Been looking for a fun, cheap project car

[Blarg]

Yeah, well the fun doesn't end there.

When I went to disconnect the new steel brake hose from the copper brake pipe I found that the shop had managed to strip the threads on the copper end nut which required replacing the line back to the rear junction. The replacement wasn't expensive, for both left and right side it cost $20 plus shipping. It also required buying a $9 pipe bending tool and I used a trick someone posted on the Triumph forums of feeding a wire through the tubing so it can't kink when bending then just strip it out later. Worked perfectly. The hardest part was removing the old pipe without causing more damage, there was little work space and I had to use a very short metric wrench to undo the pipe from the 3 way connector. It is the only metric nuts on the entire car.

So I'm home free, right? Uh... nope. On first glance everything looked right out of the box for the replacement brake parts and I started installing them, putting the springs on the correct side with the shoes in the proper leading and trailing position. After completing all of this, it was wrong. 

Try as I might I could not get the parking brake lever, that is held in with the cotter pin, to release enough to close the gap between the shoe and the piston. Something was wrong and after a series of attempts to remedy the situation and a few choice cuss words I took a closer look at the original Girling part and the replacement.

The piston size isn't a problem but the length of the arms and where they are cut do. That extension pushes the parking brake lever out, which cause the gap and also pushes the pads beyond the diameter of the drum. 

I ordered parts by the vehicle FDU number (pre VIN#) and still the curse of the mid year '69 has bit me in the ass. I have an email out to Rimmer Bros in England about the problem and included the stamped on the metal Girling part # that they should be able to cross reference. But it stalls out the brake assembly, I literally cannot complete anything without this correct part. Otherwise I have to clean up the old part and hope the rubber seal is still good and put it back into service. 

 

[Tank]

when i hear about car troubles like you've had, my admiration and respect for you and others who do this goes up infinitely. i wouldn't have the patience (let alone the vast amount of knowledge necessary) to do what you're doing. 

hope you get it finalized soon.

[Blarg]

You teach middle school teenagers, you've got what it takes in patience. It's obvious I'm not that knowledgeable but persistence and rubber mallet levels the playing field. 

[Blarg]

Rimmer Brothers didn't bother to even offer to buy back the wrong set, just some advice to clean up the old ones.

Bought a new set of wheel cylinders from a trusted source and they arrived Friday. They were the same wrong set. Looks like I'm going to have to see if the old ones will hold brake fluid until I can find the right set.

[Lou]

Rimmer Brothers?

 

 

 

 

 

sinner 

[Blarg]

They're British, what did you expect? 

[Blarg]

So after talking with one of my parts suppliers he gave the low down on why this isn't pull it out of the box and replace what you have.

There seems to be no fun in that.

The manufacturers aren't even trying anymore to meet any specific specifications and stamp out kind of generic one brake shoe fits all drum brakes for Euro cars with 13" rims. It's your job to cut them to fit.

Welcome new member of the tool collection, a variable speed bench grinder. 

Each brake shoe needed to be ground down an unspecified amount. Again no help from supplier how much that was, he said, "Don't grind off too much." Yeah, uh, thanks.

So the game is afoot. I disassemble the brakes, grind off the longer end of each shoe, reassemble and check to see if the drum clears. Repeat process four times so I don't "Grind off too much" and the drum fits on and will rotate without too much scraping. 

So far I managed to get one side completed but still have the entire left wheel to attend to, then bleed the system, adjust the brakes to locking up then counter that setting by two clicks and road test it. If all goes well and I don't end up in the neighbors planter box I get to figure out how to set the proper adjustment for the parking brake. 

Then she will be good to go and I get to drive it down to Brea Auto Electric to  rebuild the differential that is currently bleeding out on my garage floor.  

[Tank]

be glad you haven't asked me to help you. maybe one of the wisest decisions you've ever made.

[Blarg]

So this whole brake thing started because of a loud grinding noise from the car. I got the rears all put together and dialed in and took it for a test drive. 

Loud grinding noise but it's located on the front right side. So now it is chasing a front brake problem. This morning I jack up the car and go to work on the disks and there is not a damn thing wrong with them. The rotors are perfect, the pads are like new, the dust shield is in place and not rubbing against anything. It is perplexing.

I did have trouble taking off the spinner that holds the wheel onto the hub splines so I cleaned that up and also the hub splines that were excessively dirty which should have been a warning sign but I was so focused on a brake problem it went over my head.

I took it for another test drive and again the squealing and grinding noise. Now I'm thinking blown bearing? No, we replaced those when the front end was done. Then I started thinking about the front wheel just as I braked at the end of the block to turn around and crunch.

It was the wheel and hub splines that were shot. The wheel wasn't stopping when the hub was and that was the grinding as the splines were being chewed to death. That freed the wheel enough to work against the spinner that spun off and I have now officially crashed the car.

It took two jacks to lift the car from the rear first to get enough clearance to lift the front to put the wheel back on. I now have to buy a new wire wheel and hub.

 

 

[Tank]

bummer!

but it looks like your car wants to make a constant left turn.

[Roy Hobbs]

I was a mechanic for 45 years and I don't think you know how lucky you are, when a wheel comes off like that it usually damages the fender. I have seen it cause thousands of dollars in damage, so it could have been worse.The thing with the rear brake shoes is they should have been arced to fit the drums,that way you have most of the shoes making contact with the drum.If they don't fit properly your stopping power will be reduced, and possibly a low pedal.I don't have a lot of experience with British cars except it takes a special breed to work on them.There are still some machine shops around that will arc your shoes if you still are having problems.Good luck.

