Triumph - That was a year that was..

[Bfg]

 

...it's all been done before, but briefly.. this is my taking the gearbox out on my own, despite my dubious back ..which tends not to bear well with twisting and lifting, particularly at the same time as stretching. . . 

^ From what I learnt in removing / refitting the gearbox to replace the clutch..  I cut a scrap piece of 3/4" plywood to aide doing this job on my own.   It's 22" x 14" wide, but for the last 10" which taper down (equally on either side) to 11" wide. This clears the chassis rail on the LHS and the exhaust pipe running down the RHS on my car.  Exhaust clamps are off the 2:1 downpipe connection and at that at the gearbox was loosened, so the engine might be tilted slightly up at the back.  The long 5-1/2" wide block of timber supported by the trolley jack, lifts under the very back end of the sump.  The cut piece of 3/4" ply sits on top of this, immediately behind the sump, and is the right thickness for the bellhousing to almost rest on. 

I'll check when I put the gearbox back in place whether the thickness is exactly right to align the gearbox shaft back into the clutch. 

The back of the engine, together with the gearbox, is lifted and tilts. Only a small lift is required, in fact just enough to align the top of the bellhousing to just below the rounded cutout of the body shell, under the battery tray. I'm sure when we remove the gearbox before, my helping mechanic was a little too enthusiastic in jacking it up (too much) and the bell-housing's flange then wouldn't come backwards through the bulkhead's cutout. 

Thereafter plywood makes it very easy to simply slide the gearbox back and inch or two off of the clutch spline. Only then, the back end of the gearbox can be lifted onto blocks inside the car . . .

^ The blocks inside the car are a bridge over the prop-shaft UJ., which wont drop lower without removal of the exhaust pipe. And I didn't want to disturb that any more.  The gearbox rubber mounting has been removed but the steel brace across the chassis is otherwise untouched (still bolted tightly to its chassis brackets).  Sliding the gearbox back on the piece of plywood is safe n' secure and low enough to clear the heater and dashboard. The heater flap has an Allen key lightly pinched in place of the control cable, to keep that flap closed.

 

^ Under the car, I added a support tower, just in case ..as a safeguard. But as the long timber plank was sandwiched between the sump and the jack, the top of this tower and that plank didn't actually touch, even as the gearbox was pulled back. Btw., those blocks are mostly screwed together, so is more stable and robust than might first appear from this photo. 

^ next was another block which I lifted the clutch lever onto.  I'm very wary of pulling my back again ..and then being out of action for a month, so this maneuver was more a matter of rolling the gearbox over to the right hand side onto a block, and then sliding the bellhousing end across to the left, together with the lever arm over the lip of the floor. 

^ slid across on timber blocks.

^ sill / door seal rubber lifted off and another bridge placed to lift the back end of the gearbox onto. 

By then the gearbox was out of the car sufficiently to avoid stretching while lifting and so dragging the gearbox out and onto the backless-office-chair (covered in thick plastic) was easy. 

^ task done, with body and each finger intact...  Tbh it was far less drama lifting it out on my own, than with an enthusiastic professional helper.  Admittedly it took me 100 minutes, including making a cup of coffee, removing the top half of bellhousing bolts (the bottom ones I did yesterday evening), removing the starter motor, removing the gearbox mount, measuring and cutting the 3/4" plywood, positioning the trolley jack and in general being very careful. 

Having bought a UNC thread repair kit, specifically for this task (albeit I only expected to be doing one or perhaps two), tomorrow I hope to repair the five.  All being well, I'll collect the full set of (correct) top cover bolts next week.  That's not a problem as I hope to have the gearbox refitted over this weekend, and the cover can be loosely refitted until then.

Pete 

 

[mk2_craig]

I must say you appear remarkably calm about all of this grief Pete, if this had happened to me I reckon my stress levels would be off the scale.  Have you barked at the chap who reassembled the box yet? An error as elementary as using the wrong thread bolts would have me wondering whether any of the internals are equally substandard.

[Bfg]

15 hours ago, mk2_craig said:

I must say you appear remarkably calm about all of this grief Pete, if this had happened to me I reckon my stress levels would be off the scale.  Have you barked at the chap who reassembled the box yet? An error as elementary as using the wrong thread bolts would have me wondering whether any of the internals are equally substandard.

My friend Steve is trying to steer me towards Stoicism ..and although I see some irony in going back to a philosophical-ideal from 300 years BC ..to deal with the stresses, disappointments and frustrations of the 21st century - I fear his discourses fade as an echo within a sound booth.  For my part I'm just tired  ..of being cheated by those who say they'll to do one thing and then behind closed doors cut corners ..to get a slither more profit.  

My experiences in life leave me thinking most people are quite content with being selfish, thoughtless, and unkind.  Btw., I do include my family and friends, and indeed myself in this disgust.  Indeed I am convinced that most of the world's people do not give the matter a second thought ..they have all been brought up to believe that it somehow makes them (us !) more successful to get an upper hand, to steal a bargain, to cheat the system, to get away with breaking the law, to spout racial, political and other subversive opinions, &/or to steal away from work or to take a few things home with them.  And even those who care deeply for their immediate family will, with barely a second thought, tread on others who might take otherwise get a single step further along the same path. 

For my part, my own family turned out to be shits ..so how might I expect myself or anyone else to be any better ? 

So my philosophy is somewhat resigned to being shat on.  Initial I am upset (..after all who likes to be cheated and out of pocket) and that soon turns to back to my continued disappointment in mankind.   Is it worth my taking this gearbox back to those who supposedly rebuilt it.?  No because I no longer trust the individuals concerned.  Is it my worth pursuing getting my money back ?  No because I've tried the legal system (several times) and it was more stressful than the issue itself ..and on no occasion has the system seen fairness override over some technical point / legal procedure. 

I do believe in 'naming & shaming' though, if only so that other half-decent folk don't fall into the same trap. 

But I equally believe in 'naming to praise', those who have tried hard to help and to be kind, those who have provided a honest and fairly priced service.

I don't have the chap's telephone number to bark at him.. He is actually a lovely gentleman to talk with and it seems wrong to shout angrily at an old man..  Even if they have very much disappointed you, they have done more to disgrace themselves. 

I do not understand their using the wrong bolts in the top cover, not least as I see from photographs of the gearbox from when I did the clutch and it shows the same bolt head on each.

