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Post-War Other some stupid question triumph herald, help!!!

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triherald

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Hey guys, hope you can help... bought this herald about 8 months ago and it has some issues... any comments on the following question would be helpful..

1. Driver door is mis-aligned... when I got it the bottom back corner of the door sat out about an inch.. I have loosened all the bolts and used shims to realign the door and just can't get it back to alignment.. How do I determine if it is the door or body work (fender, sill, ect.) that is the problem.. this is a pretty straight, rust free car... don't know how to decide which it is.. wish I had another door!!

2. Compression check gives me front to back 100, 90, 95, 85 lb/sqinch, rebuild time or can I still go with this??

3. Taking the dash out @#@#@#@!!! what a bear... so do I really have to unhook all the cables from the engine side and bring through?? can't see where I can get the knobs off at the dash..

Well that is it right now.. thanks for any comments...

Jack /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nopity.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
1. Driver door is mis-aligned... when I got it the bottom back corner of the door sat out about an inch.. I have loosened all the bolts and used shims to realign the door and just can't get it back to alignment.. How do I determine if it is the door or body work (fender, sill, ect.) that is the problem.. this is a pretty straight, rust free car... don't know how to decide which it is.. wish I had another door!!

[/ QUOTE ]It might be the door, but chances are equally good that it's not. (Yeah, that sounds really helpful, doesn't it? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif ) Any evidence that the car has ever been hit/repaired, or the body has been off the frame? The way the Herald bodies are assembled, there's LOTS of adjustment possibilities in the main body sections as well as the doors themselves. Various alignment procedures are fairly well described in the Factory Workshop Manual, making it worth obtaining one of these.

[ QUOTE ]
2. Compression check gives me front to back 100, 90, 95, 85 lb/sqinch, rebuild time or can I still go with this??


[/ QUOTE ] That's pretty good, really. Did you do this with engine warmed up, plugs out and throttle wide open? And has the engine sat for a long time before you got it? Frankly, the numbers all are a bit lower than I'd expect, but there just barely beyond the usually acceptable 10% variance, so I'd be inclined to let it be for now.
[ QUOTE ]
3. Taking the dash out @#@#@#@!!! what a bear... so do I really have to unhook all the cables from the engine side and bring through?? can't see where I can get the knobs off at the dash..

[/ QUOTE ]Yes, it's probably easiest to unhook the cables for choke and heater water valve. The cable for the heat/defrost selector only goes down to a box inside the car, so that can stay, and it's likely much easier to deal with any and all wire connections once you drop the dash. Removing the switches isn't all that hard, but it's best done with the proper tool, lest ye mar the walnut veneer (unless it's one of the earlier cars where the wood veneer facia fits over the switches, in which case I'd take that off first after removing the gauges).
 
I agree with Andrew, the compression looks good. Unhooking the cables out side is easier than getting to them from behind the dash. Got any pictures of you door issues? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
Thanks guys, good news about the engine compression... The car is way underpowered so I was thinking that was the problem... the driver door looks like a crack up near the vent window was repaired and is cracked again... the car was painted and I think there was repair, but very hard to see, I have a repair reciept, unfortunately it does not say what was repaired. I will get a couple of pics of the side of the car and see if you can give me your takes of the alignment issue.. thanks also about the dash...

thanks

Jack
 
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The car is way underpowered so I was thinking that was the problem...

[/ QUOTE ]

Not to totally insult Herald owners... but aren't all Heralds underpowered unless they have had a lot of tuning or the engine transplanted? I mean there was a reason the Vitesse was made with the six cylinder and all right? Heralds weren't exactly designed to be quick afterall.

I've driven a few Heralds (Convertible and a Saloon) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif, both in good nick and both, while amusing to drive, were very "underpowered". LARGE gaps were needed for merging with modern traffic.



/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Not to totally insult Herald owners... but aren't all Heralds underpowered unless they have had a lot of tuning or the engine transplanted? I mean there was a reason the Vitesse was made with the six cylinder and all right? Heralds weren't exactly designed to be quick afterall.

[/ QUOTE ]
True, I suppose, but then what car in that class WAS back then? Certainly not the VW Beetle, or Mini 850, or Renault Dauphine.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[ QUOTE ]
I've driven a few Heralds (Convertible and a Saloon) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif, both in good nick and both, while amusing to drive, were very "underpowered". LARGE gaps were needed for merging with modern traffic.

[/ QUOTE ]Well...maybe! I, too, have had lots of driving time in various Heralds over the last (ahem) 36 years or so, including some 25,000 miles over the last three years in my '62 1200 saloon. Quick? No, of course not. Top speed limitations? Yeah...if one really needs to cruise much above 65 mph in most situations. I do realize that in some areas of the country and/or on some Interstates, that pace might be placed somewhere between "turtle" and "suicide"! But fact is, I've driven many an Interstate highway from New York all the way to Minnesota, and not once did I ever feel threatened in any way nor did I ever experience problems merging into traffic, etc., etc.

