-due-course continue to) carefully rebuild.  Again my BIG Thanks to Peter for his sharing these parts with me.

After, packing those parts away safely,  I dropped back under the car to diagonally cross tighten the sump's screws ..each to a massive 6ft.lb.  I then added 5-litres of Penrite engine oil.   I used filtered water for the radiator and of course opened the heater valve fully (I'll drain the cooling system down again, flush it, and add the antifreeze soon).  And then with the spark-plugs removed (and the ignition / power lead off the coil) I turned the engine over, via its starter motor, some 50 or so times ..to pump oil into the filter and up to the bearings.  I added another 1-1/2 litres of oil to bring the level up to within 1/4" of the dip-stick's top mark, put the battery on recharge and called it a day.

Well not quite, because I also replaced the odd square-ended push-rod into Katie's  clutch-slave cylinder, with a rounded-end one - Thank you Rich for finding this for me. And of course adjusted its mechanism for float / end play. 

^ I also replaced the lock washers on the bottom two nuts of the overdrive to gearbox adapter plate.  Because of the limited clearance, one of these nuts had been cut to be slimmer, and the mechanic had unfortunately fitted it with its hand-cut side to the case.  His cutting of that nut wasn't quite square, and so its clamping force wouldn't have been either.  Hey ho., in my 5/16" UNF pot I found another short nut to fit (otherwise I would have put his short-nut back on, but facing the other way around). I painted around the holes and threads with Welseal and fitted copper washers to seal them.    I didn't know if it might help cure the seep but it is an easy task to try.  

48 hours later it appears that these washers worked to stop the oil drip on the RH side, but the LH side's drip is still there.  I'll clean the underside of the case off again and power it with talcum, to try and identify where exactly that oil is coming from.

- - -

Yesterday I was out all afternoon from midday, but in the morning I turned the engine over on the starter motor for another 50 turns, to pump the oil around with no compression and minimal loading on the bearings.  I then started the engine.. for the first time in many months.  I kept an eye to the drip trays underneath the car (one for radiator water, one for engine oil, and one for the gearbox drips !) ..and all was fine.  The engine was very quiet to start, but as the car is still up on ramps I haven't yet reset the tappets, so as things warmed up and expanded the sound reminded me of this series of engine's alternative use.   These carb's choke and throttle linkages are in a horrible state, both slack and yet binding, so they'll need addressing sometime soon, but I didn't want to disturb them yet, because for all their crudeness they sort of work.  

With the seven blade TR6 cooling fan fitted - this engine runs cool, even when the car is not turning a wheel.  As the minutes passed and the air bubbles in the cooling & heater system rudely burped their way out, I kept an eye, and ear, on things, topped the water level up, etc., checked the gauges and heater to see that all was working as they should, and there was no smoke from my wiring( ! ).  The motor warmed and settled to an uneven tick-over. Those carb's and their linkages really ought to be attended to, but otherwise all was well. 

And then, very oddly after 40 minutes.. the oil filter decided to spurt.  No big deal as I'd only tightened the canister by hand anyway. I soon pinched its bottom nut up another turn, but its interesting insomuch as I cannot fathom why it took so long ?  The engine's temp had risen to read about 1/4 on the gauge, but then dropped again to settle around about 1/8,  which is where it often used to reside last year.   I could feel & hear the engine and the radiator water were not particularly hot, and the oil pressure at tick-over had dropped from its initial 60psi (faster tick-over on choke) to a steady 40 psi (on the gauge).  I don't know why the oil spurt didn't happen sooner, but I'll accept it as a useful lesson to be noted any time I change the oil & filter.  ie., even after starting the car and letting it settle, I'll be wary of then driving off without first pinching that bolt up while the oil is hot.

That's it for now, as I've yet to refit a few more bits before I can take the car around the block (..things like a steering wheel, a seat and even a handbrake have been known to be useful aids when driving on public roads), but we're getting closer by the hour ..well by the day !   

Pete

 

P.S. TR Register club meeting at the Alma, in Essex, this evening.

[Bfg]

Just a few more piccies from the scrap book. . .

