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Sad story. 

 Legendary story that Colin Chapman fitted one of his early cars with a cardboard firewall. Challenged that it should be metal, he pointed out that he had used aluminium paint on it, "And as far as I know, aluminium is a metal."

John

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Pete - DON'T give up with owning a TR - there are other cars out there - just put the word out on here and elsewhere and I'm sure something will come up Chin up  Cheers Rich

Or these people? http://www.leacyclassics.com/parts/classicmini/engine-components/2k7440.html Roger

. Carrying on from TR4 -v- Tr4A engine, and my purchasing a 'spare'  < here >  ..so that I might get on and have an engine ready by the time the Chance is actually bought and shipped,  we h

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Pete,

Great to see you driving her around! Finally!  I do understand you have not reached full confidence level.  I'm there myself still nervous about any noise i hear, looking at engine temp and oil pressure...  I guess this will go away with more trouble free miles :)

I see you don't have the cupboard piece in front of the radiator, i have been told this is key to the cooling system as a way to push more air through the radiator.

Cheers,

Laurent

 

 

 

 

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Cheers Laurent, certainly hoping for reliable miles and minimum of things to have to deal with. And then in time I'll venture further and further.

21 hours ago, Lo100469 said:

I see you don't have the card-board piece in front of the radiator, i have been told this is key to the cooling system as a way to push more air through the radiator.

Katie  is not running hot without the card. The gauge typically reads between 1/4 and 1/3.  The sound of the engine and exhaust and the feel of the engine and engine bay support this.  I have a plastic TR6 seven-blade fan fitted and that draws the air through the radiator many times better than the original aluminium bladed fan ever did.  The radiator and whole cooling system has been drained and flushed numerous times (while the engine is running and hot, and the heater valve fully open) ..and I feel it's in good order. 

I have yet to sit in traffic for a long time, but I have had the engine ticking over for 40 minutes, here within the polytunnel without any other air-flow and without cooling issues. 

She's fitted with an 82 deg thermostat and, using a digital thermometer gun, have checked things when I got back on both Saturday (when the weather was rather hot here) and again on Sunday after a 25mile return trip from the coast. The digital reading of the radiator's header tank compliments that at 82 - 83 degrees. The rubber hoses show a much lower reading. The engine block is not noticeably hot either (although tbh I don't recall the exact figure).   

The exhaust manifolds are interesting insomuch as the front one read 300+ degrees and the rear one some 50-degrees less.., so I reckon the carbs are seriously in need of balancing !

I might propose the key to the cooling system is ; to thoroughly flush it out (many times) and to use a decent fan which is positioned close enough to draw the air  through the radiator. (..pushing air was never a particularly good idea ;) ).

Pete   

P1420441s.JPG.0a3c86c0088b28383a14c2f79eb37745.JPG

 

 

Edited by Bfg
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On 5/15/2022 at 3:02 PM, Bfg said:

The car's handling, still needs a little fettling, or is that just me not used to the narrow track of a 1960's car and such quick steering.?  Possible the suspension will settle a little, but in the meantime I'll lower the front tyre pressures a couple of psi. I'll also recheck the tracking. 

To be honest I wasn't impressed with the handling at all.  Indeed considering the chassis modifications, the amount of investigation and checking, adjusting and checking again of the rear suspension back in October, and the work I put into the steel gearbox tunnel and getting it to fit well to stiffen the car ..you might well say I'm pretty disappointed. . .

I lowered the front tyre pressures from 30 psi to 27-1/2 and that settled the overly quick response of the steering.  And then I adjusted the track rod end to add a little more toe-in to the front wheel geometry,

That again noticeably improved the feel of the car and its steering.  But still she was over-steering, and feeling as if there was too much roll, and that the tyres were about to loose their grip around even quite modest country lane corners.  That's not a reassuring feeling.   I couldn't understand it.  Something was wrong, but what ?  I thought I'd been through everything..

And then in the evening it clicked..

