Triumph TR3-Wheel Well Primer-Down to The Last Drop!

Time in Garage: approx 30 mins.

Another day of mainly "meaningful" distractions that kept me out of the garage for extended periods of time-for example I went out early in the morning and visited a friend that I haven't seen for a number of months, looked at a house showing with my daughter, then went out for lunch with my wife at an East Indian restaurant followed with a long dog walk in the winter sunshine. A good day experience wise... For some reason I ran out of energy later in the day (even after having a satisfying nap mid afternoon) and didn't make it out into the garage in the evening as planned-defaulting instead to watching a few hours of TV -not overly satisfying when I reflect back on my "couch" time...

I did, however, do the final wipe down of the left hand side front wheel well and applied the preliminary POR 15 Tie Coat primer on the surface. The bottom of the car is now completely covered in primer. There are a couple of spots that require some more attention but for now the job is done as far as I am going to take. Interestingly I consumed every drop of the Tie-Coat primer. I will need to purchase another can when I go to do the final primer coat in a few months.

Triumph TR3-Wheel Well Prep/Next Steps

Time in garage: 30 mins. I went back over the left hand wheel well prep one more time. Used POR15 Marine Clean (once again) to prepare the surface and did a final sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. Too many other distractions on Sunday to spend much time out in the garage but I am satisfied some progress was made. I am anticipating the body will be moved out of the garage on Thursday evening. I have family coming over for dinner so there will be helping hands available...

Triumph TR3-Primer and Such

Saturday garage time 2-1/2 hours..

Front Suspension

I undertook the task of gathering together the front suspension parts (painted and new parts) and putting them into a box in preparation for reassembly. My gathering showed that there are some pieces missing (shocks/ball joint/shock mounting brackets etc) which I will need to locate today. The original disassembly along with the painting and parts cleaning has resulted in multiple containers of parts that have resided in different places in the garage for the past few months. It feels good to be cataloging and getting them gathered into one place.

Primer: I painted the right hand wheel well tub with primer. I decided to drop the paint can into warm water first (a car model building trick I learned for smoother spray painting) which made the paint flow better. I am just about out of primer but I think I will get the other wheel well painted before I run out!

Rust Repair: There was a section on the left hand side wheel well tub (on the opposite side of the body to chassis mounting bracket) about 4 inches square that was fairly rusted. When I primed the engine bay area a few months ago I painted over the rust with primer knowing I would have to go back and repair it at some point. I skirted around fixing it because the area is hidden from view when the car is reassembled. I initially thought it would require cutting the rust out and fabricating a patch panel?? I realized yesterday that it would be straight forward to grind out the area, apply a coat of POR 15 paint to encapsulate any remaining rust and attach a fill in piece using the body mounting bracket as the foundation for the repair. A skim coat of filler would cover over the repair and it would look very presentable and be much more structurally sound...So after about 15 minutes of grinding I had the area cleaned up and I went ahead with the repair. Not on the critical path list but it needed to be done. Total time about an hour. The skim coat still needs to be completed. Interestingly the left hand side is no where near as rusted...

Critical Path Review. I marked off the body related items on my critical path list yesterday. I am about 10 hours over on my original time allocation mainly because I did not include the preparation and primer application for the front wheel well tubs or the repair of the body mounting bracket rust I mentioned above. I am still on track to finish the body related work by January 30th...

Garage Clean Up: I spent some time yesterday cleaning up tools etc...about 30 mins...

triumph TR3-More Front Wheel Well Prep

Friday time in garage: 2 hours. I had two separate work sessions in the garage yesterday. Prep of the front wheel wells for painting took longer than anticipated based on the surface being more contaminated (dirt, grease/oil, rust) than I had anticipated. Out came the Marine Clean and Scotch pad (with a final prep with 220 grit sandpaper as per the Tie-Coat primer instructions) and along with a fair amount of elbow grease the surfaces are now just about ready for primer. I started to neutralize the surface rust with Metal Prep. There is some additional Metal Prep work to be done today. Ideally the wheel well tubs should be sandblasted to bare metal but the logistics of moving the tub to the sandblasters and back again is daunting and potentially expensive. I realize as I write this passage that I need to go back to the wheel well tubs and do some angle grinding on the remaining surface rust areas. I would estimate about 25% of the surface has a light dusting of rust...

