TR2 Front Apron Fitting

[Trevor S]

Hello you knowlegeable side screen folk. My TR2 restoration has now progressed to the point where I am ready to fit the repainted front apron to the re painted wings for the first time. Whilst the apron was on and off in the unpainted state during restoration I just want to check if there are any tips for the first fitting with the new paint applied. With the body bolted to the chassis the gap at the cross piece between the inner wings seems about right but the lower gap at the front of the car appears a bit tight. I assume loosening the bolts holding the wings to the body should create enough clearance, as of course it all lined up before going to the painters.

As aluminium beading strips were not used on the 2 I'm using a plastic beading which I have painted body colour, the retaining portion of which being thicker than the tags on the aluminium beading. I'm assuming that I leave the fitting of the lights and associated wiring to the apron until after it is fitted, or is it easiest to do any of this first ?

I'm assuming it's mostly common sense ( I've always been naive) but any words of wisedom which may make the fitting of apron and beading easier and make me less likely to scratch the paint would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Trevor.

[Nigel Lay]

Trevor,

When I fitted the front apron to TS952 I did leave everything fairly loose, the most time consuming bit was to get the plastic beading to fit properly, I also painted it before fitting and found that the paint did tend to crack so a bit of touching up afterwards. The big plus of course is that it can all be put together before the final coat. The final tightening was done so that the front apron could be removed without slackening the wing fittings. Grill of course has to be fitted first but all the lights can be fitted afterwards, there is enough room to get your hand down to the wiring clips on the inner wings. One thing I did do was to tap a thread onto the lower end of the bonnet badge and put a plastic sleeve on the upper fixing to effectively make the badge a push fit, I then used a wing nut on the lower fixing so that the badge can be removed. They like to collect badges in certain parts of the continent (and this country as well). Also leave the bumper irons off, it gives more room. I fitted the apron on my own but it may be easier with two.

Thanks for the info about the peg.

Best of luck - Nigel

[Guest colinTR2]

Trevor

I firstly fitted my '2' front apron just as you are about to do. However since then I have needed to remove it more than once so at one point I riveted the painted rubber beading strips to the apron so that they come off with the apron. I used I think three rivets , one at each end and one in the middle, with large thin washers between rivet and bead. The big benefit is this reduces paint cracking in the future. Removal of the apron has been necessary to tighten the starter dog bolt which had come loose, then again to respray the apron after a large stone had cracked the paint right in the middle. Another pair of hands is also a great help, particularly when actually offering up the apron to the wing gap, if your helper just stops the apron contacting the wing, and eases it into position then paint damage is minimised.

Best of luck

Colin with TR2 7017

[vivdownunder]

Hi Trevor,

 

Are you sure the paint will stay on the plastic beading long term ?. I used vynil wrapped around a small diameter plastic tube, and notched the retaining strip (double vynil glued together) so it could follow the mudguard radius, and dodge the retaining bolts. The vynil colour match was easy as the car was white.

 

Double check that the radiator and steering box (filled) are all correct before the apron goes on.

 

I found it safest to use three people for this job, one at each guard and one to drop the apron in.

 

For duco protection, I ran four strips of 1" masking tape down the edge the guards, and removed it as soon as the apron was on before it gripped too hard.

 

For sundry hardware installation, I went pretty much as Nigel described.

 

Regards,

 

Viv.

[BrianC]

One thing I did do was to tap a thread onto the lower end of the bonnet badge and put a plastic sleeve on the upper fixing to effectively make the badge a push fit, I then used a wing nut on the lower fixing so that the badge can be removed. They like to collect badges in certain parts of the continent (and this country as well).

Good idea - in theory. However, I suspect anyone attempting to 'collect' the badge will just assume its a little bit tight and try to lever it off with a screwdriver or penknife. This causes even more damage so you end up with a bent badge and scratched or dented apron

[Nigel Lay]

Brian,

The plus is - one wingnut, 15 seconds later the badge is in the glovebox, just two holes in the front apron left.

 

What a good idea Colin, so simple.

 

Nigel (with TS952)

Edited December 11, 2007 by Nigel Lay

[stuart]

The one problem that you may find is getting the beading strip to stay in when you tighten the bolts up as it tends to try and escape as you tighten each bolt. I have used the clips that trimmers use to hold seat covers around the frames on the bead to front panel inner edge. Probably works the same as Colins rivet idea. I see no one has mentioned any sealer between, whats the general opinion as I use a bead of flexible windscreen sealer each side when fitting, messy but easily cleaned up with a good panel wipe.

Stuart.

[Menno van Rij]

I remember a topic written by Don in which he tells about s/s/bolts and captive nuts for easy removal of the front apron in the future. We all know that s/s/ bolts are not as strong as standard material, but used here will be no problem, I think.

 

Not for TR2 aprons, but more for TR3A aprons: I really do not like the look of the grill being pushed inwards for a perfect fit in the apron's mouth. A trial fit before painting is a good idea for the correct position (and look) of the grill.

 

When I bought the car, the apron was on the passenger's seat, so were the head lights. I mounted these before putting the apron in. In retrospect: not a good idea with a freshly painted apron! (In my case: no problem because the paint was rubbish then). When installing the lights with the apron flat on the work bench, the apron tends to slide... You can see my point when paint is new, I think.

 

Before painting the plastic beading, it's good to assess the paint: can it be used on plastic, without any special surface preparation (hence the flaking after a few years). The VW Beetle and Saab 96 people can tell you more about this problem; they've been there.

 

Regards,

Menno

[stuart]

There is a special plastic primer for spraying modern car bumpers with and what is known as a "Plastisiser" to add to the paint to make it more flexible. A lot of the problems with getting the paint to stick to plastic is the presence of release agents left over from the moulding process. Scotchbrite pads and a good spirit wipe will help to get rid of this before priming and painting and only use thin layers of primer and paint as too much build up cracks off easier.

Stuart.

[BrianC]

Fortunately, I have only owned cars with stainless wing beading, but I'm sure the plastic beading used to be available in about four colours. It was used on a few cars other than Triumph, so maybe there is still a source which would avoid the painting problems.

[Trevor S]

Thank you all for your detailed replies, much appreciated. It sounds a bit fiddly as I suspected, so I may try and cajole another local Register member along to help rather than try and fit it on my own as originally planned. Viv, the paint on the white plastic moulding strips is a bit of an unknown. I cleaned them with panel wipe and painted a sample piece with self priming aerosol paint which I got from a DIY store which is intended for spraying over the surface of ceramic tiles to change their colour. I assumed that as a ceramic tile is very shiny the paint may bond fairly well to the smooth plastic. I let the paint dry for a week or so and then gently bent the sample strip in various directions and it didn't crack. I did the same again a few days later and still no problems. Not sure of its longevity in an outside environment but I'm going to give it a try. I can always re paint it again in situ later if absolutely necessary.

I was going to fit the apron badge to the apron before fitting up as I assumed I wouldn't be able to reach the reverse once the apron was fitted, but this seems not to be the case. Regretably I have had to use a repro badge with the lower retaining pin at the wrong angle and the resulting filing down has meant I won't be able to put a thread on it for removal if theft in a locality is a concern. Good idea that, I will consider it on the 4.

Thanks again for your prompt replies. The plan is to have the car ready for teh International next July. Whether I make it is another matter but I need a target otherwise the restoration will drift on for ever.

Trevor.