It's been two weeks - and nothing new has happened!
I took a trip to the TSSC club shop this morning, and picked up a CD-ROM with all of the workshop manuals included. Whilst there I had a chat with Garth (who runs the club shop and is also my local area organiser for the TSSC) about the tub situation.
His idea was to get hold of a tidy saloon tub (if possible - but probably easier than finding a convertible one) and cut the bottom off and attach the top half of mine to it. Seems reasonable to me!
So it's just a saloon tub and a mig welder required.....
Watch this space!
Saturday 26 July 2008
Sunday 13 July 2008
Room With A View
Having left the rear tub on the driveway for a week, in the rain, it was starting to look like a water feature - and not wanting to upset the neighbours, I thought I'd move it to a more appropriate location...
I can now admire the true beauty of the body work from the kitchen window. I've come to the conclusion that a £50 B&Q Pub Bench is just what every Triumph restoration requires.
Must start thinking about getting those holes filled - or a new tub ASAP (before the missus decides to plant herbs in it).
I can now admire the true beauty of the body work from the kitchen window. I've come to the conclusion that a £50 B&Q Pub Bench is just what every Triumph restoration requires.
Must start thinking about getting those holes filled - or a new tub ASAP (before the missus decides to plant herbs in it).
Sunday 6 July 2008
Stripping
So the strip-down of the rear tub commenced....
The rear lights, back bumper, over-riders, side valences and chrome side strips were removed along with the entire hood and frame.
And I was able to see for the first time the condition of the chassis and suspension components at the back
Luckily the chassis looks good and probably just needs some Bilt-Hamber Deox, and a cover of paint to make good - a project for another couple of sunny afternoons!
So now that the rear tub is stripped of any good stuff all I could do was sit in the car and make 'brum brum' noises thinking of the day the Vitesse would be back on the road.
I packed everything into the garage and left the rear tub outside thinking that my only option would be to weigh it in at the scrapyard.
The tub has now been left out in the rain for a couple of days, and following a response on the TSSC messageboards, it seems that a better option may be to buy some repair panels or get a local welder to just put in some strong metal (I am not going for concours here - just usable).
A quick look on the Quiller site shows entire tubs and chassis for £200 - which sounds like my sort of price. Not sure what condition they'd be in and I don't really fancy a trip to woolwich to find out - but it's a good last resort kind of option.
Also had a quick look on the Rimmer Bros site. Boot floor complete panel only £350. F*** that! I'll need about £2000 of panels to make it good.
So, next week it's off to bother some local welders for quotes on the holiest of tubs before deciding what to do next. I did think hard about the colour though - fancy a very dark blue metallic - will contrast nicely with those slot mags I fancy. Just got to get the rear tub and bulkhead sorted so should be on the road by Christmas (perhaps not)....
The rear lights, back bumper, over-riders, side valences and chrome side strips were removed along with the entire hood and frame.
And I was able to see for the first time the condition of the chassis and suspension components at the back
Luckily the chassis looks good and probably just needs some Bilt-Hamber Deox, and a cover of paint to make good - a project for another couple of sunny afternoons!
So now that the rear tub is stripped of any good stuff all I could do was sit in the car and make 'brum brum' noises thinking of the day the Vitesse would be back on the road.
I packed everything into the garage and left the rear tub outside thinking that my only option would be to weigh it in at the scrapyard.
The tub has now been left out in the rain for a couple of days, and following a response on the TSSC messageboards, it seems that a better option may be to buy some repair panels or get a local welder to just put in some strong metal (I am not going for concours here - just usable).
A quick look on the Quiller site shows entire tubs and chassis for £200 - which sounds like my sort of price. Not sure what condition they'd be in and I don't really fancy a trip to woolwich to find out - but it's a good last resort kind of option.
Also had a quick look on the Rimmer Bros site. Boot floor complete panel only £350. F*** that! I'll need about £2000 of panels to make it good.
So, next week it's off to bother some local welders for quotes on the holiest of tubs before deciding what to do next. I did think hard about the colour though - fancy a very dark blue metallic - will contrast nicely with those slot mags I fancy. Just got to get the rear tub and bulkhead sorted so should be on the road by Christmas (perhaps not)....
Inspection Pt.2
Below are the photos taken as I inspected the rear tub for holes.
The footwell for the rear passengers:
The boot area:
The front bulkhead also has a few 'issues'...
So I pulled out all of the spares and dumped them on the lawn and scratched my head for a while.
It was a sunny day, so I decided to strip the rear tub in readiness for whatever course of action I decided to take. So the picture below is to remind me what the car looked like before I started this whole process....
The footwell for the rear passengers:
The boot area:
The front bulkhead also has a few 'issues'...
So I pulled out all of the spares and dumped them on the lawn and scratched my head for a while.
It was a sunny day, so I decided to strip the rear tub in readiness for whatever course of action I decided to take. So the picture below is to remind me what the car looked like before I started this whole process....
Saturday 5 July 2008
First Inspection
Yesterday, I rolled the Vitesse back out into the sunshine following a few weeks being forgotten about in the garage. It gave me a chance to look through the parts that came with the car, and finally take a good look at the state of the bodywork.
As I prodded and poked a bit more, it became obvious that the rear tub was beyond anything my skills could achieve. I have posted a message on the TSSC website for inspiration.
In the end, I decided to start stripping the car down, salvaging anything that might be worth holding onto and discarding anything broken, bent or completely rusted. I will post pictures of the stripdown in my next post.
I also took a flying visit to Triumphland in Doncaster on the off-chance he had something in his yard. Two bulkheads in the same condition as mine for £120, and a rotten tub - almost as bad as mine. The search for the holy grail of a pefect and primered (dreaming again) rear tub has started....
As I prodded and poked a bit more, it became obvious that the rear tub was beyond anything my skills could achieve. I have posted a message on the TSSC website for inspiration.
In the end, I decided to start stripping the car down, salvaging anything that might be worth holding onto and discarding anything broken, bent or completely rusted. I will post pictures of the stripdown in my next post.
I also took a flying visit to Triumphland in Doncaster on the off-chance he had something in his yard. Two bulkheads in the same condition as mine for £120, and a rotten tub - almost as bad as mine. The search for the holy grail of a pefect and primered (dreaming again) rear tub has started....
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