Heritage Certificate

The Heritage certificate arrived today.

Date of build 21 August 1972 - so no road tax - hooray!

Engine number MG57435E - so it was a 6 cylinder PI and subsequently converted with a Stag engine.

Destination - GKN and Company - so were they responsible for the FF system ?

All the other details match, auto gearbox, PAS, estate etc. Just need to check the gearbox number when that gets removed to see if it remains the same.

Panel Proceedings

Decided to push on with the front end body work today, so first job on the headlamp panel was to drill some 3mm holes and put pop rivets in them, this will ensure that I always replace the panel in the correct position.


Angle grinder and cutters out next - off with the front valence and the radiator support panel, leaving a big hole which looks like this. Good view of the revised crossmember, anti roll bar and steering rack. Although the rack looks like one from a Stag, its mounts are on different planes to original, and the steering input shaft arrangement doesn't quite look right - so thats something else to investigate.

Battery box area, showing how the factory had cut the radiator panel, and hammered the wavy edge over. Remnants of the radiator support and radiator panel mounts can be seen. I have sprayed this with primer to make the pictures a little clearer. Note the absence of an oil cooler mounting. I thought this had rusted away, because there was an auto oil cooler, and there is a mount at the other end. However there is no trace of welding a mount here, so I suspect the factory relied upon the oil cooler pipes to support it at this end !

From this I suspect the car was not an auto originally, but a 2.5 manual. I have applied for the Heritage certificate, so the engine number will answer this one.


See - no weld marks


Contrast this with the other chassis leg and an oil cooler mount is present


Cleaned up flanges afetr removal of radiator support panel


Same on the other side


NOS radiator support panel in position, note the gap between it and the closing panel


This is to take the stag top radiator mount (the orange / brown pressing) which I need to fit into the radiator panel


Now front valence trial fitted. Nice fit, except lower wing edges, but these are all filler and mis-shapen anyway


View from underneath front valence to radiator support panel


and again
Engine side to front valence / radiator panel


Finally inner wing to radiator support panel

So thats all good progress.

Now I know they fit I must clean off the flanges, and get ready to spot weld. I still need to modify the radiator panel top rail, to fit the stag part, and get the remaining battery box panel, and before the front valence is finally welded, create and weld the oil cooler mounts.

As I haven't got the panels yet its probably mechanical work now for a bit.

More factory (bodges) modifications

While investigating how to remove the battery box, I also found under the muck a further line of pop rivets attaching the lower edge to the chassis rail.

After drilling out all the rivets, side and bottom, and a small cut box comes out revealing unpainted and only slightly rusty inner wing flange. The flange is good, so will remain after cleaning.

Thanks to a suggestion from a reader of this blog I have decided to weld the battery box back in (probably filled spot welds,) to give it strength, but then drill and pop rivet to retain original appearance.

Removed battery box with new radiator panel to headlamp panel strengtheners

New old stock front valence panel from ebay - collected today £26 a bargain.

I hope to fit all this and the radiator panels etc this weekend, but eldest son (27) has blown up his Astra again. I put a 40k mile engine in it 6 months ago, as his last engine had dropped a valve. So last night he arrives at the house "can you listen to my engine its making funny noises". I have a listen - tappets are rattling because of no oil - check sump - no oil - put 3 litres in. Dad "Did you ever check the oil ?" Son "No why ?" Dad "unprintable"....... tappet rattle goes, but there is the lower thump of a big end bearing on its last legs - so I have to drop the sump on that this weekend too, and inspect the bearings - I hope and pray for no marks on the crank, so it will be a simple and quick job!

Since he has started driving he has wrecked the following engines:-

Saab 16v - dropped valve.

Astra - seized - no water

Fiesta - dropped valve

Fiesta - dropped valve (again)

Astra - dropped valve

Astra - no oil - big ends

There is a certain pattern here. Words were beyond me last night - I am still not happy, I want to play Triumphs not grotty Eurobox

Factory Modifications

I have been trying to understand the differences at the front of the car in the radiator area, from a standard 2500, a better knowledge of 2500's would have helped, but all is now clear.

The car uses a stag radiator (with fan shroud as fitted to certain export USA Stags), these don't mount like a standard 2000 radiator ( 4 fixings into the vertical radiator panel) but have 2 bolts on their lower face which mount on to a horizontal panel, with the upper 2 mounts on the vertical top surface of the radiator.

So we find that triumph used a stag lower radiator mount, with the ends made flat, and bent in to a U shape welded to the chassis rails, and tacked to the back of the radiator support panel.

What remains of the lower mount is shown here

At the top they have cut the radiator panel, and fitted the top curved stag one, and cut away the top panel above the curve.

