The start of something big. Frame off restoration

[justin_mercier]

It turns out I will not be using those hinges anyways and that they will be returned. 3 of the 4 hinges do not close flush with eachother, leaving the faces of the hinges out of parallel when closed, and while that would be fixable, with some heat and a big hammer, for almost 300$ for a set of hinges, that's just not something that I want to do. I feel bad because this is the 2nd item that I am returning to Moss Motors in as many weeks, but for the price I've spent on these hinges, I'd expect them all to be 'perfect'

I've usually not had any problems with "classic gold authentic reproductions" but for the price paid, I dont want to have to beat them with a big hammer afterwords.

The other item was a set of new bugeye sprite windshield pillars, but the ones that arrived were so scratched up that they were in worse shape than the old dull set with some rust staining that I already had. It's odd, of the hundreds of things I've ordered from Moss over the last few years, it's only in the last 2 weeks that I've ever had a problem with any of them.

 

[justin_mercier]

My mission for today was, enjoy the british cars at Brits by the Sea car show, pick up a new exhaust header, and get it installed. Right now I'm 'short cutting' the "make the exhaust header look pretty' step in order to save as much time so that I can get on the road and turn my frame off project into a rolling project.

This year I remembered to bring sun-screen to the car show, and I think I managed to avoid any bad burns unlike last year =) I got to meet several 6-packers there, including Squid, Al Gary, Bob M and BobbyD. I also picked up the exhaust headder that another fellow brought for me. This header had 2 broken studs and 2 very rusted studs.

Upon getting home, I was able to get all 4 studs out of the header, but the threads inside were in pretty bad shape, even after chasing them with my 3/8 tap, I was not happy with the threads... that's when I remembered that a 3/8 threaded hole perfectly fits through a 5/16th bolt. In fact I've seen several cars with exhaust headers that are using bolts instead of studs... so that's exactly what I've done for the time being, and I used some stainless nuts and 5/16 bolts to install the header, after having wire wheeled the heck out of all the surfaces. With the new exhaust header installed, the 1971 intake manifold that i have bolts right on without any problems... except one =D the 3 top bolts that I have are too short, so I need to wait until the hardware store opens tomorrow to pick up some 5/16 fine thread bolts long enough to go through the manifold and screw into the engine block.

Next I need to figure out which two ZS carbs I will be using of the five that I currently own, all of which are in working order. The ones that I got from Al are certainly better looking though, but there are slight differences in the carbs that I'm not sure what they are for, and which pair I should pick to use.

In the mean time I have also decided that I am going to use internal hinges for the boot cover, instead of the external TR3 hinges, for a slightly cleaner / smoother look at the rear end. I'll be taking a set of hinges and fiber-glassing half of them directly onto the inside of the boot-cover so that there are no externally visible bolts or bumps from it.

 

[justin_mercier]

I had planned on epoxying / fiberglassing in the hinges for the rear deck today and drilling the holes to mount the pedal box, but those didn't get done, because my other goal for the day took all evening unfortunately. Today I got the emergency brake installed and cabled up. This involved cutting the old one out of the TR6 body, mounting it with bolts in the hathaway body... and then unexpectedly having to lift the whole rear of the body back up to run the cables because the 'hump' behind the seat is slightly shorter, and I couldn't fit the Ebrake cables between the shock / differential tower and the body without unbolting the whole rear to raise it up half a centimeter.

Here's testing the door gaps and the hood gap spacing again after lifting and putting the rear body back on.

 

[justin_mercier]

Got most of the old paint stripped from my pedal box this evening, and drilled the holes in the fire wall for the brake and clutch master cylinders. Tomorrow I need to drill the rest of the holes to mount the box to the top of the footwell, but I need to get my roommate to hold stuff in place while i drill little pilot holes. I got the passenger side fenders drilled for mounting and the rear one mounted. I also fabricated some rings to hold in place my new gauges in the dash board that came with the hathaway. It came with the holes cut for more modern gauges, 5 inch holes for the spedo and tach and 2 inch holes for the other gauges. Well, 2 inches and 52mm are about equal, but 5 inches doesnt match my 100mm gauges at all. Rather than having a whole new dash made, for now I'll be taking these support rings and painting them black.

