clive Posted October 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 Good news... new axle and lots n lots of bits have arrived from TR Bitz... they seem to have forgotten the brake pipes I asked for, but most other things are there, and thankfully 80% are labled with parts numbers! The second hand hubs and brake backings will need a lot of work (they have surface rust) but look OK... I already ordered and got new bearings for them! The new alifin brakes look great, and are a lot lighter in weight than the old cast iron ones (obvious statement I know) TRomorrow I plan to restart the proect with some sho blasting and parts sorting, but I still need to take it easy as I'm not fully recovered from the sinus infection (If you ever had one you'll know what I mean) :blues: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jean Posted October 17, 2003 Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 Good new from you, Clive, but take care of yourself. Sinus infections can lead to serious troubles. I had them at regular intervals during my youth, they gave me never ending sleepless nights, sometimes I hammered my head against the bedroom wall, the results can still be noticed, at least that's what my wife says. All the best and recover quickly, only 5 month to go until spring. Jean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted October 22, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2003 Feeling much better now... despite Ikea's customer service department. In the last four days I've shot blasted and primed 5 more parts... it takes longer than you think, made a bedroom and visited Ikea 5 times (OK, I went three times and wendy went Three times.. and within that we went once together! ) Their Idea of customer service is so strange that I've spent 3 hours assembling our new bedroom furniture and 5 hours arguing about missing, damaged or wrong parts... and that equates to about 5 hours not shotblasting TR2 parts!!!!! I'm refraining from posting pictures of all the parts I'm shot blasting... but if you want me to... just shout! The rusty second hand TR3 parts that arrived from TR Bitz now look like new, with the exception of the front wheel hubs which are next on my agenda! re-assembly starts next week I reckon! (Only about 4 weeks after I'd hoped... is that a good average? ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jean Posted October 22, 2003 Report Share Posted October 22, 2003 Clive,now I have to take a deep breath to pump some more oxygen to my brain. 3 plus 3 plus 2 included in both is 5 ??? you are not an engineer aren't you ??? For the simple man like me does that mean you went twice, Wendy went twice and you went once together When I purchase furniture from IKEA I' m used to get an axe and the costumer service is pointing out the tree I can chop down, they call it DIY :laugh: Jean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted October 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2003 And tonight the Ford Mondeo needed attention... the washer bottle had stopped working... thats three points and a sixty quid fine if you're cought!... fair game I'd say if it was just because it was emopty, but no, it was not empty and the water was pumping out of the bottom of the car... five minutes to re-connect? No... out comes the inner wheel arch... except it won't... the screws are worse than the ones on the TR2! About 2 hours later I had 4 of them undone and had enlisted Emma to pull back the inner wheel arch just enough so I could get my hands in and plumb the pipe back up! Oh! And much to funny looks from passers by I took the number plates off and put different ones on! That'll cause some gossip because our V reg Mondeo is now a K reg Mondeo... ! The nnumber plate swap took about 10 minutes compared with 2 hours to re-plumb the washer bottle! :blues: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonlar Posted October 23, 2003 Report Share Posted October 23, 2003 ... thats three points and a sixty quid fine if you're cought!... ....even if it's off the road and on a private drive apparently! Don't suppose it was an undercover BBC reporter perchance (that poor buffer will have to look over his shoulder for the Freemasonry Mafia for the rest of his life - but what an absolute bloody disgrace that was - the racism bit, I mean), but going back to the washer bottle report - what a way to improve Police / Public PR!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest wendy (btw) bentley Posted October 23, 2003 Report Share Posted October 23, 2003 ....even if it's off the road and on a private drive apparently! Surely you cannot be breaking the law on this one if you are on your own property! Cya :blues: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted October 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2003 I think the car in question was parked on a public road... certainly it appeared to be when shown on GMTV... however, as cars become more and more user unfriendly surely a period of grace needs to be allowed... the job I did tonight on the mondeo would have been grossly dangerous to undertake on any roadside... yet if the pipe had come off the TR2 washer it would have taken me a maximum of 1 minute to reconnect! I did however believe that the law stated it was illegal to drive a car with a defective or empty washer bottle... of course on the TR2 all I'd have to do is remove the evidence that one was ever fitted as it wasn't a legal requirement in 1954! It does put into question the point of law if you jack up your car on the side of the road outside your house, remove a wheel and begin to replace say a brake lining... it starts to tank down, so you pack up your tools, make the car safe from a point of view of falling off it's jack, and go indoors to reconviene the next morning... your car has defective brakes, even though you've chocked it... yea, do the erm ... police... erm... want public support or do they want to alienate us... for one they alienated me many years ago when they did me over a small accident that affected no one but me... (I was the only car involved) and let off the scum who broke into my dad's pharmacy depositing half his stock over the pavement.... And while doing those motorists for empty washer bottles do they ever do the farmer for no number plates and no lights on his trailer? nope... maybe they are in the same "club"? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mike ellis Posted October 26, 2003 Report Share Posted October 26, 2003 If it is illegal to drive a car with a defective or empty washer bottle presumably when parked it is not being driven, or is that too fine a distinction for our friends in blue to comprehend. I was alienated 40 years ago when 5 of them (4 of whom were facing the other way) swore I was driving without lights, several incidents over the ensuing years have not changed my view. Clive, I am interested in what blast cabinet/compressor you (or anyone else) is using as I am thinking of buying one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted October 26, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2003 mike, I bought my compressor from a firm in essex (will supply details if required) WHERE i GOT A COMPRESSOR 2 TIMES AS GOOD AND free ADVICE / COMPLIMENTARY GOODS At reasonable cost compared to elswhere... the shot blast cabinet i have is from screwfix, and although good seems to leak a bit (can scoop up n refill it)... untill my glass bead becomes usless i can't do anything about this. Rusty metal turns silver infront of my eyes.. painted finishes seem to take a little longer! As for the police... the don't endear themselves any more! :blues: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted October 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 Just to keep you all posted I'm gradually painting TR2 parts (and some Tr3a ones due to the brake upgrade) ... so things are progressing. I'm hoping that I might even get the rear axle back on the chassis this weekend so that I can easily "wheelbarrow" it, and then follow that up with the front suspension. My wheels were returned to me today fitted with brand new firestone tyres... and the result of finding that my rims were 4", not 5" ones means that the sizes are as near to original tyre sizes as possible. If I find out that I need wider ones I'll need wider rims as well... So slow progress, but at least some progress... :blues: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Herrod Posted October 30, 2003 Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 Clive, what size tyres did you end up with? I hope to get the wires that came with the car shod and fitted in the spring, so would be interested to know. Dave Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimmac Posted October 30, 2003 Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 Clive... As long as you are not in a rush you should be OK. The biggest problem is figuring out how far you will take the rebuild. If you go down to a complete nut and bolt restoration to end up with an as new car at the end, the depression will not only be "where will the energy and drive come from" but also the "where's all my cash gone?". I totally stripped my TR6 10 years ago after the seatbelt mounting pulled out of the floor by mistake. And after the shotblasters finished laughing at the pathetic pile of bits left behind, I turned my attention to raising two sons, rebuilding two houses, doing the day job and now I'm back on track. I will get there, I will get there, I will...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest wendy (btw) bentley Posted October 31, 2003 Report Share Posted October 31, 2003 I have to say, knowing Clive as well as I do, this restoration will not be a pile of bits in plastic boxes for too long! Our lives are very busy. We are trying to restore a three bedroom house at the same time. I hope by next summer, the extension will be built, the TR2 will be drivable and the house will welcome visitors and they won't need to make polite comments any more. We shall see?!?!?! Cya :blues: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted October 31, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2003 The fact that the body work is farmed out to North Devon, the paintwork is to be farmed out and the engine is most certainly already farmed out to Jigsaw racing... leaves me with somme very thick pieces of metal to paint... after shot blasting... most of which are proving not to end up as a pile of rust on the floor... and most of which under layers of dirt I'm finding good paint... The cash has already been spent... or alocated... and shiny new parts are already stored all around the house and garage, including nuts and bolts and "improvements". Target was May... but due to illness I reckon that that will be July now... the car WILL be at the International... even if it has to be trailered there! As for the tire sizes... due to 4" rims I ended up with 155 x 15's. I'm going to run them as is, and if I feel I need wider wheels I'm going to sell them as a job lot and get some 5" rims with 175/65 x 15" on them! :blues: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted November 1, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2003 More parts shot blasted and primed and undercoated... the existing paint was so tough that I resorted to a well known chemical paint stripper to get it off... and that stuff even melted my rubber gloves! I managed to do one part that won't be going back on as it was a TR2 brake part rather than a TR3 brake part... There are more parts (drivers side front suspension) soaking in my parts washer, and even more bathing in the chemical paint stripper over night... Last night I saw my car in one piece on the TV a few times while we watched the video from Belgium... as if I wasn't wishing it was finished enough! More parts tomorrow... and maybe even some top coats! Then the Glavon fire work party! :blues: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted November 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 Argh! I knew things were going to well on Saturday and Sunday... the light in my shot blasting cabinet failed tonight... can't see a thing... looks like a broken wire... oh well, there's loads of parts need sorting and painting to do as well... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted November 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 NEWS NEWS: 23 parts now have their first top coats on them and are sat smelling and glistening on the dinning room table (on cardboard as well) and the shot blast cabinet now has a light after taking a piece of broken wire and a faulty switch out of the circuit! I realised that the sump shield from Moss didn't have any fixings and found out that they don't do them any more... so after a discussion with Andy (Maddog) Smith we developed a method of fixing it and passed that on to Moss... I'm hoping to get the parts off Moss on Sunday! What else? Hmmm.... I spent about 4 hours checking through 2 boxes of parts from TR Bitz, and I'm now left with a couple of packets I'm slightly confused about... and some parts that are potentially not there... time and another check when I'm more awake will tell! I've gone through the book and ordered most of the parts I know I'll need in one hit... so there are parts for the fit out in there as well as parts for the rolling chassis... you can imagine how big an order that was! I'm not sure how my engine is doing at Jigsaw Racing... I need to chase that one as it was due back mid October, and I have not heard from North Devon Metalcraft about the Body for a few weeks... I'm not going to chase that one, the longer the better I reckon! At this rate our new 2 seater roadster will arrive before I get the body on the chassis... and it's not due untill mid Feb! (Now, that'll get some of you guessing) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted November 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 Yea! First parts fully painted and ready to go back on! Taking a break for my Birthday though! Looking at a box of bits and comparing it to the new bits that have arrived I'm amazed how many old rusty parts I have that are for the B I N... I'm also amazed at how much work goes into each part that is cleaned up and painted... :blues: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Les Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 At this rate our new 2 seater roadster will arrive before I get the body on the chassis... and it's not due untill mid Feb! (Now, that'll get some of you guessing) My guess is.................................. Wendy is expecting twins and you've ordered a double buggy? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted November 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2003 Wendy is expecting twins and you've ordered a double buggy? Wrong... there would be no room in this one to store the buggy, never mind the "twins" which she is not expecting... at least she hasn't informed me if she is... next guess? Meanwhile, back at mill so to speak... I spent the weekend at the NEC where I got some beits and bobs... no car parts though, just tools. I was looking at some carpet sets... but couldn't make my mind up on the ones there... does anyone have any advice over firms to use? The other problem was that I fancied going for a wool set, but the only red I saw was too red for my liking compared the the other type. Anyway, I got home and now more parts are ready for their first top coat by tomorrow morning, so I am progressing... :blues: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted November 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2003 Whats new today you ask... or maybe you don't. but you're going to find out anyway. 11 more parts are now finished... these include painting some new parts which wern't in as good nick as I think they should have been. The steering column, box, drag arm and idler are all packaged up (it took about 3 hours) and will be sent by currier to Revington's tomorrow. The Idler assembly is being replaced by their up-rated one, the drag arm is getting up-rated pins slotted into it and the steering box is being refurbished and having their spring loaded (up-rated) cover plate installed (over egging it according to them but at least then it'll take up any wear in my life time). Revington have also said they have a batch of new stator tubes so I'll get them to send one of them back with my steering column as well. I discovered today that when TR Bitz suppleid the new rear axle and the u-bolts to suit they failed (they'd say I didn't ask for them I'm sure) to mention that the rear spring plates wouldn't fit the new axle... and I've finished refurbing them as well! So I'll have to order the TR3 version of them as well! Onwards and upwards... well... everything is up when your chassis is on axle stands! :blues: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Robin Powell Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 Clive I have just got a carpet set for my 3A from Coverdale Carpets which are very good and competitively priced. Give them a ring on 01942 255535 and they will sent you a selection of carpet samples to choose from or look on their web site www.carcarpets.co.uk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted November 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 Clive I have just got a carpet set for my 3A from Coverdale Carpets which are very good and competitively priced. Thanks Robin, I've just sent them an e-mail and asked them to forward samples of the reds they have in their range. Which range of carpets did you buy from... the Blenheim or the wool? I would like to put wool carpets in my TR2 but so far have not seen my prefered (darker) red available in the wool, only the man made ranges. Also, out of interest.... do you put the seat runners on top of the carpet or underneath... my previous carpet set (installed professionaly for the previous owner) was cut around the runners and something tells me that that is not as it should be... I also found lots of bits that jad been cut wrongly (I assume) and sort of infilled with scraps... This is the only reason I'm replacing the carpets as otherwise they are in quite good condition. I was looking at samples from Prestiege Autotrim Products Ltd at the NEC show this weekend, and I think that the carpets I have in may be from their range going by texture and colour. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest jet Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 [do you put the seat runners on top of the carpet or underneath... my previous carpet set (installed professionaly for the previous owner) was cut around the runners and something tells me that that is not as it should be... ] They should as you suspect sit on top of the carpet clive - However with a new reasonable quality carpet this is not as easy as it first looks - especially if you use the "standard" length bolts/ screws detailed in the Moss catalogue - as with the thickness of the carpet - exacertbated if you also use sound deadening material or felt underneath - you will struggle to "start" the screw off - answer is to use a slightly longer screw Regards Jim T Ps my guess is the roadsters an M*******G!!!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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