Triumph Herald 13/60

New Gauge & Steering Wheel

2012-01-16T19:37:00.000Z

Dash back in today, hopefully I'll get the other gauge for my birthday in a few weeks to fill the other hole!

New Gauges

2012-01-14T18:41:00.000Z

My favourite purchase during the restoration of my Herald was the burr walnut dash, it's a beautiful thing therefore drilling 2 large holes in it might sound a little odd.

At the time I bought it I nearly ordered a MK2 Vitesse one instead as I'd always fancied having 2 extra gauges to the right of the main dials, but as I didn't have the gauges to fit I decided not to.

After some thought and with Christmas & my birthday approaching I decided to get the gauges and drill the holes to accept them. My fear was I'd chip the veneer during drilling and have to get the whole thing repaired, so the following may be useful to anyone thinking about doing the same.

First of all get yourself a good quality 52mm hole saw and arbour, I bought both items off fleabay for just over £10 including postage. You'll also need an off-cut of wood or mdf and 2 or 3 mole grips or g-clamps.

Clamp the off-cut on the front side of the dash, make sure it's clamped in such a way it's tight and completely flush with the dash, this will prevent the veneer/lacquer chipping as the hole saw breaks through the front of the dash.

The back of my dash already had the holes marked, so it was just a matter of finding the centre and carefully drilling until you feel the saw pass through the dash and into the off-cut. As you can see below if provides a nice neat hole for your shiny Smith's gauge to drop in to.

The smaller hole on the right is for a push button to operate the electric washer pump which was fitted while the dash was out.

New Steering Wheel

2011-12-29T18:57:00.003Z

I have long admired the look of the wooden Mota-Lita steering wheels, but they're not cheap and being hard and thin rimmed aren't any more comfortable than the standard Herald wheel.

Christmas came and so did a Mountney Vinyl steering wheel & boss.....I like Christmas!

These wheels & boss kits are less than half the price of a Mota-lita or similar, admittedly they don't look as good but I'm absolutely thrilled with it. To have a slightly smaller wheel, thicker grip that is slightly padded has transformed the feel of the car.

All I need to do now is connect the new horn push to the original contact brush.

Lights, Fans & Relays (Part 3)

2011-12-29T18:42:00.006Z

Further to my previous posts from Dec 10 & Jan 11, I finally managed to fit the spotlights I got for Christmas last year. I had all the electrics done by early January, but as I didn't want to drill any of the bodywork I had to make up some brackets that clamped on the grill (good job I had a metal grill and not a later plastic).

They were made from a 3mm steel strip, cut & bent to the appropriate angle with a bolt welded on the back, with another plate inside the grill so they could be clamped in place. Easily removed if I ever wanted to return to the single headlamps.

Here is the finished article....

Electronic Flasher Units

2011-08-21T21:30:00.010+01:00

If you ever want to fit LED bulbs for your indicators you'll need to replace the old Bi-Metal flasher unit with an electronic item, I normally use Autosparks for anything electrical.

I initially fitted it by connecting the white live wire from the switch to terminal 49, the light green/brown wire from the wiper switch to 49a, then the light green/purple wire I connected to terminal 31 to earth via the warning light on the dash. This kind of worked in that the indicators flashed but the warning light on the dash didn't.

To overcome this you'll need get an insulated bulb holder and a short length of both green/red & green/white (14/0.30 8.75amps) PVC Cable, 1 metre of each should be plenty. Under the dash by the steering column you find these 2 coloured wires joined by single bullet connector. Replace the single bullet connectors with doubles and spur the 2 wires off to your new bulb holder and pop it in the back of the instrument.

This leaves your light green/purple cable and original bulb holder with nowhere to go, just snip off the bulb holder and run this wire to earth.

Job done!

Melting Wires

2011-07-17T15:36:00.021+01:00

Last Saturday (9th July) I was preparing the car for the Powderham Show which was the following day, after a quick wash and check of essentials I went to put the car away for the night but she wouldn't start, which was odd as she always fires up on the button. After 10 minutes or so of head scratching I cranked the engine over using the button on the side of the starter solenoid, only to see the wire melt which runs from the switch to flasher unit to the coil.

After several hours of pondering what the problem could be, a comment on the TSSC forum prompted be to take a closer look at the wiring diagram, which then made me think there's only one reason the wire would melt like that and that would be because it's earthing somewhere. After popping the dizzy cap off it didn't take long to discover a small break in the live wire feeding the electronic ignition module, which must have been earthing during engine cranking.

Sunday came and with no hope of making Powderham I temporarily isolated the bare live wires to prove my theory and she started first time, that was good news. I stripped the loom all the way back to the ignition switch to see what damage had been done, fortunately it was just the live feed from the switch, all neighbouring wires were all in good shape....phew!

I popped off the electronic ignition module to take a closer look at the broken insulation, the break was just a few mm from the ignition module so I tried to repair it with heatshrink tape but it didn't quite cover it, so I used some liquid insulation tape which worked a treat.

By design there is only one fuse in the Herald loom. I had added fuses & relays to the front lights earlier in the year and hidden a 30amp fuse in the control box years ago when I done the alternator conversion, but all other lives had nothing. So to avoid any repeat of this and given the loom was now stripped I took the opportunity to add a fuse box and route all the live feeds from the ignition switch (white wires) through it, adding a couple of extra connections for any future accessories.

All this for under £20 and a few evenings in the garage, a worthwhile and cheap upgrade to keep you pride & joy safe from electrical maladies!

Classics Monthly Magazine (Part 2)

2011-05-11T23:30:00.000+01:00

It's finally in the shops! 8 page feature on the 3 cars, 2 pages on my Herald, a good article.....well I would say that, wouldn't I?

Go buy a copy before they all sell out.....

Another Herald....

2011-03-28T23:05:00.008+01:00

....no, not for me, I would be sleeping in the garage if I bought another classic home. As part of my involvement in a local Classic Car Restoration business (Milton Damerel Classics) we have recently started work on a Herald Estate belonging to TSSC Specials secretary Trevor Collett.

A very special car to Trevor, as is was his first foray in Triumph ownership several decades ago. It's not been used in this millennium so the work required is extensive, but it will live again.

First job was to separate the body & chassis, it wasn't pretty, all the outriggers and side rails were shot, so plenty to be getting on with.

For any TSSC members wanting to know more, have a read of Trevor's article in The Courier for May, for non-members there are some pictures are below.

Classics Monthly Magazine

2011-03-28T21:51:00.003+01:00

My Herald was lucky enough to be chosen to participate in a photo shoot for Classics Monthly. It will appear in the June edition (on sale in May) as part of a 3 car feature based on the best convertibles in different price brackets.