  

^ front exhaust clamp. I don't know how a U-bolt and its saddle gets bent like this, let alone how M&T got it off, unless of course it was run over in their workshop. I can however imagine why they didn't bother to refit it.  As I didn't have another of that size to hand, I did straighten and refit it.   I also replaced the one under the gearbox mount which was the wrong size.  Result ; The exhaust pipe is now both clamped up and doesn't clonk on the chassis.

- - -

Katie's  oil filter spurted oil again, which is really very disheartening. 

  

^ From the Moss TR2-4A catalogue p.21 ..and very worthwhile reading.  But it doesn't tell us the whole story.  Item 15, that the text refers to - is the large rubber o-ring, which fits (supposedly) into a groove within the filter-head, whereby the canister screws and (supposedly) seals against it.  What the text doesn't tell you is that the recommended  oil filter, a Classic Gold - GFE104 (same part number as in the Moss catalogue even though mine came from the TR Shop) supplies (in the package) the wrong size and section of rubber seals. Unsuspecting individuals, including myself, select and fit the one which is nearest in size to the old squashed one we had carefully removed. 

Katie  is a 1967 TR4A and so among the last of the 4-cyclinder TR models to be made. And her engine has a Tecalamit 'full flow' oil filter assembly rather than a Purolator 'full flow'.  This information could only be read, on my car, by torch-light when laying underneath the car.  The Tecalamit's filter-head's groove, for the sealing o-ring, is wider than all / the complete set of my feeler gauges, and judging by feel (..because I cannot see when it is fitted to the engine and dripping with oil) is a splayed U shape (..or very round-bottomed V shape if you prefer). 

So the narrow and sharply-rectangular sectioned rubber o-rings supplied (left in the second photo) with this  filter don't work.  I might only image the wider of the two (which was closest in size to the old one) initially seals as you carefully screw the canister in place, but at some (unpredictable) time or place, when it's in hot oil and under pressure.. it flips to the side.   I guess, if you happen to be driving down the road, for a jolly around the countryside or perhaps a quick blast down the dual-carriageway - you wouldn't notice this until the oil-warning-light comes on (Oh, SORRY - we don't have one of those !) or else you happen to catch a glance at the oil pressure gauge just as its reading suddenly drops to nil. 

Credit to Moss for pointing this out in their catalogue, albeit in small text at the bottom of the page ..but no warning was / is on their website when I looked for an oil filter. Certainly it's not on the TR Shop's website, nor was I advised / warned when I ordered the filter. 

In the meantime removing the filter, when full of oil - is indeed a slimy, messy job that I would rather like to rub someone's face in !  

Despite the mess, the annoyance, and indeed the big hole in my confidence in this car - I consider myself very fortunate that It spurted its oil when I was watching for such things.    Because of the round bottom to the groove in the filter housing, neither, nor indeed both of the new seals, would work, and so I've refitted the old seal until I get the right one.   

NB., I lost 1/2 ltr, in the seconds between spotting it (..this was the second time so I was watching !) and switching the ignition off, and then in removing the canister.

- - -

 Next up was this . . .

^ After refitting the old seal in the oil-filter head all seemed to be well. The tachograph needle bounces around but the other gauges were steady at tick-over. But then . . . .

^ the rear crankshaft 'seal' on these engines is a machined scroll (as original) ..which screws the oil back into the engine as crank turns (working to the same principle as an Archimedes screw pump).  I had had the engine ticking over again, to watch for water or oil leaks and had just blipped the throttle. Next I looked was this leak (above).   I'm not sure what exactly has caused this but I'd speculate that with the engine just ticking over (for 30 minutes) oil was seeping passed the scroll, and then when I suddenly blipped the throttle and the oil pressure and crankcase pressure peaked, it was enough to cause this incontinence.    I've now removed the constricting one-way-out valve I had on the crankcase breather and will monitor what happens when I next start and run the engine.  I'll report back in due course.  Again, my confidence in this car is further shaken.

- - -       

 Another little job I did was to replace the odd-ball square-ended actuating rod into the clutch slave cylinder.  Thanks to Rich (TR Register) for finding one for me . .