I got my headlight assemblies in the mail today as well as quite a few other parts including some windshield brakcets from both a bugeye sprite and an MGTD. Neither is the 'right' bracket for my windshield, but I can make either one or the other work I think, albiet in both cases by taking a hacksaw to parts and grinding them down and reshaping a few places. The MGTD brackets I can 'almost' use as is, except that because of the extreme curve of the bracket, they need to mount further 'out' to the sides to match the curve, which results in the windshield being about 3 inches from the bracket on either side. I think I might be able to re-grind the inside of the bracket to make it fit closer in, and then be able to have a fold-down windscreen in the front, which would be kind of cool. Though it's a shame to destroy a set of No Longer Available even in repro parts, I may just have to try and do it since I got the pair for a decent price, cheap enough that if I totally screw up, I wont be too upset.

Tomorrow I want to mount the passenger front fender, so that I can figure out the exact width of the nose spacer that I need to make to bridge the gap between the grille and the bonnet hinge. I need to fabricate some additional side supports for the bottom of the front fenders, and the bumper brackets for the front of the front fenders as well, but I need everything mounted to get the right dimensions so that I dont end up pulling the fenders too far towards center or too far apart. I want to get the pedal box painted tomorrow as well, and ready to mount, so that I can get the brake and clutch hydraulics all tightened up and hopefully bled and working without leaks this weekend.

Things are really coming together, now to keep the pedal to the ... fiberglass... and get this thing in a state where I can do the wiring harness and fire it up and drive it up and down the (very short) driveway.

 

[justin_mercier]

Lots of work done this weekend, not all of it visible. I got all the fenders mounted properly with support brackets fabricated. Then I fabricated an aluminum spacer for between the front fenders at the top (it's not final, but it works)

I really did not like the way the front grille fastened with just 4 screws and clips, but there was plenty of 'meat' in the back of the grill slats for me to file out space to drill a hole through the center top for another hold point. Right now it's just a temporary bracket and bolt through there until I make something better, but just that one anchor point gives more stability to the front grille than all the other 4 combined.

I then trial fit (and drilled the one external hole for mounting) the headlights. I need to figure out a way to get another anchor point or two in the headlight buckets, and run the grommet for the wiring harness, but the whole car looks totally different with the grille on front and the headlights sitting in there. Right now the headlights are the AutoLoc Tri-bar headlights with built in turn signals. I also have a set of normal 7" halogen bulbs, and may use those instead. I'm not sure I like the look of the obvious built in turn signal on this car. The headlight buckets actually have light bulb holders right in the front center which could be used for turn signals (in a VW bug they were originally for parking lights)

 

[HerronScott]

Justin,

That is really starting to shape up there considering not long ago it was a (big) box of parts. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Scott

 

[justin_mercier]

I got the pedal box mounted and the brake and clutch master cylinders mounted. The clutch cylinder is REAL close to the hood, in fact when closed tight it's probably rubbing on the side of it.

I need to figure out what kind of fittings I need to run a line from the clutch cylinder to the line from the hydraulic throw out bearing in the HVDA transmission, and I need to figure out where I'm mounting the PDWA so that I can hook up the lines from the brake cylinder to the PDWA and the other lines already run on the chassis to that spot.

 

[justin_mercier]

I need to get new foam / filter elements for these kingsbore air filters that I got, and i may need to drill out and re-solder in the pins on the front filter because there isn't enough clearance to put the nut on the filter with the fender where it is. In this photo you can see how clearly the triple intake just plain wouldn't fit.

I picked up a set of 4 dayton chrome tubeless wire wheels, 15 inch 72 spoke, with less than 500 miles on them. They were on a show car that got trailer-ed around, and then had alloys put on it. They're in perfect new shape. I need to pick up a 5th still, and until I do so, I may end up just driving around on my alloy wheels, with one of the wires as the spare in the back just filling in the space for the look until I get a 5th.