The magazine had chosen the Herald as the best sub £5k soft top, the Morris Minor as the £5k~£10k choice and a Lotus Elan as the over £10k option.

The location was Ashton Court Estate in Bristol, a lovely setting and the most fantastic weather, befitting a feature on convertibles, so hot in fact I burnt my head!

The guys from the mag were extremely friendly, (James Page and the photographer Jez) as were the owners of the other 2 cars. It was a great day and I even managed to do the whole trip back to North Devon with the top down.

The only problem on the journey was getting overtaken by a Morris Traveller on the M5, not good!

530 Miles in 4 days

2011-02-15T20:56:00.004Z

Every Monday morning I head back to Heathrow for 4 days of toil, returning home to Devon on Thursday night.

On the drive home a couple of Thursdays ago the Fiat suffered a premature wheel bearing failure, and with the local dealer not being able to get the part before Monday and my SLK SORN'd the Herald was my only roadworthy vehicle.

So at 4am last Monday I set off on the long journey to work, then 4 days of commuting to my folks and the journey home. The old girl didn't miss a beat, the only problems being the re-emergence of the vibration further up the speed range and a loss of heat in the cabin for periods of the return journey.

So a total of 530 miles in 4 days, more miles than I had done in the whole of the previous year. I never doubted she would be OK, but pleased it went without a hitch all the same.

Seat Refurbishment

2011-02-01T22:14:00.017Z

The front seats in the Herald were in desperate need of a refurb, particularly the passenger side which had a couple of chunks of vinyl completely missing, and despite a new rubber diaphragm being fitted early last year the base was very saggy.

The reason for the saggy base was evident, the 'new' diaphragm had ripped through the clips in several places, more poor quality repro' parts!

I remembered reading an article on the TSSC Devon website, this detailed an alternative method using Pirelli webbing. Not wanting to spend another £25.00 on something that won't last I thought I'd give it a try. For less than one of the rubber diaphragms above, I bought enough webbing and clips to do both front seats.

As the cover of my original seats were ripped and beyond repair, and not wanting to pay for a new recovering kit, I bought 2 used seats from a seller in St. Austell via Ebay. The auction didn't mention the colour, but they looked black in the photos....who said the camera never lies? When I arrived, they were very blue!

I wasn't too worried about this as the vinyl was in good shape, which was the most important thing, and I have sprayed seats before to change their colour with good results. I bought what was needed from Woolies Trim, a vinyl paint that penetrates the surface, which should prevent the old colour wearing through.

First job was to strip the seat covers to see what shape the frame was in....not so good as the lower side rail was very bent, it also needed welding in a couple of areas.

10 minutes with a hammer & dolly, a further 5 minutes with the Mig welder & grinder and it was looking much better.

With new foam for the base held in with contact adhesive, the squab was still in good shape so it stayed on, I fitted the painted seat covers.

The end result was a vast improvement. The black is a bit shiny, but I'm hoping that will dull a bit once the sun gets to it.

Altogether this was probably 4~5 hours work, it could have been longer if I had decided to repaint the seat frame, but I chose not to as much of it is not visible, and I just wanted to get the seat back in.

I now just have to do the whole this again for the other front seat.

MoT Time!

2011-01-09T12:15:00.003Z

I can't believe the Herald has been back on the road for nearly a year, so that means MoT time....

Last year the MoT tester wasn't happy with the brakes and some routing of the brake pipes, with those items sorted it sailed through this time round.

Lights, Fans & Relays (Part 2)

2011-01-09T11:22:00.019Z

All the wiring is now done, the fan is in place and seems to be working correctly, the only thing missing are the spotlights. I want to mount these without drilling into the front panel (not that they would fit this way anyhow), so I need to fabricate a clamp/bracket that fits to the metal grill, I have a plan I just need to do it.

The wiring was neatly cut into the existing loom. I bought relay/fuse holders to replicate a mini fuse box rather that using in-line fuses and just using a self tapper to fix the relays. This gives a neater appearance and the opportunity to add other fuses on circuits that didn't need relays.

The 4 relays you see are for dip beam, main beam, spotlights and fan, with an additional fuse added for the sidelights. There is more clearance between the relays and the alternator than the photo suggests.

Feeds for the 4 relays were all taken from the live side of the solenoid, this means that the fan will run briefly to cool the radiator even with the the ignition is off. I used 4 separate 17amp cables as I had this to hand, you could use fewer higher rated cables if you prefer.

Here are some photos of the temperature sensor and fan in place.

And a wiring diagram.

This is a bit of a fiddly job, so it took a little time, but you don't have to add the extra relays or fuses in as I have. I also ensured that wiring colours were retained so it was simple to track the wiring, but used a non-Triumph colour for the fan.

Definitely a worthwhile job.

Propshaft Vibration

2011-01-04T23:28:00.003Z

Admittedly the test drive was fairly short, but after rotating the propshaft 180° at the diff, the vibration seems to have disappeared. I really didn't think that'd work, but it seems to have. I'll give it a longer test drive at the weekend to be sure.....

Lights, Fans & Relays (Part 1)

2010-12-20T11:40:00.010Z

I know what Santa is bringing me.....a 10" electric fan and a pair of classic chrome spotlights, very decent of him!

The electric fan is not because I'm concerned about the cooling of the Herald, it's so I can remove the mechanical fan, save a few bhp and to improve the warm up from cold. Any TSSC members reading this may have seen Derek Giles excellent article in The Courier on doing this conversion. In preparation I have already had a 22mm boss fitted to the radiator, I had it re-cored while it was there also, seemed logical and it was reasonably priced. A bit of research identified that the Intermotor 50295 fan switch was a good match, as it comes on at 88° which is 6° higher that the thermostat opens.

In terms of wiring it in, Derek's article suggests adding in a manual switch and a warning light, but I'm not going to bother as long as the switch & thermostat are matched all should work fine (in theory). I can always add a manual override switch in later if I need to.

I done a Halogen conversion

on the headlights some years back, but always felt a bit disappointed with their output, so fitting a pair of classic chrome spotlights have always been something I wanted to do.

Due to the fragility of the Herald wiring, you can't just connect the spotlights up to the same circuit as the main beam without making some mods. With the help of other TSSC members on the messageboard, I finally got my head round how to add them without melting the existing wiring, so have attached a wiring diagram below for those that understand auto-electrics as badly as I do.

Adding in a relay to the existing wiring (whether you add spotlights or not) will give you brighter lights and protect the column & dash switches, so it's a useful exercise anyway. A standard 30amp 4 pin relay is all you need, some 17amp cable and some suitable connectors. If you can't find what you need at your local Halfords, then try www.autosparks.co.uk

Herald Update

2010-12-20T11:02:00.010Z

As it's been 6 months since the last Herald news, I thought it about time to write a few words.