Hopefully I will get the final skim coat of primer on the bottom of the rear valance today.

I am growing a bit weary of executing bodywork ( I enjoy the process but not the toxicity) and long to move on to the chassis reassembly planned for next month. My restoration guide indicates the body work is a major hurdle in a TR3 restoration and I can understand why on many levels!!!

The '59 had a replacement battery box fabricated by the previous owner... Yesterday I noticed (while peering under the dash of the car through the transmission opening in the floor board) that the existing battery box shelf bottom is still intact and very rusty. It will require a small patch panel and some rust neutralization and paint to "preserve" it. This is not an identified activity on my critical path planning...I will add it to the list and execute the work when I put the final white finish on the primed areas. I just don't have the enthusiasm to tackle the job right now. I also started to contemplate the installation of the after market wiring harness when looking at the underside of the dash gauge area.

Yesterday started out as a high energy work session but my energy level (and enthusiasm) diminished as the day progressed. The reality is wheel well clean up is time consuming and basically grunt work...that comes with the territory when preserving an old vehicle...

Triumph TR3-Front Wheel Well Patch Panel Finishing

Thursday garage time: 2-1/2 hours. I finished off the left front wheel well patch panel by trimming it down substantially ( I was just not pleased with the fit-more rework but worth it) and applying a skim coat of filler to the surface. I also cleaned up the right hand side wheel well area where I had attached a patch panel many months ago. A skim coat of filler followed. I need to go out today and finish up both areas and apply primer. Right now I am on schedule with respect to my critical path planning (end of January completion) ...however I have spent more hours than originally anticipated (nothing new there)....

I pulled out my Haynes TR3 repair manual,TR3 Restoration Guide and the very well used (and oil saturated) Shop Manual (that came with the car) to go over the steps for the front suspension reassembly. I can feel my excitement building as I contemplate actually reassembling mechanical components..

Triumph TR3-More POR 15 Tie Coat Primer Application

Wednesday garage time: 30 minutes spent in the garage applying the second coat of Tie-Coat primer. Upon inspection some minor runs (due to brush application) to contend with on the final sanding but overall I am happy with the finish..

Triumph TR3-POR 15 Tie Coat Primer Application

Yesterday I applied the first coat of Tie Coat Primer onto the chassis side of the trunk and floor boards and the internal portion of the rear valance.... The prep of the POR 15 finish (sanding lightly of 320 grit sandpaper) on the floor boards took longer than I had anticipated. There were a couple of "runs" that had to be smoothed out. The POR 15 sets p very hard...It felt good to see a consistent coat of primer applied. Total time 2-1/2 hours.

Triumph TR3-Parts Sorting and Rack and Pinion Planning

This morning I went through my recently purchased front suspension fasteners etc and labeled the zipbags with the appropriate description (to enhance the part number that is stated) to ensure I grab the right bag when I am reassembling the suspension. About 20 minutes was spent with the Moss catalog taking care of the task....

When picking up the parts I also discussed the utilization of my "home built" rack and pinion steering assembly vrs potentially buying a MOSS unit. ($775.00) and doing "it right". I have some time to consider my options. The utilization of the MOSS unit is probably more sound from an engineering perspective and in the longer run safer???

Today I want to apply the POR 15 Tie-Coat primer.....

Triumph TR3-POR-15 Application

After researching (for about 30 minutes) POR-15 sites on the internet I decided to go ahead and coat the bare metal of the chassis side of the floor boards with the remaining POR-15 gray paint I had left over. There was an option of utilizing an etching primer to prep the metal for application of the Tie-Coat Primer but I didn't have etching primer or the motivation to venture out and purchase some. The gray POR-15 paint has a shelf life and I felt it would be probably be wasted unless I used it. I prepped the bare metal with Marine Clean and Metal Prep and applied 2 coats of POR-15. I believe the metal will be better protected by doing so (vrs applying the etching primer) and it will provide a good base coat for the Tie-Coat primer which I will be applying mid week. I also spent some time tidying the garage before applying the paint. Total time in the garage 3 hours.

