Triumph TR3 -Differential Painted

Yesterday the rains stopped and I managed to get the final coat of paint on the differential housing. A few days later than planned but it feels good that the task is completed..

My automotive focus took a bit of a turn on the weekend as I spent about 4 hours replacing the rear quarter panel (around the left wheel well) on my 1994 Ford Ranger. It was a weather dependent activity that was "on the books" last year but not undertaken. I felt I couldn't put it off any longer so I made it a priority. So far so good. Tonight I hope to do the preliminary skim coat of filler and get the panel into a semi completed state. Although not Triumph related it was still good to do some "shade tree" body work on the driveway on what proved to be our nicest day yet this summer...

Triumph TR3 -Parts Run

Yesterday I picked up another can of Eastwood Chassis Black paint and the rear axle/rear spring hardware/bushings I had ordered. I believe I have all the pieces now to reassemble the chassis? It is raining again this morning so I have decided to move into the garage and start up the furnace and work on painting the engine compartment. The number of rain delayed painting days is starting to mount up and I think I have to rethink my critical path and more some activities around.. I am really surprised how few days so far this summer (when I have been around to do the work) that have been suitable for painting?

Triumph TR3 -Black is Black-Rear Axle Painting

After a third round of cleaning the rear axle passed the cleanliness check and the first coat of Rustoleum Gloss black applied. (by brush). The finish turned out well with plans for a second coat to be applied this evening. Total time in the garage 2 hours.

Triumph TR3 -Back At It

It is hard to believe it has been a month since I worked on the Triumph? I was gone on vacation for 10 days and also spent a fair amount of time gardening after I returned (our garden had become very overgrown-requiring a lot of attention to say the least). In addition the neighbors are doing a major landscaping project and had extra loam sitting around so I harvested many wheel barrows full which got me extending flower beds and fixing my lawn. All good productive work but no wrench turning going on. Then there was weather impacts. Having the next item as painting collided with unseasonable cold and wet weather which was not conducive to applying paint. When I had time available to work on the car the weather did not cooperate hence no progress was made. I can see why Kijjiji has lots of unfinished project cars for sale!!!-it is all about keeping the dream alive and the managing the priorities so progress is made-not easy...

On Friday I got one tires remounted on the straightened rim and got the spare tire mounted on the newly powder coated rim. Yesterday (a beautiful warm sunny day) I spent 4 hours painting suspension components and brake backing plates. Lots of glossy black paint applied. I ran out of Eastwood Chassis Black paint when I was about 80% finished painting which means I have to get another can from a distributor next week in order to apply the final coat. Another critical path impact. Today I plan to paint the rear axle with Tremclad gloss black enamel.

Triumph TR3 -Chassis Task List

A friend came over yesterday for a garage tour. With coffee in hand we looked at my progress. I think he was impressed with how I had proceeded with the work in such confined quarters. His visit got me thinking about what was needed to get the chassis back together?

So late yesterday afternoon I set out to record the steps I need to take to get the chassis back together. More tasks than I had expected (no surprise there) with an estimated hours to complete number of 82. I was fairly generous on the hours allocation because I wanted to be "realistic" in my determination. Real execution time might differ (hopefully shorter)!!! That's 41 days of 2 hours a day work (if I look at what I have been averaging per work session) which means when I get back from vacation on July 2nd the chassis would take until the middle of August to complete. I think this is a "worst case" scenario but one never knows what life might provide to speed up the process or slow it down...??

I did some more garage clean up yesterday-hope to do some more today and get some primer sprayed on the exposed metal. I can't wait until July 2nd to do this...It looks like the rain is going to let up a bit today....

Triumph TR3 -Lower Wishbone Bushings Done/Wheels Back

$82 dollars later I have my bushings installed and reamed on the lower wishbones. A positive step towards reassembly of the front suspension.

I also got my straightened wheels back. They look good!!

I did some parts arranging yesterday utilizing a discarded shelf. All the parts that need painting are laid out and ready to go. This step was worthwhile as it gave me a sense of accomplishment.

Another focus yesterday was garage clean up. I am still not finished the task but I have made good headway. My confined space has definitely impacted my execution of my Triumph project because I don't have enough room to spread out and I have to continuously stop and "regroup" in order to maintain my work space. Sometimes it is aggravating to stop what I am doing in order to "clean up". I think I have about another hours worth of work to get this job finished.

Triumph TR3 -More Bead Blasting Done

Yesterday I spent 40 minutes renting a bead blasting cabinet and cleaning off the rear brake plates, rear drums and the upper front wishbones. I started to spray some primer on the newly prepared parts but the temperatures were just too low and lots of humidity in the air so I stopped. Hopefully today it will happen as I do not want to keep the metal exposed. I also took the differential to the car wash and did a final clean up using the high pressure soap and rinse options-looking much cleaner for sure...

Yesterday I contemplated the impacts of the cold rainy weather on my painting schedule. Very disappointing that I can't paint in an suitable environment based on lower than average temperatures and high humidity. I have boxes of parts ready to paint. Hopefully this situation will turn around soon!!! I am eager to get going...

Today I pick up my repaired wheels and my lower wishbone installed bushings...