Running hot - Heralds shouldn't run hot, the cooling system is more than up for the job, so I thought it a bit odd that on my trip to St. Austell earlier in the year that the temperature gauge was 2/3 round the gauge. Turns out that the thermostat (from a well known Triumph supplier) was some obscure 96° item. A quick swap to a standard 82° thermostat and all was well.

Vibration - Still there, need to try rotating the propshaft at each flange in turn to see if it changes. If not I may get my original solid prop balanced and refitted.

Hood - The pictures below show the problem. The hood cuts the corner of the side window, meaning you have to lower slightly to open & close the door to stop it catching.

Plus it's very tight around the rear quarters.

Hours of fiddling didn't help, so I showed it to a local trimmer who believed the hood had shrunk, and to fix would need adding in more material. The cost to do this was more that the hood cost in the first place, so I'm reluctant to go this route for now.

If anyone has any suggestions, then do let me know.

New Project - Toyota MR2 Mk1 - Moves on

2010-12-20T10:57:00.002Z

Unfortunately the MR2 had to go, just not enough time to get started. It was being stored outside, so it would have deteriorated had I left it any longer, so it went on Ebay and was sold to nice fella down in Plymouth.

New Project - Toyota MR2 Mk1 - 1989

2010-06-09T21:41:00.004+01:00

Here's the new project, a 1989 Toyota MR2 Mk1. It starts, but will die if you rev it, which made it good fun getting on the trailer when we collected it from Big Sis' up in Desborough. Always liked these little 2 seaters, especially the angled wedge of the Mk1's.

Apart from it's poor running, the bodywork has rusted in all the usual places though nothing too bad, the interior is in excellent condition which is a real bonus. Plan is to cut out the rust and weld in some neat repairs, full respray and then sell. It'll be a nice little car when done.

Bideford & Bude Car Shows

2010-06-09T21:06:00.014+01:00

Show season is well and truly under way.

These are the first shows which I've attended in the Herald since the rebuild.

Bideford Classic Car Show - 30 May 2010

Austin Healey 3000

Jaguar E-Type

My Herald

See all the photos from Bideford here.

Bude Classic Car Show - 6 June 2010

A Pair of MGB GT's

Ford Escort Mk1

My Herald

See all the photos from Bude here.

Bad Vibrations

2010-06-09T19:59:00.004+01:00

It would seem my excitement in getting rid of the vibration was short lived, whilst the replacement propshaft did get rid of the quite pronounced shaking between 45~60mph, I now have a slightly more discreet vibration from 55mph upwards. I've tried replacing the engine & gearbox mounts, but that didn't improve anything.

On a more positive note I have taken a large hammer and vice to the hood frame which has got that fitting much better. Still need to get to a local trimmer to sort my poorly fitting hood.

I purchased 2 used front seats that were fairly knackered, but the covers were in good order. As I arrived in St. Austell to collect them I discovered that they were blue and not black. The Ebay add didn't mention the colour and I didn't ask.... All is not lost as Woollies Trim do a very effective vinyl paint, I will post a picture of the finished article once refitted.

I've also recovered & fitted the board that separates the boot and back seat areas. Nice easy job that makes the boot area look finished.

Good Vibrations

2010-04-18T15:20:00.013+01:00

The weather has been beautiful here in Devon this weekend, which spurred me into doing a couple of jobs on my 'to do' list. Most importantly was to fix the vibration that could be felt from 45~60mph.

The balancing & tracking weren't to blame, these were done shortly after the MoT pass in January, so the next likely cause was the propshaft. For a small sum I purchased a rusty strap type from Spitbitz, cleaned it up, fitted new UJ's and left it with Propshaft Services in Feltham, Middlesex to have it balanced. Finally fitted it today and what a difference, everything is now nice a smooth.....

The other job was to fit a 'Dis-car-nect' security device, which I hadn't done as I had to make up a new battery lead but didn't have a heavy duty crimping tool. A little improvisation with a vice, standard crimping tool and a hammer and it was all fitted in a round 10 minutes.

2 good jobs done, but still need to fix and fit an original header rail to my hood frame.

MoT 3rd Attempt

2010-01-22T19:20:00.003Z

1,240 days after taking her off the road, 'Bluebell' finally has a valid MoT certificate (as of last Friday, 22nd Jan).

It wasn't all plain sailing, some crunchy gear changes in the first mile or so, these soon went though. Then the temperature continued to rise to just under the red, then to my relief it started to drop again and levelled to right in the middle, can only assume the thermostat was a bit sticky after a long period of inactivity. The rest of the 17 mile journey was uneventful, a bit shaky as I've yet to get the wheels balanced, but everything else was working well.

A few comments about brake pipe fixings from the tester, a rear indicator that didn't want to flash (which was quickly fixed) and borderline rear brakes were the only problems, all Sunday afternoon jobs.

Even though it wasn't part of the test, the emissions were checked which allowed me to adjust the carburettor to get her running a little better.

Snowed Off!

2010-01-10T10:37:00.002Z

Another attempt for an MoT was snowed off yesterday....

Maybe next weekend.

MoT - 2nd Attempt....

2010-01-01T14:22:00.015Z

After my somewhat premature MoT aspirations back in October, I was all geared up for a 2nd attempt on New Years Eve. However luck went against me and Steve broke the bad news that the garage due to carry it out had suffered some kind of equipment failure, so it wouldn't be possible. With Steve due to go on holiday for a week, we now have a another attempt pencilled in on 9th Jan 2010.

To back track a few weeks since my last update, where I was just about to paint the replacement hood frame. The good news is that it has proved to be a much better fit than my original item, but other factors are still playing their part in spoiling to look of the fitted hood.

The header rail is a re-manufactured item I bought from Canley Classics about 10 years ago, it wasn't the greatest fit back then, and I'm convinced that it is pulling the side rails of the hood frame too low, causing the quarter lights to hit the alloy runners that carry the rubber seals. An original item off Ebay is on its way if the bloody couriers ever get round to collecting it!

Also despite the key points of the hood being in the correct places, or so I believe, it doesn't fit right in certain areas. It's serving its functional purpose in that it will keep me dry, but aesthetically it's not as pleasing to the eye as it should be. It's a good quality hood in terms of the material, but the jury is out on whether the cut of the material is as good. I have found a couple of local-ish places that fit hoods, so will take to one of them for a second opinion.

The Christmas period did allow me to get the car cleaned up for the photos needed for the agreed valuation for the insurance, and taking a clean car to the MoT makes you feel more hopeful it will pass. That's if you actually make it there of course.