Subsequent to setting the rear suspension's tracking, camber, and ride height, in October, which itself was interrupted by an intrusive hernia op -  I turned my attention to the front suspension and then to the broken-off grease nipples on the half shafts, the insecure fuel & brake pipes, the exhaust run causing the pipe to clonk against the chassis, and the  #@$%ing OIL LEAK !!!  from the gearbox and O/D. Plus water dripping from the engine-block drain plug onto / into the starter motor, and the dynamo giving up its ghost, all inbetween my repeatedly getting rained upon .. which then set me about extending the car's polytunnel..   

.. and before I knew it, it was November and I was replacing the RHS trailing arm.  < November 6th - here

P1400005s.JPG.f52d47cdbfd41d9262832e5620d6db94.JPG  P1400011s.JPG.e8d88d09a9af6c3327087ec8fa54da91.JPG

Quote  "There are quite a few detail differences, and the castings were clearly re-tooled, so it may be that the new one may be from a later car,  ie., a TR6  (edit ;  that was incorrect - its not from a TR6).  Aside from the fact that Katie's  had a big STANPART cast into it, whereas its replacement doesn't - the most obvious difference is in the stiffening web between the coil spring cup and the tube which encloses the half-shaft.  I haven't run a tape measure over them to compare but as the part numbers are the same (marked onto each of these arms) I'm guessing they are dimensionally interchangeable.  I flipping hope so anyway !"

After fitting those, I immediately moved over to dealing with the loose steering and torn rack gaiters, the seized lower-wishbone trunnions, the brakes and seized hand-brake adjusters. There was no break.. it just went on and on until I found myself pulling the gearbox out ..to correct its stripped threads.. 

What I'd neglected to do, back in mid-November, was to recheck the rear suspension's geometry ..post my swapping out that trailing arm.

 

So that's what I've been doing ..and correcting, yesterday afternoon and today. 

There's really not a lot to show you that I've not already posted, last October, but yesterday I corrected the rear wheel toe-out tracking by removing the two shims under the outboard trailing arm bracket. It was toe out, whereas it should be zero to 1/16" toe in.  After a road test.. Yes, I could again feel the improvement - very much better tracking on straight but undulating roads surfaces, and less under-steer around corners ..but still things didn't feel right.  What I was doing was in the right direction but not enough.  

Today, I checked the rear wheel's camber, not by loading bricks onto the leather seats, but simply as a comparison between the two sides. 

The chassis was 1/2" lower under the RHS chassis rail (by the body mount) and the RHS rear wheel's camber measured +1.81 degrees (a 10mm difference between a vertical spirit level to the top & bottom of the rim).  As this was in an unladen state, I didn't know what it should be, but for direct comparison the LHS rear-wheel-camber measured +0.34 degrees, in the same state.  When the car is loaded (persons in it, etc., and around corners) the trailing arms turn to negative camber, which in turn helps keep the tyre's contact patch flat to the road ..and the car's handling feels a little more surefooted.  

 

I knew one of the trailing-arm brackets would need to be changed, and the inboard bracket already had it polybush pivot in the lowest position. So whatever I did.. it would have to be to the outboard bracket (by the sill). This was a two-notch bracket fitted with those notches down.  Referring to the model and the charts I draw back in October I opted to swap that bracket for a one-notch, with its notch down. This would alter the pivot-axis (raise that polybush) by 1/2" . . .

105757185_RearRHScamberchange.thumb.jpg.7c882bbe959d220f2dc3c7e1bb74109f.jpg

^ The yellow line in the middle shows the angle the polybushes were. The magenta line shows the angle I was adjusting things to.  That angle does look sorta radical (as it is drawn to scale) but drastic measures were clearly needed. I also knew this bracket change would raise the suspension's ride height on that one side, but as it was now sitting low again (with this trailing arm). lower than the passenger side anyway - I chose to accept it. 

