Resurrecting a NZ built racing special

[hotrod1]

Some may have seen this on another thread but I think it should have a post of its own. I will be resurrecting an old NZ built Clubman style race car. I have no real history on the car so feel free to add comments and any thoughts you have on its origins and former owners.

[hotrod1]

the car came up for sale on Trade me at the right time I had just finished a suspension rebuild on my C4 Corvette and was looking for some thing new to put some work into and having always wanted to get into Classic or historic racing at a level that would be within my budget and limited driving ability it seemed to tick all my box's, so I contacted the seller and with his description and a few photos a deal was done and he arranged to have it shipped from the North Island to my home in Waimate. the car has not been raced for quite a while and has no history with it but it seems to be an older build from maybe the late 60s or 70s. the main components seem to be typical of the Clubman type cars of that time. it has a pre crossflow ford engine with 2 Webers an Anglia bell housing and gearbox and a standard 10 live diff on coils and standard 10 front suspension. when it arrived I charged the battery drained the fuel tank and added fresh gas, checked the oil and filled the cooling system with fresh water and it fired up. it is running rough so it will need a good tune up and plugs ect but I am more than happy with the way it runs with no smoke or expensive noises. the car will need a bit of a rebuild as some of the older welding and a few repair's will need redoing and the brakes and lines will need rebuilt along with a tidy up of the wiring. so over the winter I will strip the car down to the tubes and recondition and rebuild any thing that needs done. My aim is not to change the car too much except for things that effect the safety and what ever I need to do to get it fit for racing and I will try to keep it true to its original build period. so follow along as I post the build and feel free to add comments and your thoughts.711907119171192711937119471195

[hotrod1]

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[Ray Bell]

Very few people would have used the Standard 8/10 front uprights after 1960 or so...

They were smaller and flimsier than the Herald uprights, which became available about 1959. Of course, the Standard 10 rear end would have remained in use because the independent rear end of the Herald would have clashed with the basic principles of the Clubman-style of car. And anyway, Lotus 7s had them.

The placement of the engine kind of defines the design as early sixties. By the mid-sixties the engines started to migrate back and give builders headaches trying to get tail shafts short enough to fit between long gearbox tails and the final drive. I can't say I've ever seen a Clubman with the gearlever having its roots so far forward.

These cars are great fun to drive, you'll be amazed at its performance and I hope you really enjoy bringing it to life.

[hotrod1]

Thanks for your input Ray you may be right about it being built earlier than I thought as Herald front A arms and uprights would have been a better choice for a later build. the engineering and mounting of the A arms and top spring/shock mounts is a bit untidy and may benefit from adapting something closer to the Herald arrangement [for safety's sake] and should fit within the build period what ever that turns out to be. if the mid 60s is the target then early herald type 12 disk brakes and calipers could be an option as they would have been readily available and state of the art at the time. I will have to think hard about this as I am loathe to change too much unless it adds to the overall historic character of the car. I am open to feedback about this and any ideas from members are welcome.
I am already enjoying the planning for the build as most of the work should be within my skill set with a little help from my friends and most of the parts and materials are both available and affordable.

[hotrod1]

I have worked out a plan of attack for the rebuild and have started ordering new bits and collecting spare parts. the spares have been easy to find so far I found a matching gearbox, starter and generator from a local guy for a little over a hundred bucks and a new old stock clutch and pressure plate for about the same price from a guy in the North Island. I found a set of early Triumph Spitfire rims on a local buy/sell web site and a new friend on the Facebook New Zealand Herald owners club has supplied a pair of reconditioned early type 12 front brake calipers for a good price and another member is sending me uprights hubs and caliper brackets so I can replace the small drums on the front this should be the only major change I will be making to the original layout but the parts are all from 1965 so will still fall within the build ethos. some of the local car guys have been very interested in the project and I have received many offers of help so it looks like this will be a group effort. the front suspension is going to need a bit of a tidy up and some strengthening of the steering rack and A arm mounts [see photos] but over all most of the rebuild work will be reconditioning and repainting the original parts and a rewire and a revamp of the brake lines. I will post photos as I progress with the strip down. I am open to any ideas and comments from members so feel free to jump in with advice.

[hotrod1]

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[Allan]

Ride height adjustment system very interesting.

[hotrod1]

not sure if its height adjustment or just a novel way to support the top of the spring and shock, the A arm angles seem to be wrong and the inner top mountings will need to be raised and moved out towards the wheel to put the A arms on the same plane to stop the steering angles from changing with suspension movement I'm trying to work out the correct angles before I start changing any thing, I may have to change a few things and test the movement without the springs installed. all good fun

[hotrod1]

not sure if its height adjustment or just a novel way to support the top of the spring and shock, the A arm angles seem to be wrong and the inner top mountings will need to be raised and moved out towards the wheel to put the A arms on the same plane to stop the steering angles from changing with suspension movement I'm trying to work out the correct angles before I start changing any thing, I may have to change a few things and test the movement without the springs installed. all good fun

[Oldfart]

not sure if its height adjustment or just a novel way to support the top of the spring and shock, the A arm angles seem to be wrong and the inner top mountings will need to be raised and moved out towards the wheel to put the A arms on the same plane to stop the steering angles from changing with suspension movement I'm trying to work out the correct angles before I start changing any thing, I may have to change a few things and test the movement without the springs installed. all good fun

Get a copy of "High Speed Low Cost by Alan Staniforth, then build a "string computer" before you permanently change anything!

[hotrod1]

thanks for your comment Oldfart I have been looking for a copy of that book for some time but so far I have had no luck so if anyone has a copy I could purchase please let me know.
I have been taking measurements of everything so that I have a base point before I start to change anything. because the standard 10 suspension as fitted is very close to the early Herald/Spitfire layout there is a lot of information available on setting up and using this arrangement for both on the street and in many forms of racing ie early Lotus 7s and the like. the A arms have different bushings and chassis attachment points but the uprights and stubs are able to be swapped so changing to disk brakes is a simple task and I will be using Spitfire shocks and shorter upgraded springs with a different top mounting closer to the Spitfire design. this will in turn allow for some adjustment if needed and using off the shelf parts keeps the costs down and the parts are readily available. Keeping the present layout would have been nice from a historical point of view but running out of brakes and a lack of control would take the gloss off racing pretty quick. all parts removed will be kept so if anyone in the future wishes it reinstalled it can be although I think this unlikely.

[hotrod1]

The first job in the strip down and revamp process has been removing and sorting the Steering rack, the rack is a shortened early ford unit probably from a Cortina, the center shaft was very loose in the tube on the left hand side due to the support bush collapsing and the pieces had migrated into the tube around the gearing, the strip down reveled that the gearing is in perfect working order so a general cleaning and replacement of the support bush and new rubber boots was all that was needed and I have ordered a pair of new rod ends, so far so good.7154871549

[Oldfart]

I think that rack is Herald. Mk1 Cortina had a steering box, not a rack, so did Mark 2. Escort had a rack.

