That was a year that was..

[Peter Truman]

Lets face it Pete your doing the job right and I for one really appreciate your attention to detail and your weekly updates ensuring Katie will be better than new and go on for years with just ongoing maintenance, remember the saying no one does the job better than you!

you can be very proud of the job your doing 

[AlanT]

I’m with you Pete. Won’t drive a car without headrests anymore. Well worth changing to a more modern set. 

[Paul H]

Hi Pete , are your headrests the 2 post type ?

Paul

[Bfg]

20 minutes ago, Paul H said:

Hi Pete , are your headrests the 2 post type ?

Paul

yes, why do you ask ? 

The MX5 tombstone seats with headrests integral with the backrest do fit the TR, and are reportedly comfortable, supportive and safe, but they don't fit under a tonneau cover and otherwise (imo) tend to detract from the low-slung sports car interior.   However, the tombstone seats can also be bought for less money (used) and also be had with heated seat pads and integral speakers. 

 

^ Mazda's tombstone seats being used (thousands of miles each years) in a TR4A with surrey-top.

 

[PeteH]

I have so far trial fitted the mx5 seats to the 13/60. Without headrest they clear the hood frame Until I get A new hood fitted I won’t know if the headrest will clear

Pete

[Josef]

27 minutes ago, PeteH said:

I have so far trial fitted the mx5 seats to the 13/60. Without headrest they clear the hood frame Until I get A new hood fitted I won’t know if the headrest will clear

Pete

I have tombstone MX5 seats in my 13/60. The hood goes down well clear of them. Only real issue is they leave even less room for rear passengers, but the number of times I’ve had rear passengers in the last 15 years is in single figures!

[Bfg]

1 hour ago, PeteH said:

I have so far trial fitted the mx5 seats to the 13/60. Without headrest they clear the hood frame Until I get A new hood fitted I won’t know if the headrest will clear

Pete

fortunately, unlike the TR seats, the backrest of these Mx5 seats do tilt, so a little less than convenient but hopefully still workable to get the hood frame up and down.

[Bfg]

Although it may seem that I jump about all over the place, doing jobs that might otherwise wait, instead of just dropping the seats back into the car and driving her as if there were no tomorrow.. there is indeed madness in my method, insomuch as I know a number of these jobs involve a massive Bfg inversion.. whereby my arze would not only over my tiz, but my head n' shoulders would be back down in the foot wells.  Yesterday's task was another of those . . . 

 

I've observed how panel alignment, door gaps, and the adjustment of the door-glass window, are a recurring theme on old car forums, not least on the Triumph ones. Rarely, if ever, do I read much about windscreen adjustment ..although there is of course volumes on the difficulty in fitting the glass into frames (both windscreen and backlight).

When I bought Katie, her door glass to windscreen gaps weren't too bad, in fact if I recall the angle was very good on the LHS of the car, although the height of the glass needed its stop adjusting.   However on collecting the car, subsequent to its body-off chassis replacement, the glass to A-post angles were pretty atrocious. . .

     

^ On the LHS ; the top of the glass hit the A-post hard enough to chip the paint and to kick the glass sideways, and the top corner of the RHS glass has a chip out of it and a through 'ventilation' gap at the bottom (measured horizontally, there's 1" between the glass and the A-post).

Because they were not nearly so bad before, I might reasonably conclude the windscreen had tilted back.  The hood fit was always ridiculously tight to pull forward, but I suspect that's the TR6 hood frame and cover not fitted as well it might, its hinge pins are worn, and that the vinyl hood has rarely seen the light of warming daylight ..and so has not stretched to shape in the hot sun. 

The hood needs to be fitted to a car, only once the windscreen is in the right place.  I had asked (in a previous post) - if there was a measurement or angle for the screen ?  I received no reply to that, so I guess Triumph's build tolerances, and the distance between the rear deck and the top of the windscreen, are too varied on a soft top car to make much sense of a definitive dimension.