Is what the gearbox re-builder did internally any better ?   I don't know.  But I do know that if I took the gearbox to someone else then it would cost me £-hundreds more than I've already spent.  And they may or not find anything much. Most certainly another engineer would find something to say they "wouldn't have done that".  

But as the gearbox is working (but for leaking oil) and is now reasonably quiet - then I'll leave it.  

I'll repair the treads as conscientiously as I can and then flush it out.  Hopefully I can put the gearbox back in with breaking a finger or loosing another nail.  And then we'll see if there is a leak for anywhere else ! ?

Pete.  

 

 

[Bfg]

This afternoon my focus was on the threat-repair of five of the eight holes, for the bolts which secure (and seal) the gearbox's top cover.  Again my apologies to those who have seen these thread repairs / inserts a dozen or more times before. . .

    

^ after being stood on end and slightly inverted overnight ..to drain the last of the oil out (of gearbox and overdrive), I cleaned / degreased the case and my stainless work tray this morning, covered over the exposed gears and prepared for drilling. 

^ I'd bought this kit of UNC thread inserts off an e-bay seller a couple of weeks ago specifically for this task, and having used the same sort (but Whitworth threads) on my Sunbeam motorcycle engines - I had a fair idea how to do it. As you can seen the kit comes with the correct size of drill, and tap, a good number of thread inserts (coils of the replacement thread) and the tools to insert them. 

The difficult part of the task is drilling and then tapping squarely into the old hole.  A stripped out thread is very nearly the right size already but a sharp drill-bit will tend to cut at an angle if you're not really very careful. I use a spirit level to sight against . . . 

   

^ the gearbox was set, with spacers under the bellhousing flange, so that its top face (where the holes are) was sitting vertical. Alongside the gearbox, and set at a convenient height, a spirit-level was leveled.  Then, as can be seen in the second of these photos, the drill can be sighted to be level with it.   Yeah Ok., so while taking the photo I was having difficulty holding the drill perfectly horizontal ..but I'm sure you get the idea.  During the drilling - my head was alternating, like a nodding-dog in a car's back window, from sighting at this angle to looking down on the drill ..to ensure that it wasn't going in at an sideways angle.  The blue masking tape is simply a depth gauge, so that I knew when to stop !

The modus operandi is likewise used when tapping the oversized thread ..into which the insert will be fitted. . .

   

^ tapping the oversized hole is more difficult than drilling it, and although the first part of that is its chamfered end - I take as much care with this stage as when the tap bites and starts to cut (seemingly very crudely with a coarse thread into cast aluminium). Great care is needed at this stage., as the tap bites a chunk of aluminium out of one side and then at 90-degrees ..which tries to throw your direction off true.   But if I can do ..then so can you 

During this tapping, I stop to brush-clean the tap, and to clean out the hole, two or three times. This is because the chunks of metal being cut out need to be cleared out rather than their snagging and binding.  My marker tape might tend to prevent some bits from clearing, but I still prefer to have it there as a depth gauge.  Personally, I don't use cutting paste or lubricant either while drilling nor when tapping, because I want that hole and the freshly cut thread to be bare-metal clean for its insert. 

   

^ The thread-insert is a coil of stainless steel, although not of marine grade because it's slightly magnetic. The outside of the coil winds into the freshly cut oversized thread, and its inside is the right size and thread for the bolt.  In this case 5/16" UNC.

The forks, on the end of the tool provided, engage with a wire across the coils inside end, and is used like a screwdriver to fit the insert into the threaded hole. It very simple to do so.   I liberally apply Loctite 2400 both onto the insert and into the threaded hole, before winding it in to about a mm below the surface.  

I then screw a clean bolt in ..to first ensure that the insert has gone in correctly, and also to collect / clean out the excess of Loctite.  I do this two or three times, inbetween times removing and wiping the bolt's thread clean with tissue paper.

The wire inside, used to screw the insert in, has to be broken off and removed.  There's a straight rod within the kit to do this with, which when inserted into the hole is tapped on end with a wooden block. . .

     

It's then very important to retrieve that little piece of wire ..as you wouldn't want it floating around inside with the mechanical gnashing of teeth or otherwise restricting an oil gallery. A small screwdriver, temporarily magnetized can help retrieve those which are broken off in a blind hole.

Job done . . .

..except I had two others to do . . .

    etc., etc.

^ here I clamped the spirit level to the side of the case so that it was again at a suitable height for sighting the drill, and tapping, level.   With those done and all the bits carefully swept up and disposed of, and the newly re-threaded holes picked clean - all that remained was to ensure any bits ..that might have got passed or around the barriers were blasted out . . . 

  

^ copious amounts of carb cleaner jetted into and around the gears and all around the inside of the case, which itself was tilted so that any bits would wash out of the open top. 

^ ,,and left it was to drip dry.  I had very carefully cleaned the tray out before doing this, and subsequently.. I found one small piece of aluminium from the thread cutting in the tray. whether that came from inside the case or from its outside, I will never know.  Still better be safe, in the knowledge that reasonable precautions had been taken, than miserable.

Tomorrow I'll address a few other issues before trying to refit it back into the car.

Bidding you a good evening,

Pete.

 

[camryv6]

That was a very interesting and informative post, thank you for taking the time to post it

[Bfg]

Good morning all,  with the gearbox top-cover's threads now all being good, and my friend Rich having a complete set of the correct bolts which I'll collect sometime this week, all I needed was a gasket.  Not many pence perhaps but for the inconvenience of ordering just one item and then also its postage cost.. I made one. 

To many who read this, a home-made gasket is a huge No, No.!   Some may argue that its thickness is critical, and that it's a false economy and so forth. And very often I would agree that those arguments.  Conversely, many an Engineer has made gaskets for engines and mechanics that are either unique or else so rare that such things as gaskets are simply not available.  Many others will think "why not if you can do it successfully ",  particularly as in this situation - it's not an engine nor gearbox out again job, if the oil sealing is less than 100% successful.

The failings I've seen in home made gaskets (..and I have seen quite a few over the years) is that the card used is inappropriate &/or the cutting out and holes are awful.   Regarding the former, there is of course sheet-gasket-paper commercially available.  Alternatively, selection of a suitable piece of card comes down to it not having been compressed too much when it was made or printed ..nor is it creased or soiled from use.  In my estimation, more often than not, cardboard which has a glossy surface (such as a cornflake box, whether printed or not) is less than suitable.  However the brown card envelopes now used by Amazon is really quite excellent for our purpose. 