 

^ while at it.., I thought to try the clutch lever pin in its bottom hole. Flat on my back underneath the car it seemed a good idea, thinking that this extra leverage would make the clutch feel lighter (which it does). Only when I slipped out from being under and took a photo from the side could I see that the rod's angle is now wrong.  I'll put it back to where it was, in the centre hole. 

- - -

Generally feeling fed-up with this work.. going on, and on, month after month.. I set to putting the car back together again, ready for the road. . . 

M&T had refitted the front RHS wing without the three bolts down the A-post.  Before I refitted the steering wheel and seats, and while access was still easier, I needed to correct this, and to fit those bolts.  In my view, every fastening between the body parts, and/or chassis, adds both to the structural integrity of the car and helps prevent rattles.  In this instance, anything to lessen scuttle-shake would be a good thing, and yes the wing's end-closing-plate made a heck of rattling din when loose enough to knock against the A-post.

^ I now appreciate why M&T didn't bother to refit those fastenings.  To get the screws in the other fastenings, along the top and bottom of the wing, needed to be eased off again.  And with that first (easiest) fastening loosely in, it could be used (with wedges) to lift the panel sufficiently to get the bottom screw holes to align.

I was thinking, while doing this, how truly extraordinary and incredible dexterous human fingers, hands, arm, shoulder, neck and body can be when necessary. Even when mine are extra BIG n' TALL in size.   In many respects it poo, poo's Darwin's Theory of Evolution, where creatures evolve according to their environmental needs.  Personally I cannot envisage many tasks in humans everyday life that would leads us to evolve as a species, so that even an aged giant's hands might twist in such a ways at to get these (bleep'ing) awkwardly positioned screws (smeared with Copaslip, and with body & lock washers) in place.!  If his theory was right then the human race would more probably soon become lazy-excuses, fat-bottomed morons with absolutely no integrity. 

Oh.., perhaps Darwin was spot-on after all         

Anyway, in getting those screws first threads in, it was clear that the wing's closing plate was perhaps 1/4" away from the A-post that it was supposed to shut against.  Yes I could have just tightened the screws up to pull the plate back, or else I could take a moment to stand back and look to see why. 

^ There was a clue here and again at the door gaps..  The wing had been refitted just a little too far forward.  

So here we go again.. to fit just a few missing screws - led on to my undoing all this wing's fastenings, to move it backwards 1/4".  And then to move the door back on its hinges by 1/8", and then to adjust the bottom of the rear wing to suit.  

TIP ;  move the door back before you move the wing back, because that saves touching in the chipped paint, which occurs when you open the door and the gap is not quite sufficient !

While at it, I found that two of the screws into the top edge of the wing had no spire clips.  It was just their misaligned holes holding them in.  So five out of how many screws were missing.?  Nice one M&T. 

 

^ Result, not perfect but clearly better.

                 

^ with my being so tall and looking down on the car as I work, and with very limited stepping back room, I hadn't spotted that the door is also a few mm too high..  The camera being positioned low down revealed this. I'll live with it for the time being. That aside, without resorting to body work, I cannot even-out the shape of the front door gap above the chrome strip, nor the rear gap. Perhaps just dropping the rear of the door a couple of mm would be a fair compromise.  Fortunately, from other angles these gaps don't look so bad as seen in these detail photos.

   

^ Fortunately, from other angles these gaps don't look so bad.

- - -

That five minute job took just a little longer than five minutes, so quickly (..or otherwise) moving on.

  

^ before I refit the seats, I wanted to assess what under-felt had previously been fitted and where ..a big felt jig-saw puzzle.!  And of course the handbrake needed cleaning, greasing and refitting.  And then of course the seat belts, which in turn led to my refit some of the trim which is fitted under those. . . 

 

^ oh dear !  that rear trim panels looks rather forlorn.  While at M&T, I asked them to remove the differential's (clearance) hump on the rear deck, as it's not at all required on the IRS cars.  I felt that space would be a little more practical if flat ..and I keep having thoughts of getting another dog.     The speakers are not required, as I've discarded the radio.  Out of interest whoever thought it a good idea to mount the speakers up there ..where they are wholly covered when the hood is folded down and its cover is then neatly fitted over it all ?  Oh yes, I remember, the chap who was much smarter than me ..he sold me this car ! 