Triumph TR3- Caliper Mounting Plates and More Metal Bashing

My parts supplier has indicated good potential they have the TR-6 caliper mounting brackets on one of their parts cars but right now it is too cold to go out into the yard and retrieve them!! Hopefully they will do so before I head down on Monday to pick up fasteners and grommets!!!

For a couple of days I was in hibernation mode and as a result I didn't get out into the garage..-the -40 degree (with wind-chill) outside temperature really took my motivation away keeping me in the house and laying low... Yesterday I mustered up some energy and spent about 2 hours grinding surfaces of some of the replacement panels I had previously installed in the front wheel area (firewall side) in prep for a final skim coat of filler. I also installed the last patch panel in the lower left wheel well. It lined up really well but when I was finished I was not too pleased with the overall appearance? I spent some additional time with the grinder tapering the edges and removing some additional metal around one of existing contours which has improved the look somewhat.... I had to keep reminding myself that the area I am working on would not be visible when the fender is reinstalled and in fact would only be visible is someone was purposely looking with the car on a hoist or the front wheel removed. The position I am taking is to do the best possible job in a reasonable time frame...I doubt if I will spent too much more time massaging the area... Unfortunately I ran out of time (late in the afternoon) so I dashed out the garage without really examining what the finished product looked like?? I also finished off the contouring of the installed panel in the rear right fender area (bottom front area). It finished up real well.

Overall a productive time in the garage on Friday.

Triumph TR3- Final Scuffing and Metal Prep Work/Brakes

About an hour and a half was spent in the garage yesterday. I finished the final "scuffing" of the POR15 finish in prep for the primer coat plus did some metal prep application on the "bare" metal of the floor pans. I also trimmed up one of the homemade rubber pads on the body mounting brackets. It overlapped the metal portion by about an inch and a half which looked sloppy. There was also a considerable amount of glue spread (in the area) on the floor pan which I determined to clean up. The area looks much more tidy now....I estimate there is about another hours worth of work left to apply Metal Prep all over the surface in preparation for application of the primer coat which I plan to undertake on Saturday...

I also did a preliminary clean up of the driveshaft tunnel which had a build up of oil and dirt. Initially I was not going to refinish the interior of the tunnel-as of this morning I am not sure where I sit in respect to proceeding to do so......more contemplation is needed...the activity is not currently on my critical path list...

Last night I decided to go onto the VTR (Vintage Triumph Register) website and pull up the Toyota 4 piston caliper conversion and read the "fine print" with respect to the installation procedure and the component parts needed. Interestingly when I read the article over a year ago I missed that I would need TR-6 caliper mounting brackets and TR-6 rotors to complete the conversion. I have all the other pieces pre-purchased but it looks like more money will need to be spent!!! Luckily I located a mounting bracket picture comparing the TR3 to TR6 brackets to send to my parts distributor to get a quote on price and delivery. I would anticipate "used" TR-6 brackets will be available... internet time well spent in my determination....

I also watched about an hour of the Barrett Jackson car auction from Scottsdale Arizona. I actually got bored and turned it off. I guess I was just not in the mood to watch high dollar auctioneering.....

Triumph TR3- More Painting Prep/Patch Panel/Flange Work

A couple more painting prep sessions on the floor board and trunk area re-coat in the last couple of days. I attached some more of the flange pieces etc to the firewall/floor area that I had fabricated earlier but not installed. I also attached a patch panel to the bottom of the rear right wheel well area-also prefabricated but not installed. A total of about 4 hours spent all together.

Last night I went out and cleaned up my work area. It had deteriorated dramatically in the last few days. Time to pick up and get organized. Also made the work area safer to be in...

I plan to finish scuffing the POR 15 surface today and apply metal prep to the bare metal in preparation for the primer coat. It is currently around -30C so I am reluctant to apply the primer coat until the weather warms. Too difficult to keep the garage at a constant temperature for paint application!!!!

