An impromptu exchange of emails resulted in meeting up with two members of the TR Register at the Sir John Barleycorn just before Christmas. It was nice to drive up the road and see one TR3 in the windscreen and another in the rear view mirror.
It’s been a long time coming, but JSK is back at home and tucked up safe in my garage. Here is a picture of her arriving after coming back from Watermill Carriage Co.
Initial thoughts are that I am very, very pleased with the car. I’ve had a nose round it it seems like there is little left that hasn’t been touched by Stuart/Chris. She drives beautifully – it’s amazing how quiet the chassis is now it is all bolted down properly and has the rubber mountings fitted now. The steering is very stiff, but not notchy anymore but most importantly the engine and gearbox are lovely.
Having read through the bill from Watermill Carriage I’m pleased, but not surprised, to see that the engine rebuild was really comprehensive.
I had a chat with Stuart today looking for an update on progress as he mentioned JSK would be finished by the end of the month. He mentioned that the car was being MOT’d as we spoke and a quick check on the DVLA website this evening confirmed that the car has passed so I taxed it at the same time.
I also received a very welcome email later with images of the hood and sidescreens during and after fitting. To say I’m chuffed is something of an understatement. I bought these items in June last year (16 months ago) and they have been to two garages for fitting, both of whom have failed miserably. Well, Stuart has fitted them at last (without any fuss or provisos I might add – are you taking note Southern Triumph) and they look fantastic.
I also note that the holes in the boot from the luggage rack have been welded up and the boot lid repainted. It looks much better this way – if I want a luggage rack again I can buy an original style that fits by clamping the lid.
The tonneau has also been fitted and from Stuarts email it is a tight fit. It certainly looks like you could bounce a coin on there! It also looks a great match for the hood and sidescreens as the tonneau has come from a different supplier.
Apart from the hood sticks cover, this is all the trimming complete now so the car is 99.9% complete. I’m just waiting to work out how best to get it back to me and JSK will be back at home. I can’t wait to see her in the flesh, so to speak.
When I bought JSK at auction, it was obvious the hood and front bumper were missing and that the steering wheel wasn’t original. What wasn’t clear at the time was the sheer number of parts that were physically missing from the car. I’ve had a little count up and made some notes and there were parts missing all over the place. I’m not counting the parts that were incorrect (of which there were also many) or parts that were damaged (of which there were even more). I’m talking about parts that had gone walkies from the car over the years. Here is the list:
All of this has now been replaced, but it’s amazing to consider that it was all removed from the car and never put back on!
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!
I’ve spoken to Watermill Carriage Co today as I’m heading down there at the end of the week to have a look at the car prior to picking it up. There are a few more things to report in terms of the work carried out to the car.
The reason the windscreen was loose was because the sealing rubber was missing. However, on fitting the replacement seal it appeared the old screen wouldn’t fit with the new rubber in place. It turns out the screen was 8mm thick rather than the correct 6mm. This has meant fitting a new screen. I must make a mental note to order a Triplex sticker for the windscreen.
In addition to the boot carpet a new cover panel kit has been fitted to the boot to hide the fuel tank.
The door handles were indeed upside down so these have been corrected which is a relief as I looked at hundreds of photos and wondered if I was going mad.
I have at last found the decals I bought for the air cleaners (which have now been painted and fitted) so I can take these down with me. In addition, I also found the brass manifold nuts I bought at great expense (well, it seemed expensive for a few nuts anyway). These should dress the manifold a bit and they are the correct type rather than the steel ones currently fitted.
I’ve also ordered a new 48 spoke 4J spoked wheel for the spare wheel compartment which will be fitted with a 155/15 tyre so it fits properly. Along with this, I’ve also ordered some new double eared knock on/off spinners to replace the current ones that have seen better days. I’ve also ordered the leather strap kit for the spare wheel compartment for the wheel and tool kit. I need to order a jack now and find somewhere to store the hide and copper mallet I’ve bought.
The engine is running now apparently and news is it sounds very sweet. The erratic idle has been resolved (an air leak). There are a couple of small causes for concern that need resolving.