 

       

^ mission impossible to make that look half decent.  I like that the one speaker hole was roundish while the other is mostly square.   ^^ Neoprene foam to close the holes. It's a case of needs-be until I get around to replacing it. 

^ I've reused the patchwork of felt underlay that was previously under the floor carpets, to cover the petrol tank, and the floor of the step. Because of lack of differential bulge I also needed to carpet that space.  I previously bought some second-hand green carpet because I think that would look good in a signal-red car, its lighter tones and being less prone to show the dirt than the black carpets which was previously fitted ..and less in-my-face than red carpets in a red car would have been.  Purely a subjective opinion of course. 

This second hand set has quite a few frayed edges and bald patches (where I guess it had been glued or screwed down, and then those tufts had been left behind when it was removed) but I wanted to see the colour green, and how it looked before I invested in a new carpet set.   I'm guessing it was previously fitted to a TR5 or TR6, as I've never seen green carpet in a TR4A.  Anyway, as this carpet is such a poor fit, in its shape around the floors (..which I haven't changed !) - I'm very glad I didn't just go out and buy a new carpet kit.

^ little steps but we're making progress.  By the way nothing is glued down, not even the wheel arch covers. 

One of the things they don't tell you about the change in handbrake position, of the TR4A and later cars, from its floor position in the TR4, is the 3" extra height of the drive-shaft tunnel.  As a big chap, I really don't need to compromise the interior space any more than necessary, so I've chosen to compromise with (..and I'm just trying it out) the handbrake cables run neatly over the carpets inbetween the seats.  There is underfelt over the tunnel, under that carpet.  As you might notice, I've removed the top-rear bracket for the cable's grp cover.  Naturally the pre-cut and second hand carpets didn't take this lowered height into consideration !  So a bit of patchwork is called for. 

   

 ^ Bearing in mind, this will mostly be inbetween the seat back's bolsters, it'll not be so glaringly obviously a Heath Robinson affair.  You can see frayed edges and bare-of tufts, that there's only a limited amount I can do about, but overall these carpets and my patch-working of them will give a fair impression of what new carpets would look like if and when I get around to changing them.

The photo on the right shows back face of the same carpet, yesterday evening, as I painted latex around the edges. This dries mostly clear and so is a useful edge binder, which meant that I could trim off the worst of the loosely frayed and irregular shape. When re-laid it ought to be a little more robust, and look (I hope) slightly better than it was. 

That's it for this evening, I do hope you've enjoyed a good bank holiday weekend and your own car behaved impeccably, 

Pete.

 

[AlanT]

It’s looking fab Pete. Let’s hope the forecast for June is as well! 

[Bfg]

I passed on your apologies last night but missed your and Justine's good company.  Good turnout with a visitor in a 1500 Herald convertible from Colchester way, as well as a Vitesse convertible, and a Herald Estate, Brain in his GT6-Spit, Russell in his 2000 estate, and two or was it three (?) Stags. My friend Andrew also came along but he's been doing groundwork at home rather than playing with his cars.  I didn't get Katie  there as I really need to keep an eye on the oil leaks (in the daylight) and to finish one or two other things first.  I certainly hope to make the next with her.  Sorry not to see you in June either, but look forward to having you turn up in a Spitfire thereafter. 

Have a safe and enjoyable journey home from the IoW,

Pete

[Bfg]

 

   

^ Stepping back in time to Christmas / New Year holidays and my planning to give a pair of cheapo e-bay MX5 seats a try in Katie < here >  ..and then back in time to now. . .

The Mazda seat's squabs are a light grey colour, which is nice and light and therefore airy in a small car, but to my eye they look incongruously modern in a 1960's Triumph.  And so when I bought them I had the idea of toning them down by repainting them all black ..but for the neat white stitching around the bolsters.  Since trial fitting, modifying the runner's brackets as well as Katie's  rear inner-wheel-arches (to move them further back for maximum leg room ), and also cleaning them - all of which task I was happy with.. other things happened which knocked my mojo into dark places, and with it my self-confidence to tackle such a task has been lacking. 

