Early Triumph roadster - questions

[mylittletony]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

Not a great deal of news, but had first night back there for a month or so (school holidays)

All of the suspension is apart now - yippee!!! One of the front towers requires some repair, a couple of other pieces need some small bits of welding too.

Other than that, we're getting the suspension components blasted, new glass cut and possibly a final final coat to the frame, then reassembly can commence!

Photos and far better updates to follow

[mylittletony]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

Weekly update: glass is cut, £60. Suspension odds and sods repaired where required, most are blasted and half of them painted with new bushes pressed in.

I spent most of the session trying to replace the seals on the diff. Got the "inner driveshafts" out, but cannot get the bearings off?? Haynes says the bearing race should drift off, but can't see a suitable ledge. Any tips? We tried pushing them off using bolts but started to bend the flange...

Should definitely have some photos next week, we may even start reassembly!

I had another question, but it's escaped me...

[b_caswell]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

Hi Tony,

Trust you did remove the circlip behind the bearing. Very easy to bend the flanges.

The Churchill tool has an adaptor plate that sits behind the bearing to press it off but they can be a struggle.
Try sitting the drive shaft splines uppermost with the oil seal housing on the jaws of the vice closed as mutch as posible then use a soft face hammer.
In the past I have split the bearing by first holding the outer race in the vice at 3 oclock and 9 oclock safety goggles on and then with a sharp cold chisel and hammer wack the bearing across the outer at 12 oclock and it should crack. Remove the out race and balls and then repeat on the inner race. If it doesnt crack it may just stretch enough to release it

[Harry]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

I remove the unmovable bearings in several ways, 1, hot knife - carefully cut through them 2, slitter disc on a 4" grinder ( best method if you have room) clean cut through the bearing, 3, flash heat them, ( oxy set ) then knock them off. if none of those work, get a good 2lbs engineers hammer and give the bearing a good smack ( wear safety goggles ! ) most of the bearings on cars are only little things, and don't take much to break or damage --- have fun. PS, Most engineering work shops have bench presses, I bet they would only charge a few quid to press it off ?

[mylittletony]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

Thanks for the replies, had an update that the teacher managed or get them off with a fly press!

Yes, I had removed the circlips, only cut myself twice in the process! The aim was to replace the seals, bearings themselves feel serviceable...

A promised I'll upload a few pics after this Tuesday, feels like we're really making progress

[mylittletony]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

We started reassembly today: front suspension is loosely together, diff seals are replaced and diff is fitted. All laid out, ready to go. Next job is the removing all the bolts from the bulkhead, tidying and refitting with rivets. Have a few pics:







And a couple of the bulkhead:

[b_caswell]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

All looking good, bulkhead looks a bit of a challenge

[Robert in Cumbria]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

Looks great, compared with when it started it looks like new. Are the mechanicals going to be painted? I blowlamp and wire brush most stuff then slapped paint on while it was still hot, sticks a bit better that way I find and the paint sets quicker too.

A lot of work done but a lot still needed, and the skill base changes as the build proceeds, My strength is in the fabrication and mechanicals, I can cope with the bodywork and electrics but I can't be bothered with trim. Once the car goes, that's it! I doubt my doors will see trim panels, it definitely won't see carpet or a heater.

Good pics, pictures tell a thousand words, mainly I think because everybody's interests are different.

[b_caswell]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

Hows it going Tony ?

[mylittletony]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

Sorry for going AWOL, back now!

Hows it going Tony ?

well, quite well really! I've only managed to grab a few snaps here and there as I tend to forget until we're packing up and leaving...





In summary, the engine went back in after renewing the selector bushes. I think the dynamo will remain, but a negative earth conversion will happen.

Front suspension has been reassembled, front brakes fitted. Rear suspension has also been refitted, along with brakes and handbrake. Shimming has yet to occur, waiting to get the car loaded before setting the geometry.

New tyres
New windscreen, which required 2 trips to the glass place to get them to do it the right size
Bulkhead has had all the old bolts removed, edges have been dressed and has been rebuilt using rivets and sealant in the gaps. Crossmember and pedal/master cylinder mounts have been stripped and painted.
Fuel tank has been patched and painted
I made a rear brace to run between the shock top mounts last night, just a piece of box with a plate on each end. Hoping to attach the seatbelt top mounts through it instead of through the (plywood) boot floor as previously!!

New floor panels have been cut

Next on the list is:
brake hard lines
wiring
engine plumbing
steering column and pedals
cowl
fuel tank/boot floor area - tank needs mounting much better than before
and the plethora of other small jobs...

we'll probably keep it fairly basic to get it running as quickly as possible. Plus a lot of our time is spent fixing some spectacular bodges by the PO, doesn't help designing vehicles for a living as I can't overlook any of them!


sorry for the brain dump, hopefully i can update more frequently from now on...

[b_caswell]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

Good news looking like its all coming together nicely. The brace across the back is a good idea, later Mk1 cars had a tubular hoop that supported the leading edge of the rear body. We welded two brackets to that for the upper seat belt mounting point.

[mylittletony]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

as promised another update.

we spent last week trying to work out how to attach the fuel tank as it was simply resting in place before...

The boys decided that some horns welded to the side of the chassis rails would work, I agreed so we set about measuring some up. You can see them below:



they will attach to the tank on the side flanges, the LH hole can be seen, and weld to the side of the chassis rails. We'll also add a length of box across the chassis rails to bolt to the flange under the tank, which also serves the benefit of lifting the tank to improve clearance to the outlet pipe.

Seen here with the clamshell over for a clearance check



Infinitely better than before, still allows removal of the tank and keeps the filler tube in the right place, but with a slight loss in 'boot' space.

We also fitted the steering column and master cylinders:





Next big job is tackling the wiring, but looking at the state of the loom, I think we might run a fresh one with separate circuits for ignition (test drive! ) lighting, ancillaries so we can be methodical.

The mood is positive as it is starting to resemble a car again, the teacher in charge (Ivan) is really keen to get it driving before the end of term in June, so brake pipes, fuel lines and engine wiring are high priorities.

Tony

[b_caswell]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

Looking good but I doubt if that clutch slave will work without some attention.

Before you get too far with the front body work it would pay to check that the clutch plate has not stuck. Try using a lever on the release arm and push the car in gear.
it will be easier to split the engine and box now rather than have to do it later.

[Sportster-Green]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

it would be a big mistake not re-newing all parts where you have easy access now...so i would recommend to re-new the clutch in any case.....

[dcunn]

Re: Early Triumph roadster - questions

How goes this project, no posts for a while ????????

Should we move this thread into the "Builds" part of the website ?

DC