[hotrod1]

MK3 Cortina or early Escort I purchased the Ford support bushing off the shelf and it has Cortina, Capri, escort mounting brackets. I have a Triumph Herald one hanging on the wall and it is quite different but I would have modified it to fit if the one fitted had issues.

[Oldfart]

I stand corrected.

[hotrod1]

The type 12 disk brake calipers have arrived, a member of the Triumph Herald / Spitfire owners club supplied these they are rebuilt and will only need a coat of paint, the cost was not much more than a rebuild kit. these are original fitment to 1965/67 Heralds and bolt to the uprights with a mounting bracket after that date Triumph changed the uprights so that the later larger type 14 calipers bolted straight on to the uprights.7156171562

[Ray Bell]

You're getting into it now!

What size are the pistons in these calipers? Are the later ones larger? Do you happen to know what size pistons are in Cortina Mk 1 GT calipers?

Regarding the rack, if it's from a Mk 3 Cortina it would appear the car might have been a later build than first thought...

[hotrod1]

Hi Ray the pistons in these type 12 calipers are 42mm across I don't know about the type 14s but the brake pads are the same size the type 14s are larger in size body wise. MK 1 Cortina's also had type 14 calipers and later ones I think had type 16s. the rack mounts look like they may have been redone at some stage so it may have had a Herald one and later been changed I think the Ford rack may have a faster ratio hence the change but who knows. I think a few things may have been changed during the cars life it may have had a side valve engine at first and it looks like it may have been street legal at some stage as it has holes for headlight and taillight mounts and has a speedo cable fitted altho the speedo has been removed in favor of a Rev counter. until I can find out who built it and owned and raced it in the past it is a guessing game but the fun is in the chase. all of these old race cars have been modified over the years so the rebuild will be in the spirit of the 60s.

[Oldfart]

According to the Staniforth bible; the ratio of a Ford rack gives 1.5" per turn of the pinion, comes both front and rear versions (ie ahead of or behind the axle line) Herald gives 1.87" (only front available) so a Herald rack is a "faster" rack than a Ford.

[Allan]

But having said that Oldfart the angle and length of the steering arms comes into play thus the lock to lock or steering angles may not be that much different.

[Ray Bell]

If anyone's tried to avoid bump steer, those things won't be affected...

[Oldfart]

But having said that Oldfart the angle and length of the steering arms comes into play thus the lock to lock or steering angles may not be that much different.

I'm only quoting an acknowledged expert who states that the only measure of a quick rack vs a slow is the travel that the bar makes per turn assuming the same steering arms at the hub.

[hotrod1]

Hers a few pics of the car on the track that may have been taken in the 90s and a paddock shot would anyone know the other cars in the background as if I can find out when and where the shot was taken I may be able to get some info on the car from the race programs or other competitors.715937159471595

[Oldfart]

That looks very like the Taupo Club circuit "paddock". Many of the low key events never had programmes. perhaps the Historic Racing and Sports Car Club meets , usually December??

[hotrod1]

I'm starting to sort the mods to the front suspension it looks like I will be needing to redo more than I had planed, on inspection the inner top and bottom bushings are badly worn and because they are trunnion type bushings rebuilding them will not be an option due to parts availability. so I will be swapping out the A arms with Spitfire/Herald ones so I can use the later type bolt though bushings and bottom trunnions this will mean changing the mountings at the chassis. the trunnions that are in the car are a different design in that they have studs as part of the bronze bushings and they must have been installed in the bottom A arm before the arms had been reinforced by welding in box section not the best engineering solution. 71642716437164471645

[hotrod1]

The brake calipers that I purchased as rebuilt type 12s turned out to be later/larger type 14 or 16s I only worked this out when the Herald/Spitfire uprights and disk brakes that I will be using arrived. they have the smaller type 12 installed so I now know the difference I will put the larger ones away in case I need them in the future. the type 12s that came with the uprights will need to be rebuilt but the parts are available and are on order, the uprights came with the calipers and early style mounting brackets, hubs,disks dust shields, Trunnions and steering arms. the disks are old and will be replaced with new ones and I have a full bearing kit to install on the stubs, the trunnions are in good order and will be used but rebuilt with new bushings and dust seals. the disk brakes will be better for racing than the small drum brakes but will still look the part and suit the target build era being that they where used up until 1967. the steering arms installed in the car are longer than the ones that come with the disk setup and will be reused.716467164771648716497165071651

[hotrod1]

the steering arms fitted to the car are longer than the Herald ones that came with the uprights it is tempting to use the shorter arms to give a faster steering ratio but this would mean I would have to reposition the steering rack forwards and as is the steering seems both light and fast I will keep the longer arms until I have used the car on a track, the arms bolt to the uprights the same way so that may be an option for later.
the photo below shows the size difference between the type 12 calipers I will use and the larger ones, both being cast iron the smaller ones are quite a bit lighter so will be less unsprung weight, this may help on the track as the disk brake setup is heaver than the drums that I am replacing.71652716537165471655

[hotrod1]

The front suspension is going to be the most complicated part of the rebuild but replacing some of the parts with Herald/Spitfire parts is the best way to go as I will be able to correct some of the geometry and engineering along the way, I have some Herald A arms and mounting brackets coming so I should be able to sort out how it will all go together before I have the car stripped down to the tubes,
I have disassembled one side of the suspension so I can compare the new setup with the old, I have removed one front guard and its mounting tubes they had been poorly welded to the chassis tubes one mount needed a little filing of the weld to remove the other fell off when I leaned on it, new mounts will be made that will bolt to gussets that will be welded into the tubes as part of the strengthening that will be needed when truing up the chassis.
Drilling out some rivets allowed me to remove one side cover exposing the pedal assembly and master cylinders, all the body panels will be removed eventually so that the tubes can be inspected and gussets and/or extra tubes added to take the loading off some of the welds then it can all be painted before the body panels are refitted. 716647166571666716677166871669

[hotrod1]

here are some workshop/parts manual drawings showing the differences between the Standard 10/8 and Herald/Spitfire front ends. the A arms in the car have been modified to be closer to the later units in that the bottom shock/spring mounts fit like Herald ones but the angles are wrong so the through bolts are skewed in the bushings causing uneven wear to the bushings and binding during suspension travel, sorting this and changing the top spring/shock mounting should help with the handling I have some uprated Spitfire springs coming that will also help being shorter but stiffer than the ones fitted. 7167071671