The car is in need of a thorough clean in and out to rid it of the months of dust it has gathered being in Steve's garage....a Sunday afternoon job for when it has finally made it to the MoT station and passed!

The drivers door is still in need of some adjustment, and whilst the panel fit is not perfect it was restored on a tight budget, so some compromise is needed. Some photos of the almost finished article....

Hood Frame (Part 2)

2009-12-05T18:27:00.003Z

The replacement hood frame purchased of Ebay arrived, incomplete as it was missing one of the rear links, but that was fine as it just meant taking the part of my existing frame. It certainly looks 'straighter' than the one it's going to replace, so I'm hopeful of a better fit with this one.

Michele (the wife) is the most organised person I know, so the last few weekends have been spent helping with Christmas preparation, this doesn't help when you're trying to get a Herald back on the road! The tree's up, all presents are wrapped, cards written & posted, so I've now been relieved of my Christmas duties.

The new frame has now been assembled, de-rusted, and currently is waiting it's top coat after having been treated to a layer of POR-15.

Hood Frame (Part 1)

2009-11-15T18:37:00.004Z

OK, so the hood isn't finished. The hood frame was never a good fit, it wasn't before the restoration (see photo) and it certainly isn't now. Therefore the hood is only partially fitted whilst a replacement and hopefully straighter frame arrives courtesy of Ebay.

On the plus side Steve has given the paintwork a polish so I did mange to finish off the external trim on both doors, and internal trim on the passenger door. I've managed to lose one of the fixing screws for the door mirrors, so only the drivers door got fitted.....

Christmas shopping in Exeter next weekend, so maybe no Triumph time for a couple of weeks!

Doors & Hoods

2009-11-06T17:17:00.012Z

The finish line is edging closer, but its resembling Jenson Button's F1 title bid....at the beginning it looked like a formality but then seemed like it'd never happen!

The reshaped door is back on and just in need of a little alignment and hopefully that'll be the last of the major bodywork done. All that's left in this area is a final polish to remove a few blemishes.

We began fitting the hood last weekend, it's in position and secured with the rear chrome strip. Tomorrow it should be finished. The Vinyl hood was purchased from TSSC, and so far the quality and fit is of a high standard, so if you're considering who to order from, I would recommend them.

It's funny how some small jobs are quite satisfying. I've never liked the wooden gear knob that was on the car originally, so fitting a nice new polished steel item and gear gate badge seemed strangely rewarding...

Jobs still to do:

Finish off the hood
Fit external door handles
Fit internal door trim
Balance wheels
Get tracking checked
MoT

See, nearly there.

Clutch Update

2009-10-14T09:23:00.004+01:00

Further to my previous post, the spring washers on the flywheel bolts and the potential for it working loose were bugging me too much, so out it all came again. Off with the clutch, spring washers removed and the all put back together again - a pain in the a*se, but ultimately the right decision.

With the interior is all back in, the following still needs to be done:

Steve to perform a little surgery on the drivers door & repaint
The whole car needs a final polish to clear up a few minor blemishes
Fit the both the internal & external door trim
Get all 5 wheels balanced
Get tracking checked
Fit Hood
Final grease and oil of trunnions etc.
Final check of all suspension nuts/bolts to make sure they're OK.
Take for MoT
Drive her!!

Have I missed anything?....probably.

MoT Day!!

2009-10-12T08:56:00.005+01:00

Today I was supposed to be taking the Herald for its MoT, supposed to being the important part of that sentence.

2 things have conspired to prevent this from happening.

1. Steve's Holiday.

Steve decided to extend his 2 week holiday to 3 weeks, which meant the drivers door didn't get done. I don't begrudge him this at all, he works long hours all year round, often 7 days a week, so deserved the extra time off.

2. The Clutch

It sounded like a bag of nails every time you tried to take up drive. The feel of the clutch was fine, but the noise sounded expensive, so something was not right.

The hydraulics and release arm were all easily checked and seemed fine, so there was no option but to take the gearbox out and inspect what was going on. So on Sunday 4th I spent a couple of hours unbolting everything, but a lack of time and subsequently energy meant the gearbox was still in place at the end of the day.

This Saturday (10th) arrived and with renewed energy and Steve's return the gearbox was out after a little persuasion. An initial look at the clutch and I could see I had at least put the clutch plate in round the right way, so that ruled out my theory.

Off with the pressure plate and then all became obvious - the 4 bolts holding on the flywheel had been fouling the centre of the clutch plate. Not by much, but enough to make it sound terrible. You can see the scuff marks in this photo.

The 4 spring washers I used on these bolts were very chunky items, so these were refitted with thinner and more 'normal' sized washers. The replacement Clutch from Canley Classics was also less proud on the flywheel side than the one coming out, so a decent clearance was now achieved.

After lunch we got back to refitting the gearbox, with 2 of us this should have been fairly easy, but we were really struggling to get the back of the engine high enough so the gearbox could be lined up. Eventually we had to get a long ladder and attach a rope and pulley to the roof of the workshop, attach this to the lifting eye of the engine and along with another helper pull bloody hard to get the engine at the right angle. Eventually it slotted in and I could start to bolt everything back together.

Sunday came and after an hour getting everything bolted back on and connected up, it was time to test it. It was a moment of great relief to reverse the car out of the workshop and drive it up the lane, albeit for just 20 metres or so, but it was enough to know that the clutch felt good and I did manage to get her into 2nd gear......hurrah!

Now there's often a sting in the tail with every great moment of joy, this was no exception. The root cause of all the clutch problems were the spring washers I fitted to the flywheel bolts. For no apparent reason I decided to check the parts catalogue, which didn't show any washers at all, another check on Canley's website confirmed this.

So it seems that had I fitted the bolts without washers none of this would have happened. It is possible that the fitting of these washers may encourage the flywheel to come loose. At this point I'm going to take my chances and leave them there, I just can't bring myself to take the gearbox out again. Maybe after I've driven her for a while I'll remove them, but for now they're staying put!

A Few Pics....

2009-09-25T19:39:00.008+01:00

Here's a few recent photos:

The passenger door after surgery and fitting much better.

Same again.

I forgot to drill the holes for the cross flags before painting, so it was a nervy few minutes as I was drilling. They just had to go on though.

MOT - 3 Weeks to go

2009-09-22T22:22:00.004+01:00

Well, the drivers door didn't get the required treatment before Steve went on holiday, so a few door related jobs had to be put on hold for a couple of weeks....no problem, still plenty to do.