P1420448s.JPG.5435c0e9d6827347cd316c399dd9fc5f.JPG 

^ Again to avoid torturing the polybush with twist (which is also a pain when fitting) I slotted just one of the bracket's mounting holes sideways to allow it and the polybush axis to align with the inboard bracket and its polybush (..I've illustrated this across the bottom of the previous drawing)  

P1420451s.JPG.e30a2fc5096079f73c7664fe39a0c349.JPG

^ Yes, the bracket could be swapped out, and refitted, without dismantling anything else off the trailing arm.  In fact all else I needed to do was to slacken the two chassis-fixing-bolts of the inboard bracket to get the twist I needed to remove (and refit) the outboard bracket's bolts.

P1420452s.JPG.d30d478484124cafe747b05ca1e34ce6.JPG

^ to get the outer bracket's pivot (polybush) bolt to align, and back in (finger pushed in only), I did have to ease the trailing arm forward.  against the tension of the spring pushing it backwards.  I simply used a block and a wooden wedge between the rear of the trailing arm and the chassis rail to do that.  I say 'simply' but the awkwardness of this is in doing it on your own and not being able to see as and when the bolt hole aligns (hence the wedge to progressively work the block outwards, which in turn swivels the arm and that polybush forward. 

 

My test drive was limited by numpties driving slowly ..whenever I wanted to push Katie  faster around corners ..but first impressions of this setup are that the car now handles very much better. 

Upon our return, and with the suspension settled, I checked the camber of each rear wheel (again without  driver / passenger's weight but..) as a comparison against each other, when measured from the vertical spirit-level to the wheel rims.  Each are now the same with just 2mm difference (0.06 degrees positive camber) between the top and bottom measurements to the rim.   tick.png.8936f70ce6a54a07220dab44122d29a0.png

Suspension ride height (underside of chassis to level floor) is now around about 6-1/8". That's a little more than I would have preferred but more importantly.. they are very close to being the same tick.png.8936f70ce6a54a07220dab44122d29a0.png  It is no longer sagging on the driver's side (..until I get in ! )

And the rear wheels tracking on both sides.. is also now the same and good to go..  tick.png.8936f70ce6a54a07220dab44122d29a0.png

I cannot say why this replacement swinging arm, with the same part number, should have been different enough (production tolerances that slack ? ) to necessitate these changes, but that's immaterial because the IRS suspension's design, via the selection and orientation of those polybush brackets, easily accommodates them.

Job done. 

Hopefully more enjoyable driving from now on. B)

Bidding you a good evening,

Pete

 

 

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11 hours ago, Bfg said:

...and as 1/16" = 0.0625"  it follows that 1-1/2 turns out of this nut, and then the rod (with nut) screwed in equates to 1/16" toe-in...

Pete,

Unless I’m seeing things wrong, the actual amount will be more than 1/16 inch because the wheel rim is further out from the end of the trackrod end .

Or is it so close as not to matter.

Charlie.

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2 hours ago, Charlie D said:

Pete,

Unless I’m seeing things wrong, the actual amount will be more than 1/16 inch because the wheel rim is further out from the end of the trackrod end .

Or is it so close as not to matter.

Charlie.

Yes you're right Charlie. Thank you for picking this up.   1/16"  (1-1/2 turns of the nut) on the track rod end does indeed over-adjust the toe-in.    I'll edit and delete that aspect of my previous post so as to avoid confusion to others. And of course will readjust the front wheel tracking on Katie.  

Cheers, Pete

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If you look closely at the side of the trailing arm you may find there is a date scratched into the mould, there was a redesign of the trailing arm when the three notch bracket was introduced at the beginning of 1971.

Stuart.

 

Marks TR5 423.jpg

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Thanks Stuart that sort of marking of date was not evident on the trailing arm I fitted.

I've now done 300 miles since putting the car back on the road a week ago < here > was from Sunday.  And "touch wood" all is going well now the rear of the car is accord with the front !  

I've done various other jobs this past week, including pulling out the unused wires to the flasher relay (from when it was positioned in the passenger footwell), but that was only part of my connecting up the windscreen washer pump.  This is something I presume the last owner fitted to save the effort of having to push a washer pump several times. However the push button switch was iffy, the washer pump is iffy, and its electrical-earth was also iffy, so all together I ended up chasing my tail.  I got it in the end but then the rubber into which the jets screw was perished and cracked and so water squirted every-which-way but hardly at the windscreen.!!   The driver's side now works, but I'll need to change the rubber windscreen wiper blocks at some time ..and if the pump gives me problems again it'll be flung and I'll go back to a manually operated one.