And then, as tends to happen.. the longer I leave what appears to be a 'challenging to do well' job.. the more that anxiety grows into a ugly loosely-shingled cliff face in the dark.  

But then what happens in my crazy head is, as time goes on - I become less n' less interested. I literally trudge-on to do each task, simply because that's the better option than having yet another unfinished project in bits to continually pull me down. The importance (of pretty much anything) becomes less and less, until I get to the point where I pretty much don't care a jot (..or whatever word springs to mind) any more.  Too many times I have I considered an untimely and ignominious end to Katie ..just to get rid of her endless job list. 

Another month of the car not being on the road, so what's a day or two more to get this job off my list.?  

    

^ Moving on from where I left off, quality assurance picked up on my not having cleaned thoroughly into every corner.  Out with the toothbrush and washing up liquid to clean that out. After all fresh paint wouldn't stick to it.

 

^ Masking tape along the edges of the squabs and also over the white stitching, as I didn't want black painted finger marks over those.

You might also note the strange bum-shaped lighter patches on the front of this (driver's) squab. When I cleaned the seats it emphasised those. Around each of the 'ventilation' perforations the leather raised like little volcanoes. I took these down with 240-grit wet n' dry, so the face of the leather was flat, and in doing so it removed the grey paint to reveal a light fawn colour of the base leather .

  

^ The kit's product range, plus plastic tubs I provided, and leather binder and an alternative hue of black, which I ordered from Furniture Leather.  Despite being a Bfg I find oversized cloths and sponges (clean white cotton, a round sponge and a scouring pad) awkward to handle in detail - so I cut those down to a size I thought easier to handle.  The 1" thick sponge was round and so cutting a piece off it left me with a wedge shape for getting into the seat's creases and a flat for wiping the paint over a flattish surface.

First product to use (after the seats had been cleaned) is the Leather Prep, item 4. in the instructions provided ..which smells like cellulose thinners.  This spirit cleaner is applied to a cotton wool pad (also supplied with the kit) to hold the cleaning fluid with the scouring pad wrapped around it.  

 

^ The difference, seen above on the RHS of this squab, is to remove the sheen, ie. the paints original sealing coat and perhaps just a little top surface of paint. You can see on the scouring pad a light deposit. The leather feels a tad softer and my vitriol gloves found the exposed paint have very much more adhesion.  I might try that on my motorcycle's tyres some time !

I lightly rubbed the surface until the effect was apparent, and then wiped the excess (removed paint and any silicons or grime) with just the leather prep on the piece of cotton wool. I then did the same, to wipe further excess off, with leather prep used on a piece of clean cotton.

I've seen on YouTube where the person has cleaned almost all the paint off the leather's surface.  That would take a lot of effort and far more Leather Prep  than was supplied with this kit and so I opted not to follow suit.  I reasoned that ; if the paint already on the leather is good then why remove it ? ..just make sure there is a good key for the new paint.  I think the cleaning spirits and scouring pad do that well enough.  Well, I certainly hope so.!

 

^ Next up, item 5. was their Alcohol Cleaner, which I used on another clean piece of white cotton rag, just scrubbing what I could from the surfaces and out of the creases. Not much evidence of anything much coming off but its supposed to remove other oils and silicons from the leather to be treated.

 

^ bought in addition to the kit was this Leather Binder.  I telephoned the nice lady in their sale office to ask when in the re-colouring process I should use this, and she said at this stage (after the alcohol cleaner).  My reason, concern if you like, is from having seen leather seats with perforations split between perforations.  And as the one seat squab had the raised dimples and exposed leather, I wanted to give it a chance to standing up to my size of person sitting and swiveling around while get in and out of this small (for me) car.

Using another segment of the sponge supplied, I generously rubbed the binder fluid deep into the perforations, the stitched seams, and any other creases, before wiping off the excess. I did this three times, letting it dry inbetween times as I worked in rotation through the four squabs.   This was done last night before going to out local TSSC club meeting at the Sorrel Horse, and so by morning it was thoroughly dry and ready for the next stages.

