Yesterday I spent some time de-constructing the 1959 Triumph to try and decide what quality of car I would have when I was finished the reassembly. My goal is to have the best possible car with the least amount of effort and money expended.
The big issue for me right now is whether or not to remove the body from the frame (on the 1959) to paint the chassis (prevent further rusting) and paint the underside of the replaced floor panels. It is possible to paint the bottom of the floor panels without this step but the repainting of the chassis is much more of a challenge. It is going to be very difficult to get in on top of the rails with a paint brush. The additional step of separating the body would add hours to my stage one time estimate but might provide me with a more solid basis for the reassembly. On the other hand I already have a powder coated chassis already to be reassembled-perhaps I should use it as a basis and reassemble it during the winter using all the good parts from the two cars? Then there is the question of what body to use if I head in this direction?
The 1957 has the original floor panels but the rear quarter was damaged in a roll over and partially repaired. The body has also sat out in the elements so it will need to be sandblasted and repainted. This would have to be done regardless of whether the car is reassembled or sold. The 1959 has the floor panels replaced but they are not original style. The sheet metal work was done by a professional fabricator but it does not contain the original details that a reproduction panels would. The 1959 has an interesting history that makes me want to reassemble it but the 1957 would probably be worth more if redone?
I have come to the conclusion recently I don't have enough parts to reconstruct both the 1957 and the 1959 without considerable expense. Arriving at this conclusion causes me a bit of a quandary as the "partially" complete 1957 car has much less value disassembled as it would if it was complete. Checks on the Internet (E-Bay and Hemmings) show some of the parts have value if sold separately but many parts have little value. I also don't have enough "A" condition body panels to put two cars back together. Body work is expensive and some of the required work is beyond my capabilities to complete so I would have to farm it out to a body shop.
Over the next few weeks I am going to do some planning and daydreaming to see what I am going to do next. On a positive note my son phoned yesterday and the garage heater has been put aside. I maybe out in the garage sooner than later....
