Toledo 2000TC: Minimal progress due to modern Swedish shite purchase

[N Dentressangle]

Proper halogens will look much better than those nasty LEDs. I've had good results with Halfords 200% brighter H4 bulbs.

[leakingstrut]

The LED’s will be gone soon, I’ve got some h4’s to fit into the standard headlights. They’ve been in the boot for a while now, it’s just not been a high priority as I’ve not been planning to drive it much till the gearbox is done.

Cue my Freelander doing typical Landrover things, and the Toledo being pressed into commuting duty and not having time to swap the lights because I’ve got a daily to bodge fix.

[leakingstrut]

Progress has definitely slowed, having hit a few snags getting it back together. First I hadn’t got all the bolts I needed for the gearbox adaptor, but I was able to find some suitable metric ones.
 

With that sorted, the starter top bolt was a pain. On the old gearbox it was bolted in (I think) but the adaptor plate had studs, however this meant getting a nut onto the stud between the starter and manifold. As is typical we thought it would be easier to leave the manifold on and blindly try and get the nut on. Of course I hadn’t checked which bolt would best fit before fitting the plate. Three hours, three bolts and trying (then failing) to use two phones and a video call as an endoscope I got it on in the dark as we were giving up for the day. 
 

Today, full of hope I got the adapter plate torqued up and we tried to fit the gearbox. The old one came out no bother, but of course this one is longer. After a few failed attempts I consulted the forums and found it couldn’t be done without dropping the subframe fully or partially. FFS if we’d done that at the start of the job it would have made a lot of things easier, but I thought we could manage it with it in place.

So after some head scratching, not wanting to drop the subframe for the last bit of the job we jacked up the back of the engine, and with mm to spare and careful manouvering we got it in. Then I put the new exhaust / gearbox mount bushing on the wrong way round, no wonder it was a pain to fit. We called it a day there. 
 

Lessons learned, but we are getting there slowly.

Oh, and the rear drums are siezed on. Really hoping to get them off, but also pricing up halfshafts, backing plates etc. 

Edited November 30, 2022 by leakingstrut

[leakingstrut]

Drums on the new old axle are off, gearbox is in, new engine mounts on and clutch is bled.  Had a few more shitemares - the prop was touching the trans tunnel even after putting the rubber mount the right way round. Turns out the gearbox mounting plate I had reused was offset, fitting the one that came with the sprint box fixed that. Still a little offset due to the tr7 engine being at a different angle to the sprint one. If that becomes an issue I'll fit a sprint subframe. 

We've ran the engine sans prop, it sits nice and solid in the new mounts with minimal movement. If there is 10mm of gap on the tight side of the prop, it's moving 1-2mm max. New engine mounts are smooth aside from at idle, where the car properly shakes. If the tach is reading right idle is at ~1500 rpm and has always been a bit lumpy and shook at idle but this was previously taken up by the wobbly engine mounts. I'm taking it over to a friend who knows carbs better than me to check that out at some point. It was on axle stands on the subframe so that probably made it rougher. Clutch pedal feels great, shifter action is so much better with the sprint box than the 1850 one. Offset on the knob doesn't bother me. First time using an easibleed, what a difference that makes, especially was we ended up bleeding the clutch 4-5 times for various reasons. It's well flushed out at least. 

Hoping for no issues with the axle swap, mounting hardware at the back looks brand new. Plan is to get it in storage by this weekend as I'm pretty busy until Christmas, so it just needs to be driveable not necessarily finished. 

[leakingstrut]

Car is now theoretically drivable. But has no gearbox cover or diff oil. The latter due to a stuck drain plug. Temporary fix might be to squeeze it in from the breather.

We did spend a while today fabbing a gearbox cover - mating a sprint shifter end  from a rusty sprint one to the one that came off the car. I was very happy with it till I realised the clutch slave was catching it. More fettling is required, but I wanted an access hatch for clutch anyway, so it’ll be a big one with a lump.

 

I’m aware the paint is a bit shit (and only covers the bit we modified) but it should do. Lack of sparky stick means we went with rivets and sealant. 