Again.., I am not saying 'do as I do'  ..all I'm showing here is 'this is how I do things' if you find yourself caught-short of a gasket . . .

 

^ with the card cut slightly oversize, and three of the sides square to each other (because the holes will be measured from their edge, the first two holes are easy to mark.  The hole centres were first marked as ticks along the edge but then checked with a ruler.  Note ; as this gearbox was made to imperial measure, so then the checking of its hole centres was done to 1/16".   Btw, that first edge overhangs the side of the gearbox case a little, simply because the card is stronger when the holes are not so very close to the edge.  If that is subsequently ugly (such as on a motorcycle engine which is clearly seen) then it is best trimmed after the cover is installed.

Holes are not so difficult when you press them out, rather than trying to cut or drill them. Here's how. . .

   

^ the hole centres are marked on the one side of the paper, and a suitable penny washer is aligned to those. It is held in that position as the card is turned over and placed faced-down on a work-bench edge, and then a suitable rounded end of a ring spanner is pushed into it.  The steel of the ring spanner pushed firmly and turned stamps a hole neatly through the cardboard.  It's very nearly the same as using a hole punch through the edge of a sheet of paper ..but I do find using a washer easier to centre accurately. These simple tools, and a used Amazon envelope, are also convenient for the tool kit when touring.

NB. the penny washer has sharper edges on one side than the other from where it's been stamped, the sharp side is used against the card.  The ring spanner has to be small enough, to push into the hole.  And the hole in the penny washer (penny washer used because it's easier to hold when turned over) is a size smaller than the bolt size used.  ..So, in this instance the bolt is 5/16" UNC. The penny washer used was of 6mm (1/4") hole, and the ring-spanner used was of 8mm.   

^ the cut hole is adequately neat (..the pressed out piece of card still within the washer).

^ Although firm pressure is needed to punch these holes out.. accurately marking out their position is very much more time consuming.  Again remember to measure in from the edge of straight edges and then check the hole centres correspond to imperial measure, so in this example the centreline of top cover's LHS holes is exactly 5" apart from the centreline of the RHS holes.    

^ I had carefully removed the old gasket and with that loosely in position over the new, I roughly traced the line of the inside cut. Using a straight edge I refined my tracing before cutting.  Still it saved a fair amount of time, in measuring and draughting the cut line . . . 

^ almost done.  Although I use scissors to cut the outside shape, I find it easier to cut the inside with a Stanley-knife (cutting through onto a piece of scrap plywood) ..working from each corner.  

^ to finish off, I've sealed the card's surface and edges with paint.  Here I've used aerosol zinc-primer, which with a finger I've rubbed into the surface and in particular into the cut edges of the cardboard.  This was done on both sides, and is akin to fibreglassing, whereby its resin holds the fibres together.  Here I'm using the paint to prevent any loose paper fibres along the inside edges from washing away.  As you can see I've only applied and rubbed-in a thin / sealing coating of paint.

Making this gasket from scratch, including paint and taking all the photos, took 60 minutes ..so it's not instant. But at the same time buying and getting a new one isn't either.  And this is (imo) much better than reusing an already compressed gasket, or else using an excess of goo.

Once the paint is dry, its use is just the same as a commercially available gasket. In this application I'll most likely use a smear of Wellseal between the gasket and gearbox case, and a smear of heavy grease between the gasket and the top cover.

"granddad, have you sucked that egg yet ? "

Pete     

 

[Bfg]

Other little jobs are being done ...

   

^ as previously spotted, this stud through the overdrive's flange and its nut were not exactly precision fitted.  The stud was poking through the back, but lacking threads in the nut.   The dilemma then was how to get the stud out ..with damaging it and or separating the joint.?  As you can see there's not enough thread for a single nut let alone for locking two together . . .

^ the solution I chose was to remove the washer, to expose more thread, and to loosely refit the nut on its stud with medium strength Loctite.  When this cured it undid the stud from the cast flange.  

^ although I would have preferred it an 1/8" longer.. the stud is just about long enough.   I applied loctite to the thread into the cast flange and screwed it in to be flush with it back face. I let that cure before refitting its washer and nut. 

^ Job done ..next.

It was disappointing to see that the clutch release mechanism had been altered from as I'd fitted it just a few months ago . . .

^ several things were apparent. 1. I had left double bushes in the case where the rod passes through ..because those bushes were rather short.  2. there's a glean of oil around the bellhousing. somewhere is leaking.  3. the grease I had applied was lithium based molybdenum-disulphide ..as used CV joints where high shear loads (ie., sliding) and infrequent maintenance access is usual.  This has been substituted with Copaslip ..a very different product intended for a completely different job.  4. the lock wire through the release-lever-fork does not go through the dowel pin.  The prior owner of this car did that and the pin fell out and then the main pin sheared off, so I consider it necessary to wire that dowel pin in place.  

^ where I'm pointing to, there's oil  ..as if that gasket face is leaking.  Or else the oil has come passed a seal around the splined shaft and has dribbled back.  It might better account for the sheen of oil all around the inside of the bellhousing.  Either way, it's an unhappy prospect. 

   

^ Both ends of this shaft and their bushes are dry of lubrication.  ^^And the bush in the RHS is part hanging out, with its end battered. As the bush is short it ought at least be under the shaft.  These were a brand new bushes, that I had carefully drifted into their place. And there was a bolt through the hole under it, which located it.

I'm disheartened by the lack of care & attention. 

I'll see if I can get another pair of new bushes, before I refit the gearbox.

Pete

 

[Dobloseven]

Well Peter, I think you've well and truly proved the old saying, "If you want a job doing right, do it yourself"! 

[Bfg]

10 hours ago, Dobloseven said:

Well Peter, I think you've well and truly proved the old saying, "If you want a job doing right, do it yourself"! 

I wonder if I've just well and truly proved the old saying,  "a fool and his money are soon parted"  ?  ..as it seems I'm easily persuaded to pay the bill of someone who is said to have a worthy reputation.  

I do feel for the proprietor of the business, whose reputation and goodwill from doing that-bit-extra is undermined by those sub-contractors.  I spent 45 minutes on the phone to him the other day, not shouting but going through a long list of things on my car that might have been the cause of expensive mechanical failure &/or accident ..for which he / his business would be liable.  He took it well and admitted that he would probably conclude the work already in hand, personally checking things carefully as he might, and then not do any more work with them. Thereafter he'd stick to his base line business, which was high-end classic car body restorations, but not the mechanical side of things. 