I've also (re)corrected the front suspension / steering toe-in.  Now that the back is good to go the toe-in at the front could go back to standard spec.  The handling is now fine and happily undramatic. Tracking is straight.  Tyre pressures I'd likewise reset to 30psi all around (a datum I'll adjust from) ..but after my drive on Sunday and the car's transmission of poor road surfaces and transverse ridges on certain road sections, I'll next try them at 28psi.

Feeling the temperature of the hubs and brakes after a run, I noted the rear right was just a little warmer than the rear left and so I've slackened the brake adjuster off 1/4 of a turn as the handbrake was just slightly binding.  Brakes are not much to write home about but I guess that's largely because I'm used to the servo assisted of modern cars.

Having now got a car with a fraction of the shakes & rattles she had 14 months ago - I sought, to identify a reverberating harmonic, not quite but almost a rumble noise ..especially apparent on corners.  That it turned out, with the aid of a passenger to listen, was thought to be coming from the rear.  And as this noise sympathised with road speeds, rather than engine engine or driveshaft revs, it was shortlisted to be coming from the LH half-shaft & or that wheel-bearing.  Down-under Investigation found slack in the inboard UJ.  So, here we go again. 

P1420455s.JPG.64b0284ea676b872ac557c4d06b68df4.JPG   P1420462s.JPG.1f3c4d9f67c263b46482dd022bf4de2b.JPG

I did this on Saturday afternoon, just 1-3/4 hr from start to finish, including a bit of cleaning up, replacing one grease nipple and the four wheel studs (from short wire wheel ones to the longer ones used for pressed steel wheel).   Job done, and the noise has either gone altogether or is beneath annoyance levels.  tick.png.4826b2852cc2e695d6c20505d9151fbd.png Katie's very much more enjoyable to drive without it.

The diff &/or gearbox is still noisy, which resembles the old mini 850 of my youth, but I don't know how much of that is 1960's 'original' swan-song versus wear.  And/or how much that is from my having a quiet exhaust where very little is concealed. 

As things are settling, we're getting a few squeaks ..so I'll need to go around and make sure all the body mounts are pinched up, and to see what else might be making little noises.  

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^ and I've dropped Katie's  front number plate one grille bar.  Seen here at Flixton, enjoying the weather in good company with a 1956 Lockheed T33A and a DeHavilland Sea Vixen (XJ482 ; 1958-1972).  As you might gather I'm leaving the bumpers off for the time being.

Pete

 

 

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Yesterday I did, or attempted to do, a few jobs around the car. . .

P1420535s.JPG.d3fea4c5eb7f032b4ce8a2ef7707c863.JPG

^ the bonnet's LHS cone was seized in and therefore not adjustable. After cracking the overpaint off and scraping it out of the thread with a Stanley-knife blade I applied penetrating and let it to soak in ..while I attempted other jobs.  After a while, and a few intermittent attempts, I managed to sweat it off, clean it up, Copaslip the thread and refit the cone 1/8" higher.  I need to do something with the worn hinge on that side and its bonnet frame to panel attachment, but for the meantime, that another little job done without unintentional paint being chipped off  .. little tick  tick.png.caf9afdee8b6b9a277a71e7d4eed8ca2.png 

The other job I particularly wanted another go at was less obliging. . .

P1420536s.JPG.49bfc089dc240c8b88fa2811eaa6bc03.JPG

^ Front RHS lower wishbone trunnion.  I tried before and it wouldn't come apart, so I reassembled it with a copious dousing of penetrating fluids and left it, hoping thereafter twisting and vibration from driving would help free it up a little more.  However that corner of the car squeaks within this trunnion ..so as you can see - I crawled under and battled again.  Clearly rust is washing out and I can just about turn the bolt, but those trunnion sleeves are still locked fast onto it.  :angry:    No coconut for today thank you

Welcome-To-The-Wonderful-Coconut-Meme.jp

 

While back and forth to the seized bonnet cone, I happened to note this peculiar detail . . .

