More Coats of Paint-Engine Compartment/Trunk Surface Repair/Trunk Lid sanding and primer

Time in Garage: 7 hours over 2 days
Money spent: $32 approx

I sprayed another coat of paint on the engine compartment. Coverage looks good. I have to continually remind myself it is the engine compartment and the paint does not need to be perfect to be presentable. I determined not to straighten out all the dents etc and to leave some of the "scars" from earlier owners present rather than sanitize the engine bay. The car is a driver and I want it to have some character when it is finished. At this point I am not sure if I will regret going in this direction but for now I am staying on course.\

As indicated earlier I fabricated some reinforcement strips for base of the trunk and steel epoxed them into place along with the new bracket for the divider. I exercised some creativity and made non standard shapes figuring they would be covered with the carpet anyway. I plan to rivet them in place, seal the seams  and finish off the surfaces,prime and potentially HPC the trunk area today. Interestingly I have to purchase a new rivet tool. Over the past few weeks I have experienced malfunctions in both of my existing tools. I repaired one of them and for some reason the tool has disappeared since. I have looked in all the possible places and have had no luck locating it. The second tool had a jammed rivet in it. I pulled it apart and it looks like it is not repairable...just worn out I think...I am also going to purchase shorter rivets when I replace the tool which I think will be more fit for purpose.

The trunk lid had been previously primed but for some reason the surface was damaged while the lid was in storage. I sanded down the surface with 240 grit wet and dry sandpaper and applied a coat of etching primer to the bare metal. I also did a 240 grit sanding of the hood which I need to finish today.

Trunk Area Repair...1st Coat Paint Engine Compartment

Time in Garage: 5 hours over 2 days
Money Spent $140 approx-body shop supplies.

I tackled fixing the trunk area with a few coats of fibreglass reinforced filler. There was a small area to repair ( along the ridge) and the repair looks good  at this point. A bit more sanding and finishing to do yet! I made a new bracket for the trunk divider ( the old one was severely rusted) and reinforcement strips to attach to the trunk surface to reinforce the panel above the spare tire. If I don't attach the strips I think the panel will vibrate and be annoying while driving!

I painted the engine compartment white. Duplicolor Lacquer. First 2 coats. There is a small paint run to be repaired but overall the paint job is "fit for purpose" Some  additional sanding is required. Once the sanding is completed an additional coat will be applied today . The HVLP spray gun worked well...

Making Progress!

Engine compartment Final Sanding

Time in Garage: 2 hours

I came home from work early on Wednesday and decided to tackle the final sanding and clean up of the engine compartment. Task finished. I wet sanded to 240 grit which I think will be "fit for purpose"

The Project in Review

A colleague of mine is coming over for a garage tour next week to look at my Triumph. He has a mid 1970's MGB that he has owned since new that he is considering bringing back to life after years of being parked. I always tell people who view my work in progress that there is a lot more work and money invested than what is apparent viewing the bare chassis and tub sitting on stands! I seem to need to justify my progress particularly to people who are not familiar with bringing an old car back to life. As I mentioned in earlier blogs I don't think I would attempt a rebuild of this magnitude again, preferring instead to spend more money initially and start with a better car! If I had followed this route I would be driving a sports car instead of still building it... I have to keep remembering it is the journey, not the destination that is important!

I can very much appreciate why restorations cost so much to complete when done by professionals. Hours and hours can be consumed just cleaning up parts and doing the most mundane tasks! Looking at my powder coated frame and disassembled body I know how far I have brought the project along and I have to remind myself not to be too judgmental that I don't have the project completed.

Engine Bay Prep

Time in Garage: 5 hours over 2 days

Worked Saturday and for a hour Monday night

Applied some fibreglass filler ( in the engine bay area) to the lower sections of the inner wheel wells to reinforce where the bolts go.  Finish sanded and primed. Tonite I removed the steering column bracket for painting black and the excellerator rod and brackets for painting. I cringe every time I remove another part..but it has to be done...

The sale of the 1957 tub fell through after nearly 3 months of being on hold waiting for the potential buyer to show up. Our schedules conflicted a bit which made a showing difficult to arrange. He finally showed up and determined my tub was not in any better shape than his one at home? I had provided numerous pics so I was a bit surprised!  He was also concerned the floor boards had a different configuration behind the seats. I could sense his disappointment and gave him an out on the purchase. We determined the car is probably a TR2.  I had a " feeling" the deal wasn't going to go through right from the beginning. It just didn't feel right to me. For example I was very surprised we had arrived at a selling price without the buyer seeing the tub in person? Oh well, back to square one!!!! I have some research to do...more to follow on this subject...

Major Milestone Accomplished: HPC Coating Applied

Time in Garage : 12 hours over 2 days
Dollars Spent: $300 approx

A colleague very generously offered to spray a HPC coating on the underside of the body and front fender wells..a job that was completed last Thursday night. I think he sensed the need to make the offer and get me move moving again on my project based on a couple of workplace discussions we had around the current stages of our individual projects. Another contibuting factor is warm days are quickly disappearing closing the window of opportunity to get the job done so there was a sense of urgency timing wise.   I am very glad progress has been made!!!

I am currently preparing the engine bay for painting...