Please note in the top left of this picture the crude cutting of the original radiator support - that diagonal line is where it was cut

As you can see from this picture from my stag, this allows fitment of the stag air intake (although I don't use it as I have a holley fitted).

Next battery fitment - as the V8 fills the engine bay, the battery is relocated to the Stag position, using stag battery box, after simply cutting away the radiator support panel on this side.

The line of pop rivets joining the battery box to the inner wing appears original - Do I replicate this on the rebuild, or weld it ?

This is how the Stag looks

So repair work can start at the front.

I chopped out the headlamp panel

This picture shows the rear of the stag battery box, the flap of metal at the top is part of a repair to the top panel in front of the bonnet.

This shows the distance piece between the headlamp panel and the radiator panel

Headlamp panel trial fitted


This is important as I need this to reference the rest of the front end repairs. I can now remove and replace, battery box, radiator panel, front valence etc, using the headlamp panel as the fixed front reference point for distance, working backwards towards the engine.

Sounds simple, but the real work begins now.

The chassis legs are sound at this point, but it needs new mountings for the auto transmission oil cooler fabricating as these have rusted away

Collection Day

Not very exciting, spent today avoiding caravans and fuel misers hogging the middle lane of the motorways, despite the empty inside lane, causing huge traffic jams, collecting the Stanpart panels that I had sourced.

rear valence and radiator panel
tailgate

2 rear wings

nearside rear door, boot floor, rear lamp housing p/s, radiator panels and headlamp panel

Got some nice shiney new parts as well, together with a good s/h centre console that I needed,

boot lock, p/s indicator, number plate lamp, rear tread plates, and grill

Now I still need to collect the lefthand sill and inner.

I still need to source right hand sill, inner, outer and middle, front wings, and top panel above headlamps - anyone got any of these for sale ?

Also still need a pair of black velour front seats (and an estate roof panel, but I guess thats made from unobtanium)

Quite pleased really after the costs of a TR5 rebuild, these panels are about 15% of the price of TR5 parts, which I don't understand as the saloons were (are) great cars.

More on the mechanical parts and disassembly tomorrow

Seized

Well its official now, the engine is seized, the diesel has not worked and a large wrecking bar with scaf tube extension applied to the crank bolt still won't rotate the crank. - The bolt came undone easily though.

So the strip down has commenced. Everything I touch reveals more rust, anyone got a stag battery box and a radiator lower support panel ?

A trip to see Martin at Justriumph will resolve that, we'll chop a battery box out of a Stag, and the radiator support too.

Had some luck with Stanpart panels this week, although I have been working, I have made good use of cellphone and internet and now have the following Stanpart panels:-
Boot floor

Tailgate

2 rear wings

rear passenger side door

radiator shut panel

lefthand side inner and outer sill

While stripping the car I noticed the following "bodge" to the exhaust manifold, which cannot have helped power output, I think some custom tubular manifolds may be called for upon the rebuild

Electronic ABS ?

You are going to have to read most of this blog to get to the interesting part, as it represents the order of my progress today.

Oil and filter change on my Stag to start today, replaced the plugs.

Here are the plugs from the left hand bank, bit sooty from the last start, but a good biscuit brown underneath.


Plug gaps seem a little wide - cannot remember setting them like that, but these plugs have done 10000 miles since the engine rebuild, mainly in France.

Compare them to the plugs from the other V8 in the estate

3 different manufacturers, and 2 look like they have never been used in a running engine.

Engine still won't rotate, so another dose of diesel, and I decided to look at bits of the car. Carburator linkages are bust so I must order some, had the distributor cap off, and low and behold contactless ignition.

Traced this lot back to the module on the drivers suspension turret that I had thought was ABS related - its not its the ignition module.



Now the interesting part, had a look at the electronics module in the passenger footwell

Doesn't look much does it?

This was inside

The writing says "Mullard"

"Brake Control Module"

"Developement Sample MVB7/1"

"12 volts R17 = 33K"

"No guarantee for future delivery"

NB Mullard were a famous British Electronics Manufacturer in the 50s - 70s, made lots of thermionic valves, televisions etc etc.

The was also a folded piece of paper, tucked between the module and the bracket, sadly it is rust damaged and a type of photocopy. But it looks like this

Its not legible in the photo, but its contents are a wiring diagram of the ABS system, with the following text

"2/11/72 Wiring Diagram for VM1202 Antilock Module

Mount with connectors at bottom if possible

Twin core screened cable to pickup pick up

Warning light if required (lights when solenoid on)

Solenoid

12v supply"

There we are, electronically controlled ABS on a Triumph made in 1972. Is this the earliest surviving car with electronic ABS?