I expressed the irony insomuch as he is based in the West Midlands, home of the car industry, and yet couldn't find a conscientious mechanic of classic cars.  He replied that more recently trained mechanics are fitters who do what a diagnostic machine tells them to, and the older generation are gainfully employed or retired.  

 

   

[Bfg]

photos speak for themselves . . .

  

^ bolts without plain shanks and an apparently reused gasket.  

^ two thread inserts, both proud of the gasket face.

^ untapped hole for the thread insert

 

From cleaning out that hole.. it feels like silicon but with stripped-out-thread-bits to give it a nice crunchy texture.

 

   

^ the top hole's thread insert, similarly in a plain (untapped) hole. 

^ it's going to rather difficult to prevent swarf from my tapping that hole, inbetween the two gears, from dropping into the gearbox case. 

And this is just 200 miles since the gearbox was professional rebuilt by Klassic Transmissions.   I don't know if these faults were there before, but still I feel they ought to have been rectified in a professional manner.  And although there might have been an occasional drip of oil under the car - it was, when bought, remarkable oil-leak free. 

Pete

 

[Dick Longbridge]

That's appalling. Is he refunding the majority of the bill you've paid? 

[Bfg]

I guess someone made a mistake ..and pulled the wrong size drill out of their kit..  ^ The drill supplied in my UNC thread-insert kit, when tapping for a 3/8" insert, is in the hole, whereas that for the 5/16" UNC (the correct bolt size) is in my fingers.  So someone over-drilled them, and then instead of finishing the job with oversized bolts, they simply used goo.

I might have sought sleeved inserts to fit into that over-sized hole, or else I was to go up in size to 3/8" UNC..  And that's what I've now done.   Very awkward little task doing those two, so close to the input shaft, and within the bell housing, but I'm pleased with the way they've gone in.  I guess I was very fortunate in preventing bits from dropping inside the gearbox, (using white grease on multiple layers of bubblewrap poked in, behind the holes, on the gearbox side) as subsequent flushing out with aerosol carb cleaner submitted no bits of swarf.   

Copper washers were used, but I see in the workshop manual that wedglok bolts were originally specified. 

Tomorrow I'll shop for a couple of bolts and copper washers to suit.

^ I'm equally as unimpressed with the drain plug hole, I'd guess that requires a special tapered tap ?

Pete.

[Bfg]

On 11/25/2021 at 1:01 PM, Dick Longbridge said:

That's appalling. Is he refunding the majority of the bill you've paid? 

I've suggested to Mark that he should get the money he's paid out (gearbox in and out two or three times after it was refitted following the chassis swap - to sort out its oil leak ..which they claimed not to be able to find) and also to get back the money I paid out for it to be rebuilt.  But I've not heard, and Tbh I don't expect to. 

I'm weary of fighting with people who are out to cheat and deceive everyone (it's not only me, is it ! ?), as such disputes are only upsetting to me ..after all they clearly don't care a jot.  So let the devil take them. 

Pete.

 

[Bfg]

Thank you Lady and Gentlemen for your continued support... 

I've been otherwise busy these past couple of days, but this afternoon I refitted the front seal cover.  As it was., I had already tapped and thread-inserted two of the four fastening holes with 3/8" UNC threads, while the other two remain as 5/16" UNC. . . . . .

   

^ of course, due care was needed to ensure that no coil wire end, nor bits of swarf, dropped into the input-shaft bearing or gear case.  And, as before, the thread-inserts were Loctited in place and fitted just a little below the gasket face. Thankfully the length, the back-end of those through to the gear-case, were excellent. They are, I feel, now noticeably stronger than the original tapped threads.

Today I started off with a little shopping, to Suffolk Fasteners, Ipswich because I needed just the two 3/8" UNC bolts.  Because I wanted a plain-shanked bolt for these ..I bought longer and cut them to length.  I'd also cleaned things up, made a new gasket, and annealed the two copper washers I'll reuse. . .

  

^ Parts all but ready. The inside of the cover's tube was water-proof greased to prevent surface rust.  And the seal was given a liberal coating of synthetic lubricant containing Teflon.   I used Wellseal on one side of the gasket (..which is first fitted around the bearing's retaining circlip) and a smear of grease on the other face.

^ another little job - done.   Btw., the cellophane-wrapping taped around the input shaft is to protect the lip seal inside the tube (during fitting) from being cut by the sharp edges of the spline. 

Hopefully tomorrow I get a chance to refit the thrust-bearing assembly and perhaps drop the gearbox back into the car.

Pete.

 

[Bfg]

 

In the meantime . . ,  aside from sometimes being idle, I'm taking the opportunity of clearer access to do a little more inside the car. . .

   

^ starting off with cleaning away the old gearbox-cover gasket, and straightening the (supposed) sealing flanges, which had been battered (..not by myself I might add).  After all, if I hope for a reasonably pleasant car one day, then I really ought to avoid engine and transmission noise and fumes simply wafting through the gaps.

   

^ Use a hammer & dolly where I can, but in places where the access is limited then an adjustable spanner, closed down to the flange's metal thickness, provide an excellent lever for easing the metal back into shape.   Note, the sealing / fastening flange for the cover, on the later cars, projects from the bulkhead. There are no fastening holes through the bulkhead itself.

   

^ I also took the opportunity (easier access) to start cleaning up the bulkhead and then the driver's floor of crud, surface rust and rock-hard carpet-felt goo. 

My keenness was to get back onto a task that I started half a year ago, and that was to replace the thin fibreglass gearbox-cover fitted, with a steel one from a TR3. . .

^ I'd already cut it in two, so that rear of the dashboard support / H-frame would be detachable without disturbing the forward (bulkhead / under dashboard) section. But I'd never got as far as cleaning it up nor to straighten its flanges.  As you can see this cover's end flange (left hand side of photo), is designed to sit flat against the bulkhead of the side-screens cars. It is fastened through this to the bulkhead.   

   

^ that's very much straighter, sitting flat on the floor and its forward (bulkhead) flange sitting nominally upright and square.  But there was still some repairs to do where this 60+ year old cover had cracks through a couple of its slotted bolt holes. 

