TR4/4A TR4A Assembly by a rookie (me!)

[DrEntropy]

On the other hand, it’s a Triumph, not known for precision panel gaps!

Great job, Mike. One of the most 'fiddly' jobs is fitting the panels and not doing any damage to paintwork in the process.

Herself has admonished me many times with: "C'mon Doc! It ain't a Ferrari ferheavens sake!"

 

[Popeye]

Continuing on:

To improve the passenger door gap, I lifted the rear of the tub by adding an additional shim on the passenger side. The driver side looks ok as is (gap wider at top vs bottom). Interestingly, the passenger door fits darn-near perfectly, while the drivers side has only “decent” gaps.

The door seals seem to be compressing. Both doors close easier (although still requiring slight extra force). Much better than initial installation!

I attached the top. Not difficult - but quite fiddly. I followed the instructions in Piggot’s book, which worked well for me. Particularly to stretch the top as far as I can with the frame closed and mark with chalk - then go back an additional 1/2”. I placed a large space heater inside the car, closed the windows, and put a blanket on the top. This resulted in a nice and warm - and pliable - top. I sewed the straps using a sewing awl from Amazon ($9). As I no longer had the original straps to aid with positioning, I positioned the rear bow such that it meets the seam above the rear window. I used a large channel lock to set the poppers, instead of hammering on the car body. The header rail seal install is a pain in the backside! I opened up the tracks where they make a bend, and gently hammered them flat after installation.

All in all, the top appears tight; it takes a good bit of force - just about all I can muster - to close it. One popper does not want to stay closed, so I’ll probably “deform” it slightly to increase the friction. The top was in the box for about seven years, so I did not have high hopesI may yet redo it, and if so, I’ll buy a zippered-rear window top from LBC Car Co.

Once the top was in place, I adjusted the upper limit of the windows. Then I installed the door panels … fiddly at best. In a few cases I had to move the cutouts in the door panel to get the clips to align with the door. On the passenger side, the foam capping seemed to be oversized, and comes down too far. I moved all the upper clips upward, and things go together nicely. Before putting the panels in place, I attached plastic sheeting to the bottoms of the windows with double-sticky tape (the extra-strong 3M kind) to keep the winders and door panel dry. I also greased the winding mechanism. (Both sides are new winders - and work much better than the originals.) To place the springs behind the door latch and window winder, I started a few clips, making sure the panel was in its final position. I then placed the springs in place - and immediately attached the door handle and window handle. (Some folks suggest to hold the springs in place with tape. I tried that but found the springs pushed the door panel too much to get the snaps in place. This i started the snaps, placed the spring while I could still get behind the door - and “clamped” the panel in place with the handle and winder.) Using a hemostat for the pins worked beautifully.

A few small tasks:
I attached the hood medallion with 4-40 nuts. I used a die to cut threads.

I have a license plate; a year-of-manufacture, which allows me to negate the front plate requirement in Massachusetts, but does not have the restrictions of an antique plate. I will need to get an annual inspection.

I’ve chased down the last niggling brake line leaks. I don’t like to over-torque fittings like a proverbial “grease monkey” but one joint required that. One more bleed cycle and the brakes will be done. (DOT5 - thus the extra bleeding.)

And last night I replaced two upper ball joints, where the rubber boot had torn from sitting in unloaded position for too long.

photos (I can’t believe I did not take a picture of the completed top!):

 

[sp53]

Looking great Mike. Yeh I think the rubber parts they sell today are made of some kind of plastic/nylon/ something not too much rubber anyway , but what can you do.

steve

 

[KVH]

Looks and sounds fantastic.

What’s that about adding 1/2 inch on the top fitting?

About the door panels, I get nervous popping them off. I have two areas where the Masonite cracked out, but I know I need to get back inside the passenger door because the window crank is about frozen. I tried to grease it last year but I guess I missed.

I remember feeling that lubrication of the window regulator was near impossible because the window and protective plastic are in the way. Is there an easy procedure?

 

[Popeye]

What’s that about adding 1/2 inch on the top fitting?

About the door panels, I get nervous popping them off. I have two areas where the Masonite cracked out, but I know I need to get back inside the passenger door because the window crank is about frozen. I tried to grease it last year but I guess I missed.

I remember feeling that lubrication of the window regulator was near impossible because the window and protective plastic are in the way. Is there an easy procedure?

The 1/2” is basically: stretch the top as far as you can, and mark the front edge of the frame on the roof (with chalk). Then move that mark back half an inch and attach the front edge of the top. (Ie stretch the roof a little more.)

The fiberboard door panels are fragile! My plan, should any of mine break is to soak the fracture in epoxy, which should be stronger than original. (Moss panels, I believe, are plywood and probably a bit sturdier. But they are sewn vs heat sealed, and openings can result in thread unraveling. I have no experience with Moss panel; just repeating what i hear on the interwebs.)

Lubricating the winders is hit-and-miss. I spray with white lithium grease, and figure any overspray is rust prevention. (Avoid the glass.) I lubricated the assemblies prior to installation, but assuming the car lasts a long time, they will eventually need additional lubrication.

 

[Popeye]

I unpacked my bumpers last weekend and realized: (1) they have seen a few bumps over the years, and (2) I had not removed the rusty fasteners.

(1) I’ve decided to save the $1000 and am using the bumpers as-is, beauty marks and all. They are relatively easy to replace. If they bother me I may invest in a stainless set from Vietnam down the road.

