Summer Progress

Fri.03.08.07. Thankfully, as per usual, Chris has actually underestimated the progress that has been made. Sure enough, on the surface the car hasn’t changed much since my departure in May but after a ‘talk through’ on Friday afternoon the extent of the modifications, improvements together with numerous revisions that had been achieved has been grossly underestimated. For someone prone to childlike enthusiasm Chris had definitely undersold his summer achievements.

·      The handbrake mechanism has been re-designed. It is now lower, further forward incorporating a rose joint which acts as an adjustable pick up point for the cable; all enclosed within a totally new self contained bracket. The central section of the tunnel has been cut into a streamlined gentler profile, the rear segment housing the newly fashioned bracket. As a result the cable needs to be shortened with later a dished recess in the tunnel will be moulded to accept the handle grip of the brake. The action of applying the brake is now smoother, much more naturally comfortable.

·      Moving the engine back a further 6cm replacing the original 13/60 box with an overdrive unit has meant that the entire drive train sat higher on the chassis. The angle at which the gearshift extension rod exits the box was much higher provisionally running parallel with the chassis at a difficult higher plane. Colin and Chris have re-constructed the shaft, fitted an extra bearing at the box end, which enables the shaft to be angled to an acceptable level. This modified shaft has been made from tubular steel, the split gear linkage giving a snug operational height. The combination of this refinement together with the handbrake improvements has made the driving position management much more acceptable.

·      The pedal box has been fitted with an additional top spring loaded double bearing accelerator assembly instead of the usual ground anchored arrangement. The box had been built last year, again, with an input from Colin. Welding three original Triumph pedals together (two clutch and one brake) the box was created by using a central plate to accommodate the complete unit which then could be suspended from both of the master cylinders above. The distance to operate the clutch, brake and accelerator has been measured to facilitate a comfortable gear change plus the smooth application of power. 

·      To complete the rear exhaust configuration it had been necessary to lift the rolling chassis along with the central tub on to axle stands. The work had to be carried out in situ with Colin and Chris collectively working along side each other underneath the car. Additional brackets have been fabricated to secure the left and right sections to the chassis via bobbins. For future ease of assembly and repair or replacement a partially drilled stainless steel plate has been welded where the pipe splits at the ‘Y’ union. This enables both of the rear silencer boxes to be individually bolted to the front half of the system. Additional anchors from the chassis to the tub have been attached as further fixing points for the rear system.

 During that days activities Colin was accurately welding with aluminium, mild steel    and stainless. Clever bastard.

·      On the scuttle top the aero screens have been mounted by securing locating nuts on the underside using steel plates to hold the nuts whist also being ‘glassed’ once in position. The brackets can be fitted in two quite different ways to determine the exact level at which they lie: each being quite critical as one method severely tilts the screens whilst the other maintains a perfectly parallel plane to the rest of the top. These adjustments therefore cater for cars having a flat plateau plane to those that have a concave surface. Discovering these alternatives originally proved difficult for the team but after much scratching of heads their versatility was revealed. Much to the delight of Chris who naturally assumed that we had bought yet another lemon. A recessed seat to accommodate the base of the rear view mirror has been cut into the top so that the post stands perfectly upright allowing for total vision to the rear of the car.

·      The dashboard needs a complete re-think. Because the gear lever and handbrake have been lowered subsequently the tunnel cover has been reduced in height the dash now appears flimsy, oddly remote from the rest of the internal design. Where once the dash swept up at either end to lighten the heavy appearance of straight lines a more compatible option would be to have the corners develop a batwing downwards interpretation mimicking the curved sweep of the door panels. But, the gap now between the gear stick and the bottom of the dash appears to isolate the main body of the instrument panel from the console. A deeper section of dashboard must now be considered to bridge this unpleasant space. Simply speaking, a totally new concept must be calculated. The batwings together with the lower sleeker console area must remain as an improved modification; it is the actual dashboard that now needs to accommodate this stronger composition. To achieve the desired effect the combined proportions of wood and leather must be explored thoroughly. Back to the drawing board!