[Blarg]

I was doing about 15 mph between brake tests so it was nearly a crawl to a stop when it collapsed. Pretty damn lucky since when I first heard this noise I was getting on to a freeway. If it went then I wouldn't be posting. 

[Blarg]

Here is the culprit. Those supposed to be well defined splines but they were ground smooth. That cost me a wire wheel as well so replacing all four plus a new wire wheel set me back $500. 

This is the new part. Quite the difference.

With that task done I need only to install the new drivers side glove tray, wash her really good and get the grease and dirt off, vacuum, hit the seats with more leather conditioner and tire dressing and she'll be ready for Sunday's Father's Day car show in Covina. 

Fun, cheap, project car. Hah!

[Blarg]

Made it to the Covina Father's day car show. A total of four foreign cars, my Spitfire, the MG sitting next to it, an old 356 Porsche and a VW Beetle. The other 100+ cars were mostly Hot Rods. 

Lucky me, I won a 1/2 ton Jack as part of the free raffle. 

Edited June 17, 2018 by Blarg

[Tank]

How interesting (and possibly very practical) that the wheel wells are part of the hood. Today's cars don't seem to have easy access included in their composition.

[Blarg]

I'm not sure anyone could design one of these today with all of the safety requirements.

[Tank]

oh yeah, safety . . . kind of necessary.

[Blarg]

Changed the oil since the engine was in sort of a break in period, having not run for over a decade. It was pretty dark which means a lot of the sludge that was coating the pan has broken down and now are filtered out. 

I also added a modification to the bonnet (hood) stay so it is easier to open and will stay open. This is my big rest-modification that is nothing like the factory setup. 

The entire kit cost $85, shipping included, and now make raising and closing the bonnet much easier but just as important it is supported on both sides and won't collapse. The old system was a single stay that was wobbly at best and easy to accidentally knock the support and have the bonnet crash down on your head. 

[Tank]

how much stuff do you have left to do to finish this?

[Blarg]

Oh, just about everything. Once you get a car that was sitting for 20 years back up and running you have to shake out the problems, even if you've replaced half of it with new. 

And shake is the operative word. Driving down the road is so much more different than testing in the garage. You get to hear the engine under load, the suspension, the trans and differential, all trying to move the car again. Rolling over bumps and making turns gives up all the information about everything that still isn't quite right. 

And there is still plenty not right but at least I've been able to drive it to run those problems down. This isn't simply clean it up and replace some seals and it's good to go. It's closing in on 50 years old so age related and improper assembly over the years really stands out. 

Fun, cheap project car. You get to only choose one of the two. It's fun because you bought it fully restored and all bugs shaken out. Cheap, you get the job of shaking out the problems by buying low but the costs follow every fix.

My advice, look at what the resale value of any old car is in top shape then price out rebuilding one and how much time it takes. In the case of a Spitfire you come out way ahead buying someone else's project car that was completed. 

[Tank]

so you're saying this is a bit complex than a project on pinterest.

[Tank]

[Blarg]

My latest fun has been battling Vapor Lock in this heat. The car runs well right up until the heat gets to it and there is insufficient cooling under the bonnet for the fuel lines.

For some daft reason Triumph routed the fuel lines across the top side of the engine and the carbuerators are both side draft positioned over the exhaust manifold. I guess the average temperature in the UK never reaches the heat index of California so they never have a problem. I have problems. 

Vapor Lock occurs when the fuel boils inside the fuel lines or even the carbuerators themselves. Fuel with ethanol boils at an even lower rate. When that happens the fuel goes from liquid to vapor and causes fuel starvation. 

To combat that I've wrapped the fuel lines with a heat sheild. It's not particularly pretty since I had to wrap over the top of metal to rubber lines. With a little heat sheild tape I will clean it up visually.

I also bought a set of heat sheilds for my SU carbs that are in transit. I will have to remove the carbs to install them to the intake header. They should deflect heat from the exhaust manifold away from the bowls of the carbuerators and hold the temps below the boil level. 

If this doesn't do the job I'm going to have to wrap the exhaust headers, which will be a pain in the butt. It will require completely removing the twin carbs along with the linkage to have room to work.

 

[Blarg]

I forgot to post my suspension adventure. I had the entire done two years ago but the installer somehow got it wrong. He must have left off a poly bushing or two because the spring itself buckled.

This caused the suspension to ride mushy and the bonnet wheel wells to scrape against the tires, grinding down the sidewalls. 

It was bad and made the handling very difficult. Nothing that money couldn't solve. I bought all new shocks and front springs because the arching made them damaged goods. I spent more for fully adjustable shocks to set ride height and dampening.

What a difference this made. It allowed for me to finally get the front and rear on the same level and it stiffened up the car in the right way. No more sloppy body roll, it corners really well and no more tire rub. The ride is set a little soft so it's a good street car but I may in the next couple months dial it in a little firmer for more agressive driving.

With confidence I wasn't going to tear the tires sidewall off or slide off the road I took a trip up Glendora Mountain Road and enjoyed the twisty roads.

This is the part where it becomes a fun project car, when you can take a ride on a beautiful morning and don't require a tow truck to get home.

[Stradling]

Beautiful car