I’ve been to visit Stuart and Chris today at Watermill Carriage Co. I wanted to pick up the parts that were left over from the car such as all the left hand drive steering components, but of course, I also wanted to have a look at the progress first hand before I collect the car.
Firstly, I’m really happy with the car. To see it in the flesh for the first time and look around at all the hundreds of little differences is really exciting.
The engine sounds very sweet. It started on the button (something it’s never done) and ticked over at around 800rpm as it should (it used to tick over anywhere between 1500rpm and 1800rpm). The top end of the engine was very quiet, even for a TR3 as they always have a bit of valvetrain noise. Lots of induction noise as the air cleaners hadn’t been fitted but they have been painted and are ready to go on (with the decals I found the other day). The carbs need balancing and the timing needs to be done but the engine still sounded better than it ever has.
On the electrics front, all of the new gauges that I bought reconditioned from the USA are working, including the fuel gauge which was broken (the old one, not the new one). The headlights have been converted to Halogen now rather than the standard BPF bulbs. The speedo has had the blue main beam light replaced (it was missing) and the indicator repeater on the dash now works at last. Most importantly, the car has been converted to negative earth and a small power socket will be fitted hidden under the dashboard in case I want to use a Sat Nav. The new loom looks great and has been very neatly fitted. The new wiper motor has yet to be connected (but has been fitted) as the loom has the wrong connections but that will be done once the windscreen has been fitted. The rheostat for the heater has also been restored and is now working. It has to be said the dashboard with the adjustable steering wheel is looking really, really lovely. The new control head has been fitted and self cancels – something of a rarity. Stuart has even fitted a new chrome spring to the adjustable column so everything looks brand new.
Unfortunately, the new windscreen cracked overnight. There was a burr on one of the screws that Stuart though would be OK but obviously not. So a new windscreen is on order. The rear view mirror has been fitted to the car and the missing rubber spacer is in place now.
Under the car, all of the copper and flexible brake lines have been replaced at the rear of the car. New centre and middle boxes for the exhaust have been fitted. All of the chassis to body mounting bolts have been fitted so the body is completely bolted down for the first time. What is terrifying is that there were only three bolts at the front of the car holding the body down. The ones on the floor were missing entirely and the two at the rear were about to fall out. The missing starter handle guide has been fitted so the front apron is now held on correctly. The car has had new floors fitted at some point and it was mentioned to me previously that this wasn’t done very well. Chris has tidied up the welding and sealed it correctly.
Under the bonnet looks lovely. A new brass damper to replace the plastic one on the front SU has been purchased. Stuart has kindly offered to swap a really nice chrome rocker cover for my manky one which will improve the look of the engine no end. I’ll do a separate write up for the engine rebuild but I did have a brief chat with Chris about the work involved and it was quite comprehensive. The engine was completely stripped and has had new: Camshaft, followers, oil pump and strainer, pistons, liners, mains, big ends, thrust washers and clutch, The head was fully reconditioned with new valves and valve guides and hardened valve seats for unleaded fuel. Apparently the head was cracked and had to be repaired. The engine was very badly silted up around cylinders 3 and 4 so now it has been cleaned properly it will be less prone to overheating. The diff was rebuilt with new shims and bearings (which disintegrated when the diff was taken apart. They should be pressed on). The propshaft has been fitted with new universal joints.
One of the most impressive things about the car now, is the door gaps. Stuart has worked something of a miracle here and I now have equal door gaps. The doors have been fitted with new hinges, which I knew were knackered. But the doors had to be filed back to fit and then leaded in and painted. Once closed, the doors don’t move or rattle anymore which is a big relief as they were really noisy on the road. It was a big job but well worth it. The reason the boot lid wasn’t fitting very well was that 9/16 bolts had been used around rear wings instead of the flat head screws and the boot lid wasn’t clearing the bolt heads. These have been replaced for the correct screws now and the boot seal has been glued into place permanently. The boot floor has been welded and repaired – it was worse than I thought and the rot extended underneath the petrol tank. The new boot cover panel kit has been fitted and at last the boot looks finished. The luggage rack has been removed now. The holes need to be filled and the boot lid painted but Stuart will do this next week. A new boot handle to match the door handles is bring fitted as part of the kit. The new door handles have been switched round the right way now and all the locks (ignition, door, boot and cubby box) all open with the same key.
The handbrake gaiter and retaining plate has been fitted now so you can no longer see daylight through the floor of the car.
The gearbox overdrive is now working. A replacement solenoid fixed the problem with the overdrive engaging. What was really worrying about the old gearbox was that the bell housing was so badly damaged. The damage was hidden by a home made plate that held the clutch slave cylinder. This home made affair has been replaced by the correct part shown below now the new reconditioned gearbox has been fitted
What has impressed me most with this restoration, and I have to call it that now as the work has gone way past a simple mechanical job, is the attention to detail Stuart and Chris have put into the car. The main beam light in the speedo is one example, the starter handle guide another. One more example of this is the front indicator lights which were fitted with regular nuts. This means you have to remove the grill to change the bulbs. Originally, they would have had speed nuts fitted so Chris has replaced them for the correct type. It’s this sort of knowledge that makes all the difference when you take your car to a specialist in the marque rather than, an MG mechanic for instance who is only able to fix what he sees, rather than seeing what is wrong (or missing).
The car isn’t finished yet but the amount of work that it has needed to get it to this stage is staggering. Stuart and Chris wouldn’t tell me how many hours they have sent on the car but “labour of love” and “it’s always nice to save an old car” were mentioned during the day. I’m almost certain a lot of the hours haven’t been charged and they have gone out of their way to ensure the car is “right”. I really can’t wait to get it back and drive it!
1959 Triumph TR3A 