[hotrod1]

sometimes the small jobs take a lot longer than you think, the type 12 calipers that came with the uprights need to be rebuilt the parts are on order so the first thing that needs to be done is to strip them down ready for when the kits arrive. an extra pair of calipers came with the parts so best to strip both pairs use the best pair and rebuild the other pair for spares. both pairs had been sitting unused for a long time by the looks of them, the green set had no rubber dust seals and had paint on the exposed parts of the pistons the pistons had seized in the bores the unpainted ones had perished rubbers some surface rust and had also seized in the bores so some how I had to remove the pistons without damage to the bores or the lip that captures the outer dust seals. I plumbed them up to the car using the hose that had been fitted to the front drum brake but to no avail as none of the pistons would move even pumping the pedal like a madman likewise no movement with compressed air. so time for brute force. I am replacing the pistons so damage to them is not a problem the internal fluid lines in the calipers will need cleaned out so I needed to split the calipers apart anyway and this helped getting at the pistons, the exposed edge of the pistons has a lip that holds the outer edge of the dust seal but this was too fragile to use to drive the pistons out with a drift but all the pistons had about 4mm of piston exposed so I was able to drill some small holes into the sides that I could catch a center punch on and by taping one side and then the other I was able to walk the pistons out of the bores, this sounds easy but I taped away like a cobbler for about 3 hours to remove the eight pistons. but in the end the bores show no damage and will be able to be rebuilt after a good clean and paint. in the end I could have purchased new calipers but wheres the fun in that.;)71672716737167471675

[Allan]

What's the PCD of the front hubs that were fitted to the car?

[hotrod1]

Hi Allan 4X3.75 standard Herald/Spitfire/Lotus I am looking for some widened or standard early Spitfire rims if any one has a few I have a set and they will look right on the car but some wider ones would give me some better options tyre wise.

[hotrod1]

I have the Triumph Herald A arms so now comes the fun part making them fit, the top arms are the same dimensions as the Standard 10 ones but have the better bolt through bushings and they mount differently the bottom ones are quite different they are shorter and much wider where they mount to the chassis/frame but they come with mounting brackets that can be shimmed to adjust the suspension. I have no tubes in the frame close enough to mount the bottom ones to but there is plenty of room to add some form of support once I work out where everything will to need to be, the top arms are very close to the mounts in the car but I also need to fit new top mounts for the shocks/springs the best way to do this will be to fit Herald turrets that normally bolt to the chassis and carry the upper parts of the suspension this will mount both the top A arms and the standard Herald/Spitfire top shock/spring mount bracket. I have found a pair of turrets so I will pick them up next week and see what I need to do to fit them to the frame tubes then I will fit some mounts for the bottom arms, I will be able to use measurements from a Herald to get the turrets in the right place. here are some photos of the A arms.

[hotrod1]

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[hotrod1]

Removal of the rear body panel has allowed me to get a good look at the rear suspension it is all in good order but will need a clean down and paint, the bushings will need replaced and the springs and shocks will need some attention. one thing I have found is that the rod ends on the trailing arms have been adjusted out too far and this has allowed the rear of the diff housing to come into contact with the front of the alloy fuel tank causing it to dent and start wearing away at the tank, if the car had raced like this for much longer it would have holed the tank so not running the car before the rebuild was the right call. 717337173471735717357173671737

[Allan]

On trademe try jcmdirectltd also called wheels christchurh for your wheels if you haven't already.

[hotrod1]

I now have a pair of turrets for hanging the front suspension this should make for a much stronger base and will also allow me to fix the bad geometry in the original setup, to make things easier I will be copying the Herald/Spitfire track measurement and this will allow me to use a standard Herald steering rack this should help with the bump steer issues that the shortened Cortina rack was causing. mounting the turrets will not be a simple task as they will need to be tied together across the car using tube or box section and new mounts will need to be created for the steering rack but it will be good to do away with the poorly constructed rack mounts that the car has.
The shorter but stronger upgraded springs have arrived and I have fitted them to the shocks using a standard Herald top mount that fits into the top of the turrets this will correct the wild spring travel angles with the movement of the suspension and still allow for some height adjustment by the use of spacers. 717827178371784717857178671787

[928]

along job ahead. a small suggestion. it might be easier to take the whole car apart and work from the inside out. then you will not have to remove some bits over and over.
just my 2c
928

[Ray Bell]

Agreed...

And I think you will find that the standard Herald track will be narrower than you want. I wouldn't be altogether sure that the Herald didn't have bump steer either.

[hotrod1]

yes 928 that is the plan in the process of removing the running gear now should be down to a bare frame in a week, I have to fit it in around work 12 hour shifts mean limited garage time during the week. Cheers

[hotrod1]

the Herald track is only 1/2 inch different so should be good Cheers

[hotrod1]

Today I removed the engine and gearbox I thought this would be an easy job but because of the limited room around the rear of the engine and gearbox a lot of stuff had to be removed before I could get at the mounts and bolts , the headers had to be removed along with the Weber carbs these where bolted on to the head with cap screws but some of them had limited space to get a key into the hex so I had to cut a key down to fit and removing the generator let me get a hand up behind the headers [only just] I could only get a few degrees of movement at a time so this was a long process.
The engine had to be parted from the gearbox to come out of the hole due to the frame tubes being in the way and then I lifted the gearbox out by hand, the gearbox mount was broken and the engine mounts had sagged with age [havent we all] so the engine will sit a little higher with the new mounts this will help with the ground clearance as the sump was only 1 inch from the floor because the front suspension had sagged and the rear top spring cushions had disintegrated as well.

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[hotrod1]

I had a chance to visit an old guy that lives here in Waimate that has a collection of Triumphs rusting away in a paddock so that I could take measurements of all the components of the front suspension still in the car this will help me in fitting the new Herald parts. I now have enough measurements across the car from different points on the turrets that I will be able to run bars from turret to turret to get them square in relation to each other and then I will be able to figure out how to mount them.
Removing the engine and gearbox let me get a good look at the frame tubes and to my surprise every thing looks in good condition from just behind the front suspension all the way to the back of the car so other than adding a few extra tubes and some gussets for strength some sanding and paint will suffice . The tubes around the front suspension and the steering rack mounts have been chopped, repaired and changed over the cars life and will get reworked during the fitting of the new suspension and the radiator and nose cone will be remounted to suit.71800

[Roger Dowding]

Good work Bruce, and your Project has a good mate in the garage - a C ..
Cheers
Roger

[hotrod1]

Hi Roger the strip down is going quite well, I'm good at pulling things to bits but putting them back together is a different story but it will all come together in the end. trying not to change too much but that front suspension was fighting its self and must have felt like riding a three legged horse in a corner. but the rest of the car seems to be pretty good so mostly just a freshen up and some small mods for safety's sake. I don't want it to look too pretty as a lot of old race cars are shinier than when they were built.
The Corvette is our weekend and trip car I rebuilt the suspension and did some small upgrades last year to keep myself occupied in the shed during Covid she will crank up to 150MPH and goes round corners like a champ but the missus says no racing in it she thinks its too fast, I'm too old and shes the one that has to wash my undies...