^ When fitted into the car this TR3 cover mostly fits the, 10-year later massively revised body design of my TR4A.  This is particularly amazing insomuch as the cover's fastening and seal flanges are different.  Nevertheless five of the fastening bolts (1/4" UNF) around its bottom fitted without alteration (three on the RHS and two others on the LHS).  The height at the rear end (where I cut it off) is very much taller and wider than the TR4 type (which has to fit under the dashboard support / H-frame), but its fit to the body tub and along the floor edge is very convenient for its reuse. 

^ From the inside you can see that the floor width is very good. NB, the TR4 floor-edge lacks a bolt hole in that front left hand , so the corner of the cover is not being pulled down fully).  Otherwise, the cover's overall height around the front flange started off being about 8 - 10mm too tall.  The steel cover has a hard corner shape on the LHS which needed to be tapped to a smoother curve.  And a similar place on the RHS (at the top of the starter-motor's bulge) likewise needed a little easing and squaring to the TR4's sealing flange.  Otherwise, the bulged shape around the starter motor was a little too rounded. . .

^ Although it took a while (..and an embarrassing show of bad temper when I ran out of welding wire ..just as the daylight was fading !) - the task of getting this cover to sit even better / flat against Katie's  bulkhead, and down onto both side's floor edge, really wasn't that difficult a task.  The width was already accurate, and the height at the front has now pulled down to about 6mm (1/4") too high. This is relative to the TR4's bulkhead sealing flange, but that really isn't too important to me as I can easily fill that with foam rubber. 

all in all, good progress and a very pleasing fit (..all things considered) ..but then it was dark again and I couldn't see to continue.

If I get the gearbox back in the car in tomorrow, then that'll give me the height I can taper the cover down to towards its rear.

Pete.  

 

[Bfg]

Slight change of plan today, I decided not to drop the gearbox back in yet.   Last night, I noted in one of my photos that the other RHS gearbox-top-cover's threaded hole was also damaged.  So, while the task is easy to do, I decided to fit a thread insert in there too ..not least because when I bought the car, its overdrive's earth lead was clamped under that bolt ..and so that thread may get a little more use than the others.

Therefore, in planning my day - I opted to repaint the gearbox cover's flange on the bulkhead, the underside of the battery shelf, and a section of the passenger's footwell ..again while access is easier. And then while that paint was drying.. I'd work on the gearbox . . .

 

^ I'm very pleased with how this paint applied by brush and covered. It's thin enough to brush into the cracks of panel overlaps, but just about thick enough, even on this chilly day, to not run.  It came from Johnstone's trade store and is their Smooth Metal Paint  (Acrylic, so that I might thin it down with white spirits should I need it very thin / for wicking into joints).  The colour is RAL3001 Signalrot (red) which is very close to this car (I took a piece in to be colour matched). 

The rear half of the passenger footwell I'll repaint after the gearbox is slid back in and my bashing of the steel gearbox cover is done. The driver's footwell still needs a bit more cleaning up before I paint it with POR-15 (as I'd already done on the passenger side). It'll then get painted body colour whenever anon.

As intended, I then fitted another 5/16 UNC thread-insert into the top of the gearbox, before cleaning off the black paint and giving it a light blow-over with aerosol silver. . .  

^ the (exchanged / reconditioned) overdrive was already bright n' shiny silver, but the gearbox and its bellhousing were patchy / flaky black paint with a smear of oil. Although I hope not to see it again very often, I'll now be able to more easily tell where any other oil leak may be coming from.   

That's it from blustery wet Ipswich tonight. I bid you warmth in your home and a pleasant weekend.

Pete

 

[Bfg]

Happy Sunday.. where I like to wake a little later than usual, make myself a cup of coffee with toast & marmalade, and then go back to read in my still snugly-warm nest.. Luxury !

As a consequence I don't do much work on such days.  In fact today I just did a couple of hours ..not because of any great urgency, but simply because I wanted to do this task while access was still easy, and again to allow the paint to dry before I continue playing around with the gearbox cover. . .

^ the first hour was more cleaning and wire brushing, solvent wipes, etc.,

^ second hour painting with POR-15, as I had done previously in the passenger side footwell.

Finished at 3:30, and that was it for today.. I bid you a good evening.

Pete

[Bfg]

 

Today I painted the driver's side footwell, bulkhead and side panel ..again while access was easier for me to climb inside and invert myself. My being right-handed makes this footwell all the more awkward to twist around to . . .

^ Painted to the same extent as the passenger side, again only until I've dropped the gearbox back in and bashed its cover to shape.

And then back onto the gearbox . .

   

^ reassembly of the thrust bearing mechanism, this time with a liberal application of grease in its bearings, and also cross wire-locking of both the standard pin and dowel.

Next job then . . .

   

^ reverse procedure of blocks to slide the gearbox on as when I removed it.  Lifted over the door step first, with the overdrive resting on a 3/4" thick block resting on the sill's upstanding flange.

    

^ slid forward on the blocks as I lifted the back end around.  The aforementioned 3/4" block was then moved from the sill to now protect the edge of the floor.  From there the gearbox was slid forward onto the waiting board, still with jack and timber column support under it. 

Blocks are positioned over the propshaft's forward UJ.  Lifting the overdrive onto this bridge tilts the bellhousing under the car's heater. From there it is slid forward on the under-supported piece of plywood.  Without drama, with lumber not strained, and all fingers and paintwork intact.

^ getting to this stage was fiddly, insomuch as the I made things difficult for myself.. because I had left the gearbox mount / bolt-on chassis cross-brace in place, and then also my extra-long (extended forward) T-shirt plate under the chassis prevented the propshaft from dropping lower (..had it just been an extra 1/4" lower that would have made life easier). Nevertheless with jiggling around the task was without any loss of composure. From door sill to thus far took 40 minutes on my own. 

But then getting the input-shaft spline to engage with clutch ..so that the gearbox would push forward, proved a time consuming business.  I was just about to give up for the evening ..to come back to it afresh in the morning, and gave things a last half-hearted shove, and lo n' behold it clicked forward. I cannot explain why it did so, as nothing had changed from my pushing n' shoving and twisting n' levering five minutes earlier.. but it kindly obliged and just slipped in. 

 

^ Gearbox back in  ..still with paintwork intact and flanges straight. The gearbox mount is now back in place and I've a few bolts in the engine, and so it's nearly done.  Tomorrow I hope to get things all bolted up, with the starter and clutch slave-cylinder back in place, and the gearbox top cover on again, so then I can move forward with reshaping its steel cover.