However, the nice lady in the sales office also recommended I redo the Leather Prep stage after using the Binder had dried, so I did so.   It strikes me that the scouring pad and the clean white cotton (white I think so the cloth's colour doesn't run when applying spirit cleaners) are for surface wiping and cleaning, whereas use of the sponge is to get the binder, and later the paint, to penetrate deeply into the leather's grain and any perforation, crevice or crack.  So going over the surface again, I used the Leather Prep on clean white cotton rag, simply to remove the binder from the surface, so that the new paint to be applied has a good key. 

Once that had dried for an hour, to allow the spirit to evaporate away, it was time to move on with doing the scary part - re-colouring what were perfectly usable and attractive leather seats !

^ at this point you exasperate something to the effect of "oh deary me, that's not looking very good is it !  Perhaps it was a mistake in my trying to tackle this"  (..feel free to substitute your own words !! ).

The instructions say to apply "a thin coat of colour".  I might only imagine that what may be 'thin' to one person does not mean the same to the next.  I smoothed the streaks out as best I could but my heart was in my socks. 

Following instincts, rather than knowing what I was actually doing, the next and subsequent coating of the other squabs was progressively 'thicker' and more confidently applied.

  

^ sponging it on hard and fast ..as if rubbing butter into toast ..with a sponge..  around the edge-crease first and then applying the colour in downward strokes, before finishing off across-wise as evenly a sponged brush stroke covering as I might ..and in the meantime, wiping off heavier build ups, wherever I could not see through to a little grey.  In short, I applied the colour, as best I might judge, in coatings of 1/3rd the opaqueness required to cover the grey in three coats - the number suggested (despite the instructions not knowing from what colour I was trying to change, nor indeed to what colour I sought).  That worked very much better.

  

^ After the three coats the coverage was good but, as suggested in the instructions, there were still some streaks. These are to be covered by a coat of the same paint - to be sprayed on, with the model-maker's spray gun and aerosol propellant. . .

I'm feeling happier that these are not going to look so terrible after all, but then also a little anxious because I have not sprayed anything for years.

"In for a penny, in for a pound" as the expression goes . . .

  

^ My "spray booth" consisted of working in the poly-tunnel, to the gentle pattering sounds of rain showers.  I clamped a piece of timber vertically, in the B&D workmate, so as to prop the seat-part up, which of course could then be rotated 90 or 180 degrees ..as might seem easiest when spraying into the crevices of bulbous squabs.   ^^ The spray equipment supplied and my first and only practice shot (I was encouraged by the paint not coming out too fast nor in a splatter). 

Hey ho., it didn't start off very well at all. . . 

^ spraying a mist of black paint onto the same colour black surface isn't as easy as when one sprays over something a little different, and in this case I sprayed until I saw the sheen of wet paint.  While doing this,  the coil of plastic hose to the air gun, pulled and toppled the tall, thin aerosol canister of propellant over. No damage done ..except that freezing-cold spray then spurted out of the trigger's plunger. !  

It transpires (I learnt when I inadvertently managed to repeat the incident later on) that when the aerosol topples over as the trigger is being fired - the liquid propellant goes into the long tube ..and subsequently spurts ice all over the place.  And if you don't spray for long enough, at the piece of cardboard being used as a masking shield (..which saves having to mask / cover all the seat's bolsters) to clear this - then droplets of propellant, from said long coil of tube, land right in the middle of your painting.  

Two lessons learnt, 1. was not to apply nearly so much paint, in fact just spray enough to 'dust the surface' ..as you follow a systematic spray pattern over the squabs.  Then once that was done - rotate the squab (against its vertical prop) and do the same again.    And 2. was to clamp the aerosol canister down !  In my case I used the other end of the B&D workmate to hold the can upright.

With the first squab ..with splatters, I used a piece of clean white cotton to wipe the paint back off again, and then a hair drier to dry any residue.  ie., I started again.  Second attempt (light dusting and systematically following a spray pattern) I was successful - phew ! . . .

Note.. on two occasions while spraying, the amount of spray coming out noticeably diminished. This was the caused by the propellant in the canister or its nozzle freezing. I stopped spraying, propped the spray gun where it wouldn't topple over, and placed my hands around the canister for their warmth to unfreeze it.  It only took half a minute to do so, and then the spray pressure was restored.