[hotrod1]

Today's job has been temporarily tying the front suspension turrets together as a unit to enable me to work out how to mount it into the frame, I used some measurements from a Herald that I had access to here in Waimate and I found a factory chassis drawing on line with the dimensions I needed to set them up in relation to one another. Some 10mm threaded rod inside alloy tube fitted through the chassis mounting bolt holes gave me the right width at the bottom and some alloy channel with some holes drilled through fitted to the top A arm bushing bolts set the top width. I should be able to work out the best way to mount them by fitting the whole unit into the frame and measuring them in relation to one another.

[hotrod1]

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[hotrod1]

I have decided how much of the old frame tubes around the front suspension will need to be removed to fit the new parts so time to start cutting, the bits I am removing had been repaired, modified and poorly welded at some stage in the cars life and the suspension was misaligned and not true in its range of motion, So the new setup should be an improvement and this coupled with the increase in braking response with the disk brakes should help with control in the twisty bits.
The front track will be almost the same width and have the same ride height, but with sorter and heaver springs and better top spring/shock mounts and the ability to adjust the ride height with spacers.
The turrets when fitted to the Heralds and Spitfires are only bolted to the frame at the bottom but I will brace them from the top frame rail as well to increase the stiffness and I will need to figure out how to put some form of support at the bottom of the turrets to bolt the bottom A arms to. so on with the thinking cap.718197182071821718227182371824

[hotrod1]

Time to start stripping the rest of the car down, Removal of the fuel tank and battery has allowed me to get a decent look at the rear suspension and diff, the setup is pretty standard for an early track car long parallel 4 bars with adjustable rod ends with mounts welded to the Standard 10 axle housings, coil springs and shocks and a panhard bar. all good stuff and with some new bushings and shocks and some paint it should be good to go.
I will also check the brakes and redo whats needed, the standard light 3/8 wheel studs have already been replaced with longer and thicker ones so that will save me a job as I have already ordered Land Rover Freelander M12x1.5 studs for the front hubs, this is a fairly common modification when fitting wider wheels on early Heralds and Spitfires as the stud shank size is the same and they press right into the hubs.
The small battery will be relocated to what would have been the passengers foot well if the car had 2 seats as I don't like the idea of having it so close to the fuel tank.

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[Ray Bell]

It looks like it has Herald front shocks and springs on the rear...

[hotrod1]

Could be I will have them out today so we will see. Cheers

[hotrod1]

The first job for today is to remove the rear suspension components and the diff, the 4 bars are in good condition straight and true the rod ends are a little tight but I will grease them up and see if any will need to be replaced, the shocks are in poor condition so they will need to be replaced I should be able to adapt Triumph Herald front shocks and bushings to keep things simple. the springs will need a good sand and a coat of paint, the panhard bar is also in good condition so will be reused once painted.

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[hotrod1]

The wiring has all been removed and will get redone and the gauges will be replaced with a matching set of Smiths style black face ones just a rev counter and Amp, Water temp, and Oil pressure gauges.
Removal of the seat was a simple task as it was only held in with one self tapping screw, its hard to believe you could once get away with that, A new seat will be fitted with some proper adjustable mounts so I will need to see what the new requirements are for this and if I will need to modify the frame to suit.

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[hotrod1]

On with the fun, Removal of all the inner alloy panels is the next thing on the list, drilling out the rivets is harder than you would think as some drill out fine and some rivets just start spinning so with a mix of drilling, chiseling and sanding the heads off the panels are all out of the car.
This has revealed just how elaborate the frame is with a lot of triangulation of the tubes, some one has put a lot of thought into this. but I will add a few tubes and gussets where needed.
When compared to an early Lotus or Mallock chassis frame it appears to be quite different and although it looks like a lot of steel tube the use of 3/4 inch thin wall has made it reasonably strong and light.

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Some may think I am going into too much detail on this thread but a lot of people don't get the chance to see the insides and dirty bits of these old Specials and if any part of this rebuild story is of any help to some one looking to rescue an old race car then that is enough for me.
I am not a mechanic or an engineer and I am equipped only with simple tools in a small cluttered home garage but luckily aided with the help of a few friends,
So I will make a few mistakes along the way and march to my own drum on a few occasions but there is an old saying '' If it don't get you dirty its not yours'' and in the end the journey can be as much fun as the destination.

[Allan]

Some of us, me for one, are enjoying reading about your efforts. The one thing I did notice was the angle of the panhard rod but i wonder if that is because the diff is at full droop.

[hotrod1]

Thanks for that Allan yes you are correct the angle changed due to the diff not being supported , the panhard angle when the car was sitting on its wheels still looked a little steep but due to its length and the fact that the suspension movement is minimal I don't think it is having an adverse effect on handling.
I did jump up and down on the rear of the car before I started stripping it down and the frame did not move unduly in relation to the wheels. [ high tec chassis tuning for dummies Ha Ha]

[hotrod1]

A good day in the shed today out with the drill and chisel extracting rivets,rivets and more rivets but at last the remaining body panels are off the car. the bottoms of the large panels had been folded under and wrapped around the bottom frame rails and have sustained a lot of damage over the years.
My plan has always been to keep as many of the outer panels as possible, I could easily reskin the whole car as the panels have simple curves but I like the patina that the car has and I do not want the car to look like it was built yesterday, Too many old race cars have been restored to better than new condition and that's fine if you want an art piece or investment. In saying that I should point out that I have the original 1950s build boot lid of the Lycoming Special hanging on the wall of my dining room but that car is an exception as the car is still racing and in the thick of it at most meetings.
So I will try to keep all the panels above the second rail from the bottom this will be a good compromise and will make things easier for me as all the inner floor panels had been poorly fitted on the inside of the frame and this exposed the bottom tubes to the elements and road debris so I will fit an alloy belly pan under the frame and have it meet the top panels at the second rail. This would have been common at the time the car was built on factory or series built race cars. Being able to see the frame rails inside the car will give it a period look as well.

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[Roger Dowding]

Great work B J B .. and again the " C " is in the background.

When taken apart the body panels look very simple.