Jobs completed this weekend:

Front valance adjusted and fully fixed
Front over-riders fitted
Crossed flags fitted to rear wings
Chrome carpet retainers fitted
Washer bottle fitted and plumbed in
Replacement grill painted & fitted
Problem with fuel gauge identified (broken wire)

Jobs for the coming weekend:

Adjust headlights
Fit headlight cowls
Run a new wire from the fuel gauge to tank.
Fit hood clamps to windscreen frame
Stop exhaust rattling on chassis

I keep crossing things off the list, then adding stuff back on....

MOT Countdown

2009-09-15T20:31:00.007+01:00

It's been a whole month since my last update, have I got lots to report?....kind of.

The last month has mainly been about panel alignment, or lack of them! The good gaps & profile achieved when the car was in primer seem to have gone missing somewhere, so several weekends of head-scratching and things are slowing coming together.

The picture on the left is from a couple of weeks ago, you can see things aren't quite right. However as I left on Sunday the passenger side was looking significantly better after Steve performed some surgery on the door (and had to repaint it). The drivers door is due for the same treatment this week, however Steve is due to go on holiday on Thursday, so fingers crossed that it gets done.

I think we've had several factors working against us.

Doors with previous repairs that we now know weren't quite right.
Replacement sills that weren't the greatest fit
A bonnet assembly that had been done for me in 2004, but was put together to match with my old badly fitting doors.

I think this is all par for the course with Heralds, Steve often quotes a line from some Triumph literature I gave him that said "do whatever is necessary to make if fit" and we have! Some of the measures (not bodges!) that have been taken are:

Jack out the Windscreen pillar to give good lines on the quarterlight.
Add shims to door hinges to get a few extra mm of adjustment.
Enlarge the holes for the bonnet catches to bring the bonnet down.
Elongate the bonnet straps at the front to close up the gap to the doors

None of this is ideal, but I'm sure it's all been done before. After all I'm not trying to build a show winning car here, just a tidy example.

I have a date for the MOT, Monday 12th October, so with a deadline now bearing down on me I really need to get going with a not too long list of things to do. Jobs still to be done are:

Align the front valence.
Fit the front overriders.
Adjust the headlights.
Fit the Headlamp rims and grill.
Fit Door cards and handles.
Fit and plumb in the washer bottle.
Fit the hood.
Check over the suspension one last time to make sure nothing falls off.

Things I'm worried about?

Clutch - It had stuck on the flywheel, I have released it but I need to drive it to make sure it's OK.
It runs a little hot.
Fuel gauge has gone from constantly reading full to not working at all.

50 years since the birth of the Herald, hopefully I can celebrate with getting one more back on the road.

Update - 25 Weeks In

2009-08-13T21:41:00.009+01:00

I have to admit I thought the car would be back on the road by now, but as I only have the weekend to work on it, sometimes not for very long I guess it's no surprise there's still a bit to do. So what have I been doing in recent weeks you might ask. Lot's of fiddly jobs that seem to take forever.

Nice easy job to start and that was to fit a new engine earth lead, this time in the correct place which is the steering rack mount to front engine cover, this time ensuring the connections weren't compromised with lots of fresh paint. With the engine earthed correctly, not more sluggish cranking, it turns over nicely.

Onto the fiddly jobs which were to fit:

Seat belts
Rear side trims
Web strapping to hood frame
Passenger door internals
Rivet on all the clips for the chrome trim (there's got to be around 50 of these buggers!)
Gearbox tunnel

Possible the longest 'little job' was fitting the new rear over-riders, now either the mounting points on the rear tub were skewed or the fittings on the over-riders themselves weren't quite tight, either way it took 4 hours of fiddling to get them on. In the end I had to fabricate a threaded rod rather than use a bolt for the drivers side.

Pain in the a*se job, but don't they look the business!!

Funds just aren't stretching to do anything else with the interior, so the nice shiny exterior is going to be let down a little with some tatty seats. The drivers one is passable, the passenger is bad and the rear just about acceptable. But easy jobs for another time, I just want to start driving her again.

Clutch & Earth - 22 Weeks In

2009-07-28T20:40:00.010+01:00

A week after the jubilation of getting the engine running nicely, it was back to pressing on with the numerous other jobs to get the car complete. I left the car the weekend before sounding good but running a little hot and suffering from a sticky clutch.

The water level had dropped a fair bit once the engine had been run for a while, so topping up the radiator seemed to make a difference - no surprise there. No leaks anywhere, so was just the system filling and the level settling. An earthing problem maybe contributing to this as the engine will only turn over on the battery if a jump lead is run from the battery to the engine. I suspect this is down to a bad earth on either the battery earth or engine to chassis leads, probably caused by my lack of desire to scratch off new paint to make the contact good enough.

New earth leads have been ordered and will be fitted this weekend, ensuring the contacts to body & chassis are not obstructed by fresh paint!

On to the clutch - the slave cylinder was removed and tested, all hydraulics were working fine. A quick check of the lever arm & clevis pin showed all was in order, so no doubts really that the clutch plate was stuck. The engine was warmed up and the clutch pedal left pressed down overnight. Back the next day, started the engine and the I could place in gear...progress - releasing the clutch however and a slight grinding noise could be heard. There's not much adjustment in the slave cylinder, but loosening the bolt and moving it back slightly seemed to do the trick. This has only been tested up on a ramp, driving the car for real will be the only way of knowing for sure if all is OK.

All the electrics have been working for a while, but a lack of brake lights had been bugging me for some time. The wiring harness was renewed about 8 years ago, so I wasn't expecting any issues, but the power just wasn't getting to the back of the car. The only probable cause being a break in the cable so I've had to run a new length from the switch to the boot. I left the old wire in place, but secured out of the way, just in case I ever want to revisit the problem.

A few bits of the interior went back in also.

I've been rubbish at taking any photos recently, so made an effort this weekend to take a few snaps to include in this post.

More Engine Woes - 21 Weeks In

2009-07-19T15:58:00.013+01:00

My last post mentioned I wasn't worried yet about the glowing oil & battery light, well I should have been and was for a couple of weeks in the end.

The engine had good oil pressure before it was taken off the road so I dismantled the oil pump whilst the engine was out of the car but decided it was OK, so just refitted it, so didn't think it would be faulty. As ever the TSSC Message Board was a good source of advice...'the pump's not priming' seemed to be a suitably good reason, so armed with an electric drill the pump was spun over faster than normal to help this. Initially it seemed to do the trick as the oil light went out. A quick reassembly of the distributor to test for real, and the bugger was still glowing brightly.....damn!

A few more attempts with the drill and it was obvious it was something more serious, so I got the car up on the ramp, sump off and a quick look to see if there was anything obvious....which there wasn't. However when I started to undo the 3 bolts that held the pump body to the block, the oil pick-up park crumbled in to 6 bits. Why this happened was a mystery, but clearly was the reason for my troubles.