OK, so what are the reasons behind Katie's  windscreen having changed angle ?   Well quite probably the answer is three-fold.  1. Its fixing bolts are loose,  2. the windscreen frame has been used as a handle to push the car back n' forth in & around the garage / workshop,  and/or  3. that the top corner of the windscreen is the most convenient hand-hold when lowering oneself into, and for lifting oneself out, of the car  ..&/or when man-handling a heavy gearbox.  I put my hand up and say that I might well have contributed to the issue insomuch as I do use the top corner of the windscreen frame as a handle when lifting myself out of the car ..if only the angles weren't so bad when I collected the car after its chassis change.  I think by then the windscreen had already tilted back as far as any slack in the holes &/or adjustment might have allowed. However, it doesn't matter who or when ..other than learning not to do it again - the question now is how to correct it.

 

Considering the first point ; 1. The bolts are loose, but I was to discover worse. . .

  

^ These are the securing ..and adjustment, bolts that secure the top of the windscreens clamp bracket.  The drawings in the workshop manual and parts book are each misleading (and therefore confusing) insomuch as they show these fastenings aligned vertically one above the another, whereas on my car - the rear bolt of the two is positioned up at an angle from the horizontal.  Hey ho., don't believe all you read ! 

The forward of these two bolts is also  used to secure the flange of the front wing.  Each, like the securing bolt at the bottom of these brackets, are 1/4" UNF hex-head set screws.  And each screw into a captive nut.  The captive nuts for these top two fastenings are welded onto the back of (item 19) the windscreen mounting bracket.  And the captive nut for the bottom screw is within the box section of the A-post.  You can see where I'm going with this train of thought can't you ! ?

Anyway, that's a step away, because first I needed to secure the angle of the windscreen, relative to the door's glass.  I did this with a length of 4x2 timber, a screwdriver, a G-clamp, and a bundy cord . . .

  

^ It's not elegant but it works !  The screwdriver's blade is poked into the hole where the hood's turnbuckle goes, the G-glamp adjusted the tension in the bundy-cord so that the screwdriver pulled vertically. The timber (49-7/8" / 1267mm long ..for this car) was the wedge.. to angle and hold the top of the windscreen forward.  The bolt in the middle of the trim piece, across the rear deck, was already there. I just loosened it so that the timber had more to latch against. 

The timber then served the secondary purpose as a jib to hoist myself in and out of the foot wells ..numerous times. I also used it, when laying within the car, to pull down on the windscreen as I tightened the fastenings up.  

With this setup, and the windscreen clamps already being loose - the door's glass readily resumed a very good angle with the A-post.  "All" I needed to do was to tighten the bolts to hold it there ..so I would have to drive around with a lump of timber through my or a passenger's head.

 

^ So again with my head in the passenger foot well (..which is why I couldn't do this after I'd fitted the seats), and a torch to guide where to point the camera and allow it to focus - this is what I could see (for the 1/60th second of the flash).  The (1/2" AF) nut on the bottom of the windscreen's leg I've already loosened, because it was missing a washer.  A thick plain-washer with 5/16" ID hole and 3/4" OD is required here to pull the screwed-threaded-end of the windscreen-post down into the bracket.  Oddly the nickel-plated nut looked brand new.  Just besides that, you can see (painted over with pink primer) the head of the bracket's bottom securing screw.    My 7/16" (with 1/4" drive) socket isn't quite long enough to get the ratchet on, over the tube. And my extended 7/16" socket was too long to get the ratchet head between it and the face-vent ducting !   What an awkward little "conundrum".! 

After much ado, I found the captive nut on the inside of the A-post has a stripped thread.  That's a hidden, middle-finger-tip reach up inside the A-post.  Anyone restoring a car would be wise to check these are good n' secure before paint work, refitting the wings &/or reassembly. 

With a good deal of patience, I managed to remove the screw and replaced that with a new one  ..and while at it I fitted an 1/8" thick spacer-washer under its head to bring it a little further out from behind the tube, so my short 7/16" socket might better reach.  Again the screw's thread turned within the out of sight captive nut.  I couldn't get anything in there to grip and rip out the old captive nut, but with divine intervention I somehow managed to get another nut onto the end of the (1" long) screw I'd fitted, and then also to get a 7/16" spanner inside the box section to tighten it up.