After reading around and talking with some people, it appears that the stock 'steel wheel' studs are 1 1/8 inch long, and the 'wire wheel' studs are 7/8 inch long. From talking with people, using 1/4 inch spacers on each wheel will allow you to not have to change the studs at all, or cut them or anything, and swap back and forth between wire and non wire wheels at will. Moss motors sells 1/4 inch spacers for exactly this purpose, so I have put in an order for a set.

On my list of 'things to do next' is, once i get my splined hub adaptors, to chop the top off one, and extend it with a pipe to the right length to create the rear wheel mount for the back of the car, and attach the bottom to the filler neck of the fuel tank. Then the spinner on the top will become the gas cap, right in the center of the spare tire on the rear.

I need to figure out a few minor things up front, such as where to mount a tensioned spring behind the top of the headlights to keep them in place, what to do with the vacuum advance/retard (not sure which) line from the front carb, knowing that the other end on the distributor is capped off, how to hook up the gas pedal to get it to the throttle linkage on the carbs alright, and what sort of adapter to create from the fuel hose that's already up front to the metal gas lines attached to the carbs.

 

[justin_mercier]

After spending half the afternoon trying to cut a 2 paper inch air filter in half to make one inch filters, and making a mess, and then talkign with K&N on the phone and finding out that to get a 5 to 5.25 inch outer diameter circle filter that's only 1 inch tall instead of 2 inches tall, since it's not a standard size would be custom made and cost me megabucks... I went back to foam like the original Kingsborne air filter was and picked up some new air-permeable foam at the hardware store, cut it to size, and put the inner and outer screens on it.

This photo lets you better see just how there's NO clearance between the fenders and the filter. There is so little in fact, that I had to drill out and re-position the mounting studs for the cover, so that I can get the nuts on, since in the original orientation there's not enough space between the fender and the stud to get the nut over it. Perspective makes it look like the gap is larger, but there's less than a quarter inch between the fender and the front air cleaner.

 

[justin_mercier]

I got the front looking closer to finished. I mounted the badge bar that I got on the front, and then I've been working on the mounting bracket that I need for mounting the front bumper thingies. They're not final mounted right now, but I'm testing the fit and positioning.

The mounting might be a little bit low right now, there are two threaded holes in the rear of the bumpers that I've got, and right now that's with the one bar I have mounted through the top hole, if I mount it through the bottom hole it's a little too high. I think i need to drill one more hole between the two existing ones on the back of the bracket for a happy medium. Once I get the hole drilled in the center to move it up about an inch, I can drill a second hole through the fender and finish fabricating the bracket that will hold them in place. the same bracket will be another support point for the fenders too to help get rid of some of the flex in the front.

 

[justin_mercier]

LET THERE BE LIGHT!

all the lights on the front of the are mounted (albiet not wired) I'm going to be changing the mounting of the main headlight buckets a little though so that I can add a tensioner spring behind the top with an adjustment screw behind the headlight bucket.

The fog lights really add to the look of this type of car IMHO.

 

[DNK]

Justin- Nice intake

 

[justin_mercier]

Bit by bit it's getting there. I have to do some filing and sanding on the edges of some of the bonnet panels still to get the fit just right, (or as close to just right as I can at this time, they were previously trimmed by the first owner, but never mounted, and they didn't trim quite right.

I bought some books and a video on fiberglass repair this weekend as well, the bonnet has some of the worst fiberglass damage of all the pieces in the car.

Next up, mounting the doors, then I put in the steering column and dashboard and get to wiring.

 

[justin_mercier]

Thought that I'd add some photos of some of the mounting brackets and whatnot that I've had to make to get things to stay in place. After looking at photos of old VW Beetles, it turns out they had a clip at the top of the lights that grabbed onto the edge of the trim ring, so I made my own to secure the top of the headlights.

The supports for the front bumpers are also used to stiffen up the front of the car immensely. I made the brackets from some 7/16 all-thread and some angle iron, and they mount to the from body mount points beside the radiator.