P1420537as.jpg.f2871cffc4fa6d461b088daf54aec5f2.jpg  ..see green arrow

^ this is the fuel pipe from the tank, and the rubber pipe is where it turns up to the pump.  There were no clips on it, and the bottom of that ('2013 unleaded') rubber pipe is cracked and otherwise just one half of its end was cocked on by 1/8".   It was seeping, but at such a slow rate that the petrol evaporated as it ran over the chassis.   I was lucky, not least because I've only recently added almost £60 of fuel to the tank and.. had that pipe come off - the whole tank would have drained.  

I've swapped the pipe for a length which is twice as long and, like we do in the marine industry, I've two pipe clips on either end of it.  I'll give myself a tick for being so lucky tick.png.caf9afdee8b6b9a277a71e7d4eed8ca2.png but then need to remove it ..for my not having spotted it beforehand, so  1592379424_tick-white.png.860cd01bef3dc5cf1d2bb4bb51de7702.png  .. 

Pete

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1 hour ago, Lebro said:

How did you change the pipe without loosing fuel ? I don't see a tap anywhere.

Bob

No tap, but that bottom pipe connection was so loose it was already as good as off, then thumb over the end of the tube, with the replacement pipe there at the ready. As the new pipe was longer it stood up to above the fuel's level (2/3rd tank full according to a dip stick) and so didn't spurt out of the top.  As Hamish says 'got to be quick.  Petrol dribbled down from the short length of pipe above but that was just the volume of 8" in length x 1/4" ID pipe.  

 

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On 5/25/2022 at 8:44 PM, Bfg said:

Petrol dribbled down from the short length of pipe above but that was just the volume of 8" in length x 1/4" ID pipe.  

 

Just a week's pension worth then!

Pete

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2 hours ago, stillp said:

Just a week's pension worth then!

Pete

" Applications for (new) pensions have been delayed due to c-19 covid, numerous strains from horrid foreign places, cocktail parties, and 5:30pm meetings with drinks and a buffet to investigate the culprits of such outrageous behaviour.   Further applications for pensions, and anything else where money may be paid out to any sniveling individual, has been postponed until "after the crisis is over"  ..which 'crisis' was not said.  Please join the trend in completing your self-assessment tax-return early".    Boris and the Jambalaya banjo band

 

 

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Pete,

As you are aware, I rarely dive in with comments here but, just to say…… I’m in awe!

 

…..Not for the petrol pipe repair per se…. (That would have also been my modus-operandB)i )……. It’s actually all about your tenacity and resilience in facing set back after set back and continually improving however difficult the circumstances that is the inspiration on here……

 

Many of us can ‘talk a good game’…….. You talk it better and, importantly, actually continuously and methodically back it up  :)!

 

Cheers 

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Thank you Gentlemen for your kind words and encouragement. 

It's a pleasure to help balance the statistics for y'all.  ie., if these things happen to me then statistically they're less likely to happen to you ! :D

This afternoon's task was at first to prove difficult to the point of giving in, then one of stubbornness, followed by it having been exceptionally positive and uplifting, and then this evening something changed . . .

 

Some may recall, from when I took Katie  across to Wolverhampton for her chassis swap, that I found - when driving along heavily trafficked dual-carriageways in so low an open-top and very rattly old car - the huge tyre sizes of modern vehicles and commercials to be somewhat intimidating.. And equally so their road-noise massively intrusive. 

You may also recall, from many moons ago - I bought Katie  a used Surrey-top with grp back-light ..to help curb such noise.   Indeed, to have such a roof is for me a big plus for the Triumph fours & fives.  Certainly my right shoulder will be glad to be rid of the intrusive hood frame, so that I might sit squarer in the seat.  And overall I'll be happy with the additional spaciousness on the aft deck.  B)

And so, today's task saw me drag said back-light out from under the table (it was there because I live in a grotty apartment and have no garage per-se) ..to see what was what. . .