  Mental note ..for when the wing is next removed ;   drill a hole big enough through the outside face of the A-post, to get that stripped nut out.  As my friend Steve pointed out, if I'd found this unreachable bodge done by someone else, then I'd be seriously cussing his socks.  I hold my head in shame, Yes I would. But what could I do without delaying things even further, by stopping to remove the front wing and cutting my way in there ?

Fortunately, the bolt in the top of this windscreen bracket, the one which also secured the top-rear-corner of the front wing was OK. That pinched up OK from inside the door shut.  However the rear of those two top fastenings .. well here we go again !

That captive nut, supposedly welded onto the bracket, turned.  And it was too far up in the gap inbetween the face vent and the dashboard and the A-post to get a spanner in there.  Well I could, but because there was not a straight line (not flat enough) - I couldn't get it to lock onto the (square) nut.   I couldn't drop the windscreen bracket out to repair it ..because the loose captive nut wouldn't allow me to get its bolt out,  so . . .

   

^ it was out with the glove box. And then, with my camera in where the glove box was, I could almost see over the face-vent to the two captive nuts.  I still couldn't get my long-nose grips in, nor a spanner to hold, but I did managed to get it loose and then out with the aid of a long slender screwdriver, forceably poked in, between the square captive nut and the generous hole through the bracket.  

 

^ sort of like this.  

But now I was faced with how to get a replacement nut onto the end of the bolt when it was refitted, and to hold that well enough to tighten it ?

  

^ I swapped the original bolt for another.  I reasoned ; a step up in size (from 1/4" UNF) would offer greater clamping force and also take up much of the slack (adjustment), which in turn would better hold the windscreen at this angle.  And a  5/16" UNF bolt happened to fit in through the holes of both the body's A-post and the windscreen bracket, without my needing to open either out.    This was the longest bolt of that thread I happened to have, which was used to reach over the face vent.  I cut a steel tube (compression-post) to fit over it, so the washers and a nut were within reach of a standard socket.  ^^

As it happens - I could have done with an inch longer bolt, but then I'm not sure that would have fitted in passed the door skin. 

  

^ Although still a reach, compared with the others, reaching to get the plain & lock washer and nut onto this was a doddle. It all pinched up nice and tight. 

 

In resetting the windscreen angle - I'd also undone the three clamps at the base of the windscreen frame, on top of the dashboard. . .

   

^ Two of these clamps had oversize holes in their washer, and the third had no washer at all, just its thin aluminium trim plate. Again thick washers are required with the right hole diameter, so that they don't dish in when tightened or pulled against.   I've used a thick washer under the trim plate, a thick washer and also a thin plain washer under the domed head (nut on a stud ?).  Then these also pinched up securely to hold the front edge of the windscreen frame down.

Next..? 

... the other side .

 

^ Again no washer under the nut at the bottom of the windscreen post ..which was easily resolved. On this (RHS) side of the car, the visibility was much better. I don't know why that should be so, but as you can see it was.  And each of the captive nuts did their job.  I found an 11mm six-point socket with 1/4" drive that was 1/8" longer ..and that was almost enough to clear the windscreen bracket's tube which looks to have been welded. That socket worked well enough, but its still an awkward task, not least because I'm right-handed and working in the rear top corner of the right side of the footwell.

The timber wedge / brace was of course swapped to this side of the car, but its set up was exactly as before.   I also made a point of pushing the base of the windscreen back as far as I could to try and close the 1" gap between the glass and the windscreen frame. 

^ you can just about see the previous scuff marks, of the edge of the windscreen rubber, some 1/4" further forward than where the windscreen is now fitted.  That helped, but then I also fitted spacers in behind the door glass runner's brackets to push the door's glass forward another 1/8". 