(2) I recommend cutting some bolts off vs trying to unthread them. Especially the chromed bolts. If they spin in the bumper the hole has been enlarged and new ones may spin during install. Much faster to cut ‘em off and get new ones! I found removing the captive nuts and replacing with new on the outside rear points easier than trying to unfreeze the bolts. Similar with the rear overrriders; I managed to remove the lower braces, but snapped the “main” welded nuts off. I riveted a captive nut to replace the welded nut. (“Aligning Weld Nuts” from McMaster. Photo below, showing new and installed nut.)

I believe the rear bumper brackets were painted body color. I painted mine black, although I was tempted to use matching paint I have from Touch Up Direct. Ultimately I decided that Rustoleum is a better quality paint and the brackets are hidden from view.

My license plate light bulb fixtures were completely corrosion free, much to my delight.

I’m in the middle of reinstalling, using TRF kits. (Note, the bolts supplied for the outboard rear attachment are too short. I replaced the 1-1/2 bolts with 2-1/4. I may use a different bolt size once things are tightened down.) Healthy application of anti-seize being used on all threads! Assemble loose before tightening anything

 

[sp53]

I used an old bumper I had--- and do not even notice it anymore, and like you said things like that can be replaced easily. However, the brackets on a tr3 can be brutal to line up. I think it Randall many years ago that suggested leaving all the bumper bolts lose then tighten to fit; it worked well. So, is that the blinker or a running light on the bumper?

Steve

 

[Popeye]

Not many pictures, but I’ve been debugging / doing the “last 5%”:

Bumpers are installed. The rear overriders took a bit of twisting and muscle to position then to clear the trunk, while keeping the brackets from resting on the shiny sheet metal openings. My bumpers are no longer straight, so some of this muscling could have been exacerbated by crooked bits. New overrider brackets required bending to fit. I had to repaint them, the bending was enough to break the paint.

The front bumper: the frame reinforcements I welded on a long time ago block the bumper brackets. So a bit a of surgery with an angle grinder was required. (I used a compact air grinder vs the big electric one.) Once thee we extra metal was machined away, parts fit beautifully.

Using structural panel adhesive, I repaired some cracks in the rear tub, just ahead of the wheels. See: > TR4/4A - TR4A rear tub repairs (likely accident damage in front of rear wheels) <. The fix came out very clean, spray painted; you can easily see the repair of you look closely, but it is behind the wheel and practically invisible.

 

[Popeye]

I finished up most of the assembly over the July 4th weekend - spoiler alert: a 1200 mile road trip was completed since..

The wiper motor was wired incorrectly (by the rebuilder); I swapped the leads and the motor runs at both speeds. Once this was corrected, I also adjusted the stop position.

I installed three point seat belts. I added the “third point” mount on top of the wheel well. I used thickened epoxy behind a large washer as a backer. I tightened the assembly until epoxy oozed out, cleaned the excess, let it cure (overnight), and applied final torque. Some will correctly argue the attachment point for the shoulder is too low - but I believe it is better than nothing. Safety is a relative term when navigating an LBC in a sea of SUVs.

I installed a 12v socket / usb plug under the glovebox (my glovebox is molded PVC, i.e. sufficiently rigid). I connected it to the aux pins of the starter switch. I ran the ground to the engine bay, connecting to the inner fender, as the dashboard grounds are pretty well loaded already.

And finally I corrected a sticky throttle linkage. I bought a new part from Moss (TRF on backorder), but it did not fit without a bit of modification and paint. (Part 145073, the bellcrank plate plus associated hardware). The linkage is smooth, but I have to push a bit on the accelerator before the carburetors move. The threaded linkage is as short as I can make it; I plan to shorten the link to get a faster throttle response.

A few pictures below, but I have not been terribly diligent with photos - in my focus on getting things done, I often forget the camera.

 

[Popeye]

With that, I declared my work “done” - yeah, right , and sent it off to my local LBC shop for a thorough once-over and alignment. (I’m lucky to have one within 20 minutes walk of my house - yay!!)

He aligned the front end, corrected a slight mismatch in the steering wheel to shaft install, indexed the tires and balanced the wheels, tightened some fasteners on the transmission, and declared it “good to go”.

So what better thing to do than drive it to the vintage Grand Prix in Pittsburgh? At my daughter’s prodding, we took the Triumph over an air conditioned and quiet alternative (she did not know what she was signing up for…) and had one heck of a weekend!

The car drove beautifully, albeit hot and noisy in the 80+ degree weather, except four minor faults:
1. The car has a shimmy between 62 to 67 mph. This is annoying in the variable speed traffic common on the east coast, but not an issue west of the Hudson River. This could be a function of out of round steel wheels, my mechanic could have made an error in the balance (we all have our days), or there is something deeper in the suspension. I have made an appointment with my friendly mechanic to review.

2. The speedo stopped working just before Pittsburgh, turned out to be the right angle drive, since fixed.

3. I consumed about a gallon of oil over the 1200 mile trip. The bottom was covered in oil… it ain’t rusting anytime soon! However: shame on me. When I changed the oil after our trip, I found the canister filter had two o-rings… one I put in, and a second rather crumbly one from many eons ago… I am glad I dug a little deeper this time, but also embarrassed I did not see it when I had the housing on the bench a year ago! (My real concern is a rear seal leak… hopefully discovering my error has a silver lining…??)

And 4, tragically: Thirty miles from home the coil quit. A spare coil was both on my list of spares to pack - and sitting comfortably in my basement. The upside, I have Hagerty towing insurance, so a short wait and ride in a tow truck later, I attached said coil and drove into my garage. (I had a two or three “misses” a few hours before the coil quit altogether, so the ultimate failure was not a surprise.)

A great trip, after which my daughter proclaimed, “That was the best weekend of the summer! Let’s never do that again!” She meant both; I love her honesty!