TR2/3/3A Front clip order of bolt tightning

Evening all the metal pieces except the bonnet are on my TR3A, a post 60000 number car. Tomorrow I will be installing the bonnet. Everything is mounted loosly, nothing snugged down. once I get the bonnet on, what would be the suggested order of snugging everything down? I know everything has to be lined up.It was all lined up perfectly several years ago but we took everything of after the painting. I hate do-overs so I really would like to get it done right the first time if possible. So how do I do it? Apron first than the fenders and the bonnet or do I do all of them a little at a time. Before I get tocarried away I have to gert the beading installed also.
your thoughts and suggestions greatly appreciated.
I finally have a working camera, so a project update will be done within the next couple of weeks. It is realling looking good.

Thanks,Tinkerman

Dick, Here's my two cents worth,although it may be worth a little less than that. I'd mask off the top of fenders and the edge of the front apron and get the bead in there. Then just snug everything, at the four corners, up just enough that it won't move around on you. From that point it will likely just be alot of trial and error fitting to move things in line. Once things seem in line you can snug up the bolts in between the four corners. Just remember the hood/bonnet flexes quite a bit, so carefully close it all the way to check gaps. Probably the most important is the gap at the hood/front apron and the height of the hood latches. Mine lined up pretty well except for the hood lifting spring, so I had to coax it over a little with a wood block and hammer. Good luck and glad to see more progress.

I have never done this - but that doesn't stop me from having an opinion.

One thing I would avoid is tightening up the apron early in the fitting - just because down the road it is the single piece most likely to have to come off and go back on.

IOW, make the apron the last bit tightened down as it will be the first bit removed in the future.

Pretty much agree with Kleykamp, it takes a bit of tweaking and juggling regardless of order. As I recall, you'll need to loosen the wings and do the whole process again when the apron ever needs removal in the future. A real PITA with all the panels newly painted.
I noticed, from an old video, that Triumph assembled all the bolt on panels with the body in primer, then put on the final color coat.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/vide...:s,v:v,m:sa&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=mozilla&tt=b
Might be something to consider but do wear a respirator.

Dick , you'll want to fit and tighten the bonnet first so it is forward enough to not pinch the cowl paint when it opens. Then the apron followed by the fenders.

1) Wings on with bolts in but loose.
2) Bonnet mounted on hinges snuggly to align gap with scuttle AND laterally to center between wings.
3) Apron on but loose.
4) Try to get bottom of apron to align with bottom of wings, then snug two bottom bolts.
5) Check gap and alignment between top of apron and bonnet...snug 2 upper bolts if good.
6) Snug upper rear wing through bolts from inside car when satisfied with both bonnet to apron AND wing to door gaps.
5) Align bottom of wing to door and snug a lower bolt on each wing.
6) Double check and adjust snugged bolts as necessary.
7) Triple check and adjust snugged bolts as necessary.
8) TIghten remaining loose bolts, alternating sides of car as you go.

Note...for some odd reason, even if the body panels fit perfectly before painting, they will not fit well afterward. The alignment process is slow and tedious, but the more time you spend getting it right, the better it looks.

If everything fit well before I would start with the rear of the bonnet. Make sure you have a nice even and straight gap at the back near the cowl. This should give you a good idea where to start with the fenders so you have a even gap on the sides. If you are using the same spacers under the dzus brackets at the front that will give you a good idea of how high the front edge of the bonnet will be. At this point you should have the side bolts on the fenders and the dzus brackets tightened just a bit over finger tight. As mentioned above put plenty of tape on all the leading edges of all the panels, tape is cheap. Don't push it down to tight leave it some what loose so it's easy to remove. Also leave about an 1/8" gap from the edge of both the apron and fender where the beading will go. Then install the support brace for the apron on the car, do not tighten down. Now pick up the apron and set it on the support bar going across the engine bay. I always did this by myself but if you have a few extra hands available have them pull the fronts of the fenders out and away so the apron fits easily into place. I need to back track a little bit hear. I would also put a small piece of tape on each of the beading tab ends to keep them from touching the paint, mine had very pointed corners. Then I would install all the remaining hardware just to get them started. With the apron in place you should now be able to see how the fit is at the front edge of the bonnet and apron, and also the height of the side of the fenders and the apron. Tis is critical if you want the beading to fit well. If you like the way it fits tighten down the bolts at the top of the fender and the apron just a bit and start fitting the beading at the top. I like to align the beading tabs to be close to the bolts so when you do tighten them down you get a good clamp on them. Then work your way down the fender pushing the beading into place as you go. I also put a small piece of tape on the beading so the tabs would not slide down the beading as I moved down the fender. When you get down to the bottom of the fender with the beading in place start back at the top and tighten the bolts a bit more making sure the beading is still tight against the car. At this point you might want to start removing some of the tape along the edge. You don't want it to get caught under the fender and beading. Almost there, now you can start to tighten the bolts on the bottom of the fender to mount it to the inner fenders. If all went well you should have a good fit all around and you can tighten all the bolts and remove the tape, and bend over the tabs on the beading. I'm sure others have a different way to do it but this worked well for me. Good luck take your time and bring plenty of patience with you before you start.

I think everything has been touched on, but I might suggest just a couple more thoughts. Start the chrome beading at the door end and start right at the end of the fender so the door does not hit it, and leave 2 holding tabs in that area to keep the beading down. Plus that area is tight getting the tabs in and the long tabs need to be folded or cut in half or they will bottom out and the chrome bead will not go down. The vent on the shuttle needs to open when the hood is closed also, and to be careful and not pull the vent by the knob until you are sure there is room for the vent to open or you might chip the paint, or if you are putting the vent on last, there is very little wiggle room in the back of the vent, plus do not try to close the vent when the hood is open. But like you said it all fit before. Good luck and sometimes walking away for a while makes a lot of difference

With projects like this, it's easy to forge ahead when things aren't going well. Rather than continue and do it wrong or worse, break something made of unobtanium, it is preferable, as you say, to just walk away.

Fortunately, there's an alternative to walking away for a while. It's called the "Moaning Chair". I first ran across this in a book on, oddly, boat building by Edward Chappelle. He maintains that every boat builder needs to have a moaning chair nearby so that when he really screws something up, he can sit in it and express his innermost feelings. Personally, I add a healthy dose of spirits when that happens.

Yep, I got one of those just didn't know what it is called. It also serve's as my pondering chair, an essential tool when you are re-building things you didn't take apart.

Thanks all of you for your thoughts and hints on assemblying my front clip!

Ya gotta love the forum!

Dick