Back when I was working on the engine I discovered I had the wrong pump/sump combination. The type of pump I had needed a sump with a gauze tray, which I didn't have. So I disposed of the old one (it was in need of replacement anyway) and purchased the correct one.

Now the pump I had you can't buy anymore, you can only seem to buy them with the gauze bowl fitted directly to the pump, so when my new pump arrived the sump was in need of some surgery. Working at Steve's garage is great, he has just about every tool you can imagine, so with his air powered saw the gauze tray was cut away in about 30 seconds....job done.

So with the new oil pump fitted, the sump back on and a top up with oil and we were at the moment of truth.....after spinning the engine over a few times just to build some oil pressure, the ever willing engine fired up on the turn of the key and the oil light went out almost immediately. To say I was a relieved man would be an understatement.

The engine ticked over nicely, oil light stayed out, no sign of the leaks from a while back. Temp gauge was getting a bit high, so that's the next little problem to overcome, but that's a job for next week.

Whilst Steve was around I got him to help me bleed the brakes and clutch, brakes were a doddle - peddle feels nice and firm. Clutch seemed to bleed OK, but I can't engage any gears and the peddle feels a little lighter than I remember....that'll be 2 jobs for next week then.

In between all this most of the carpets and all the seats are back in, just need to get the clutch sorted before the gearbox tunnel goes in and I can put the last piece of carpet in.

Bodywork/Refit - 18 Weeks In

2009-06-27T16:46:00.009+01:00

Things are progressing, kind of. In terms of the bodywork it's almost there, however it's been almost there for a while now. All that's needed is to paint the quarter lights, blow in a small area on the boot, attend to a few minor imperfections in the paintwork and then give it the final polish. Oh, and get the panel fit fine tuned.....but Steve is a man in demand and whilst I am busy with the refit his time is spent on other work. This is fine for the moment as I've had plenty to do with the refit and suffered a bit of a set-back.

The good news (of 2 weeks ago) was that the engine started easily and ran, however a leak from the water pump and more irritatingly from the head gasket put a bit of a dampener (excuse the pun) on the special moment. Forward one week and with a new head gasket in hand I was all for taking off the head in an attempt to fix the leak, but a week away and the leak was nowhere to be seen....very odd. However this was short lived, as 24 hours later and with the engine running it had re-appeared - bugger!! So off with the head it was.

Fast forward to today and the head was back on, the only difference this time was I fitted the engine lifting eye to the two longer bolts and I used Steve's very sexy torque wrench that vibrated and beeped when your target tightness was reached. I ran the engine for a minute or two and there were no obvious problems (though I had run out time at this point, the wife's 40th birthday party was beckoning). The oil pressure & battery light were still very bright, I'm not worried yet.

In the intervening weekends I had fitted the lovely new burr walnut dash, supplied by Cliff & Chapman, it is a real piece of craftsmanship....has to be my favourite bit at the moment!!

Bodywork/Refit - 12 Weeks In

2009-05-19T22:19:00.006+01:00

Bodywork - All the major panels are now painted, but doors & front valance still need to be fitted.

Refit - Progress is steady, I just can't spend the time on it I'd like. This is partly due to the fact I am 200 miles away from the car during the week, and time at the weekend has to be shared with more mundane tasks.

The engine bay is close to completion, I just need to get the heater back in, connect the solenoid to the starter and get myself a battery. The fuel tank went back in a couple of weeks ago, the dashboard and dials I'm hoping to get fitted this weekend, so fingers crossed we're not that far away from seeing if the engine can play a tune....time will then tell if I managed to reassemble the engine correctly!

The problem with the clutch master cylinder bracket mentioned in the previous post was resolved, Paul Copeland from Stainless For Classics swapped the item and all fitted snugly after that.

Bodywork - 10 Weeks In

2009-05-04T17:27:00.004+01:00

It's close, very close!

The main body & bonnet has received it new paint, doesn't it look good?!!

The doors, boot, front valance and a few small bits need to be done also, but these are planned to be done during this week.

There's a couple of small runs that need to be polished out, and it needs it final polish to give that extra bit of shine.

The refit I am doing myself, but in the workshop where it's being painted. This is a great bonus as it means I have experts on hand to ask advice and get a little help if needed.

So whilst still in the paint booth I spent a couple of hours getting the wiring into position, and fitting the mounting brackets for the brake & clutch master cylinders.....first problem!!

The master cylinder mounting brackets are the highly polished type, so not the originals. The brake one fitted no problem, but the clutch is angled slightly more shallow than the originals which means the master cylinder is fouling the bulkhead....I'm waiting to hear from the supplier.

Bodywork - 8 Weeks In

2009-04-18T16:22:00.005+01:00

Visually not masses of progress, but enough to see that we're not that far away. The rear tub and doors have now had their guide coats of primer, allowing for some finer sanding and removal of the smaller imperfections.

The bonnet (which had been restored 5 years ago) has also had a little more work done, some intended (some not) as the corner chrome trim & headlamp surround on the off side never fitted perfectly, and where the strengthening rod bolts it had pulled a couple of dips.

What wasn't planned were the top corners of the engine side panels fouling the underside of the bonnet....oops!

Bodywork - 6 Weeks In

2009-04-04T17:06:00.009+01:00

Another week gone and 2 weeks longer than the predicted time to complete there whole job (but hey, who's counting!), the inside of the front and rear tubs have all now been painted, it looks great!!

The plan for the forthcoming week is to start work on the doors, sills and outer bodywork to get all the little dinks and dents sorted all ready for the final paint. Not far away at all now and I'm really looking forward to doing the refit, especially now all the parts have arrived (except the Dashboard).

There will be no prizes to anyone that spots the spare wheel well in the boot is in round the wrong way, this was done by the previous owner of the rear tub, who had started work on it, I'll just have to make sure to check it after it's been out in the rain...

Roll on the weekend for the next instalment.

Bodywork - 5 Weeks In

2009-03-28T17:09:00.008Z

Visually not much progress you might think, and true there was one week of inactivity due to staff shortages due to sickness, but there has been at least one significant mile stone reached, and that was getting the body panels lined up.

Triumph Herald's were open to the vagaries of British build quality of the 60's and 70's, and that included poor panel fit. You'll see many Triumphs today with far better gaps than they ever left the factory with, so a day spent getting this right was time well spent in my view.

With the help of fellow TSSC member Steve Cureton who sent me a great pdf of a Triumph document about body fitting, along with three other documents I had (which I'd forgotten all about until I found by chance), some truly impressive 5mm (3/16") gaps were achieved all around. I had a day off recently, so was fortunate to be there at this significant moment.

