Kiwifrog Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 I have just removed the front wing on my TR3A for the first time in 47 years since the car was built and was astonished to find shiny metal on the top of the inner wing under the join which has obviously never in its entire life seen paint I guess the bodies were built up in bare metal then painted when completed, no wonder they dissolve in water Cheers Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mychael Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 I have just removed the front wing on my TR3A for the first time in 47 years since the car was built and was astonished to find shiny metal on the top of the inner wing under the join which has obviously never in its entire life seen paint I guess the bodies were built up in bare metal then painted when completed, no wonder they dissolve in water Cheers Alan That you found any metal at all let alone still shiny after 47 yrs is something to boast about. Mychael Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrianC Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 That you found any metal at all let alone still shiny after 47 yrs is something to boast about. Car must have been off the road for 46 years! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
angelfj Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 (edited) I have just removed the front wing on my TR3A for the first time in 47 years since the car was built and was astonished to find shiny metal on the top of the inner wing under the join which has obviously never in its entire life seen paint I guess the bodies were built up in bare metal then painted when completed, no wonder they dissolve in water Cheers Alan Alan: If yours is a UK or Euro car, originally, that is truly amazing. However, if the origin is SW USA or California and well maintained, this is not rare. The body shells were assembled and painted (with panels loosely attached) at Mulliners, Birmingham. The entire body were then trucked over to Canley. This is why inner wings and other hard to reach places often are found sans paint. Edited November 30, 2009 by angelfj Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwifrog Posted November 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Car must have been off the road for 46 years! Brian According to the New York roadworthy test sticker on the windscreen its been off the road since 1971, I quess because of the damaged gearbox Cheers Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR3BGeorge Posted December 1, 2009 Report Share Posted December 1, 2009 Alan, I agree with Mychael: count your blessings !!! The fact that there is any metal there AT ALL, much less SHINY METAL, disproves the laws of physics!! Personally, I think that it is an A-L-I-E-N vehicle. 'Nuff said. In America for the last 50 years or so, we have had an anti-rust undercoating system called Ziebart. They "guaranteed" no rust for the life of the car. They "put a protective coating on the interior surface of every exterior panel." And they did a good job. They would drill holes in the panels, shoot their goo in there, then replace the hole with a rubber plug. I used it on all of my new cars. I started paying about $50 for the service, then it got up to about $150 over the years. We bought a 1981 Datsun 210 station wagon, and got it Ziebarted. I never got ANY rust in the front quarter panel, where ALL Datsuns rusted out in about 2 years. A design flaw. Well, after about 10 years, both of my panels above the rear wheel arches rusted out. Another design flaw. I called Ziebart, just to see what they would say. To make a long story long, it turns out that Ziebart will "guarantee" a dollar amount UP TO THE PRICE OF THE ZIEBART JOB. "Read the small print." I had no complaints, and did not submit a claim, as I was trading in the car, as it had 96,000 miles on it. Wow! I don't know how I got started on THAT tangent! I guess I was thinking that a LOT of Triumphs would still be on the streets if they had gotten Ziebarted. I remember a great photo in one of my Triumph history books: a white or yellow TR3A is coming off the assembly line WITHOUT A STITCH OF UNDERCOATING ON IT! Just nice shiny paint. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TomMull Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 I have just removed the front wing on my TR3A for the first time in 47 years since the car was built and was astonished to find shiny metal on the top of the inner wing under the join which has obviously never in its entire life seen paint I guess the bodies were built up in bare metal then painted when completed, no wonder they dissolve in water Cheers Alan I too recently removed both front wings from my 1960 TR3A. The lip of the inner wing on the left side, which had never before been removed (I've owned the car since 1964) was like new (yes shiny metal), protected by the liberal seam compound installed in the joint at the factory. The inner wing on the right hand side was in very poor shape, having been removed and replaced for accident repairs shortly before I bought the car 45 years ago. There was no sign of seam compound. Tom Mulligan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vivdownunder Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Well there you go..........evidence that S-T had better seam-sealing skills in their workforce than Rolls Royce's coachbuilders. Early Bentley Continentals are usually completely rusted away at the overlaps on the underneath panels, due to **** seam-sealing. S-T just needed a bit more work on their oil leak sealing skills. Viv. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR 2100 Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 S-T just needed a bit more work on their oil leak sealing skills. No - that's an essential part of the factory rust prevention scheme. AlanR Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TomMull Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 No - that's an essential part of the factory rust prevention scheme. AlanR Jeez, you mean I might not be replacing the whole bottom of my car if I hadn't chased all those leaks around for ten years? But mom wouldn't let me park in her driveway. Tom Mulligan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don P. Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I have just removed the front wing on my TR3A for the first time in 47 years since the car was built and was astonished to find shiny metal on the top of the inner wing under the join which has obviously never in its entire life seen paint I guess the bodies were built up in bare metal then painted when completed, no wonder they dissolve in water Cheers Alan Based on over 30 years of owning, driving and repairing TR-3s in the Chicago area ... the Standard Triumph rustproofing system seems to have consisted of immersion in sea water for a minimum of three days, then leaving it parked in a rail station along the Scottish coast for a two week period in mid Winter. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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