Triumph TR3 - Who Knew?

Yesterday I tackled the disassembly of the left hand side of the front suspension on the '59 chassis to harvest the hardware(nuts bolts etc), the trunnion, and shock absorber fittings and hardware.

The task took me twice as long as I anticipated. There were numerous challenges. First of all the shock removal took some extra time and persuasion to free up the two fittings on the bottom of shock that refused to free up after the nuts were removed. The mounting arrange seems rather complex to me but I am sure it has a sound engineering basis? The next issue was the spring compressor. The tool I had rented didn't actually work out too well because the spring diameter was too small to appropriately insert the tool. I tried to jury rig it to but ended up spending a lot of time in trial and error fitting that turned out to be a fruitless endeavor. Fortunately, later on in the evening, one of my neighbors dropped by to see what I was doing and actually had the tool I was originally visualizing for the job. It was sitting on the shelf in his garage unused. I was very grateful for his gesture. During further disassembling of the components the cotter pins that hold the spring plate onto the wishbones became problematic to remove.. I would assume they haven't been removed for a long time which turned out to be another interesting challenge. They were badly rusted and broke off while I was trying to extract them. (5 out of the 6) requiring addition persuasion with a small drift and hammer.

After doing about 3 hours work with the chassis sitting on a jack with me kneeling on the cold cement of my driveway, I decided the best thing for me to do was to lift one side of the chassis higher and place it on a table saw stand to give me better access. I used a long bar of channel to lever up the chassis. The stand worked well resulting in a much better access to the underneath of the suspension-a problem solved.

All in all it was a 4-1/2 hour day to do a two hour job.....based on all my learning's yesterday and the loaning of the spring compressor tool today's work session should be more efficient and hopefully more expedient.

Triumph TR3 - Cleaning Up The Workspace

I spent about two hours last night cleaning up my workspace and sweeping the garage floor. Surprisingly I am not finished yet with some misc tasks left like cleaning off my workbench and getting my shop vac cleaned out and the filter serviced. The clean up needed to be my priority before I turn any more wrenches on the car so it was time "well spent". I also put a new tarp on the '57 shell as my original car cover that I bought about 5 years ago had become unserviceable (ripped and torn-deteriorated by the sun) which I ended putting into a garbage bag (no real value as a rag). The space is looking much better...

Triumph TR3 - Spring Compressor and Tarp

A quiet day yesterday with the only project events being the attainment (rental) of a coil spring compressor to disassemble the front suspension and the placement of a tarp over the chassis to make my driveway look more presentable.

Still contemplating the purchase of the replacement top-as the sale at Moss goes on into early June I might hold off until the end of May to order??

Triumph TR3 - The Chassis Has Left the Building!!!

A pivotal "project" day yesterday as I separated the body from the chassis and moved the chassis to the driveway. I left the body in the garage. This wasn't my original intent but when I thought about it I was not too enthusiastic about exposing all my hard work to the elements so I changed my plan... The chassis is pretty weatherproof. In order to facilitate working on the car I built a stand for the body (2' high) out of 2X6 which should help with respect to prepping and painting underneath the body and the final fitting of the fenders.. a down side is it further compromises my small work area space wise...

Re removing the body: I did all the "grunt" work myself which proved to be an interesting physical challenge as the TR3 body is fairly heavy. At one point (when my 59 year old body started to feel the strain) I considered soliciting the help of a couple of my neighbors (my son has a bad cold and couldn't help out) but I didn't want to bother them on Easter Sunday so I soldiered on. After I was finished I actually sat on my front step and admired the bare chassis contemplating what a great basis it would be for a 1930's rat rod-very low to the ground...front disk brakes etc etc....hmmmm...I had to shake my head more than once to clear out any misconceptions (delusional thoughts) I might have around pursuing such an outlandish idea...

I also spent a few minutes looking over the MOSS Motor's website checking out rack and pinion conversions, turn indicator and horn conversions, and the potential to switch the fan belt to a narrower version. Lots of ways to spend money for sure...I also checked out a couple of bookmarked sites around alternator conversions. Many decisions to be made in the next while..

The MOSS sale on interiors and roofs ends on June 2nd so I am going to hold off on my order until later.

All in all a good day....hopefully more of the same will follow today...

Triumph TR3 - Primer and Such

The major body work is now complete with all the bare metal primed which I believe is a "major" milestone achieved in my project. I am truly grateful to be at this point after a winter of toil. The body work has taken me twice as long as I had anticipated to complete which I guess in the world of car restoration this is not an unusual occurrence? The up side is I haven't had to pay a body shop to do the work! I know the car will be worth less when completed based on the "patching" vrs replacing of the rear valance etc but I am meeting my mandate of completing the project for a reasonable cost while creating a car I can drive without worrying about scratches and dings to expensive paint and body work. Maybe sometime in the future the body work could be readdressed and the appropriate panels installed? I am not sure this will happen while I own the car but who knows?

There is still a fair amount of "detail work" needed to get the car prepped for painting. This won't happen until after I get the mechanical work done and the underneath of the body prepped and painted. I also plan to prep and paint the engine compartment before I start the final block sanding and attention to edges etc. And of course there is the final trial fit and prep of the fenders etc to go.... Many hours left but hopefully less toxic in nature....

The car will be rolled out of the garage today...:>

Triumph TR3 - Skim Coat of Filler/Next Steps

Early yesterday morning I applied one more coat of filler to the patch panel repair (on the right hand side) I did the day before plus completed an hour or so of sanding and finishing before applying a coat of paint on the inner wheel well repairs. A "good" burst of activity before I left town for the rest of the day.

Today I want to finish sanding the patch panel repairs and apply a coat of primer before moving the car out of the garage.

I used my travel time to contemplate (while listening to some great "newly loaded" tunes on my I-Pod) my next steps with respect to the disposal of the 1957. Lots of options for sure. What has come to the forefront of my thoughts is my reluctance to impact the '59 resurrection by shifting my attention and energies to preparing the '57 for resale. I am also concerned about selling the 1957 drive train prior to sorting out the '59 which really means no action should be taken in the short term. The '57 will remain under the tarp until I get the '59 back on the road.

So back to "focusing" on Plan A... reassembling of the powder coated frame with the '59 engine and transmission and '57 rear end, probably utilizing the rack and pinion steering assembly. One step at a time......

The Old Car Hobby-Recycling

On a daily basis I enjoy going through the Kijjiji classic car ads and E-Bay auctions to see what gems are being offered. Very often "project cars" come up-vehicles that are being abandoned by their owners at different points in the disassembly-reassembly stages. I often wonder about the stories behind the ads? What pushed the owner to list the vehicle? Cars and trucks purchased with great expectations/potentials that somehow don't get met for whatever reason?

The good thing is these cars/trucks often get recycled . Kijjiji is a great resource for moving things out of a garage to a deserving new owner.

The other side of the hobby is being in the right place at the right time or knowing someone who is interested in unloading something that you need for a reasonable price and being able to value from the transaction.