Purchased a new container of Metal Prep and some sheets of 80 Grit sandpaper-Total cost $28.35.

I also downloaded a picture of a white 1960 TR3 for "inspirational" purposes off the Henning site. ( I spent about 15 minutes last night looking at TR3's for sale)..A nice looking car with wire wheels.

Triumph TR3- POR 15 First 2 Coats

Yesterday I completed applying 2 coats of POR 15 to the chassis side of the trunk area. An hour of additional prep time was required (I found an area that was not sanded to my satisfaction), a reapplying of Marine Clean and the actual painting...I would estimate I spent about 3 hours total working on the task. Not the most enjoyable work but satisfying to see a more finished look. Next step is applying the primer to the chassis side of the body...

I purchased some brushes for applying the POR 15-cost $9.00.

Triumph TR3- Rear Valance-Finishing Up

Since my last entry I have had 2 separate sessions in the garage, yesterday and the day before, about 3 hours total time. I have now finished off the rear valance filler skim coat and done the preliminary sanding to a "fit for purpose" state. I spent some time last night contemplating how much additional time I should spend "prepping" the surface? My conclusion was I could spend another couple of hours applying another skim coat to make the valance a little less "wavy" but in actual fact the remaining sheet metal was wavy to begin with and for me to spend time making it less so just doesn't make sense to me. I am still not yet happy with the quality of the lip appearance-it needs some straightening and a small amount of prep work prior to final painting. For now I will leave it and focus on applying the POR 15 to the truck floor and getting the final coat of primer on the bottom of the floor boards. The weather is predicted to get much colder on the weekend (currently -2 C-projected to be be -27C) which puts some garage time high on the list of priorities today...

Triumph TR3- Parts Order and Skim Coat

Last Wednesday I paid for my fastener and grommet order ($111.00 and change). Yesterday (Saturday) I spent about 3 hours total in the garage. Por 15'd the inner panels of the rear valance, attached my re-fabricated patch panels (using rivets and the POR 15 as a binder to glue the panels together-I saw this done on a website)-covered the whole rear panel with POR15 then let it set up and applied a skim coat of filler (as per the POR 15 instructions). The rear valance looks much more finished now. Today I plan to spend a few hours doing the finish work on the valance and get it to the primer state..

Triumph TR3- Metal Prep and Sourcing Parts

Today I ventured out into the garage for an initial hour of metal prep. Cleaning the bottom of the trunk pan with POR 15 Marine Wash. Then off to Canadian Tire for rivets and misc supplies (sandpaper,tack cloths, new chuck key for my drill, 3M sanding blocks etc etc) including a new face shield to replace my very scratched and broken example that I just plain wore out!!. Total spend $47.61. Time spent on supply run-about an hour...

I came home and did up a parts order for front end suspension fasteners and the grommets for the firewall. Faxed it off to my supplier. Total time about an hour...

Late in the afternoon I went out to the garage again and spent about a half a hour doing some more metal prep.

During lunch my wife asked me how the Triumph work was going based on the fact that she had seen an E-Bay repost e-mail for a replacement valve cover that I had been looking at earlier in the summer. The valve cover is not much better than my current unit so little chance of purchase. I explained to her where I perceived myself to be schedule wise and reassured her I felt I was over the top of the hill(most of the body work completed,a majority of the parts ordered and the chassis components painted) and heading down the other side towards reassembly and completion... She looked at me with a skeptical glint in her eye. I explained that I wanted the car back together and ready for paint by May 5th? (the importance of setting a date is paramount if I am going to move this car forward) After my comment she asked my outright if I thought I would experience another major obstacle in the reassembly, that I had not anticipated, that would slow down the project???I said "no" based on what I have done so far and some of the reference material I have reviewed re TR3 restoration. She still remains skeptical. She also requested I dispose of the 1957 before the summer. I explained to her I am holding on to it until I get a better idea of what parts I need. (the best parts)...for some reason her eyes are definitely on the project and the clock has started ticking..

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