Progress., as well as footwell rust-protection and colour-correct prettiness !  Hopefully soon the gearbox will now be oil-leak free, and it'll all be brushed under the carpet ! 

Pete

 

[Bfg]

My tasks since putting the gearbox back in, has of course been to bolt it up, fit the gearbox mount, the gearbox rear vibration damper, and reconnect the drive shaft, to refit the top cover (after having filled the gearbox with fresh oil) and to refit the clutch slave cylinder.   Bolting the bellhousing up took a little longer than expected as most of the bolts were a little short and I had to do some finding.  The bellhousing's underside dust plate (a home made item) and slave cylinder had a weird assortment of bolts and wrong sized washers. I guess it's not really that important down under but still I reverted back to UNF thread sizes with nylocs rather than its assortment.  These things all take time.!

^ I was doubtful about the slave cylinder push-rod though, so I thought I'd ask you if this (once its battered forks are straightened) is correct with the square end on a pivot.  It's not the same as shown in the parts book, but that tends to focus on the TR4 and perhaps this odd end was used on the 4A ?  Btw., it works fine.

Oh yes, I also cleaned up the starter motor has which was pretty dusty and a little oily. .

  

^ I only mention this as an advisory to other owners with a high-torque starter, as part of its cable insulation appears to be silicon, but the cover over the terminal is rubber. . .

^ And that literally crumbled in my fingers.  When fitted, this faces the engine block, so it's generally hidden from under-bonnet view.   Beyond being salvaged., I cobbled together a cover in neoprene which I secured with a cable tie.  I guess radiant heat from the exhaust down-pipes baked the rubber.  Putting insulation on those pipe has move up my job list, as this heat damage probably hasn't done much for the starter motor or its gearbox lubrication either.  I'll come back to checking and re-lubricating that anon. 

In the meantime, I wanted to address the wiring that was loosely dangling over the gearbox, this of course being for the overdrive. 

   

^ This is as it was, after the chassis change ..save my having taped over the solenoid's wiring connection and have better secured it with a cable tie to the switch. I've now (2nd photo) cut the wires to an appropriate length, replaced the bullet connection which was dangling away from its insulation (all new connections are soldered on), extended the outer protective sleeve, and secured the run of the cables with a clip from the top cover bolt ..which is no longer a bolt because I made a stud to go into that threaded hole ..for the earth lead.   The wires will no longer go via grommet through the gearbox cover. Instead I drilled a new hole through the bulkhead just below where the throttle linkage comes out.  That'll of course have a grommet.

You'll note in the first of these photos the dangles of wire alongside the heater duct (in the driver's footwell). Those are the other end of the overdrive's wiring, from the ammeter and ignition switch ..to/from its relay.

       

^ those same wires ..rudely exposed    And then (2nd photo) the wires from the ammeter and ignition switch to the relay.  Bottom is the length I'm reusing, that above is what I've cut out. In retrospect, having now refitted it, I would have made the 'reused' bit some 2" shorter.  So literally, these wires are twice as long as they needed to be.  Btw., left or right hand drive makes little difference, so I'm wondering if this overdrive's sub-loom was a universal item or came from another model of Triumph ? 

While doing this I had the ammeter out and cleaned each connection and the bulb fitting, checked them for tightness, and liberally applied Vaseline before refitting. Likewise for each wiring connection I've touched.  Again it takes quite a bit of time but I plan to go through every connection on the car to do the same. Better to do it now than to try and find a poor connection one night when it's peeing with rain.

While under the dashboard, I took the opportunity to correct (..or at least improve) the dashboard / steering column stay.  This is something Richard (RAHTR4) very kindly pointed out and advised me on, back in April.  Thank you Richard, I knew I'd get around to doing it sometime.  Funny how one or two other things sort of got in the way. 

  

^ Richard had spotted, in a previous photo, that the stay (red Arrow) should be bolted via the bolt through the aluminium steering column clamp, and not to back of the dashboard, and at its bulkhead end.. should go the nut on the bracket (red circle).  Instead it went to an home-positioned bolt, with half its head cut off, through the corner of the bulkhead panel, just under the clutch master cylinder. . .

He speculates that the bracket is from a LHD car.  The one Katie  (RHD cars) ought to have is not bent 90-degrees at the end and is shorter.  For me working outside in 2 to 3 degrees temperatures this afternoon, it was quicker and easier to straighten the bracket's end ..but to keep it the same length. Oddly though, I did have to re-drill both ends from 1/4" to 5/16".    Now (below) the one end is (just above the red arrow) ) bolted to the aluminium steering-column clamp, and I've taken the other end to the bolt (blue circle) at the rear end of the pedal-assembly pressing on the bulkhead, which I know to be strong. . .    

That's all for tonight.  Slow but steady(ish) progress.

Now that I've routed the wiring to overdrive I can get back to metal-bashing the gearbox cover again.

Bidding you a good evening,

Pete.

 

[Mrs6C]

Despite all the negative experiences that have led you to have to do all this, it is fantastic following and watching how you approach the problems presented and come up with a proper, well-thought out and neat engineering solution to each one. Katie is going to be a wonderful car when you have finihsed your magic and all this work and attention to detail can only be beneficial to her value.

Well done!

[Bfg]

  Thank you Mrs6C.

Christmas tunes aside..  I've been having a bashing good time these past few days. . .

On the TR forum a contributor, Peter W, had helpfully pointed out that the TR3 gearbox cover would foul the cast shape of the TR4 bell-housing ..which has a more pronounced bulge over its different starter bendix.  That part of the panel would need reshaping just about here . . .

With the cover back in place and bolted down as best I could (it was being held away just a little in this front corner, I could tap on the outside of the cover to find the centre of the hard contact sound of the bellhousing's starter motor bulge

.

   

^ with the cover back in place and bolted down as best I could (it was being held away just a little in this front corner, I could tap on the outside of the cover to find the centre of the hard contact sound of the bellhousing's starter motor bulge.  I marked that, and then transferred the mark to the inside of the cover with a centre-punch dint.   I also measured the bulge from the floor rim and from the bulkhead, to know its extents.  I then stretched (read - hammered ..but with awareness !) the metal locally to form a corresponding bulge. . .   