The most recent jobs were to straighten out the boot floor and fill in all the holes that were exposed during work done by the previous guardian of the rear tub. As I left the guys today the boot was being trial fitted to see what adjustments were necessary and then onto tidying up all the small welding jobs.

Bodywork - 3 Weeks In

2009-03-14T13:13:00.002Z

Starting to look like a car again. Bonnet, Bulkhead, Doors & Rear Tub all back on, and they're now working on the panel fit before doing the rest of the repairs and painting.

Bodywork - 2 Weeks In

2009-03-07T11:40:00.008Z

The first 2 weeks have all been about getting the bottom of the rear tub straight, going round with a hammer & dolly getting rid of all the little imperfections and grinding down excess welding etc.

The tub seemed to have been shot blasted previously, so it was decided the it didn't need doing a second time. Shot blasting can cause distortion, so as it was basically sound all the preparation is to be done by hand.

Once the bottom and inside were prepped, a coats of protective stone ship were applied to the underneath. Not the most attractive but it will ensure this kind of work won't be necessary for a long time to come, this will be painted in the body colour if the coming week, so will look heaps better.

The inside of the tub was given a layer of etch-primer to highlight any areas that need further attention.

Off to the bodyshop!

2009-02-28T16:15:00.003Z

It's been a while since I updated this section, a combination of other demands on my time and the fact there has been no major developments. With the chassis effectively complete, many of the tasks ahead would only need to be done once the bodywork was completed.

The bulkhead, rear tub, doors and boot were all being stored up at a warehouse near Heathrow where I work. A friendly work colleague offered to drive these down to Devon one weekend, so in July 2008 I had all the essential components in one place again.

During this period of apparent inactivity, some small jobs were getting done. Various items were being cleaned and painted, such as the steering column, air vents, pedal boxes, horns, hood frame and fuel tank.

The hood frame I'd broken down into its various components, and for once I forgot to take any photos, so reassembly proved far more difficult than it should have been.

With the next major part being the bodywork, I was still needing to find a garage that could undergo the work. A brother of an acquaintance run a garage, so I took a recommendation from him and paid a visit. A price was agreed and the car was provisionally booked in for the first week of Jan-09.

As the time approached, doubts over my choice of bodyshop were raised by a couple of comments from people over the quality of their work. I chose to temporarily postpone the booking whilst I could investigate further and get alternative quotes.
A local garage was asked to quote, but they were some £2,000 more than the original which put the work out of my reach. So with dwindling options I reconfirmed the booking with the original garage, only to receive 2 independent positive recommendations for a guy less than a mile from where I live.

The fact he was so close by was a huge bonus, this would allow me to keep an eye on progress, he was also reasonably priced and was confident about producing the finish required. Feeling much happier about my choice in bodyshop, it was arranged he'd collect the following weekend.

So on 21st Feb. 09, all body panels went off, followed a week later by the chassis.

Clyinder Head on, well maybe....

2009-02-28T16:05:00.006Z

With the drive train now back on to the chassis I was able to start getting the rest of the engine fitted. I had treated myself to a reconditioned cylinder head from Canley Classics, but this was way back in August 2007, as we were now in March 2008 I was looking forward to getting this item fitted.

Following the instructions in my Haynes workshop manual, I fitted the new studs and gasket, then slid the head onto the block and torqued down the nuts in the correct order. New cam followers and pushrods were also installed - so far so good. The rocker shaft assembly looked in pretty good order, so a quick clean up was all that was needed and it was bolted into position. I stepped back to admire my handy work only to see all 4 of the exhaust valve and the associated rockers out of line....how could this be as it's impossible to fit the cylinder head or rocker shaft incorrectly!

I initially turned to the TSSC messageboard for advice, replies we supportive but not coming up with any solution, until one post mentioned a rare 1300 head that had different valve spacing. This seemed a very plausible answer, so I emailed Canley Classics for their advice.

Initially they were of the opinion that all 1300 heads were the same, but a discussion with an ex-employee and an email out to the previous owner John Kipping, and it was confirmed that in around 1966 Triumph produced a short run of cylinder heads where the valves were spaced differently and I had one, lucky me! With the cylinder head fitted I really didn't want to have to take it off and I'm sure Canley Classics didn't want to have to replace it. David at Canley Classics sent one of his lads to check the parts bin to see if he could find a corresponding rocker shaft assembly, what were the chances? At best it was a long shot, though amazingly one was found and is currently being reconditioned (FOC) and will be with me shortly.

Happy in the knowledge that the head was staying put, I could set about getting some other bits back on the car. Inlet & exhaust manifolds went on first, then followed by the stainless steel exhaust purchased a few years ago, then the water pump housing, water pump and fan.

Ups and Downs

2008-07-23T07:43:00.004+01:00

Despite replacing all the suspension bushes a few years back, I decided I wanted to use poly-bushes this time around, this should mean no need to touch any of these bushes for some considerable time.

All the wishbones, vertical links etc. were all shot blasted and painted, the brake calipers, drums and springs just cleaned and painted.

The front suspension went together without much fuss, the rear however was proving to be a little troublesome. Obviously the rear spring is under tension, but I was having real trouble getting the spring eye and vertical link lined up to get the bolt through, I just could not get the leverage I needed, all I was managing to do was lift the whole chassis.

Now there is a special tool to do this job, but normally it's not needed, but after several frustrating weekends I decided that the only option was to buy a Spring Lifter from the TSSC shop. It duly arrived after a few days, and with a helper to sit on the chassis to add a little weight, both bolts were fitted in around 10 minutes.....the joys of having the correct tool for the job!

Open Heart Surgery

2008-07-23T07:37:00.003+01:00

The engine always started and ran pretty well, so I wasn't expecting too much work in this area. The only problem was that it leaked oil from the crankshaft seals.

The crankshaft, camshaft & pistons were left in place as they seemed to be in good condition. So it got a good clean, the core plugs, front and rear crankshaft seals were all replaced, as was the timing chain tensioner, push rods & cam followers. A coat of shiny black engine enamel finished off the job ready for reuniting to the chassis.

Tip: Loosen the crankshaft nut when the engine is still in the car, as these are VERY tight.

The engine had been running all this time with the wrong combination of oil pump & sump, which meant there had been no straining of the oil the pump was collecting. A replacement sump was sourced from Rarebits4Classics.

I did plan to re-grind the valves to clean them up, but upon their removal the valve seats were heavily pitted, so I plumped for a recon unleaded head instead.

This however threw up it's own problems as when I put the rocker assembly back on, 4 of the rockers didn't line up with the valves. It turned out that Canley Classics had supplied a rare limited production run head from a 1300 FWD, fortunately they had a matching rocker shaft which they sent FOC!