Cheers
Roger

[bry3500]

thanks for your comment Oldfart I have been looking for a copy of that book for some time but so far I have had no luck so if anyone has a copy I could purchase please let me know.
I have been taking measurements of everything so that I have a base point before I start to change anything. because the standard 10 suspension as fitted is very close to the early Herald/Spitfire layout there is a lot of information available on setting up and using this arrangement for both on the street and in many forms of racing ie early Lotus 7s and the like. the A arms have different bushings and chassis attachment points but the uprights and stubs are able to be swapped so changing to disk brakes is a simple task and I will be using Spitfire shocks and shorter upgraded springs with a different top mounting closer to the Spitfire design. this will in turn allow for some adjustment if needed and using off the shelf parts keeps the costs down and the parts are readily available. Keeping the present layout would have been nice from a historical point of view but running out of brakes and a lack of control would take the gloss off racing pretty quick. all parts removed will be kept so if anyone in the future wishes it reinstalled it can be although I think this unlikely.

https://www.automotobookshop.com.au/high-speed-low-cost-paperback-second-edition/ loving this thread btw

[bry3500]

and a signed copy https://biblio.com.au/book/high-speed-low-cost-story-140/d/1409609751

[Roger Dowding]

Hi Roger the strip down is going quite well, I'm good at pulling things to bits but putting them back together is a different story but it will all come together in the end. trying not to change too much but that front suspension was fighting its self and must have felt like riding a three legged horse in a corner. but the rest of the car seems to be pretty good so mostly just a freshen up and some small mods for safety's sake. I don't want it to look too pretty as a lot of old race cars are shinier than when they were built.
The Corvette is our weekend and trip car I rebuilt the suspension and did some small upgrades last year to keep myself occupied in the shed during Covid she will crank up to 150MPH and goes round corners like a champ but the missus says no racing in it she thinks its too fast, I'm too old and shes the one that has to wash my undies...

My Great Nephew has this one ...

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[hotrod1]

Hi Roger they are very simple and a bit tatty but too good to replace, It dawned on me when I looked at the photos I posted how much it looks like an unmade Airfix model kit, its got me worried as I could never do one well I would just end up with bits missing and my fingers stuck together.

[hotrod1]

Thanks for that Bry but book purchase's are on the back burner all my spare cash is going into parts for the car as I am a man of limited means and expensive tastes.

[hotrod1]

With the frame naked I have had a chance to run a tape over it to check for squareness and it is mostly good except the front right hand corner was kicked up a little but before I dropped it down onto the floor I thought I would straighten a bent cross tube second from the front at the top, it looks like because there are no real jacking points under the car someone has used a lifter hooked to the middle of the tube to lift the car for some reason. A few taps with a jewelers tool [12 pound ] and it was straight again and that also fixed the kick up at the front corner easy as that. I will be adding some tubes into the front to help hang the new suspension parts so that should add some much needed strength into that area.

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[Ray Bell]

I've never seen a Clubman-style frame with so many tubes and so little triangulation...

Well, maybe I've seen worse on the triangulation front.

[GregT]

I tend to agree. The frame looks like it wasn't drawn, it just happened. Two diagonals in a bay where one thoughtfully placed would do.
Not denigrating the effort for a minute. It's very typical of it's period.
One question - what's the welding ? TIG or gas ?

[ERC]

How long has TIG been around?

I love taking things apart. Zero engineering expertise putting things back with modifications.

[hotrod1]

Hi Ray I Know what you mean but surprisingly strong from the firewall back, I have had no experience with tube frames mainly hot rod ladder frame stuff so I am doing some research, I am lucky that I have an extensive library of older motor racing history and racing and sports car chassis design and development books from the 50s and 60s so I am slowly getting my head around the issues I am facing and have started to plan some small improvements. But I am always open to suggestions I know a lot of people on this site have many years of experience doing this stuff so any constructive comments are welcome.

[hotrod1]

Hi GregT yes there are a few too many tubes in places buy still surprisingly light I can lift it up at either end with one hand with little effort and it has lasted this long without any major twisting or sagging so it can't be all bad. the welding looks to be mainly gas but with some TIG as well for the repairs. I am not a confident welder so I will do all the donkey work and then a friend who is a tradesman welder will do the hot stuff.

[hotrod1]

Hi ERC that sums me up too but you get points for giving it a go and I am learning all the time, I am running out of sticking plasters and hand wash. HAHA

[GregT]

Hi GregT yes there are a few too many tubes in places buy still surprisingly light I can lift it up at either end with one hand with little effort and it has lasted this long without any major twisting or sagging so it can't be all bad. the welding looks to be mainly gas but with some TIG as well for the repairs. I am not a confident welder so I will do all the donkey work and then a friend who is a tradesman welder will do the hot stuff.

Well, that does help to date it a little. TIG was available in ChCh from the 50's - there were a couple of specialist welders with the gear. If it had been MIG welded IMO that would have dated it as reasonably late work.
Gas of course has been around for years - but fusion welded gas is actually quite rare I'm told, most fabricators preferring bronze welding or refining it by using nickel bronze.
My personal preference based on 30 plus years of building roadrace motorcycle frames is bronze welding as I find distortion to be much less.
Carry on.

[hotrod1]

Today I turned the frame upside down to deal with the last of the rivets drilling them out or punching them thru this has left a lot of holes that will be plugged with weld and dressed later before painting.
The biggest surprise of the day is that the tubes that make up the floor of the frame have only been welded from the top with all the bottoms of the joints left unwelded, I guess they just forgot to flip it over to finish them when the frame was first built, none of the joints have fatigued or broken over the years and there is very little flex, the photos show the gaps, it will all be welded up when the rest of the frame is done. I think I might be making it sound like the frame is poorly built but I think for a home built of that era it is suprisingly strong and has lasted well. everything from the firewall back will stay the same except for adding a few tubes to support the new belly pan under the drivers feet.

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[hotrod1]

Not having a chassis jig to measure and square up the frame the best I can do is get it on a flat surface and have at it with string lines, rulers and tape measure, I found the flattest part of my garage floor and laid down a thick sheet of MDF marked with a center line. I have lined up and fixed the rear bulkhead of the frame to the back edge of the sheet with the middle of the crossmember on the center line the frame sits flat on the MDF sheet all the bottom cross members are parallel and the side frame rails at the firewall are only 5mm off center so that is good enough for me, But the rails forward of the firewall are cranked over to the right quite a bit as just over 1 meter forward of the firewall the side rails are 30mm off center, This does not seem to be as a result of accident damage as the front top crossmember is still parallel to the firewall and the floor, it looks more like the original builder got the measurements a little wrong.
This explains why the front suspension had a lot of shims on one side and the centers of the front and rear hubs on each side of the car were 15mm different.
This will all be addressed when I redo the way the tubes run at the front to add in some more triangulation,strength and fit the new suspension components.

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[928]

hi,
just remember the old henry ford expression "simplicate and add lightness". best way of making any car faster.