P1420540s.JPG.0656976c9eb30470ff16856c6b79629c.JPG

My apologies for the dust, I've given the cleaning maid the day decade off.   When I bought this, the gentleman apologised for its glass being loose. He explained when he'd picked it up - the fibreglass had moved and the top edge had come out of the seal.   I've never fitted a windscreen before, but had read that many individuals had struggled but managed and so surely I could do that too.  Bit of string to lay in the rubber and then to use that to pull the rubber aside as the glass screen slips into the groove.  I say I'd read, but I cannot say 'particularly reassured' as I was very anxious of breaking the glass.    Nevertheless "he who dares " ..only crashes and burns once !

After a dusting, it was clear that the screen was out along both the top and bottom edges and the sides were only just hanging on in there. Also that black sealant goo had been used to stick the seal all across the top edge to the frame ..one presumes to seal water leaks.  I tried but the glass didn't want to slip back into its seal, and so I decided to pull it out and start again. . .

P1420542s.JPG.c0d9de004f3a3376b8209b9d5143b2c3.JPG 

^ Put the string into the groove ?  It kept pulling out so I used packer-blocks of hardboard to keep it in.  I then tried to lower the glass in both from the inside and the outside ..and as the blocks were removed the string came out again.  Onto Youtube and the chap on there shows the seal fitted first onto the windscreen glass, not onto the frame.  The the string is around the outside. He loosely places the glass with seal onto the windscreen frame's and the seal seems to automatically engage with the bottom flange. Next we know he's wiggling the string out from the inside top corner and the job is done.  

Yeah., sure that was not going to happen here was it !   So next go onto the web to find a mobile windscreen fitter. I find someone here in Ipswich, and give him a call. Apparently with holidays this coming week (..which I didn't know about) and his work load, it'll be two weeks before he can come out.  Cost, well  IF it goes Okay then £75, if it turns out to be one of those ....  then it'll cost more, but if by some chance it happens to go in easily then the price can be adjusted down a bit.

Two weeks huh,  Well I had to laugh ..what might I expect when I ring someone at 5pm on a Friday evening..  same day service ! ? :D

Hey ho, I didn't need it fitted now, although tbh., it would have been nice to have had it fitted for the drive to and from the Sandringham pageant on the 5th of next month. And I think having a much-wanted back-light on the car would give my ol' mojo a boost. 

Nothing to do for today then, but to idly poke around the back-light. . .

P1420545s.JPG.e35dc84675eb7876c33637ecf2363303.JPG  P1420544s.JPG.80a0e2807c690ddda0c3705f3037d218.JPG

^ Push, shove, thumb it sideways as I push n' shove, then push the glass some more, and work around fingering the rubber edges out.   The darn thing was goi ng in !  I couldn't believe it. No string, no soap nor other lubricant, not even water, just my pushing n' shoving and a lot of thumbing.  You see there is an advantage to having a giant's hands. !

 P1420546s.JPG.ce12d83a5cf9052633ee60bcc05c9b31.JPG  P1420547s.JPG.02f67d233d2ec8e56b9832c6f8e1af23.JPG    

One the glass was in the seal's groove I used my Mum's old butter knife just to ease the rubber away from the glass as I push down on it (the glass) to help it right into the bottom of the seal's groove, which in turn dropped the bottom edge (seen as the top but only because of how the back-light was sitting) as I worked my way back n' forth one side & then the other while push down and inwards.  Second pic shows the seal came off the frame along that one long edge, I pulled it onto the glass and then finished off the transitions by shoving and thumbing the seal back onto the frame's grp flange. 

P1420553s.JPG.3035ddbb5886d66f808d9c42609e2735.JPG    P1420551s.JPG.cfda5344855bd631fd525f425c9ea749.JPG

Amazingly, to me, I got the glass back in.  ^ The tide marks from where it was fitted beforehand showed that it wasn't yet where it was, in fact here (in the first photo) the glass needs to be raised by 1/2" into the seal. More shoving and easing the glass down and inwards. In the second photo, you'll see rag poked inbetween the rug and the backlight frame to support it a little higher in the middle (crudely replicating the curvature of the car's rear deck, by the filler cap).

