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TR2/3/3A My Reassembly journey

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Thank you Randall

The defrost hose I got is wire reinforced but the coolant hose from The Roadster factory is not. I have done a small mod and added 1/2" OD copper 90. That eases the fit a bit.

I has seen the section in the workshop manual but completely forgotten about it.

David
 
The left hand water hose and defrost hose both go behind the heater box and come out the back af the battery box. I remember i had to have a second go at fiting them ,the best outcome is to fit the hoses and ducts to the heater box first then fit the heater to the car, that was the only way i could get it all together. You said they built the car arround the heater , well thats sort of right but if you havn't attached the defrost tube first you won't get it in after.

Graham
 
Hello Graham

Thanks for that tip.
I had not fitted the defrost hose at this time but will in the morning. Getting good at removing and fitting the heater. Would hate to have to do it with the glove box in place.

David
 
Great to see some photos of a car in progress. Mine is not quite as far along as yours but hope to have it close to paint early next year. I am considering tipping the body on the side for under body welding, sealing and painting. Did you just roll it onto its side and did the body hold its shape after the removal of the braces? Did you seal the seams before painting with POR15. I used this for the chassis paint but wasn't sure to use to for the underbody but it looks good on your car. Did you use 2 pack over the POR15?

I have set up a website https://colbtr2.wixsite.com/triumph-tr2-ts1852 because I found it hard to locate photos of cars in rebuild when I was looking for detail so thought I might as well create one to document the journey.

keep posting the photos!

Colin
 
Hello Colin
Thank you

I lifted the body using an engine crane and chains. Then lowered one edge of the body on to my frame on wheels and then unhooked the chains on the side supported by the frame. Next I lifted the body by the chains on the other side till it tipped on to the frame. Did it on my own several times with no issues. You just have to be careful at the tipping point.
The body did stay in shape after the braces were removed. I was worried about it moving on me.

I did not seal the seams before I applied POR15. I did that after two coats of POR15. I did both the inside and outside of the body and inside the wings. By two pack paint I presume you mean Primer with a hardener. Yes I did. Several coats of primer and I had a hard time getting rid of the blasting sand no matter how long I blew and swept there was always a bit more sand.
David
Lifyting body.jpg
Body frame.jpg
POR15.jpg
 
On the heater saga.

Got it fitted with all the hoses and defrost ducts in place.
Started the car to run it up to temperature to start to bed the rings. I understand you should do several runs of about 10 minutes at 2500 RPM to get the rings to seat. Then recheck the head bolts.

After about 10 minutes I noticed a small puddle of coolant by the drivers seat. The heater core had a tiny leak. Bummer.
Checking on heater core options now.

David
 
I seam sealed all the joints before high build two pack primer then two pack top coat to finish
P1010093.jpg
 
Beautiful paint, David! These heaters are frustrating. I attempted to solder a leak in one, but kept opening holes as fast as I could seal them and gave up. I think the problem is they are impossible to fully clean around the leak.
 
Hello John

Just to be clear that is Grahams paint. Wish my inside looked that good.

The information I have been gleaning on the heater concurs with your observation. It is probable worse than trying to fix a radiator core.

I will probable go with a Clayton Classic core.

David
 
My radiator guy (who made his living repairing radiators) said the same thing; the heater core cannot be repaired only replaced. And he didn't have a source for it.

FWIW, here's an old article on a way to build your own. Should work, but I haven't tried it. Written for a Land Rover, but the same core should work in a TR3 (might have to adjust dimensions a bit).

https://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/cm214/forum_pics/heater.pdf
 
Hello Randall

Thank you for that link. I had printed it out a while age and was looking into trying it.

I did find this site in the UK and they have the best price that I have found. They also mention that the shorter clips necessary for to secure the core come as part of the kit. They have a fan that is made to replace the original fan.
They are cheaper than Moss, Clayton Classic and Rimmer Bro.

David

https://www.holden.co.uk/displayAgr...e=Electrical&pgName=Heaters+&+Electrical+Fans
 
Graham H said:
I seam sealed all the joints before high build two pack primer then two pack top coat to finish
Click to expand...
Graham, what base primer did you use before your high build? I'm in the planning stages of my TR4 project, and I'm on the fence about doing the body and paint work myself. I thinks it's well within my abilities to manage it, but I'm trying to get a solid game plan together on staging everything.
So far my general plan is:
General panel fitting and any repairs done on the frame.
Pull body and mount on DIY rotisserie, chemical/mechanical strip to bare metal.
Fast etch clean and prep
Epoxy primer, then seam sealer.
POR 15 or similar underneath
Remount to frame for final panel fitting/bodywork and high build.
Sealer coat of epoxy primer
Planning on single stage paint in either Black (original) or Powder Blue (my favorite)
 
Alfred, the base primer was applied by the people who did my body sand blasting. I told them i was going to use two pack paint for the finish and they said it wouldnt be a problem which it wasn't, I still don't know what they used. I used DeBeer paint for primer and top coat.
Bad luck with your heater David you could try for a second hand one mybe on Ebay.
Graham
 
Hello Graham

That was a second hand one . One of the things I have read is the core can deteriorate if it is left dry for a long time. A lot of crud came out of it when I drained it down.

A new core seems like the best long term solution. Also I gather they put out more heat.

David
 
Oops...Graham, your paint is beautiful!!

These heaters have a lot of issues going on. Since the water enters the top and exits the top, any and all the crud the engine pumps into it never leaves. I have spent 3 hours rinsing a core. It is amazing the amount of crud that comes out, and I have no doubt a ton is still left. Since the crud is mainly rusty iron particles, I think they add to the fact the cores deteriorate when removed and exposed to air. They continue to corrode, taking the adjacent copper with them. The design fights physics. Convection wants hot air to rise...but Triumph has the hot air being forced downward! You would get more heat into the car by reversing the fan direction, although all the extra heat would merely dissipate on the firewall. Finally, the accordion design is ridiculous. The only thing that prevents the heater from growing under radiator pressure are the 3 metal clips...and they frequently don't stop it anyway.

So, these heaters work in spite of the design rather than because of it.
 
Got the drivers side door fitted and the door handle is on. I have a new latch which I had to ease the spring off a bit as it was almost impossible to operate the latch. I cut 2 coils off the spring which made it much better.

I looked up in the parts book and handbook to see if I am missing anything from the latch to handle connection. It looks like I am missing a spring judging by the two holes. One in the door and the other in the lever.

David

Door handle inside.jpg
Door handle inside 2.jpg
 
David, thats interesting you cut two rings off the latch spring,how did you get the latch apart? The return spring attaches to that larger hole just above and to the left of the latch arm pivot in your second photo, you can just see it in my photo of the left hand door.

Graham
P1010238.jpg
 
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