 

Results ;

   

^ RHS, with hood off - although a noticeably larger gap than on the LHS of the car, the door glass now sits at a good angle with the A-post, and ought to offer a reasonable weather seal.  And with this very taught (drum tight) hood, the top of the windscreen similarly pulls back, by about 1/4" but the fit against the door post's rubber seal still works fine.

 

   

^ LHS, with hood off - the door glass now fits very nicely with the A-post. It ought to be a good seal.  And with this very taught (drum tight) hood, the top of the windscreen pulls back by just 1/8" ..but the fit against the door post's rubber seal is still good.  I've fitted an 1/8" body washer behind the front glass runner bracket to pull the door's glass back by that amount, and also adjusted the door glass's stop to prevent it winding too high.  My fingers, hands, and my forearm are just too big to get inside the door (read; quite painful ), but it needed to be done

Windscreen angle / door glass adjustment.    Done

Although on both sides the hood-frame's screws into the B-post are loose, it is really too hard to get it to pull forward, shorter &/or lighter persons would struggle even more, so I'll have to see how to adjust that. That may be just a matter of the webbing straps (particularly on the RHS) being too tight ..evident perhaps because it's torn in two places and about to break.  In any case, I'll be taking this hood and frame off very soon (but not today !) to replace it with the grp Surrey-top back-light I picked up last year. 

I'm also ordering new door-glass felts, weather strips, and clips, and the LHS door needs welding.  That door is also 1/8" too far forward but there's no room to do this without pulling the B-post back by 1/4".  M&T did a great job in improving the unevenness of this door's gap, but they really didn't get the length between the A and B-posts quite right. 

The job list isn't getting any shorter because for every job I do, I find two others !  Still, those ought not to involve me inverting into the footwells, so I must be closer to getting seats back into the car. 

Bidding you a good weekend.

Pete

 

 

[Pete Lewis]

i was expecting a note about how to extricate the screwdriver after it got fired at the operator 

but with no sticky plasters mentioned your Roman   Carrobalista  idea needs a new  patent  

Pete

[Bfg]

This weekend I didn't do much, but was pleased to receive the Oil Pressure Warning Light Sender & its Adapter from TR Enterprise  on the Saturday.  That was very quick service considering I only ordered it on Friday.  I did this following my replacement oil filter canister suddenly spurting oil (the supplied seal being the wrong shape) and my realisation that such a thing could happen while driving and when I was watching the road, for other traffic, sign posts and directions, etc  ..rather than watching the oil pressure gauge (which is situated on the LHS of the centre console).    I asked on this < here > and the TR Register forum < here > for advice and was promptly answered with shared experiences, and even pointed the right way to buy the necessary bits..   Brilliant forums, BIG THANKS to those who are here to their share practical advice.   

The kit included a nicely made adapter, what appears to be a decent quality sender unit, and a Dowty washer.  No instructions were included, but a wiring diagram and spec sheet for the sender unit was found on Merlin Motorsport's web page.  I looked it up, from the part number printed on the sender unit ..because I was concerned about the sender not screwing fully into the adapter, and because there is a screw in the end (between the terminals) and I wanted to know why it appeared loose.  

The thread on the sender is a 1/8 NPT  (National Pipe Thread) which means its very fine thread is made with a <2 degree taper to it, so it seals when tightened (like a wedged bung in a hole).  OK that explains why it doesn't wind right the way into the adapter.  The screw between the terminals is for adjustment  "Turn the screw clockwise to increase the pressure at which the switch engages"  ie. when the warning light will illuminate &/or go out.  It doesn't say how many turns to adjust it, so I guess an accurate pressure gauge is the way to set it as you might want it.  It's also unclear as to which switch is supplied, as one on the Merlin site is said to be set at 20 psi and another at 35psi, whereas TR Enterprise suggest its a 25psi.  Perhaps TR Enterprise use the lesser and screw its adjuster in. Whatever, I've left it / fitted it just as supplied.

Questions answered and with advice from this forum as to where to fit it into the 4-cylinder TR engine's block, I set about to do just that. . .

