Greg Smith said:
In reply to Indy-Guy :
both bumpers are insanely heavy, for sure. and I do have a source of aluminum in IT equipment racks that I may be able to take advantage of. But the front bumper is an issue. In the DHC (drophead coupe, AKA "convertible" to us Americans), the front bumper mounts on a center pivot and has additional weights at either end. It apparently balances out a known body shake, and if swapped with coupe bumpers with solid mounts, can lead to... 'interesting' handling issues.
But hey, i do have 2 sets of bumpers, so why not experiment, and look at cutting out a bunch of weight? The aluminum is less than scrap prices as I am getting it instead of the company paying someone to take it. "Free" is nice! I hadn't considered using it to make a bumper body. But the idea is growing on me....
I don't recall this "center pivot" you refer to, but I can assure you, in contrast to the advice of the Internet, I have personal experience removing those ridiculous heavy cast iron weights at the corners of the front bumper, with NO negative effects.
Of course the car was heavily modified, poly bushings every where, V-6 swapped etc, etc, etc. Not stock.
So I have made some additional progress today. With lots of help from CSmith and AWSX1686, I have procured a 1975 Triumph TR7 coupe which was in York PA for the low low price of... $0.
I'd make some sort of snide comment about how the wedge is the car that's always going to appreciate next year or the year after, but that never seems to be the case.
More pictures will follow, but this 1975 was available for parts, or free to anyone who would come and get it with a trailer. so far I have yet to find any redeeming value in it. However, it has a set of four steel wheels and two tires that hold air for a while and two tires that merely look rubber and round. It appears to have the remnants of a Chevy 305 V8 and a subframe that I have yet to be able to determine how it was built or how the engine is mounted. This is unfortunate because the subframe was one of the few things I was particularly interested in. A set of wheels to roll my project around on is a plus.
And with this being a hardtop, my hope is that I'm going to be able to fabricate a removable hardtop using one of the convertible frame header rails and the metal roof from this coupe. Of course the reason the 1975 coupe was 0 was not only because it was a disassembled project but, one of the people who shares the garage with the owner of this project apparently towed it out into a field and drove over it with their truck.
So far though I have found $0.04 inside the car. Does that count against recoup?
In reply to Greg Smith :
Can’t recoup against free. But you can drill holes in pennies and use them as washers.
I think that could technically be "defacing US currency. But... yeah.
So the car was in a shared garage (as best I can tell) and one of the other people sharing the space got upset at the car taking up space... (I didn't get garage pix. It's a pull through, very tall one with room for a fire truck (maybe) ... definitely for a car in either end. Not a whole lot of work space, it's a weird building.
Based on the 'prior state' Facebook photos from the owner, it looked promising for some parts.
It was billed as a complete TR7 with GM v8 conversion.
Seems like stock brakes and suspension with a 305? maybe? and automatic transmission. Stock 13" wheels. Sad.
My best guess is one of the other guys sharing the garage (he claimed "a drunk employee" on Facebook) dragged the car out, beat on the roof & broke the rear window, then ran over the car with their truck. I got a free (part of) a tow strap too!
It was pretty clear from the pickup that there was not an employer-employee relationship here. Just some pretty bad blood. I did get a bill of sale from "Bo" the owner And at least they dragged it onto pavement for pickup. Fortunately, Andrew (AWSX1686* has a full sized trailer, and a good winch!
To make sure the car wouldn't shift during transport, he tied it down triangulating the corners so it couldn't shift side to side. Smart!
Unloading was mostly in the dark. I need to see about getting the subframe deinstalled, and the v8 broken down for parts / scrap. Hopefully the weather will hold out tomorrow...
Also included were the automatic transmission, the v8 engine, plus head and intake manifold. And the subframe & front suspension bits. And the front wheels.
So, now I have:
- a set of steel wheels I can roll my project around on
- a v8 subframe suitability TBD - but at least *it* wasn't dragged around!
- a hardtop in fair condition. The plastic "vents" on the sides are damaged / melted.
I'm going to try to convert this into a removable hard top, using a convertible top header rail for the front, and tir in the back with (something.....? Dzus fasteners? Something like a Miata Frankenstein bolt? and also tie it to the roll bar so it will be securely fastened in place. The coupe and convertible havd a different door glass profile, so I will have to make modifications. And will need to make my own side trim panels to fit the convertible glass.
Other than that... mostly scrap metal. There are some lights, wiring, etc that I may be able to salvage. And the early door cards actually may work out for me if I vinyl dye them black...
Ooooof. That thing is rough. I hope you didn't have to go far to pick it up.
In reply to Indy-Guy :
Just under an hour each way.
Rusty V8 engine disassembled from subframe. Steering and front suspension components disassembled from subframe. V8 converted subframe examined and found to be extremely wanting. Pictures to follow
Well, it may not be worth much more than scrap. Not a sing e straight body panel, most of the glass is busted rear vents are melted.
On the plus side, 4 wheels so maybe I can make the Spider a roller again soon. One or two of the tires still hold air a bit.
At the moment I don't really have a set of wheels for this, so even the stock 13" steelies will help. Of course we had to drag it... Since someone had already drug it out of the garage, then run it over... :(
Horrible motor mount.