So the plan is to head down to Watermill on Friday to have a look over the car and make sure any loose ends are tied up, then get the car MOT’d and collect it next week somehow. I’m still in two minds whether to try to drive it back (with all the issues of getting to Cornwall without driving somehow) or wait a further week and get it collected.
Lots of progress which is perhaps difficult to tell from some of the photos but lots of jobs have been done over the past couple of weeks.
Most importantly, the doors have been refitted, gapped and painted. The missing door trims have been retrimmed in the correct vinyl (see previous post) and fitted.
The NOS Adjustable Steering Wheel has been fitted so the car is truly a right hand drive car now with the correct wheel. The new control head has also been fitted so I should now have self cancelling indicators. The choke cable has also been fitted to the dashboard. The rearview mirror has been fitted and I notice the footwells have been painted. I can also see a button for the windscreen washer under the dashboard now.
The door handles were broken so a new handle set has been purchased and fitted which means the car now works off a single key. I have to admit a little concern in that the door handles look fitted back to front but I’m assuming there is an explanation for that and all will be well once I collect the car.
Behind the scenes, or at least under the chassis/bonnet lots of work has been done to the running gear. New UJ’s have been fitted to the prop shaft and the diff has been removed and reconditioned with new shims and bearings. Apparently there was a lot of backlash in the diff and it was leaking like a sieve (despite new gaskets from Southern Triumph). All oil tight now though. The old fuel line from the front to the back of the car has been replaced as the old one was rotten. The fuel tank has been taken out so the boot floor can be welded and you can see in the photo below the missing boot carpet has been replaced. The solid and flexible brake lines have been replaced at the rear of the car as these were shot. The back box for the exhaust has also been replaced.
At the moment, the chassis looks a mess because it’s got 50 years of old Waxoyl on it. New Waxoyl will be applied last when the car is finished and this will tidy the underneat considerably.
In terms of trim, the badly damaged rear trim panels have been repaired as best as possible at the moment. A complete retrim might be on the cards one day but generally the trim is in excellent condition.
A few little additional jobs will be done next week. The ugly rear luggage rack isn’t worth saving so it’s being removed and the holes welded up. Then the boot lid will be painted. The new tonneau arrives next week so this is being fitted along with the hood and sidescreens. Honestly, I can’t wait for this to happen as these were the first big ticket items I bought.
I dithered about seat belts for a while but it looks like Stuart has gone ahead and ordered some which means the decision has been taken out of my hands. I think this is a good thing because my reasons for not fitting them (I didn’t legally need to) would crumble in the first head on collision along with my ribcage. But most importantly, perhaps my kids can get a little more involved with the car as I wouldn’t let them in it without seat belts.
Last decision is whether to fit new chrome wire wheels or not. I’m going to head to Cornwall to see the car next week with luck and I’ll make my decision then based on how close to mint the rest of the car looks. There has been a lot of paint and restoration work done to the car over the last six months but this was always first and foremost a mechanical restoration rather than a visual one.
I’ve just found an image of JSK on the road during summer last year. While this might not be interesting to most, this is the only image I have of me driving her!
On the way back to Bournemouth, we had an Italian in a 1970’s Alfa pull up alongside with a guy shouting “cool car” loudly and explaining to us that he owned a TR3 before the Alfa. All of this in a national speed limit. Crazy Italians!
Some more pictures arrived today of the engine bay going back together. The new loom has all been connected up now. The ignition system has been refitted now as has the intake and exhaust manifolds and the carburettors.
There are quite a few little details that are going to annoy me with the engine bay but on the other hand they’ll make some nice winter projects for me to fettle with. For instance, the manifold nuts are ugly and need replacing. Which is also really annoying as I bought a set of these and lost them. I still want to replace the dampers in the SU’s with new brass ones.
The battery needs to go in my mind but a more period style one is £175 and until I get the car back and work out where I am with budget (or lack of it), this one will have to stay.
But most importantly, the car now has it’s identity back now the commission plates have been replaced.
1959 Triumph TR3A 