I'm certainly not trying to pick a fight here, nor am I blindly defending something purely out of sentiment; I'm just relating my own experiences. So.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
I will be starting a Herald project, hopefully sometime soon.
I currently drive a Morris Minor Traveller(every day) with the original 948cc power plant. While it does have twin carbs, acceleration is best measured with an hourglass or even a sundial. I am hoping to be somewhat surprised when I get the Herald going with it's "big" 1147cc motor!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I will be starting a Herald project, hopefully sometime soon....I am hoping to be somewhat surprised when I get the Herald going with it's "big" 1147cc motor!

[/ QUOTE ]Noto to belabor my own point, but the Herald's 1147 really isn't a bad little motor at all. One nice thing about it is that it's decently "torquey" over a fairly broad range. In more relaxed driving, one can accelerate from as low as 25-30 mph in top gear without unduly stressing anything. On the other hand, when you're shooting for that gap in traffic, these little motors will willingly "give their all" and do their best to get you there. Ain't no "rice rocket" for sure, but at worst they're willing little critters. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I knew that would rile you up some Andy, but again no offense was meant. Many period small cars like the Herald probably feel very underpowered especially when compared to any modern economy car. Not a slight against them or their owners. After all, it's part of the cars charm and character.

It's also what made my Ford Cortina 1600 GT such a stand out performer in the Saloon ranks in the late sixties. With all of it's 88 horspower. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I knew that would rile you up some Andy, but again no offense was meant. Many period small cars like the Herald probably feel very underpowered especially when compared to any modern economy car....

[/ QUOTE ]No offense taken! And frankly it's quite reassuring that the global auto industry has made SOME progress in the last 40 years.

Heck, I've got an old Spitfire 4 that was built -- "by the (Kastner) book" -- into an SCCA GP racer in the late 1960s. Apparently by the mid-1970s, the car was barely a good "school" car compared to others that had been updated, and it was abandoned in a barn until a friend and I found and bought it in 1983. It made for a great low-cost autocrosser, but by the mid-1990s -- even with racing slicks -- it could barely hold its own against current and essentially stock Neons, Civics and the like. That said, I've steadfastly refused to do any significant updates to it, because it's such a great "textbook" example of how they used to be.

Of course, every so often I think about taking that car's motor, which probably puts out an honest 80hp or so and is surprisingly docile for a "race" motor, and dropping it into a Herald, along with the Konis and the camber compensator.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
[quoteOf course, every so often I think about taking that car's motor, which probably puts out an honest 80hp or so and is surprisingly docile for a "race" motor, and dropping it into a Herald, along with the Konis and the camber compensator.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

That could make a really fun Herald! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
That could make a really fun Herald! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

[/ QUOTE ] DON'T encourage me! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Although...If I were to do a complete motor/gearbox transplant, I'd eliminate my current clutch problem, AND gain all that power, AND gain a synchro first gear...and probably have to ban my soon-to-be-licensed daughter from driving it EVER! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]

1. Driver door is mis-aligned... when I got it the bottom back corner of the door sat out about an inch.. I have loosened all the bolts and used shims to realign the door and just can't get it back to alignment.. How do I determine if it is the door or body work (fender, sill, ect.) that is the problem.. this is a pretty straight, rust free car... don't know how to decide which it is.. wish I had another door!!


[/ QUOTE ]
Do you have a copy of the Herald workshop manual (not the Hanyes, the orriginal Triumph manual)?
It has all the measurments needed to make sure the frame/and body are properly aligned. The manual is available on CD so it shipping is not a problem.
If by out, you mean that there is a gap, the problem may be the rubber mounting body mounting pads which have settled. I currently am ignoring this problem on my Herald.
Yisrael
 
[ QUOTE ]
Is it possible to replace the Solex carb with twin SUs to improve power? The proper manifold and SU can't be that expensive. T.T.

[/ QUOTE ]Yes, and it's been done many times by many folks. By itself, particularly on the earlier 1200 Heralds, it actually seems to decrease low-end power very slightly, although there is some gain at higher revs.

Of course, the early Spitfire's 1147 is essentially the same motor, and primary differences beyond the carburetion are higher compression and different camshaft profiles (and different distributors and other details).

The factory had two different "twin-carb conversion kits" for the Herald 1200. The kit for the earlier 40hp Herald engine used the SU H1 carbs and manifolding from the original Herald's 948cc twin-carb engine, as well as an improved camshaft (at the moment I forget which cam; sorry!), etc., etc. The kit for the later 48/51 hp Herald engine (aka the 12/50) used SU HS2 carbs as on the early Spitfire, along with the Spitfire's manifolds. These engines already had one of the early Spitfire cams, which was part of how they got so much more power with the same single Solex used on the earlier 1200s.

So, yeah, that's a long and verbose way of saying "yes" to your question. Even that bolt-on modification will help to some degree.
 
Thanks for all the info guys, I will try to get some pics this weekend of the door alignment and I will also check the body mounts and alignment... thanks to all

Jack
 
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