[SiC]

Is the sprint gearbox tunnel cover different to the others? I was hoping to use my Dolomite 1300 carpet in my Sprint!

[leakingstrut]

I’ve  got three quite different tunnels , one unknown that came with the car , but probably Toledo seeing as the paint matches the shell. One probably 1850, and one sprint (which was too rusty to use).

I got the 1850 and sprint ones from Alun, the plan being to stitch a usable one from the two. I test fitted the 1850 one to see what modifications were required, but most of the top section was too low. The Toledo one was a lot closer, but was too low / don’t line up at shifter. Seeing as it was closer I used that one. 

I don’t have a continuous carpet, but a mix of off the shelf and custom cut bits so I’m hoping it all fits. But given that the Toledo gearbox cover was only off by an inch here or there the carpet might *just* fit, even if it was a standard carpet. I think it might just fit over the box but the biggest issue would be that the shifter is about and inch backwards and toward the driver. The sprint hole is bigger so gives you a bit of wiggle room. Not sure if having a single or three rail box changes starting the position. 

 

 

 

[GMcD]

Yeah, most of the carpet was missing apart from the mid section around the tunnel. The rest of it was from a roll and made using CAD* and doing the edging badly using my mother in-laws sewing machine.  I think there was some carpet roll left in the box, but I'm not sure how much. 

[SiC]

The sprint has a tray and trim over the gearbox area so hopefully that will be hidden in my car anyway. I'll just cut the wombles nose off the carpet. 

[GMcD]

I think there was a tray too in the box?

I had it in place then took it out as it didn't sit that great. Maybe it might now with the tunnel being tweaked?

[leakingstrut]

If you hadn’t told me I’d have thought the whole carpet was off the shelf, it looks great. 

I do have a tray, but I had to cut off the Mount for it when I modified the gearbox cover. I kept it, so it can be refitted. I’ll chuck it on and see if I like the look. 

[M'coli]

14 hours ago, GMcD said:

Yeah, most of the carpet was missing apart from the mid section around the tunnel. The rest of it was from a roll and made using CAD* and doing the edging badly using my mother in-laws sewing machine.  I think there was some carpet roll left in the box, but I'm not sure how much. 

Cardboard Aided Design...?

[leakingstrut]

Between starting a new job, getting a brutal cold and the festivities, progress has been slow. However the car is now back on the road, albeit with a few niggles to sort. New gearbox and clutch feels great! 

[leakingstrut]

 

That’s it all tucked up in storage. I’m going to leave it there while I acquire a few more bits and prep some electrical bits. I’ll take it out for a bit when there is some more light in the evenings to get the final bits done. 
 

Clutch is a bit noisy, so might need to come out again. Overdrive isn’t wired up as I need to redo the wiring. LED lights are still in, and I need to get a nut welded on the diff to get the stuck drain plug out (we filled it from the breather). 

 

Ripped the bootlid off the daily. £260 for a bit of plastic! Got a whole boot for £110 delivered and hopefully the wiper will be working - mine hasn’t for years. 

[Crackers]

25 minutes ago, leakingstrut said:

Is that shared storage or do you have any connection to the fire engines and ERF in the background?

[leakingstrut]

 

6 hours ago, Crackers said:

Is that shared storage or do you have any connection to the fire engines and ERF in the background?

Dundee Museum of Transport, £36 a month. Access requires 48 hours notice and I can’t work on it there, but it’s dry and secure so I can’t knock it for that price! 

[GMcD]

26 minutes ago, leakingstrut said:

 

Dundee Museum of Transport, £36 a month. Access requires 48 hours notice and I can’t work on it there, but it’s dry and secure so I can’t knock it for that price! 

Absolute bargain! You'll struggle to even get a council lockup roundabout that price. 

[Crackers]

1 hour ago, leakingstrut said:

 

Dundee Museum of Transport, £36 a month. Access requires 48 hours notice and I can’t work on it there, but it’s dry and secure so I can’t knock it for that price! 

That is a Billy bargain, great find. 

[leakingstrut]

Finally found a garage, it’s over the water in Wormit but only 15 mins drive away and big enough to work in - certainly on the triumph - the Freelander is a tighter fit. No water or power but it’s not expensive. The museum storage was great but access was a pain. 