^ checking from the inside ..again using the camera to see where the head couldn't possible get into, the clearance now created between the bellhousing and the cover. In most places I'm leaving more of a gap around the gearbox, for sound insulation, but this is right next to where my size 12 brogue is trying to find a resting place ..other than on the clutch pedal or bulkhead mounted headlamp-dip-switch, so I wanted to keep things tight.  BTW., the fibreglass cover that was fitted rubbed on this corner which I think might have been Katie's  #287 rattle n' clatter.  With foot room (width) in mind.. I then did a little more bashing & cutting just forward of this bulge. . .

^ This is yet to be be dressed (smoothed), but I'm sure you can see the indentation forward of the starter motor's bulge, and also that I've cut-off the flange, which extended passed that corner of the bulkhead.  The TR4 cover's fastening flange, projecting back from the bulkhead is still there, so the cover will still have a seal in that corner. And although I may have only gained another 3/8" to 1/2" of width, it all helps make the car more comfortable for me.  

- - -

Next up, having got this front section of the cover to fit the floor and bulkhead nicely, would be to tackle the cover's rear section - which is to fit between this forward section and the propshaft tunnel.  But first I had to overcome a psychological hurdle ..to the point of it being utterly demotivating . . .

On 3/21/2021 at 2:29 PM, Bfg said:

However... Tommy seemed to be struggling with simply getting on with the job. It was his job and so I tried to only suggest client instructions to what was wanted.  In truth I was enthusiastic by the fit and I just wanted to get on and do it. His rolling & smoking cigarettes while he was thinking was getting to me ..as indeed was rap "music" out of the transistor, having tea and then toasted sandwiches, and his not being able to find tools.  There are no solid work-benches, and two lightweight stands are covered with tools and drill bits ..from however long ago.  So anything is done by scampering around on the floor or otherwise hammered over a steel (horse) trestle at the other end of the workshop

According to the photos, we started looking at these g/box covers at 11:40am. And the photo taken ..where the cover was simply cut into two, was taken at 13:12pm ..an hour and a half later !  ..by 16:00 we had packed up.

The cuts (as darts) he'd made to bring the small rear part of the cover lower & narrower (to fit under the H-frame) was let's say "not as I would have done it".  Very ugly indeed, horribly hammered, and with just a few holding-tacks of weld to show for 4-1/4 hours work. The front / larger part of the cover hadn't yet been touched.

If I were to let it continue, then it would be a very expensive job (for what I was getting).  Perhaps it's a sad reflection on me, but I am not even able to watch someone work like this.  After doing things my own way, and just getting on with the job on my own for the past 40 years - I was getting more and more wound up.  I didn't say anything but.. I'll not continue with him doing this. 

Expand  

   

^ Untouched since that day in March, this was how things were when I call a halt to Tommy's efforts.  It may seem odd to some, but to me these are abusive..  

 

My task for today., was to make this once tidy gearbox tunnel, once again tidy.  And for it to be structural.  The question was how to proceed.? 

I started off by scrubbing out the inside of dirty grease / oily sooty deposits, and the hardened remnants of an ancient rubber or was it bituminous seal.  I cannot believe any professional would even start to panel beat something that has filthy crud inside it.  How can they see or feel what they are doing ? 

I then chose to undo most of what had been done, and so released the tack welds.  To clean up overlapping metal and, more readily get inside with my panel-beating hammer and dolly, to redress this panel's shape.. I cut (with my faithful old Gilbow hand-shears) from the bottom cut on the left hand side (seen in this 2nd photo) around in a curve to the long hole..  Not exactly surgeon like, but I'm sure you get the drift.   My intent was to try and save the top piece with its original gear-change hole, if only to use that as template. 

It took a little while to get things looking like it hadn't been in a crash, but thanks to good quality steel used in the 1950's.. it progressed well.  The next stage was then to fit this panel's bottom flange to the floor edge. The TR4 is a little more shapely in these parts ..probably because its squarer seats needed a tad more space, so a few cuts through the flanges would be required. Nothing very drastic but necessary to get a decent fit. 

   

^ I also needed another bulge.. this one is to fit over the speedo cable, which then necessitated my having to refold that section of flange.

While doing these things I was bearing in mind how to re-form it (this section of the TR3 cover) lower and narrower to fit under the TR4's dashboard support / H-frame //and yet for the gear-change boot to be end up in the right place  ?  

^ the front section of the tunnel cover is clear of the H-frame, but will still need to be lowered at its back-end by an inch and also narrowed, particularly on its LHS. The rear section I reshaped to bring its top considerably narrower. The 8mm thick pieces of wood are spacers to allow for carpet.  The cover, where it sits over the prop-shaft tunnel was slit back from what was a grommet hole (..but for the last 3/8") so even that part of this panel's top could overlap and be narrower.

Next,  I needed to recreate the top of this rear section ..the bit I'd cut-off.  I opted to straighten out / redress the original and tack-weld over Tommy's cuts, because I wanted this part's curves and hole for the gear-change rubber and also the original transition shape ..from rising up from the prop-shaft tunnel to leveling off over the gearbox.  . . . 

   

^ I happy that this rear section is beginning to look half decent again.  Shame about the extra work but hey that's water under the bridge already ..not least as I'm pleased with today's progress.

Bidding you a good weekend,

Pete.

 

 

[Bfg]

  

On 12/4/2021 at 11:29 PM, Bfg said:

Next,  I needed to recreate the top of this rear section ..the bit I'd cut-off.  I opted to straighten out / redress the original and tack-weld over Tommy's cuts, because I wanted this part's curves and hole for the gear-change rubber and also the original transition shape ..from rising up from the prop-shaft tunnel to leveling off over the gearbox.  . . . 

   

 

moving on . .

   

^ I needed to redefine the size, curvature and position of the gear-change gaiter

  

^ Looking more like a piece of medieval armour than part of a TR4A ! ?   But now ..at last, I was close to where I would started, had I modified this cover without Tommy's help..  

^ the gaiter centralised with the gear-change mechanism, and the top part of this now positioning lower to clear the dashboard support / H-frame.

  

^ I shaped a little more clearance around the overdrive's solenoid, and then above that the cover has to taper in quite sharply to get under the H-frame. The gear-change extension's anti-vibration strap had previously worn through both the gaiter and the old fibreglass cover, so this time I smoothed the corners off.

   

^ raw materials, from the back of a boiler, relieved from the skip  ..Put to good use I thought.

^ I'm slowly but surely getting there.   My hope is still to not use the H-frame, but if scuttle shake is pronounced and otherwise unable to be resolved.. then I need to know that I can fit it.

