Winter Plan

Since it's too cold to work in the garage during the winter time, I've decided to work on the pieces that can be restored in the basement - mainly, the front wheel assembly. I purchased a bunch of parts for the front and rear wheel assemblies from Victoria British and the plan is to have the units refinished and reassembled by spring.

After a considerable amount of effort, I have removed all the parts on the lower front arm and readied it to be painted. Removing the bolts from the fulcrom brackets proved to be a difficult task. I tried various methods to remove two bolts that had rusted on to the bracket. Heating and cooling the bolt was a bad idea as the rubber bushing caught fire and caused a toxic smell. I dremel-ed off the end of the bolt and tried pounding the bolt out, but to no avail. In the end, I hacksawed the bolt off and punched out the remaining bolt pieces.

As for removing the rubber bushings, I watched a few youtube videos to figure out what to do. Some people burned the bushing out, but since I'm working in the basement, the awful smell would have permeated throughout the house. There were also a few people with a custom bushing jig that screwed the bolt out. In the end, I made my own version of the jig using scrap 2x4's and clamp. I drilled a 1-1/4" hole through a scrap piece of 2x4 and aligned the hole on one end of the bushing with another piece of 2x4 behind it. I put the clamp over the 2x4 and on the other end of the bushing. Using the clamp screw, I slowly screwed out the bushing by pushing it into the hole on the first 2x4.

Below is a picture of the bushing jig setup and lower arms with the bushings removed.

After receiving order from Victoria British, I was about to assemble the shock absorber and strut unit, but noticed the paint job on the new shocks were already chipping off. I ended up sanding the chipped parts smooth and patching the spots with chassis paint. Hopefully the chassis paint holds up, otherwise I may look into powder coating.


What I ended up ordering from Victoria British... (the total cost is almost equal to what I paid for the car)

Part # Description Qty Price Total Status
5-445 SHOCK ABSORBER KIT-F/R-W/BUSH 1 79.95 79.95 In Stock
5-9931 RADIUS ARM POLY BUSHING SET 1 19.95 19.95 In Stock
5-303 MAJOR FRONT SUSPENSION KIT 1 109.95 109.95 Back Ordered
12-944 SPRING PLATE 2 REQ 2 16.95 33.90 Back Ordered
5-925 WHEEL BEARING KIT FRONT 2 REQ 2 24.95 49.90 In Stock
5-5084 LOWERED SPRNG SET-6.875" 330LB 1 59.95 59.95 In Stock
5-926 WHEEL BEARING KIT REAR 2 REQ 2 29.95 59.90 In Stock
FBK310 FRONT BRAKE KIT 1 REQ 1 129.95 129.95 In Stock
6-521 BRAKE SHOE SET 1 22.95 22.95 In Stock
7-760 BRAKE SHOE HOLD DOWN KIT 12 PC 1 12.95 12.95 In Stock
7-875 BRAKE ADJUSTER ASSEMBLY 2 REQ 2 19.95 39.90 In Stock
7-876 BRAKE SPRING CYLINDER END 2REQ 2 4.95 9.90 In Stock
7-880 BRAKE SPRING ADJUSTER END 2REQ 2 4.95 9.90 In Stock
7-945 WHEEL CYLINDER REAR 3/4" 2 REQ 2 34.95 69.90 In Stock
7-861 BRAKE HOSE-FT/REAR A/R 2 16.95 33.90 In Stock

Testing Eastwood Products

Executive decision...I've decided to make this restoration more manageable and instead of removing everything to the bare chassis and taking it somewhere to get it sandblasted and powdercoated, I would do the chassis restoration myself using products found online. Besides the cost, the logistics of getting the chassis powdercoated seemed more consuming than I was willing to commit to this car. Using products found online, I could incrementally work on sections of the chassis and only remove the necessary car parts for the area I'm working on (plus, the garage is getting quite full and I'm worried I won't remember what parts go where).

So, my revised goal for this car: 1) get it up and running 2) make it look decent and 3) not worry about making it a show-piece car.

The two chassis paint product manufacturers I've found for rusty metal were POR-15 and Eastwood. Reviews for the two products are mixed but for me the youtube video from Eastwood showing the results was the deciding factor.