The bottom bolt I have bolted just to the fiberglass with 2 one inch chrome spacers in front to keep the distance the same, and to keep the front bumperettes from twisting from side to side. With the front mounted up like that, the whole car stiffens right up, as the grille and headlights are no longer pulling down on the fiberglass fenders without supports.

 

[justin_mercier]

It's a good thing that I did not yet put the seat rails under the seats that I got for the car. When I put the steering wheel in this weekend along with the dash, I found out there really is no room for it to move forward or backwards, but if I sit it all the way as far back as it fits, it's at the perfect location. I'll drill the holes for final mounting of the seats in the next few days.

I got very little work done this weekend as I was helping my grandmother move from central Maine to central NH. I did get some work done though. I fit the dashboard and steering column. The steering column isn't finished, I still am waiting on a second U joint and lower tr6 shaft that I purchased on Ebay to finish it. It turned out to be a real pain however as the steering column when installed interfered with the oil cooler. As a result I've re-routed the oil cooler to go under the engine mount and with the hoses under the steering rack boot instead of over. I'll have to keep an eye on this area to make sure none of the oil cooler hoses are chaffing on anything when in use.

The dashboard still needs some further supports, but it fits in there nicely. I am going to mount some wood along the front side of the door for something to mount the inner door latch to, and to give a place for some dashboard mounts at the bottom of the dash to attach. I'm going to want to make another support for the steering column as well, to give it extra rigidity, because I have a feeling it's going to get pulled on a lot getting in and out of the car. I lowered the car all the way to the ground, off the wheel dollies and whatnot, and getting in and out will be a bit challenging ! I can use it as motivation to not put on any weight though =)

 

[trrdster2000]

Justin, I have enjoyed you journey and left any opinion until the trees had parted and I could see the clearing. A job well done and well thought out for any future problems.
Let me help in a small way. Your front fenders will have a lot of movement from side to side. Have a look at the Roadster and you can see how I know. I have a rod that runs from the bottom to a place on the frame. It's back a few inches so as not to show.
Hope this is not something that will upset you, not my intention. It may save you getting cracks in the fenders at a later date.

Wayne

 

[justin_mercier]

Steering column finished and installed, yay! I had to go between the brake lines on either side of the PDWA due to where it was mounted.

I was worried that with the 205-70R15 tires I put on the car that steering would turn hard with the extra U joint in the column, but at a stop it still turns just fine and smoothly from right to left stop.

I haven't drilled the holes yet for the seat mounts, but I've got them positioned and marked.

I still need to get some indicator lights for the dash, that or fit some switches to the holes between the two main gauges.

Getting in and out is going to be a bit of a contortion act however, there is very little room inside to get in and between the steering wheel and the seats. Ah well, once in it's fine when behind the wheel though =)

 

[justin_mercier]

Oh yes, and wire wheels are installed. Waiting on a 5th to arrive from Dayton to mach the other 4 for the spare that goes on the rear.

 

[justin_mercier]

Slow progress, and a little something that's driving me nuts...

I've been swamped with work this week, pulling a few all nighters for work and working through the whole evening every day, unfortunately that means, I did not get in the garage at all this week until today. I got the seats permanently mounted, which was easy because I just had to pick up the Ubolts of the right length at the hardware store and drill 12 holes =P I also got the driver side door mounted. Now here is where my frustration is happening. You see... my door isn't flat. When the door is all lined up properly and the hinges mounted, when it is shut, the front bottom sticks out a quarter inch, while the other 3 corners are flush. The fiberglass is flexible enough i can force it flat, but it wont stay there unless i put a latch down at the bottom to hold it tight. I've tried all sorts of things to get it to sit more flat, but I've come to the conclusion that the door itself is just warped. Not sure how to fix it, or if i should just move the door latch lower when I mount it, and see if I can just pull it tight, although that might eventually cause some stress breaks in the edges of the fiberglass.

The hinges that I am using are for a Morgan 4/4 and work great. Getting in and out of this thing is going to be a bit of a contortionists act however. It'll be good motivation for me to not put on weight !

 

[big6]

On a standard TR6 frame a body mount resides approximately in the area where the door is not aligning with the body. Is it possible to work the body mount in this area to obtain the door alignment?