[hotrod1]

Good advice 928 I think the car will be a little lighter when I am finished even though I am having to add some tubes around the front end as some of the bits I have cut out that I thought was tube was solid bar and the steering rack mounts were flat steel bar the new rack will mount to the suspension towers to save using brackets.

[928]

I bought a pair of cheap of bathroom scales fron the big red shed so i could keep track of weight.

[hotrod1]

I'm doing the same

[hotrod1]

so now I have the frame mounted to a sheet of MDF I can start to get some of the poorly placed tubes forward of the firewall removed and to make sure I don't place any of the new tubes in the wrong position I have placed the engine back in with new engine mounts the aim is to get the bottom of the sump as low as I can but without it being any lower than the bottom of the frame.
A lot of the tubes around the bottom of the engine have been removed as they did not add much strength and the frame in front of the suspension that hung the radiator and nose cone has also been removed. they will be replaced with a more simple but stronger arrangement that should be a little lighter and tidier.

71908719097191071911

[hotrod1]

I have marked the MDF sheet with a center line and added lines across the sheet spaced at 100mm and by using these as a guide and measuring from the edges of the sheet I can make sure the frame is square using rulers and a large square, It may be a little crude but is effective enough for the job in hand, I am lucky that the bottom of the frame is flat so I don't have to deal with uneven heights while taking measurements.
To keep the frame steady I have screwed blocks of wood onto the MDF hard against the tubes this holds it in place quite well and they can be adjusted if need be latter, one of the bottom crossmember's has some rust inside the tube so that will need to be replaced before I can start adding in the new tubes.

7191271913719147191571916

[hotrod1]

the new Triumph Herald steering rack will mount to a flat bracket that will hang between and brace the suspension turrets using the Herald rubber bushings and U bolts this will mean I will not have to add separate mounts and save weight.

71918 71917

[hotrod1]

Just a light day in the shed today finished my last 12 hour night shift for the week at 6 this morning a few hours sleep and in the shed at lunch time, the plan is to refurbish some of the small front end parts the calipers will have to wait as after waiting 3 weeks for the new caliper pistons the wrong parts arrived the part number on the box was correct but the pistons are the later type 14 ones, so I am up for another long wait until the correct ones get here.
One of the many small upgrades for safety is to replace the 3/8 wheel studs with Land Rover Freelander M12x1.5 studs, I had a few Heralds in my teen years and can remember tightening the wheel studs and braking 2 off the small studs are barely strong enough for a light car like a Herald so it is common to do this mod when upgrading suspension or hotting up a Herald or Spitfire for track work, the freelander studs have the same shank size as the stock ones but are thicker and longer so they are much better suited when fitting wider wheels or mags.
The photos show the size difference between the two and pushing out the old studs and pressing in the new is a simple task with my 12 ton press, The fatter studs still fit the standard wheels and shown is the hub fitted to a Spitfire wheel center.

[hotrod1]

719497195071951719527195371954

[hotrod1]

Another job on the list for today is to fit the new bearing races into the front hubs so after a good cleaning I used the old bearing races as drivers to press in the new ones then these and the cleaned up stubs received a first coat of paint they will get another coat tomorrow and the I will leave them for a few days for the paint to harden.
I will be using White Knight Rust Guard epoxy enamel on most of the car as I have had good results with it in the past, it takes a few days to harden but is very long lasting and if applied in 2 thin coats with a brush it looks as good as a spray job. Basic gloss black is the mainstay for the suspension and mechanical bits but the chassis frame and some parts will be done in Cottage Green this is a very 60s color and will add a nice contrast to the panels, I have purchased brush paint and spray cans of both colors and will decide what gets what as I go.

71955719567195771958

[hotrod1]

Another light day in the shed today I put the diff up on some axle stands it is from a Standard 10 made some time in the 1950s the same diff was used in the early Lotus 7s, the first series 1 lotus 7s used a BMC live axle from the Nash Metropolitan until they sourced a supply from Standard Triumph for the series 2 they cost less at the time and were lighter and came with a choice of ratios [4.1:1 and 4.55:1] the down side was that they had smaller 7 inch brakes but by using the Triumph 7 inch front brakes the wheel stud pattern was the same both front and back for the first time.
I removed the brake drums and the brake shoes are near new and the adjusters are not seized and the square screw heads are not rounded off so it looks like they have done little work since a rebuild, the rubber cups on the slave cylinders are aged so to match the new front disk brakes they will be replaced with 11/16 cylinders as used on the later Spitfires, Vitesse and GT6s the drums are quite worn so I will replace them with a pair of new ones as the cost is not much more than having them milled. the arms for the hand brakes are still there but a hand brake lever is not fitted on the car, I am not sure if I will fit one although the weight of adding one would be minimal and it would be handy when working on and loading the car on the trailer I am open to suggestions on this.
The diff seems free and there is not much lash on the pinion so a coat of paint and we are good to go.
The gearbox also got a clean down and a repaint today and the cottage green color I am using for the frame and a few other parts such as the engine and driveshaft is very 60s so the car should not look too modern.

7197171972719737197471975

[hotrod1]

I have decided how the front suspension will be mounted and where the new frame tubes will run but I am waiting on the steel to arrive so it is a good time to get a few of the smaller jobs [of which there are many] done and make some decisions on what other mods will be needed to make the car safer to drive,
The brake, clutch and throttle pedals had been cobbled together and poorly engineered the pedal pivot was a bolt without any way to add grease and the pedals had been cut and welded, the mounts to the frame had broken away at the joint so I have removed the lot and ordered a set of after market Wilwood pedals with a brake balance bar and a full set of new Girling master cylinders. this is more than I was planing to do but will be a lot safer in the long run.
Here is something I need a little input on from any racers or builders out there the car never had a sway bar fitted but the herald suspension A arms I am fitting have mounts for a sway bar so the question is will one be needed and should I fit one, there will be limited suspension movement so I am not too worried about body roll but if I need one now is the time to fit it. feel free to let me know your thoughts on this.

[928]

hi,
if you have a dedicated race car no need for a handbrake .if it is not there it cannot give problems and less weight.
roll bars (sway bars) I would put mounts on the chassis but leave fitting one untill you drive the car and establish if it needs one.
just my 2c

[GregT]

The need for a handbrake depends on what sort of events you're going to do. They can be very useful at a hillclimb start for example.

Yeah, wait till you drive it before fitting a roll bar.

[928]

the ability to heel and toe solves the hill climb start problem with no extra bits.

[hotrod1]

Thanks for that guys yes I think I will fit mounts for the sway bar in case I decide I want one later, I do have one to use for the setup so it should be easy to fit.