I purchased the satin finish rust chassis paint set which includes the rust converter, rust encapsulator primer and chassis paint for $100 off Eastwood's webiste. Before using this on the chassis, I decided to try it out on the gas tank, which could use a new paint job (below is a picture of the tank, partially sanded).

First, I sanded and wirebrushed the gas tank to bear metal and surface rust. Then prepped the surface clean with denatured alcohol and applied the rust converter to one side of the tank. I went to do the same to the other side however realized afterwards that I had accidentally applied the rust encapsulator thinking it was therust converter. Annoyed at myself, I decided to wirebrush the encapsulator paint off when it dried, but noticed it was adhering to the metal really well.

As I was wiping away the small amount of paint dust that had accumulated, I accidentally brushed the converter side of the tank and the converter paint dissolved to dust and was coming off! The Eastwood website had mentioned that they do not recommend using the converter on good metal and now I understand why. The converter only adhered to the parts of the tank that had surface rust, but everywhere else the converter paint brushed off.

I decided to leave the the accidentally-applied encapsulator paint on and use 220 sandpaper to remove excess converter paint and apply encapsulator paint. The satin paint finish went on smoothly without issue (thank goodness)and I'm quite satisfied with the end result. In comparison, a new tank from Victoria British would have cost me $199.95.

Engine Compression Testing

This summer has been busy with traveling and so I have not been able to make the most of the weather to work on the Triumph as I would like. It has been months since I really worked on the car, but I finally got around to doing an engine compression test on the car this past weekend.

Engine compression testing was something that I had put off because I thought it was going to be complicated, but it turns out it isn't so bad. First, I labeled the location and corresponding cables to make sure I put them back correctly. I unplugged the cables going into the spark plugs and used a special socket (it has a rubber attachment to pull the spark plug out) to remove all 4 spark plugs.

One by one, I hooked up the engine compression reader to each socket. With the help from Chris, he connected jumper cables to a car battery as I read the compression value - no need for a remote starter switch. The only minor problem was that the original Triumph's car battery was dead, so we moved my daily-use car close to the garage and left it idling while we ran the test on all 4 sockets.

The trickiest part of the whole process to get access to the two central spark plugs. The distributor was in the way, so we temporarily took the distributor out of its mount. Friction made it a bit stubborn to remove, but the most difficult part was putting the distributor back in. After referring to the Haynes manual, we had to make sure the first cylinder was in its end of compression phase (took a flashlight shining into the socket and observing the pistons while Chris hand turned the crankshaft) before aligning the distributor back in.

Engine compression readings after one or two turns of the engine.
1. 70 PSI
2. 70 PSI
3. 52 PSI
4. 70 PSI

Cylinder 3 had some issues with its compression. Whereas the other 3 cylinders had no problems hitting 70 PSI immediately, cylinder 3 slowly crept up in compression pressure. Not a good sign I'm assuming.

Suspension is Off!

With the last suspension bolt MAPP gas torched, quickly cooled, and brute forced off, the passenger rear suspension is off, finishing the removal of the rear suspension. Throughout the process, I tried to keep suspension units as whole as possible while removing so that it would be easier to reassemble in the end. The plan is to restore individual units in smaller projects and reassemble units in the same manner as it was removed.

The handbrake line was also removed with a bit of thinking involved to get the straight clamped ends through the curved bend. The trick was to add slack to the wiring through the bend. This way the straight clamp had enough slack to go completely through one end of the bend and then pass through the second end of the bend only after completely passing the first bend.

Looking at the chassis now, I'm not sure how much metalwork needs to be done or whether I can just get away with sandblasting and painting/powdercoating. The area around the engine is in pretty good shape still bearing the original red paint, but from the middle to the rear of the car, the chassis has a good amount of surface rust and some flaking metal.

Next up: engine compression testing.

Article About a 1969 Spitfire

Today, the San Francisco Chronicle posted an article by an owner of a 1969 Triumph.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/09/MTGL1DBE3U.DTL

Although it was a short article, it was interesting to read about his restoration, driving, and overall experience of owning a Triumph Spitfire. One good part the author notes, "The Triumph is a perfect car for me because it gets great gas mileage - over 41 miles a gallon - and is easy to park because it is so tiny and has a very sharp turning radius." He also notes a downside, "... the Triumph is so small that it could be squashed like a fly, so it really takes a motorcycle mentality to drive it." But the line that struck me the most, "My friend tried to take his car apart and it never quite went back together the right way." I am close to having taken the car apart completely, so really there is no turning back anyway. Hopefully, I fair better than his friend in restoring the Triumph.