The gearbox was replaced back in 2001, so this was just given a clean.

Chassis

2008-07-15T19:18:00.007+01:00

The chassis was found on Ebay (where else?), it was a bargain price and appeared solid. It came with all the suspension and a diff, so seemed liked an opportunity not to be missed.

In December 2006 it was stripped and sent off to JY Classics who had it shot-blasted and powder coated, but only after repairing one of the main rails. But all in all a solid unit that was now looking beautiful with its new black sheen.

It wasn't until November 2007 that the chassis arrived with me down in Devon, but it's arrival did herald (sorry!) the start of the next phase.

In between the old chassis going and this one arriving the time was spent on a minor engine rebuild and the stripping, cleaning and painting of the steering & suspension parts (more on these 2 items later).

STAB

2008-07-13T18:04:00.008+01:00

A couple of photo's from the Standard Triumph At Brooklands event in 2006. What were the chances of being asked to park under Concorde!...how could I refuse.

If you are TSSC member, and have a good memory, you may recognise the top photo from the cover of the March 2007 Courier.

North Downs Run

2008-07-13T17:45:00.007+01:00

Here are some photo's from June 2006, a run around the North Downs of Surrey with 2 red 13/60 Convertibles, a red Spitfire and a Moss Malvern. You normally have to have a red car to join this exclusive club, but they made an exception for me......at least I made if home without the aid of a tow truck!

Strip Tease

2008-07-13T16:24:00.003+01:00

In August 2006 I decided to take the Herald off the road, this I hoped would give me the impetus to start the restoration for real. It didn't immediately as by this time my wife and I had decided we were upping sticks and moving to Devon, which we did in December the same year.

The Herald stayed in Surrey for a few months, but soon the garage where it was being stored had to be vacated, so in March 2007 it took the trip to the South West, now the strip down could start...

At this point many people carefully take off every nut & bolt etc., labelling everything as they go......great idea, except I was far too impatient for that, so everything came off as quickly as it could and if small enough would go in to a container or stacked in the corner of the garage if too large.

Everything was going well, almost too well. My first difficulty was trying to remove the bolts that held the body to the chassis, as you can imagine these don't get touched very often, so most were stuck solid and were only removed with the help of an angle grinder.

With the body off the car, removing the engine and suspension was all relatively straight forward. I already had a better chassis, bulkhead and rear tub in storage elsewhere, so all these items would be sold on....this is what you might call a number plate up restoration, reminiscent of the classic Only Fools and Horses scene 'Trigger's Broom'

In this classic scene, Trigger claims that he's had his road sweeper's broom for 20 years. But then he adds that the broom has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles. "How can it be the same bloody broom then?" asks Sid the Café owner. Trigger produces a picture of him and his broom and asks: "what more proof do you need?"

A Bee in my Bonnet

2008-07-13T11:41:00.010+01:00

In 2000 I decided to make a start on the body work, so off I went to see Dick Griffiths at RMG Coachworks in Odiham, Surrey. Dick had done some welding for me previously (MoT work...) so I'd seen the quality of his work. Like all good craftsmen he had far too much work than he could cope with, but said he'd be happy to do some work for me.

I'd already picked up a replacement front assembly from Collectors Car Parts in Harmondsworth, Middlesex. So I dropped this down to Dick along with various repair panels to do the job.

Dick is a great guy and a true gentlemen, but he has time management issues! So come late 2003 and my bonnet had remained untouched, I had to give Dick a deadline. Time does go by fast, especially as you get older, but Dick was suitably embarrassed at his lack of progress, so did start work...gradually.

The deadline was the 2004 TSSC South of England meet in Leatherhead in May, so when in February came and Dick called to say he needed the car for a trial fit of the bonnet, all was looking good.

Unfortunately the trial fit didn't go that well, and with much still to do it was already April and the SEM was only 2 weeks away. Dick put in a good final effort and the car would be ready, but only if I could come down for a day to do the re-fit....no problem, I'd be there!...especially as the SEM was the coming weekend so the pressure was on!

The Saturday of the SEM weekend was spent doing a few final touches. The event was a bit of a wash out weather wise, so on the Sunday it was unofficially moved the the car park to avoid the mud, so I went down to show off the very shiny new bonnet.

Getting Greasy

2008-07-12T18:23:00.006+01:00

The bodywork needed attention, but above all I wanted to make sure it was reliable, so over the first few years of ownership I concentrated on the getting it running (and stopping) right.

Brakes - I fitted copper brake pipes, cross drilled brake discs, EBC Green Stuff brake pads, Goodridge braided hoses, rear brake cylinders, new master cylinder, new seals and clean-up of the calipers and filled the system with silicone fluid.
Front Suspension - I fitted new shocks, springs, rubber bushes, Trunnions, track rod ends and solid mounts to the steering rack.
Rear Suspension - Again new shocks and rubber bushes were fitted.
Gearbox - The old noisy 3-synch unit was replaced for a nice new 4-synch unit, a new 3 piece clutch kit was fitted for good measure. The clutch pipe was replaced with copper and filled with silicone fluid.
Half-shafts - 1 new half shaft (someone had welded the UJ's into place on one side), new bearings and UJ's both sides were fitted.
Ignition - Out with the old points & condenser, in with electronic ignition, high performance coil and HT leads.
Other smaller jobs included replacing the fuel pump as the original unit was leaking, and replacing the Stromberg Carb to fix a vapourisation problem.

She now started, drove and stopped much better!

The Inspection

2008-07-12T18:02:00.009+01:00

There were a number of problems that were discovered over the first few weeks of ownership, to list but a few:

The bottoms of both doors we very rusty
The Bonnet front panel was being held together by the paint
The 2 footwells had been bodged badly
The rear deck had a ripple effect
The front wings had undergone a make-shift repair
The dash looked as if someone had bitten a chunk out of it
The header rail and side rails of the hood were no longer joined on one side

So why did I buy it.....partly because Michele (my wife) said I could only buy one if it was Wedgwood Blue, this narrowed the search quite a bit, it was local, the sun was shining and it was a concertible.....I had no option really!

The Arrival

2008-07-11T09:49:00.005+01:00

Purchased back in August 1998, the bodywork didn't look too bad....from a distance.

A few facts

Make: Triumph
Model: Herald 13/60 Convertible
Colour: Wedgwood Blue
Commission No: GE18198CV
Engine No: GE19317E
Differential No: GE75520
Gearbox No: DG86574
Body No: 3153 RET
First Registered: 15th May 1968
Supplied by: Berkeley Square Garage
Claim to fame: Once owned by Germain Greer