 

Went over yesterday after work and had a play with the carbs, idle was pretty lumpy which was fine before I put in stiffer engine mounts at which point it became pretty shaky. 
 

Got it idling smoothly, albeit a bit high (just under 1000, think it should be about 800). That was just by ear so I might get a colourtune and air flow meter to get it a bit closer.

 

[tooSavvy]

I have replaced/upgraded my engine stabiliser [Dogbone].

Dash now vibrates on 'hold/in gear' 😕

'finessing' is ongoing.... SitNorm 🤣

[MikeR]

Might be preaching to the converted but 

If it's anything like the 2000 , the 6 pots need a airflow meter to balance the pots , not only that just check the dizzy shaft for float which makes the timing jump around ..

[leakingstrut]

Definitely not preaching to the converted.  Yesterday was pretty much my first time messing with carbs! Genuinely surprised I made it better not worse 😂

[leakingstrut]

Cross posted from the dolly forum in case anybody has any insight! 

So I got the carbs running decently, at which point the cheap plastic rev counter which was balanced on the dash so I could see it from outside fell onto the floor, and the needle fell off 

So I grabbed an old dolomite tach I had, wired it up and started it again. It ran fine, the rev counter worked, then within 10 seconds died. Thinking perhaps the rev counter had caused some issue, I unplugged it, no start! The next day it did start but ran horribly. All cylinders were getting spark, but I seemed erratic. A new coil didn’t help - assuming as the tach was fed from the coil that may have been damaged. 

Interestingly, I believe the lumenition system needs (I think) at least 3ohms coil resistance. The new and old coil are both 1.5 and I can’t find a ballast resistor fitted. Annoyingly the “1.5ohm” resistor I bought seems to be 3ohm. But that’s a problem for later - it was running fine previously with just 1.5, so it can stay that way until I figure out the issue.

The problem may be the lumenition system, but that’s a sealed unit I know nothing about so into the next thing I know nothing about - the distributor. 

I set the engine to 10deg BTDC and pulled the cap - the leads seemed to go to the right place, and with a light hooked up as per the lumenition instructions it lit at the correct point - sort of. There was a lot of play in the rotor, meaning I could switch it on and off by turning the top of the rotor without loosening the distributor clamp. I’ve removed the distributor and it has about 8mm of rotational play measure on the outside of the rotor. This play is in the cams on under the cap, and is completely free, the springs do nothing as far as I can see. Is the normal? 

Additionally, the vacuum advance fitting is stopping the cap for fitting securely, and it has about 1mm vertical play in the shaft. Oh and when I pulled one of the HT leads off the fitting came off and is still on the distributor cap   

So obviously I need HT leads - are Magencor ones to go for? I might as well get a new distributor cap too. I was thinking I’d get a new distributor and at least I’ve got a spare, but then I saw the cost! 

So, is this distributor OK or repairable? If not I’m tempted to go for a 123 ignition setup, if I’m spending hundreds anyway I might as well upgrade - and this would also rule out any issues with the Lumenition system. 

They don’t make one for the tr7 - is fitting one the same hassle as it is on the sprint? I think I read a 1500 distributor clamp will work on the tr7 but I can’t find that post now! 

Thanks! 

[leakingstrut]

Taking a break from the distributor I started fitting the new rev counter / digital gauge. It slid inside an old speedo housing nicely, and I don’t think it looks too out of place. 



I took out the old fuel gauges and sized up the oil pressure and AFR gauges for fitment. I think something should be doable here, although I’ll need make sure I have a way of fitting it - as with the gauges on it will be wider than the hole in the dash on the front and the back of the gauge. AFR gauge is a bit garish, but it’s was cheap and will do for now. 



I’ve test fitted a Dolomite wash wipe stalk, I just need to figure out the wiring and modify the column shroud.

 

[GMcD]

Don't think it looks bad at all! Much better than the monstrosity ontop of the dash. 

[leakingstrut]

Got the stereo / control box wired up, buttons are: Interior lights, passenger/navigator light, control button for the Koso display, heated rear window, fan and stereo / usb sockets on the bottom row. 