 

   

^ Ok colourant is now evenly applied, no streaks or patches showing through, and no blotches of propellant, rain, nor dust either.  We're getting there.!

And now to seal the surface, and its new colour in.

^ Leather Finisher  in Gloss and in Matt. Both come with the kit and they may be used as they are or mixed.  So the range is described with percentage of each mixed together as Gloss 100%,  Semi-Gloss with 75% gloss and 25% matt, Satin at 50/50, Semi-matt as 25% gloss and 75% matt, or simply Matt @ 100%

A tiny and very difficult to read measuring cup is provided.  I went for the semi-matt finish, I mixed 10ml of gloss with 30ml of matt, and tried it on the painted seat squab, out of sight.   

I let that little sample of Leather Finisher  air dry.. to see the effect, and decided it'll do.  It looked a little too dull but I reasoned - I can always feed &/or polish the leather seats later if I want them more glossy, and of course clothes will tend to polish the leather as well, but if they're too glossy - how do I then dull them (evenly).?

These components are part of a water-based two-pack system, and so a tiny (15ml) bottle of activator (which they call 'crosslinker eco'  is supplied to be mixed in, at a 8:1 ratio (by volume with 1/8th activator ). 

Here I made two mistakes in reading the instructions it reads " for reference, add 15ml of Crosslinker to 125ml of Finisher".  My mind, then pre-empting the volumes ..that my poor old peepers could barely read on the measuring cup, absent mindedly thought I'd mixed 100ml of the two (gloss and matt) Finisher fluids, so I added, as best i could read, 12.5ml of the activator.  Only then did I realised that the spray gun's tiny bottle holds less than half this amount of fluid.  Without knowing how long the working time was, after the activator was mixed in, I filled the spray bottle up, and placed the remainder of the mix in the fridge (..yep I'm still single for some reason !) to slow its setting time.  I'd done this with 2-pack paint and it worked, so I had nothing to loose by trying it.

Of course, 10ml of gloss with 30ml of matt, add up to just 40ml of the Leather Finisher (gloss & matt fluids) and so I should have just added 1/8th of that volume.. 5ml of the activator.!  (..not 12.5ml ) Oops !   What was that word I used to describe myself ?  " You Twtt Pete ! "

Hey ho, I hadn't realised ..and so I didn't worry about it.  Until the following morning. And thankfully nothing untoward has since happened to the leather or paint.  Phew, again !!  . . . . .

 

Spraying the seats squabs with the Finisher was the same as applying the colourant, save now your spraying an almost colourless fluid onto a black surface.  Again I just dusted the surface with the spray, following the invisible but systematic spray pattern.  I turned the seat part over 180-degrees and did it again.  Put that aside and did the next piece.  

Once each were done, I again using a hair-dryer to speed the drying process up, and then repeated the same light spray until each squab had been coated for a second time. . .

 

^ With the masking tape carefully remove.. I was very close, but not quite there.

As you can see, because I was lazy in my masking, there's an over-spray edge showing on each bolster. That's fine, I removed the overspray with leather prep on clean cotton rag.

 

There were also spots where the masking tape into a corner crease prevented it from being painted. These were soon resolved by touching in the colourant with a fine paintbrush. 

     

^ And then again there was some restoration required of the bolsters.  (NB. it's colour looks very black in comparisons with those from today, because this photo was taken with the flash). 

So again a little cleaning, recolouring and sealing was required . . .

^ Better, and not bad for an old and worn seat off of e-bay.

^ Q.A. inspector has said "That'll do - move on"  

Thank you. It took me a whole day but I'm pleased with the result. And judging by other TR's I've seen with this model of seat, I think they'll look very smart and be much more supportive than the original TR4A ones.

I've bought a fresh tub of Connolly 'Hide Care', which is the product I used to revitalise the exceedingly dry leather of my old Jaguar's seats. I was very pleased with the results so plan to feed these seat too.  But I'll leave that for another weekend.

For the time being  another job off the list.

 

Very sorry for the long length of this post, but I hope it will be useful to anyone else who is 'anxious' about tackling such a task.

Pete.

 

[Josef]

They’ve come up extremely well there! I know what you mean about the endless job list, but it will get there.