More Tools Needed

From the Practical Classics book I have on restoring a Triumph Spitfire, it looks like the mechanics were able to remove the front suspension mostly in one piece. To do the same, it looked like I had to pull out the tie-rod end balljoint. According to the Haynes manual, to remove the front suspension arms, I need to use a balljoint separator and similar to a steering wheel puller, slowly unscrew the balljoint out.

I decided to rent a tie rod puller form AutoZone to do this, but what they rented me did not fit the Triumph's balljoint. The tie rod puller was too large for this task. Some online forums mentioned hammering the balljoint out, but I'm worried this may damage something that is currently not on my list of things to replace.

In the end I detached steering arm from the front assembly to be able to remove it, leaving the balljoint and steering arm still attached. Eventually, if I do need to separate the balljoint, Amazon sells a balljoint separator similar to what is depicted in the Haynes manual for $30.

For tools, I did buy myself a long socket set for standard sized bolts. While working on the suspension there were some bolts that extended well past the end of a nut and therefore could not use a standard socket for it because the height did not clear the end of the bolt. I figured I'll get some more use out of this set eventually, so went ahead and bought the new tools. I did restrain myself from buying a ratcheting set of standard sized wrenches, which would make some things more convenient, but definitely not necessary.

Cheater Bar

I understand Physics, but why I did not think to apply it to working on the car and make things easier has me kicking myself. The cheater bar is my best new car tool that consists of whatever random pipe I can find around the house. Using a standard socket wrench, I simply slide my cheater bar over the wrench handle and with the extra leverage I have been able to get off quite a few stubborn bolts. I have used an old piece of metal tubing from furniture and the pole from a patio umbrella as a cheater bar and have been successful in removing stubborn bolts from the front and rear suspension.

There are limitations with the cheater bar depending on where a bolt is located and whether there is enough space for the cheater bar, but for the most part, this tool has proven itself worthy of car dismantling. Stubborn bolts had been a discouraging part of the restoration process, so it's nice to finally remove bolts rather quickly now.

April has been a productive month with working on the Triumph. With the cheater bar and some help from Chris for the non-cheater bar capable bolts, the front suspension arms have been completely removed and most of the rear suspension as well. The car restoration is progressing closer to being completely dismantled with only the engine, transmission, drive train, and passenger side of the rear suspension remaining.

Winter Collection

The water is finally starting to drain out of the basement and with the weather warming up, I can start focusing on the Triumph again.

Over the winter, I've collected a few useful items for working on the Triumph. Off of craigslist, I purchased a 4-ton capacity engine hoist and engine stand for $200 and for $25 from Harbor Freight, a compression tester.

I had been holding off on purchasing an engine hoist and stand for a while, since the largest car I have access to is a 1999 Toyota Camry and did not think an engine hoist or stand would fit in a Camry. Apparently, I did not need to worry as the engine hoist I bought could easily be disassembled with a wrench and fit in the trunk and back seat of a Camry. I really only needed an engine hoist, but a friend had advised that trying to work on an engine while it's swinging from a hoist is not an easy task.

The compression tester is something that I probably could have rented from AutoZone, but sometimes it's just nice to have your own tools that you can use whenever you want. There are plenty of youtube videos on how to check the engine's compression, so the plan is to run a compression test on the engine and only work on the engine if the compression test indicates that it's necessary.

As for buying from Harbor Freight, I wouldn't recommend buying all of your tools from Harbor Freight, but for some things the cheaper version is all you need. I'm not too confident in the quality of their drills or other electric tools, but some of their basic tools seem to be good enough or as good as those found in major hardware stores. For example, Chris bought a tubing bender from a hardware store for almost $30 and Harbor Freight carries one of comparable quality for $6. (This tubing bender will be useful should we design to replace the fuel line.)

I'm still looking to buy a Miller MIG welder for reasonable price, but whenever a decently priced Miller MIG becomes available it gets sold almost immediately. There are other MIG brands out there, but from what I've read online, Miller tends to use better quality parts (Hobart and Miller are produced by the same company, but Hobart uses cheaper parts) and plus, that is what I learned on in welding class.

Maybe this is the year I finally get the Triumph disassembled. *Fingers crossed.