[hotrod1]

Back to the shed still waiting for steel tube so its a good chance to get some of the small jobs done on today's list is assembling the brakes and hubs onto the stubs and uprights, I had already fitted the new bearing races into the hubs before painting so I lubed the Trunnion's and fitted the caliper mounting brackets, dust shields and steering arms to the uprights then bolted them together, then the grease seals were fitted to the base of the stubs, next the new brake rotors got bolted to the hubs and I packed the new bearings with grease, then I could fit the hubs on to the stubs, tightened up the castle nut and fitted the split pins. the caliper pistons have not arrived yet so I will have to rebuild and fit them later, the new upper ball joints are loosely fitted to the stubs to keep every thing together but I will not fit the trunnion rebuild kit until I can fit them to the A arms as they are easily damaged. so now they will all go on a shelf until needed.

720187201972020720217202272023

[ERC]

Freelander studs in a Triumph Spitfire/Herald/Vitesse suspended car also allow the fitting of I think, MGF wheels. Obviously not valid for an historic car!

I stripped the splines on one of mine just before a race meeting at Hampton Downs. Thankfully, Andy Culpin's son at RaceFX managed to do a quick fix with a dob of weld.

[hotrod1]

Some times small jobs can consume more time than you would think, today I thought I would get the front suspension A arms and turrets and rear 4 bars cleaned up and ready for paint. the A arms had lost whatever paint that they had from the factory and had a good coating of surface rust so out with the wire brush and sand paper and an hour later they were fit to paint, the front suspension turrets and 4 bars had a good coating of paint, the 4 bars sanded up without too much trouble but the turrets seemed to take forever to get back to bare metal too many angles and 50 year old paint I guess. a good coat of black gloss paint and they all look as good as new so they can hang up on wire hooks until the paint hardens then they can be put on a shelf until the time comes to reassemble the car.

720517205272053720547205572056


The global shipping situation at the moment means that some of the parts I have on order are going to be a while coming so I will need to do the jobs I can and not worry to much about my expected time line. All good things come to those that wait or so the saying go's.

[hotrod1]

The new brake and clutch pedals and master cylinders have arrived these are one of the few truly modern changes I will be doing but the old setup was poorly made and not well mounted, the Wilwood components will be a lot safer and the brakes have a balance bar to adjust the bias between the front and rear brakes if needed.

722097221072211

[hotrod1]

Hi Rascal I have no idea who built the car I purchased it from the North Island but it could have been built anywhere. none of the old time racers here in Waimate recognized the car and the name Alister Rayner has not been mentioned.
Fare comment on the brakes
The original pedal setup was not usable as it was poorly engineered and had broken loose from the frame due to the poor welding and rust, the peddles had been cut and welded at odd angles and would have been unsafe to use. I will check to see if the new setup meets the criteria and if not I will build something suitable but it will be along the same lines of this new stuff as safety come first.
If in the end I cannot meet the criteria for historic racing then track days and sprints ect will be fine by me.

[hotrod1]

Fitting the front suspension towers is a work in progress, the towers bolt to the chassis rails at the bottom in the Heralds and Spitfires and I have been able to get a set of partial front chassis rails to use to get the correct measurements to build some brackets to mount to the tube frame and to fit to the bottom tower mountings. I don't want to add any more weight than needed and it all needs to be strong and stable. the original setup was poorly engineered and the A arms were moving in all sorts of ways none of them correct so the new stuff should be a big improvement even though the parts date from 1959. I need to have the tube frame mostly sorted in the next few weeks so I can get it all welded up then I can paint it all and start putting it all back together.

722527225372254722557225672257

[Oldfart]

If it really isn't allowed to use the brake components, the casting in the Wilwood is almost a direct copy of the Ford 100E one used by many constructors in period. I have one in my Morgan, most Terrapin used them as did Brabham amongst others.

[hotrod1]

Hi Oldfart I had a look at the 100E one and that could be a good option if I am unable to use the Wilwood ones. thanks for your input. I learn a little every day and I still don't know what I don't know.

[hotrod1]

After a few weeks of tooling round in the Corvette and catching up with the family and having very little time to spend in the shed I have had a few days to get stuck back into the car, I have sorted out how the new bottom brackets will mount to the tube frame and now I will just have to work out how to mount the top of the turrets to the top tubes of the frame. so time for a trial fit using pipe clamps and welding magnets to keep every thing together, I cannot fit some of the new tubes until the tube bender I have ordered arrives from offshore, I had planed to have everything ready for welding by now but shipping delays and Covid related hold ups have slowed things down a bit but I should be able to have the car back together for summer. there are plenty of small jobs to do so I have plenty of things to keep me busy over the winter.
The new suspension looks a bit tidier than the old parts even though the new A arms, turrets, uprights and stubs date from 1959 and the type 12 disk brakes are from 1962 but more importantly it should all work together and give a better ride, more control and better braking than the poorly matched setup it has replaced.
The shiny alloy channels in the photos are only there to keep everything straight and true and will be removed when it is all welded together.

723277232872329723307233172332

[hotrod1]

The work has slowed down a bit with the rebuild but I am still getting some jobs done. between being flat out at work causing me to rest up longer after my 12 hour shifts and the cold temps in my unheated garage my stints working on the car seam to be getting shorter and shorter. but today I made a temporary mount for the steering rack from some scrap alloy, it mounts to the front of the suspension towers and doubles up as a brace between the towers, I am using stock Herald rack mounts/clamps and once I have the rack height correct in relation to the A arms and the steering shaft universal lined up to pass through the hole in the tower I will remake it in steel.

[hotrod1]

725587255972560

[hotrod1]

The thin fiberglass seat that was fitted to the car was mounted in with a self taping screw so something more substantial is called for from a safety point of view, a used alloy seat from a speedway car will fit the bill with a few modifications and will be able to be mounted mounted to the floor/frame with some race car mounting brackets. the wings at chest height will need to be trimmed back a bit and the headrest will need to be lowered and the padded cover is a little tatty so it will need a tidy up and some more padding but it fits in the rather narrow cockpit [42CM] and my butt just fits into the seat with my race suit on.

[hotrod1]

72561725627256372564

[Ray Bell]

Another three months on...

How's progress now?

[hotrod1]

Hi Ray progress has been slow on the race car as I purchased a vintage special for the missus and my daughter to use on sunny days and I need to get it up to scratch and safe for them to use this summer. I should be back into the race car in the next few weeks.

[hotrod1]

7333373334

[Ray Bell]

That's understandable...

As long as the Wolseley badge lights up.

What's the makeup of the beast? Wolseley 4/44-based by the looks of things.

[hotrod1]

Triumph Herald with a hand built alloy body done in the 80s the only Wolseley parts are the grill and badges. I purchased it in CHCH 3 months ago and a few weeks later a guy joined my car club here in Waimate and it turned out he was the guy who built it, I guess its a small world. really only got it for parts but when the missus and daughter saw me drive it out of the shed on on to the trailer they fell in love with it. so making it safe for them to drive. but it has been really well done so mainly a little resto and a few new bits.