 

^ Fitted, below the fuel pump, into the oil gallery which runs along the LHS of this wet-liner engine, and where there are three screw-in core plugs to chose from.  I chose the most awkward to get a spanner onto ..simply because I felt that would be out of the way / least vulnerable to getting knocked, and also because the wires were to run to the bulkhead.

^ One of the sender's two spade terminals is for an earth. The other is for the wire which goes to the warning light, on the warning light's earth side. The power feed I've taken directly from the fuse box (alongside the 'switched and fused' green wires).  Which wire goes to which terminals on the sender unit is unimportant. And which wire goes to which terminal on the warning light bulb-holder is only important if a (polarity sensitive) LED bulb is to be used. Which for he sake of luminosity - I was.

OK moving on to the warning light . . .

Unlike most, I've chosen to remove Katie's  (TR4A) wooden dashboard, and am simply using its steel backing plate as the seen dashboard.  The Charge  warning lamp and Indicator  tell-tale were mounted into the backing dashboard anyway, and so their positions between the main instruments (ie., right under my nose, in the peripheral of my line of sight when driving) led to my positioning of an Oil Pressure warning light.  It was to go centrally just below the two existing warning lights.

^ Unfortunately one of the screw holes, used to mount the wooden dashboard, was just where that warning light was to go, but it wasn't positioned centrally.  Drilling just next to that hole would tend to cause the drill to wander ..and a skewed lamp ( just there ! ) would drive me to distraction.   

So, let me share with you how to very easily and very accurately centralise the hole. . .  

 

I used a large washer, this one happens to be the centre of a drill's sanding-disk pad.  It is 1-1/2" outside diameter. Pushed against the bezels of the existing lamps, you can see how its centre hole is equidistant (same radius) from those lamps.  It's hole is 3/8" dia, and so a 10mm drill-bit being guided by the washer would also be equidistant.  I first drilled very shallowly, to leave a centre indent, and then drilled that indent through with a 3mm drill. This helped guide the 10mm drill bit to cut through the steel, without drifting into the old dashboard fixing hole. 

Once that was done, the 10mm hole simply needed to be opened up to the size required by the warning lamp. For Katie,  I'd already decided to move the indicator tell-tale lamp to the lower position, and so a 3/4" hole was required. A stepped-size drill soon did that.

 

^ Job done,  Left red warning light (presently slightly dimmer because it isn't presently fitted with an LED bulb) is the charge warning, and the RH red light is the new oil (low pressure) warning lamp.  Below those the green lamp is of course the indicator tell-tale. 

When the engine is started, both red warning lamps go out immediately. On slow tick-over the charge warning light tends to occasionally flicker. The oil pressure lamp does not.  And if, when driving, either come on then I'll immediate turn my attention to the gauges.

An oil-warning (low pressure) lamp is clearly not essential, as Katie  and so many other cars and old motorcycles (without one) have demonstrated for many years, but then nor is a charge warning light.!  But they do prompt a more immediate response and are very much more clearly within sight when driving.  I might only presume split seconds can save a lot of damage & cost if, for whatever reason, the oil pressure is suddenly lost. 

Peace of mind. 

Pete

 

 

[Bfg]

. . . (re)fitting carpets and seats. 

I'll try to keep this brief, because it's not applicable to most owners or restorers ..because I've fitted used carpets that were not previously in this car. I bought this set from Conrad (aka OpenRoad, on the TR forum and on e-bay) a while back ..and they were in good condition ..regarding minimal wear &/or sun degradation, but they had also been crudely cut when previously fitted, and then also suffered a little damage when removed as a result of their having being glued & screwed down. These had in places pulled tuffs out.  This is no reflection on Conrad who was transparent in his description, and offered the set for just £40 ..if I recall correctly, which is a fraction of the cost of a new set.  

I primarily bought them to see if I liked green carpets in my red car.?  

This carpet set might be described as 'Deep pile tufted carpet, using 100% polypropylene fibre with a latex backing and hand bound edges ', which roughly translated means of  'economy quality, of generally poor fit ..but which will do '.  There are no claims as to original specification.

