The purpose of this page is to provide an on-line Photo Diary or Progress Report of the ground-up re-build of my 1959 Triumph Herald Coupe. Also to perhaps provide a source of information and/or inspiration to other similarly afflicted lunatics with a penchant for "Classic" cars.... (In short, DON'T!!! )
The car was bought as a rolling body and a small mountain of parts back in October '98.
As you can see, it's a "work in progress". Bloody slow progress...!!!
I've included a couple of photos scanned from the November 1998 issue of UK "Classic & 
Sportscar" Magazine to show what it's going to look like.... one day...
For those of you who wish a more detailed description of the work undertaken, check out... The Saga..!
To tell the truth, "The Saga" is becoming something of, Well... A Saga, really...
If you click on the above link you'll go straight to the top of the page. So you have the choice of ready the whole sorry story in one hit, OR, Each group of photos has it's own "link" to the (roughly) relevant part of "The Saga"...
Given that A/ I'm making this up as I go along & B/ I tend to waffle somewhat, "roughly" is the best I can do...
On the other hand, there are bits in "The Saga" that don't actually have any photos associated with it... IE my ramblings on the subject of car restoration or whatever trivial wee "pottering" jobs I have actually concluded (basically the non "photogenic" stuff)
The choice is yours....
Cheers
MD
As bought, October '98 |
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In the Beginning |
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Pretty sad state... |
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Ditto... |
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Ditto... |
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Engine Bay..
Looked like a pigeons toilet... |
| An unexpected house move, announced late '98 to take effect early '99, put things on "hold"... |
The Move |
May '99, Blasted and Primed |
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May '99 |
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May '99, sandblasted
& Primed |
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Back home for the
"Big Strip"... |
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Ditto... |
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Front & Rear Suspension removed prior to cleaning & painting. |
In the ensuing months, the "Big Strip" took place, Everything came out and was cleaned, repainted, reconditioned or replaced, as necessary. Repainting and reassembly commenced.
The Ensuing Months |
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The Ensuing Months |
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Engine Bay repainted. Much better than before! |
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Front Suspension repainted & replaced |
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Diff & Rear Suspension repainted. |
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Back on it's wheels, Xmas '99. |
Took a bit of a break from the whole thing....
Easter 2000 |
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Easter 2000 |
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Sexy Front Discs installed... Woo hoo! |
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Another pic of the Discs! |
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Disc, yet again.... Ain't they purty? |
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Me & my toy... Easter 2000 |
Another break with bursts of "Pottering" followed
September 2000 |
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September 2000 |
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Gearbox ready for reassembly. |
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Almost there... |
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Done! Ain't that purty... |
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A pic of the rear end... |
Having collected all the bits I needed to reassemble the engine, it took a while to save the money required to get the actual machining work done. I had hoped to have the entire drive train back in the car before the year was out (2000), but an impacted Wisdom Tooth took care of that...!!
The Engine Rebuild (June '01) |
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June 2001 |
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All the bits, laid out and ready to go! |
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The Crank |
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New pistons and Balanced conrods |
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The Pistons are in!! |
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Pistons in place, rolled the block over to insert the crank. |
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Crank in place, conrods torqued down, crank journals ready to go |
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Front plate & gasket attached |
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Gearbox assembly attached. All systems go! |
The Installation (June '01) |
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Installation |
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Engine and Gearbox assembly about to go in |
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It's in!! Ain't that purrttty? |
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As seen from behind the firewall (passenger side) |
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As seen from behind the firewall (Driver side) showing sexy Sports Wheel... |
Timing Gear etc (July 2001) |
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July 2001 |
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Timing gear done!
(hope I got it right!!!) |
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Starter Motor in...
(I tested it by laying it on the ground & hooking up a set of jumper leads between it & my other car.. Seems to work!) |
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Another view of the Engine |
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Yet another view of the Engine, this time with Sump in place (see below or relevant section of "The Saga") |
August 2001 (Fun with Sumps) |
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August 2001 |
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The Sump & offending Crossmember...
(see relevant section of "The Saga") |
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The Sump & crossmember again...
(ditto) |
I have been really slack lately..... but here's the latest....
March 2002 (the New Dash) |
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March 2002 |
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The dashboard, as bought... |
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Cleaned up & temporarily fitted into the car to prevent any possibility of warping.... |
| May 2002 (the WBIP) |
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May 2002 |
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The back board in place & tools hung up... |
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Just to prove I am completely "anal" I've even outlined them... |
Unfortunately that's all I've achieved so far..... Other than take a few more photos....
| June 2002 |
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June 2002 |
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Cylinder head etc temporarily fitted. |
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Ditto |
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Couldn't resist another pic of the dash... |
The cylinder head etc has been temporarily fitted (loosely) in order to prevent dust & crap from getting inside the engine...Unfortunately finances at the moment prevent me doing anything but *day dream* about the Trumpy....