[Ray Bell]

I reckon that could be as much fun as the Clubman-type car...

Road use and all. Maybe whack a larger engine into it for even more fun? Period, of course, something with an alloy head around 1600cc in size. Sunbeam Alpine motor and box would do it.

[hotrod1]

That is tempting but this ones for the girls so 1200cc will be fine and safe for them we will keep it at our CHCH place so it will mostly be on the flat, no roof so sunny days only, I am in the VCC so we have plenty of runs and outings to go to.
If I looked at racing it I would need to upgrade the brakes, bigger engine, work the suspension, fit a roll bar, wider rims and tyres, harnesses, reengineer the rear suspension [I have rolled one hot Herald already back in the day] it would never end and I have the clubman car for track work and sprints, a Corvette for Drags and an unfinished 36 Ford hot rod for cruising and enough parts to build a Formula junior type car if I can find enough room to start building it when the clubman is done. so best the girls have fun with this one.

[Roger Dowding]

Not a Herald as one would know it - and yes we know that the original " T - Car " was based on a Herald chassis but what hotrod1 has is much more interesting..

" Year: 1965
Make: TRIUMPH
Model: HERALD
Colour: WHITE
Body Style: Saloon
Plate: FB3941
Engine No: GD54605HE
Chassis: 3G831317DL
Vehicle Type: Passenger Car/Van
Seats: 5
CC rating: 1,147cc
Fuel Type: Petrol
Assembly Type: Unknown
Country of Origin: Not known
Industry Class: PRIVATE "
" FB3941
Plate Type: Standard
Origin: NZ New
Used as: Private Passenger vehicle
Cause of Latest Registration: New
NZ First Registration: 01-Nov-1965 "

Good luck with this project too !!.
The Carjam page has a front on photo of the car - close up .. and small !! Your photo !!!

73347

[Ray Bell]

I was thinking a Datsun 1200 engine would go in there easily and be a lot less trouble than the Herald unit...

Though it's not a 998cc version. But all the same, the Datsun would be easy and lighter and so on.

[GregT]

In NZ, finding a Datsun 1200 engine is now nearly impossible, They and a couple of other common small Jap engines went to SE Asia for forklift engines. By the container load.

[hotrod1]

Hi Roger yes an interesting little car I have been working on it in my driveway on sunny days and have had guys stopping going past to ask what it is. everyone loves it and would like to take it home. I have been calling it a kit car but it is more a one off special and it handles like a proper sports car. it was cheap to buy and I have spent about the same amount on parts to bring it up to a usable standard so the girls can have some fun.

[hotrod1]

The Wolseley Special is done got a Rego and WOF today so just some fine tuning as things pop up. its been a fun project and it go's pretty well for 1147cc and it handles like a sports car due to it being so light I guess . I will have it out of the shed here in Waimate by xmas and up to my Chch place for the missus to use so I can get back onto the race car. its been a while since I could work on it so I will not have it ready to race this summer but next summer will be my aim now. but happy wife happy life.

[hotrod1]

sorting out the bugs738517385273853

[hotrod1]

Still not working on the race car had a few issues with the wee car the carb was flooding and I put this down to the electric fuel pump so changed it out for a new stock crank driven pump still the same issue and while waiting for a needle and seat for the single Solex carb I swapped what was left of my Herald $50 parts car for a set of twin Stromberg carbs and manifolds for the 1150cc engine so after a rebuild on the carbs I fitted them and due to the larger size the bonnet would not close without fouling on them, So I needed a few mods the intake was shortened by removing 30mm from the runners this got the carbs closer to the engine and only a small mod was needed to the bonnet to fit. just a few more small jobs and the car will be ready to hand over to the missus and I can resume work on the race car. No rest for the wicked.74072

[Oldfart]

It might be worth you acquiring new ethanol resistant diaphragms etc for the Strombergs, I have spoken with the distributor here in the UK, he advises it.

[hotrod1]

740867408774088

[hotrod1]

I have done very little to the race car lately due to work and family commitments and the fact that I have run out of room in my shed but I have managed to get most of the parts that I need for the rebuild and a set of used Weller Formula Ford wheel rims to replace the widened triumph rims that where fitted to the car these had been widened by using steel bands like they did back in the day they are in good condition but I would not trust them at speed. 7461174612

[Oldfart]

For some useless information, Les Weller was making Formula ford wheels again in the last few years, BC (before Covid), some of those had my hands involved in the manufacture. He is a very interesting gent with mountains of knowledge in the field, sadly the partnership fell apart (not me) and the company involved never really picked up the ball again. Many hundreds of FF wheels were made.
I was making the "hoops" that became rims. Les was pressing the centres.

[hotrod1]

Great to know more have been made seems to be a demand for them. mine are an older set but should be good with some paint and tyres .

[hotrod1]

After about a year of not working on the Special due to lack of room and too many projects I have passed on a project and built a new shed to house the overflow of parts, this has allowed me to make some room to set the race car out with plenty of space around it to work so back into it and hope to have some progress to report soon.76412

[Roger Dowding]

Looking forward to seeing more

76417

Cheers

Roger,

PS the " Flat to the Boards " gets a lot of use - a constant reference.

76422

[hotrod1]

Hi Rodger yes looking forward to getting back into it, having trouble with my new phone taking photos and downloading them but will post some more when my daughter comes to visit next week (tec support) I think I have all the parts to finish the car now but working full time so time is the issue.

[hotrod1]

some more pics of progress so far.764277642876429764307643176432

[hotrod1]

Another few small jobs done this week I have rebuilt the remote gearchange for the Cortina gearbox a new ball joint for the bottom of the gearshift and a new rod and clevis for the shifter on the top of the box. one thing I was not expecting is that it only selects the 4 forward gears I am not sure if this is standard on a race car although reverse gear is not needed on the track it would make sense to be able to select it for getting it off the trailer or helping with an "off" on the track. the reason for not being able to shift into reverse is that the shift leaver on top of the box needs to be lifted to negate the reverse lockout this cannot be done with the remote. I have another gearbox for spares that will change into reverse without lifting as it has had the bottom of the shift leaver inside the box modified so that it can slide though the 3 slots in the internal shifter rails with out lifting it into the shallower slot in the reverse selector rod. so this mod will be done and I will fit a reverse lockout with a leaver on the dash.
When I got the car the head of the engine was touching the firewall I thought this was the buggered engine mounts but on fitting the new mounts this was still happening so I have made up 10mm spacers to fit to the mounts to move the engine forward.765167651776518