        

^ The primary issue with these carpets is that their edges fray when cut, and they don't like to be handled, in particular being folded or creased.  This is because like a cheap tarp, the polypropylene (?) mesh that holds it all together is of loose weave and rather adverse to being glued to. And the supposed latex backing, is quite unlike the incredibly flexible and strong, impervious membrane that we might be familiar with in natural latex. And so, as a result of very little handling you'll begin to see cracked backing, tuffs dropping out, and fraying ..like this ^.

Of course if the carpets are fitted and then never handled then such issues will not be an issue.

Aside from edge binding, there is an inexpensive and easy-to-apply process which helps. This may be worthwhile for floor mats that are lifted out for cleaning &/or for drying. And that is to to paint the back face of the carpet, and carefully along any unbound edges, with liquid latex.

 

^ These are the (back faces) of the used carpet set from the driver's footwell.  I've painted the liquid latex (bought off e-bay / used for mould making) and have laid the carpets face down and flat to dry (the oil-can is just a weight to flatten a curled up corner of that carpet).  The latex covers the surface and penetrates the cracks in the carpet's original backing to bind it all together. 

As very worthwhile bonuses, the carpets become non-slip, the latex contributes to sound absorption, and is a waterproof membrane.

You'll see that the above carpet has holes cut for seat runner bolts. These were crudely done and fraying. Although rarely seen, I wanted to fill those holes and lessen their visual impact ..not least because with my now fitting MX-5 seats the bolt pattern is different. . .

    

   

^ I think the above is self explanatory, save to note that the lay (pile) of the tuffs in a patch should align with the lay of the tuffs in the carpet.  It's clearly not an invisible repair but for there being mostly under the seats - it'll do !

  

^ from the modified seat brackets being refitted.. the new carpet stud positions could be marked (impressions) and holes were cut with an apple corer. Liquid latex was again carefully painted around the these hole's edges.

 

^ That'll do.  I'm not fitting carpet to the inner sill.  For the time being at least I'll leave that red. The footwell side-kick carpet had no backing card nor vinyl edging (to secure the vulnerable / kicked edge under the door seal), so all I could do was to cut it straight, seal the edge with latex and then use Velcro along that back-edge to prevent it from hanging loose. Unfortunately I didn't have black Velcro so I'll go back and paint the just-seen edge with the black seat's upholstery paint.  The sharp eyes observer will note the edge binding at the forward end of the floor mat - tbh., I cheated with that . . . 

^ the footwell carpet and its bulkhead end-kick were a single piece, and because I wanted easy-to-lift-out floor mats, I marked and chopped off the piece up the bulkhead.  Again I sealed the cut edges with latex. I then refitted the bulkhead piece upside own (inverted).  So it's top vinyl edge-binding is what you can see, now along the floor under the pedals (..it's not the floor mat which has binding along its edge).

Moving on.. to tackle the impossible . . .

^ This is what I started with.   The previous carpet fitter had not been very precise in his cutting around the gear change, because it wasn't necessary to do so.  In the TR4A - TR6,  the dashboard support / H-frame includes a big ugly box to hide this. 

  

^ The crushing of the carpet pile, by the H-frame's box, were to prove impossible to get out, and the only carpet I had (used and similarly hacked) to try and make the above look any better were the narrow strips, with the pile running a different way, off the inner sills.  I did try. . .

  

^ the result speaks for itself.  I consoled myself that my efforts would at least be a useful pattern for new carpets to be made. 

Seats are back in, but on the driver's side I had to remove the cover from the seat-back's tilt mechanism, for the time being at least. The trim down the B-post was just too tight for the seat to go back as far as I need it to.  In due course I'll take the cardboard out of that trim, just locally where the seat is widest.  On the passenger side there's also an interference fit, but the seat pushes back and I doubt if it will be moved very often. 

Door trim panels and steering wheel are now back on, tyre pressures checked, oil and water rechecked.. what's next ??

. . .

. .

.

 

[Bfg]

what's next ?? .. indeed . . .