P1420555s.JPG.0afc29b09a99fa3f3d87d59f19557a75.JPG   

^ Excellent the glass is in ..and unbroken !   BIG broad grin. :)  ..I really hadn't expected to be able to do that.  not least on my own in an hour-and-a-half.   Sure I broke a sweat and my thumbs feel like a few minutes more and they would have blistered ..BUT ITS DONE !!

I suddenly felt hungry !

Cooked my supper (it was quarter to eight after all) and sat down to watch a movie. 

All good huh !  ?

Alas not quite..  an hour and a half later, sitting untouched on the table still.. the top edge of the glass has pulled out of the seal. . .

P1420557as.jpg.90d114551ac817838fd5aa45bc2187f3.jpg

^ barely noticeable but it's pulled away mostly all across the top edge (see red arrow) ..as if the glass is 1/2" too short, or the frame is distorted 1/2" too high.  Well that accounts for why there's the black sealant all across this seal ..and possibly also why I managed to get the glass in by finger power alone.

I don't know if the car's rear-deck shape would tend to squeeze these faces together, but somehow I doubt it. Possibly the fibreglass flange has been trimmed back ? because getting the glass in at all was a bear.  Either way I'm naturally very disappointed. 

Ups and downs of classic cars huh !

Bidding you a good evening and a pleasant weekend

Pete.

 

 

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This is the problem with trying to use a glass window in a fibre frame. To get it to fit you need to trim the lip on the fibre frame down to a nominal 10mm all round. But because the top section of the fibre frame has very little strength as opposed to a genuine alloy frame it does tend to not be able to retain the glass as you have noticed. This is why the normal Honeybourne kit has a larger lip and rubber to keep it all together. Is that glass an original one Pete or a laminated repro do you know? Originals will take much more pushing and shoving than a repro laminated one.

I suspect the only way your going to get it to stay together is to use some Sikaflex bonded windscreen sealant and windlass the centre of the frame together over the glass to hold it until it sets. Messy job but probably the best way as I believe thats what Moss do when they are asked to fit a glass to the fibre frames they sell. https://www.sealantsonline.co.uk/Products/Adhesive_sealants/SIK3295

When I did mine I bonded a section of wood up into the top section between the holes for the hard roof to provide a bit more strength and to give a mounting for a third brake light and interior light. and I also cut a perspex window to suit from a glass pattern. It went together with a bit of a struggle and Ive no doubt over time the window will get scratched but as Im not a polisher it wont bother me.

Stuart.

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1 hour ago, stuart said:

This is the problem with trying to use a glass window in a fibre frame. To get it to fit you need to trim the lip on the fibre frame down to a nominal 10mm all round. But because the top section of the fibre frame has very little strength as opposed to a genuine alloy frame it does tend to not be able to retain the glass as you have noticed. This is why the normal Honeybourne kit has a larger lip and rubber to keep it all together. Is that glass an original one Pete or a laminated repro do you know? Originals will take much more pushing and shoving than a repro laminated one.

I suspect the only way your going to get it to stay together is to use some Sikaflex bonded windscreen sealant and windlass the centre of the frame together over the glass to hold it until it sets. Messy job but probably the best way as I believe thats what Moss do when they are asked to fit a glass to the fibre frames they sell. https://www.sealantsonline.co.uk/Products/Adhesive_sealants/SIK3295

When I did mine I bonded a section of wood up into the top section between the holes for the hard roof to provide a bit more strength and to give a mounting for a third brake light and interior light. and I also cut a perspex window to suit from a glass pattern. It went together with a bit of a struggle and Ive no doubt over time the window will get scratched but as Im not a polisher it wont bother me.

Stuart.

https://www.theplasticshop.co.uk/perspex-polish-acrylic-polish-xerapol.html

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25 minutes ago, BlueTR3A-5EKT said:

Thanks, need to find out if the window is possibly Polycarbonate as that stuff wont work on that.

Stuart.

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