The coupe is still resting in my driveway. Will probably cut off the roof for hardtop use and scrap most of the rest come spring.
Excavations in the garage continue. I've re- test fitted the body kit parts. After 19 years of sitting, there is a little warpage but not too much.
James helped me wipe down accumulated dust and dirt...
With one of the hoods... er, bonnets, in place, it almost looks like a car again.
And the Rimmer's Mk. 3 body kit adds some nice width. Even if it's all held on with painters tape. I test painted some of it (rear body kit parts) with Rust-Oleum black stainless metallic. Looking for a more modern color than the factory's gloss black.
Ignore the imperfection on the front body kit, that's a photo glitch from taking a panoramic shot.
I need to spend more consistent garage time. Have really missed this.
Excavation continues..... I only have jack stands under the trunk now! And can walk through so much more of the garage...
With the coupe, I now have 4 wheels once more. So I can see a point where the suspension gets reassembled and I can roll this thing out of the garage for sanding and primer.
It's a long way off, but a bit at a time....
Progress! Go team Triumph 
Excavation continues. Hammer Store parts washer is uncovered. Work desk is clear too! Well, as clear as it's ever been.
I moved the tumbler there and am cleaning surface rust off of suspension bolts and nuts. Starting to slowly get ready for reassembly.
Not much progress recently. Crewed on the #16 car for the 2019 $2000 Challenge. We got in last night and all tool-y stuff was basically offloaded in the garage on the floor or the TR7 trunk.
Back in tonight to put it all away and I've been inspired by Dusterbd13 for paint and Andrew Nelson for the rear axle replacement. I'm really glad to have some steps through things that I have been blocked by in the past.
So, after the tools got put away, I got rolling on to all the parts stuffed in the interior. Most of this has been there since the car was brought in to the garage, but there were some things I had no idea were there, and one I've been looking for for a while because I knew it was there somewhere...
There's a repro Spider decal set all in red reflective. It's old, so hopefully none the worse for its age.
Two side panels for a coupe roof, which must have come from a parts car so.ewhere along the way. Perfect for my removable hardtop project!!
The passenger floor was rotten. British steel, yay!
Though the rest of the floor and sheet metal seems generally ok. And on top of this "holy" floor.....
Was what appears to be the correct repair panel. Handy!
And my youngest had to get some time behind the wheel. The driver's seat was upside down and the upholstery foam may be done. But she didn't care in the least...
So I had to get her to take my picture too:
She looks like she's ready for a test cruise with the top down.
It was great to meet you and hang out this past weekend. Keep up the forward momentum
In reply to Indy-Guy :
Great to meet you too and I hope to keep it going.
After this and the time away for the $2000 Challenge, I am getting pushback re things around the house that needs attention...
Also, After winter, I am planning to cut the roof off the coupe for a removable hardtop, and cut out the front clip, including the firewall for test engine fits. Should be easier to work with that (maybe even with some hood scrap for "clearance areas" to work out the drivetrain aspect of things.
At this point, I am looking to sell off a full set of TR7 FI gear (computer and all) which is likely to recoup this to $0
Then need to look into trades / etc that would get me a LS or LQ engine / trans setup.
I guess I can't be *too* disappointed about the rear window in the coupe being smashed...
- it WAS free after all
- After finding the spare side grills, it looks like the coupe roof will not cover the entire well for the convertible top anyway (removable hardtop idea) so I'll have to do something else for glass and add some metal at the bottom, it appears.
Finally got through just about all the falling apart boxes of old parts that came from a coupe... Driver and passenger mirrors that look like new.
A needle bearing kit from TS Imported Automotive, which makes it less brutal to run a manual steering rack with wide tires:
Also some really clean taillights:
I may take out the amber inserts behind the lenses and use amber bulbs per the Euro spec cars.
I'd also like to add a raised brake light. Either using an early 90s Honda Prelude rear spoiler with integrated stoplamp, or an NC Miata raised stoplamp...
So I got my first value out of the free green wreck. The older cars had a sliding trunk prop rod. Later cars used small gas cylinders on each hinge, but they are woefully underpowered. I had looked at doubling them up, but the prop rod is just a simpler design.
The trunks were never changed (and coupe / convertible trunk parts are identical, already threaded for the prop rod.
But there is a bracket on the left side of the body that I chiseled off of the wreck, then drilled to temporarily mount with bolts. The three holes are where I will weld the channel to the bracket (factory weld locations) and it works perfectly.
Sweet! Hope you can join the vintage roadster group at 2020!!
I have a deal for a Ford Explorer rear with LSD... Now to get a short side axle shaft, cut the housing down, and get mounting ears on to match the TR7/8 factory olid axle.
Currently planning on matching the factory 4-link setup. That will give me a strong rear end (Thanks Andy Nelson!! for the info) and 5-lug hubs in the rear to take more standard (and hopefully cheaper!) wheels with more size / offset options.
In reply to Greg Smith :
Lay warped Fiberglas out in the direct hot sun for several hours. Them bolt, screw, or clamp the pieces into the correct location.