Take her for a drive, away from demanding traffic conditions in the Suffolk countryside ..and then stop to check that all is well (it was).

^ the sill is yet to be repainted, and there are a hundred other jobs still to do, but hopefully now Katie  will be a driver on which I can spend a few hours here and there to potter around doing, inbetween my finally enjoying driving a TR4.   I like not having the bumpers on and the pressed steel wheels.  To my eye's she looks a purposeful British sports car ..and less a boulevarderie.  In response to Katie's  mid-life crisis ? I think she looks fabulous !

^ the interior now has the MX-5 seats with their adjustable seat backs which are surprisingly firm but very much more acceptable than the TR4A seats previously fitted.   I like the colour of the carpets and the black seats, but each look better in the evening than in the bright daylight.   I also like her black dashboard and warning lights, and in driving - my revisions to which switch does what.  Relative to the B-posts (which I have not moved !) you can see how far back I now have the seats. Alas, the hood frame will soon have to go, to get its hinged joint out of my shoulder.

 

^ Under-bonnet is nothing special, but at the same time it's uncluttered, purposeful and clean.

The car's handling, still needs a little fettling, or is that just me not used to the narrow track of a 1960's car and such quick steering.?  Possible the suspension will settle a little, but in the meantime I'll lower the front tyre pressures a couple of psi. I'll also recheck the tracking.   Noise levels and rattles when driving are now exceptional, a contradiction to what they were, and in stark contrast to my friend Rich's TR4 or Mike's TR4A each with their distinctive exhaust notes.

I'm very happy with the new LED lights, together with the sidelights I've added into the headlamp bowls ..and I ought now trust the wiring is going to behave nicely.  While driving, the ammeter shows reads a charge of about 5amp, and so I'll charge the battery to see if that settles down a little.

An oil drip from the bell housing (rear crank scroll I guess) and a a couple more from the overdrive are annoying.  It's on the job list but hopefully they'll not become a more serious issue.  Condensation in the engine I'm anxious about and so I've bought a pot of K-seal to see if that resolves the issue.

. . .

BIG THANKS to everyone who has supported me, both in the supply of parts, with advice and experience, and just through being there through this forum.  It's no secret that I've been at the end of my tether a number of times.  Even my neighbours know only too well when things are not going well !  But I now hope to just drive the car ..very often, to become familiar with her, and to steadily work through any further teething problems.

Thank you.

Pete

 

 

 

[AlanT]

Great result! Congratulations. And I’ll second the ‘get used to quick steering’  since I’ve also found the same vs modern car. 

[Bfg]

4 hours ago, AlanT said:

Great result! Congratulations. And I’ll second the ‘get used to quick steering’  since I’ve also found the same vs modern car. 

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

Pete

[Badwolf]

Pete - At last, a result for you. For what it's worth, I'm sooo pleased for you. It's been a longer haul than expected but you have got her back on the road to your satisfaction. Well done. Enjoy.

[Bfg]

Thanks Gentlemen, It's good to get Katie  back on the road although at present I have more mistrust than trust, and so am constantly on the alert for issues.  And of course if your focused on finding a problem, inevitably you will.  And the more you drive, the more you'll find. 

Yesterday afternoon I drove across to Bawdsey Quay, locked my bag in the boot of a car whose agreed insurance-value is close to double my annual income, and walked away anxious that someone might touch the car.    And so what if they did ! ? . . . Get over it Pete, it's not a Fabergé egg.!  

The mileage driven this weekend records as 109miles, but I don't know how accurate that is because the speedo reads 8mph slow.  Still.. none of the wheels have fallen off, the gearbox hasn't dumped its contents along the road, she hasn't burst into flames, the engine oil pressure is fine, and the water temperature is low and steady ..even though the exhaust manifolds get up & beyond 300 deg. c.

Oh how the older mind works.. !

Life seemed very much sweeter when I was an ignorant 20 year old, enjoying the financial independence of my first job, and the car was an £80 MkII Spitfire that I constantly drove as if being chased by a blue flashing light (..as on occasion I was).  And when I parked, look back over my shoulder ..and with a broad goofy grin think "that was bloody fantastic".  

