Adoom

I put it back up on the tip over jig so I could seam seal all the joins and gaps, spray 1k rubberised underbody protection, then 2k top coat. Scuffing up the epoxy primer was tedious. And possibly not even necessary since I had brush painted it? I masked off stuff like brackets, where the gearbox cross member mounts and grommet holes so they didn't get the lumpy underbody protection. It's hard to get just one photo to show it all and see detail. So here's a bunch of photos. I'd like to put the brake and fuel lines back on while it's up like this, because it's easier. But they will get in the way when painting the engine bay. So I guess I'm painting the engine bay next. .... I am regretting brush painting the engine bay. It's taking a lot of sanding to get the brush strokes out and there are so many parts I can't get at with the DA sander.

I'll give that a go then.

I've discovered that the flow regulator for my tig welder is leaking where it screws together. It had some kind of sealant when I took it apart. Given that it sees bottle pressure that is up to 4000psi. What kind of thread sealant can I use? Or is it not worth the effort so I should just spend $100 on a new one? Some locktite sealant is ~$60 for a tiny bottle.

Still alive I am. I epoxy primered the front panel. Stripping off all the paint and derusting it was really tedious. Brush/roller painted, so plenty of runs. I made sure I got plenty on the top bit cause it acts like a, hard to get to, shelf for debris and typically rusts there due to lack of paint. A trial fit, mainly to check fitment where the front of the wing was straightened. AND that the chrome trim still fit over the seams. I still needed to trim the sides of the ...apron as there is an overlap. I also painted epoxy primer as far back into the wings as I could reach using a small roller on a stick. And cut some inspection holes in the ...kick panels so I could see in the wing behind the wheel arch and see the end of the sill. The later cars already have a hole there. Here is the passenger side, the driver side looks about the same but were out of focus. This is looking at the end of the sill from above just some surface rust. Surprisingly good. They can fill with debris that gets wet because the rain gutters empty in here. And this is looking up at the underside of the box section from the a-pillar to the strut tower. Above it you can see the end of the rain gutter that. I'll be drenching this area with something like cavity wax. I also sprayed the interior with epoxy. Then went on a side mission to find an existing car colour so I could quote the code and order some paint. But no one had any of those pre-made duplicolor cans. I was then made aware that Wairarapa autopaint was "It's just around the corner". So I went and met Reese. He gave me some colour cards, I picked something that looked close to my sample (that was too crazed to use on the scanner). He mixed me a test pot. I tried it out, then came back next day for a 4L tin. So now the interior is a colour of 'old timey white'. It was so hard to tell what had and had not been painted yet. Especially for the 2nd/3rd coats. Boot was a real bitch with so many corners and things in the way. Other than the boot, almost all of this is covered by trim and carpet, I considered just painting the boot, but where do you draw the line. Back to the front panel. I used many vicegrips to make sure it was in the right place. I pre-drilled the spot weld holes and removed the paint from around them. All the spot welds on the seam are done and ground flat (chrome trim still fits!). Got one of the joins in the apron done, still got the passenger side to do.

Supposed to be plenty of wind for you tomorrow.

Nah, it's not removable without cutting and drilling welds. I don't think I want to go there.

So the tank goes up here in the factory location. The towers prevent the original tank from fitting. It's also the highest part of the floorpan... The top circle is where the hoses attach. The top of the tank is actually lower than the filler neck. The filler neck passes through a cavity between the inner and outer guard. There are...... a couple of holes and gaps. The bottom of the C-Pillar seems closed off, but there is a gap. The slope of the floorpan complicates sealing this lower hole because any leaked fuel would pool behind it.

I don't think I can make an enclosure work because of the filler neck hose. Anything I imagine is blocking access to the hose clips for that hose. Seems like I'm going to have to seal all the gaps and holes and cavities and have some removable panels to allow access where needed.

So the Triumph has the factory fuel tank in the boot. There are many many many holes and passages between the boot and the passenger compartment, it would not be easy to seal. Its got strut towers now, so the original tank won't fit and I need to make a custom one. Reading the CCM, I think I just need something like a tray kinda thing under the tank to catch any leak and drain to outside the car? I only need to seal the boot from the passenger compartment if the filler is inside the boot? Or have I missed something...

I fed the Hi pressure pump some acetone and it eventually freed up. I got a replacement low pressure Carter pump through RockAuto. It didn't pick up any fuel though. I stuck the bike pump on the end of the pick up pipe and got it to blow some bubbles into the tank. It then did pick up fuel and the engine seemed to be running properly. Problem solved? One week later. I planned to move the car around the house to the driveway to make it easier to drop the tank and clean the pick up pipe properly. Aaaand the replacement Carter pump was dead. Even connected directly to the battery. Not drawing any current at all. LE sigh. Several months later. Bought a Walbro low pressure pump. Connected it up, but only pumping a dribble of fuel. Determined I was going to have to drop the tank on the gravel floor of the side shed. Pick up pipe clogged with varnish. It's like tar. I've cleaned up the pick up pipe. I'm not sure if I need to find a replacement 'sock' as the filter is between the pick up pipe and the pump. But the inside of the tank is coated in thick varnish. That's not rust... I had some simple green and put it in the tank with hot water. It's softened it, but it isn't falling off by itself. I can't exactly get in there to scrub it. I expect I will have to take it to a radiator place to get it cleaned out. Now what to do with 15 liters of horrible smelling fuel that's taking up every gas can I own. Is it even going to run in the mower?

So I finally sorted out getting a wheel alignment! Back from being rope towed up the road. I had got it pretty damn close, said the alignment guy. Within 1 degree After adjusting the rear camber, it was obviously a little closer to the right side. Only 10mm difference though. So I user some card and tape to mark the location of the temporary clamping bolts for the mounts. Then carefully tapped it over 5mm. Then welded each mount in, one at a time. ...forgot to take photos of the last two. I'm happy with the welds, I got the settings just right, it would have been a real ballache to try grind out a bad weld. Then I filled in the access holes.

It took some time to make the adjustment arm bit. I made it in sections due to available material sizes. It had to be all curvy to avoid stuff. It fits. It doesn't hit anything. It has plenty of adjustment, without hitting the bonnet. It feels solid. I still want to grind some of those curves for a more consistent width. And to figure out what belt length I need.

I feel like it needs a viking style figurehead to intimidate the other boats.

Good tip. Do you have any photos how you did yours?

Alternator has got to be WAY up here. Fortunately, I have a spare engine on the bench. Those two bolt holes are 8mm. Not sure if I'll be overloading them with that bracket. I could tie it into one of the 6mm bolts for the cam sprocket covers. Maybe with a long bit of 2.5mm flat bar so it can flex a little to allow for some bolt misalignment. Got to make an adjuster thingy off the lug behind the water pump that also clears the firewall. Just realised I only took photos before welding the bracket...