I used to Wago connectors - dead easy. I did double connections at a few points which may not be kosher but nothing is mission critical it should be fine.

The heated rear window switch is taped up as I had to remove the latch as it will be wired to a timed relay and it wasn’t keen to going back together.

Stereo isn’t fully wired as I needed a relay and they were all in the garage! Slightly worried about heat inside from the stereo, so I’ll keep an eye on that. The stereo knobs are cheap plastic but I got some nicer metal ones off eBay for a few quid which should fit. 

Still to get it wired into the car, went over to do that but realised there was a bunch of other wiring I need to do first. 


 

I’ve brought the distributor home to rebuild once all the parts are here too, as a heated rear window and tunes won’t do much good without a running engine.

[purplebargeken]

Good to see my old Tolly getting a decent level of attention. 

It had polybushes fitted at the front end and new shocks and springs. Don't recall doing the rears...

One of the most solid Triumphs I ever had.  

Gear change on 2nd was always a bit weak.

Steelies are MGF... rubber well due for a change.

I fitted the 1500FWD seats, much comfier and adjustable. OD worked via a dash mounted switch, never liked the gear lever ones.

[leakingstrut]

Hi Ken, I’d say the car is in good hands but that’s definitely overstating my abilities! it’s certainly well loved, it’s very much a keeper. It’s a really good car in the places that matter. 

The tyres were definitely interesting in the wet 😂 the new rain sports are much better! 

Good to know the front end was redone - front end feels good and the back end will be getting at least new shocks at some point as think it’s a bit soft. Don’t want to make it too taught as the roll is half the fun of a tolly.

I really like the FWD seats, much better than the standard ones (and the cheap buckets my dad had fitted to my old one) the only reason I’m considering changing them is to have headrests for safety reasons.

If I paint it I might fit a new bootlid - the stickers on the back have a lot of history and I don’t want to remove them. Only one I removed was the PBKen sticker - if it was me I wouldn’t want my name on a car being driven by some other chump! 

A wee progress update: I’ve fitted the control / stereo box to the left of the steering column. New distributor rotor and springs have been fitted - it’s gone from completely loose to springing properly. I’ve got a new distributor cap, but I need to remove bit from the edge to clear the vacuum advance and let it sit properly. HT leads are in the post so it should be running next week. 

Past week has mostly been spent pissing about with wiring - fitting the Koso meant having a lot of spare live wires, so I unplugged the dash looms and removed the unused wires from the connectors. Unfortunately I got a bit too carried away and also removed the wires that fed back from the dash to power the indicators and wipers.

I had fitted 5 port wago connectors on the back of the firewall for earth, batt+ and ignition live (latter two fused), so I just ran wires from there. I did consider returning it to stock, but the original way of drawing power from the back of the dash, back into the main loom and then to the steering column seemed like it would make troubleshooting 50 year old wiring tricky.

The feed from the light switch to main beam doesn’t seem to do anything and the wire looked a bit gubbed. A wire has been added feeding back to the a steering column wiring for main beam. This works fine, so I’m leaving it that way for now. It’s on a relay so not drawing big power. I might redo the whole lighting wire loom for peace of mind at some point, having had a Pug 309 that would occasionally go completely dark on main beam that’s not an experience I want to repeat! 

While I was in there I fitted a Dolomite wiper stalk - plug and play aside from having to rearrange the connectors in the block. I’ve got a dolomite indicator stalk so I might fit that to match. I’m thinking of repurposing the old wiper switch for spot lights, reversing light (no reverse switch on the new gearbox), with the skoosher function being for spotlight flash. 

Edited May 6, 2023 by leakingstrut

[purplebargeken]

Brilliant! I always liked mgf steelies on the car. They really suit. Better than Spr#nt wheels which need to be on Spr#nts...

The stickers represented the countries that we were going to pass through doing the Club Triumph 10 Countries... Sadly not to have happened.

If you want at some point to pass her on....

[purplebargeken]

Carbs.... might want to look at the carb mounts too. I recall them being a bit 'cracky'.  A cheap solution might be to ram some black sikkaflex skillfully in the cracks.  Depth of cracks unknown...