Hopefully in time and with familiarity I'll find my way back to that sort of mindset.

Pete

 

[Colin Lindsay]

21 hours ago, Bfg said:

what's next ?? .. indeed . . .

I think she looks fabulous !

So do we.

[Bfg]

Thanks Colin

4 hours ago, Mathew said:

Well done Pete. Nice to see her out and about. Will have to test ride again now you have the new seats, compared to the old ones. Hows the steering? The carbs behaving well . Carpet looks good, i would go for black next time to blend in with the seats unless you intend to go green on top! Your probably see red now. 

 

13 hours ago, Bfg said:

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

Pete

The new float-level jets and needle in the carbs seems to cured their incontinence.  I did note a sudden squirt out of the front one, after she had been ticking over for a long while, but I'v not seen nor whiffed evidence of it happening again. Still I'm glad to not have the wiring loom running under them any longer.

I've no problem with others not sharing the same good taste as I have !     I like the green carpets, save the less-than-invisible patchwork around the gear-change gaiter, although I would accept they do look better when viewed from inside the car than set against the black seats.  Conversely, the black carpets, which were previously in the car, looked good (aside from them showing every spot of dirt & countryside dust) from outside the car, but were dismally dark and gloomy when sitting within.  

Conversely you'll have to concede that not many owners have the foresight to colour-match the engine block with the carpets !        

I find the driver's seat, the seat back in particular, is surprisingly firm. The backrest squab feels quite a flat board in comparison to the TR4 originals or indeed to those in my Chrysler.  As a consequence, of my not settling into the squab, there is less lateral support from the seat than I had expected.  But as the underside of my shoulder is hard against the folded-hood's frame that is not an issue around left handers. And because I'm pushed (by the hood frame) across to sit in the left hand side of the seat, then that side's backrest bolster supports me around right handers.   It works for now but it will be interesting to see what happens when I throw the hood-frame out.  

Leg room is good now, as is my eye-line (height) through the windscreen.  Very surprisingly for someone of my size - that is midway down the screen.   I will need to invest in a new windscreen though as this one is badly scratched and otherwise has 50+ years of tiny stone chips and weld splatter burns.   I cannot remember which but I think a spitfire &/or GT6 screen fits these TR's frame. 

See you at the next meeting ?

Pete 

[Bfg]

15 minutes ago, Mathew said:

Have you ever watched "get carter" the one with Michael Caine. Where the car is parked, with the girl in the boot.

Looking good, are you going keep it like this or add the bumpers?

I remember having the film in my DvD collection but I don't recall the scene you mention.  I'll have to check it out. 

I'm leaving the bumpers off for the time being. I've duly informed the insurance company, and locally added LED number-plate lamps (originally the lamps were in the bumper over-riders). I don't like a lot of weight hanging off the front or rear of a car, and I like the look of the car with pressed steel wheels and without the bumpers, but will probably drop the front number plate one grille-bar.

Pete

[Badwolf]

...and the girl in the boot???   Optional extra??? 😁 

[Bfg]

10 minutes ago, Mathew said:

See the film.

July is the next time I'm off for club meet. Although i might be down that way soon.

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

Pete

[Bfg]

20 minutes ago, Badwolf said:

...and the girl in the boot???   Optional extra??? 😁 

Girl in a TR boot ?  ..she'll have to be a blow-up ! 

 

. . . purely for safety reasons, a buoyancy-aid,  when parking next to the water you understand

[Badwolf]

Blow up, I vaguely remember the film.

[Josef]

You’re right Pete, the roundtail Spit/Gt6 and the TR4 through 6 all share the same windscreen frame. With minor detail variations. Don’t know exactly what these are as the TR parts dealer I was speaking to when looking for a replacement screen frame told me I was wasting his time and hung up on me…

[Colin Lindsay]

1 hour ago, Badwolf said:

Blow up, I vaguely remember the film.

I have it on DVD, some good parts in it.