There is still the bulge over the speedo cable to make, and these flanges need a few repairs around their bolt holes.. but for the time being I'll move on with the front section of the is cover to bring its height down to match. . .

 

That's it from sunny Ipswich this morning,  Have a good'n.

Pete

 

[Bfg]

Today I didn't get a lot done, but still a little progress in the right direction is better than things going backwards  . . .

     

^ I started by cutting the RHS of the forward section, in much the same way as I've done on the LHS.,  and then you'll spot some vertical cuts too.  There is method in the madness, although you may have to be just a little crazy to see it !  

The second photo is the bulge over the starter motor, which I had reworked before, but wasn't happy with.   I'd like a little more width between the clutch pedal and this panel, and that would only be possible if I cut and reworked it again. . .

    

^ Oh my..  this was taking things to another level.  I've cut and twisted the steel to follow parallel to the bellhousing's starter bendix bulge.  This give me a 2" wide step / footrest just about the clutch pedal height, and then a second narrower step in from the flange.  The latter I may add to (width wise) with a bolted-on clutch foot rest down alongside the pedal (below). . .

   

My size 12's now have an inch more width.  Not as much as I'd like, but still it is better (..for me) than it was. 

BFG   ( ..Big Footed Gxxxx ?  )

 

[Bfg]

After a couple of days off, I did another afternoon's work ..doing similar, but this time my slimming-down of the bulges on the passenger-side's cover. . .

    

^ Left is what we had, with an inch and a half lateral clearance besides the clutch lever arm.  ^^ I've slimmed that down to around about 1/2".

And then, the top part was dropped down a bit at the bulkhead, and an inch or so where the two halves of this cover will meet to fit under the H-frame. . .

^  its getting very close to looking like the fibreglass cover that was on the car.

^ the top of the front section is presently only held in place with self-tapping-screws, but all-in-all the shape is now as tight to the gearbox as I dare take it.  It's still a mighty-great-lump to have inside the car though ! 

I hope to get things welded tomorrow ..but with noise abatement courtesies (..what with respecting neighbours an' all), I won't be able to fettle those welds, or to make the overlapping flange. That'll just have to wait until next week.   So for the time being..

I'll bid you once again a pleasant weekend.

Pete.

 

[Bfg]

Having established the steel g/box cover's shape and fit,  I next needed to weld it together and at the same time get down to details ..like the overlap between my front and rear sections . . .

   

^ raw material came from a pair of household radiator mounting brackets ..naturally reclaimed from a skip.

 

^ getting close.. with the overlapping flange added (although not yet drilled for its fastenings), a flange added under the speedo drive,  and of course the forward section's top and RHS welded together with its maximised footwell width and sorta clutch-foot rests.  I still need to close the hole in the top as I can't imagine access is necessary there.  The cover over the speedo will, I think, be screwed on.   But then again..  how often does one need to just get to the speedo cable ? 

On the LHS of the cover, I wanted to add just one more little detail. . .

^ before the overdrive and its solenoid, there's a fair amount of space between the floor and the gearbox.  The block of wood you see pictured is 46 x 98mm section, and I've screwed it there, level with the raised flange of the floor edge, to see if it would come out passed the O/D solenoid.  It did, and so . . .

^ 4-1/4" (110mm) above the bottom flange I formed a rolled edge, for panel rigidity. 

   

^ The top cut-edge was joggled a little before I fabricated the sides of a simple box.  Although presently only tacked together - it's already a surprisingly stiff structure. My intent is to have a plywood lift-out back panel ..where just two screws need be removed for good access to the gearbox filler / oil level plug.

^   When the back of this box is in place, I'll have an extra storage bin.  It's not huge ..but I think it'll come in handy, whether for documents or else for a windscreen squeegee & cloth.   Its inside dimensions are ; 1-1/2" (40mm) front to back x 8-3/4" (225mm) long, with 4-1/4" (110mm) up to the rolled edge, and an average of 7-1/2" (190mm) vertical from its base to the curved top cover.  If I fit a fabric liner, then I can pull out anything 'lost' in the bottom. 

That's it for today.  I bid you all., a warm and pleasant evening, 

Pete.

 

[Mrs6C]

This is beautiful work.

[Bfg]

Do you need to borrow my glasses ?

 

..Thank you.   It's a shame I'm no better at welding thin metal than the local pigeons, but still at least I have an angle grinder to tidy things up.  When painted over I think it ought to look fine, and then of course it'll be carpeted over too.  

I'm thinking of fudging together a 1/2" thick felt-in-plastic type horse-blanket ..to lay over the gearbox before I fit this cover, rather than stick-on insulation either on its underside (which can get very grimy) or outside (which takes up interior space). And then to use just 1/4" foam under the carpet to soften it's touch.  What would might you do ? 

Pete.

[Bfg]

  

It's a busy time of year but still I'm now close to finishing up on Katie's  gearbox cover ..

Firstly though, I had to close over the speedo drive. . .

       

^ again trying to make things close fitting / less intrusive into the interior.  There was a little more work in making this a removable access cover, but really not a whole lot. My difficulty was in shaping the thin material (a reclaimed panel from the back of a boiler) as its steel was far less ductile than the original cover, and so somewhat reluctant to shape into a neat compound surface.

  

^ I also drilled the screw attachment holes between the two sections of this cover ..and those for attaching to the bulkhead and again to the drive-shaft tunnel. Then blanked the (dipstick ?) hole in the top of the forward section and the small one for the oil-filler, as well as several carpet fitting holes, before adding a few penny washers to where this cover's bottom flanges were a little frail.  ..and of course generally cleaned things up . . .

And then to add a coat of paint (again I'm using POR-15), followed by just a little seam sealer . . .

  

^ Strictly speaking that ought to be fine, as it'll all be under carpet ..but by special request . . .

On 12/12/2021 at 9:33 AM, BRENDA1 said:

 Hope your going to paint it all red.

Mike - TR Register - Redrose group

..If you like Mike

     

   

^ No prizes for this panel work and paint I think, but it'll serve its function.   

That's it from a damp and chilly Ipswich, where the paint is slow to dry.

Bidding you all a good evening,

Pete

 

[anonymous user]

It's taken me a while to catch up, it's a shame you are having to re-do work that you have paid others to do, but at least you have the skills and patience. My teddy would have been thrown not just from the pram but to a distant continent.

[Asimo]

Once again, you are showing us how it should be done.

Marvellous work and resilience!