The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Trev, Mr Kettley was a weatherman (the same era as the legendary Michael Fish & Ian McCaskill). You are of course referring to the late Brian Kittley who was the Somerset-based triumph speicalist.

Toledo Man wrote:...Mr Kettley was a weatherman ...

We know a song about that!

The times I have felt guilty telling folk that if you trim the inner valance repair you can fit it from the wheel arch with wing in situ...never actually having done so myself, my theory is now vindicated by your pictorial guide showing how easy it actually is!!

Apologies all, I didn't get an email that people had replied!

I got the club ones to fit! Alun, there was a bend in a seam where I removed the old one that prevented me from moving it fully across, I thought it was hitting something. I'll post a photo of how they fit so people can see. I still have a problem with welding around them so realistically I can't use them.

I am going to have a go at fabricating a repair section for the NS again, the OS is really bad, the whole outer top section has rotted away and realistically the whole thing needs replacing. Oily66 you have a PM!! Are you able to get it to me for the weekend? I'll pay postage!!

James467 wrote:I am going to have a go at fabricating a repair section for the NS again, the OS is really bad, the whole outer top section has rotted away and realistically the whole thing needs replacing. Oily66 you have a PM!!

Glad that you didn't pay too much heed to my advice (which I'm sure you didn't need anyway), as I now realise it was based on my mistaken belief that Oily66's eyebrows were both NS ones, when I now see they're OS ones.

Trevor, you have a PM from me too!

Steve

James & Steve you have replies to clarify.

I had another go at fabricating the end section of the eyebrow but still couldn't get it to fit so decided to cut the end off the Rimmers one I had and weld my eyebrow sections back together. It took a lot of work, the fit on the rimmers one needed a fot of fettling to get it to fit correctly but now everything is tacked in place again and lines up nicely.





Ther seam on the nose needs more dressing to get it back in shape. I'm not happy with it at all, it is going to need some filler to get it nice and smooth but realistically there's not a lot I can do.



It doesn't look pretty at the moment, it never does when everythings just tacked in but it should go together fine.





I'll weld everything up tomorrow nice and slowly and see what I can do about that seam.

All welded up, I managed to straighten out the front edge a bit more, it will still need a skim of filler though.



The inner valance repair panel was welded in from the inside of the wheel arch, not an easy job with a welding mask on!



Once I knocked the welds back with a flap disc everything looked much better.



I haven't finished the inside yet as I need some belts for the belt sander, I did fabricate a bracket for the outer headlamp panel using the old one as a template.



Just need to do flat back the welds tomorrow, acid etch, fit the headlamp panel, fit the headlamps and grille to make sure everything aligns correctly and thats one corner done!

You're moving at a faster pace, keep the perfection prioritised.

Thanks for the PM Mahesh!

The only thing that has gone right here is the inner valance repair panel, the rest looks like absolute cr@p and is nowhere near my standards.

I'm taking it all apart and doing it again and have denied myself beer all next week as punishment for doing such a crap job.

Very annoyed with myself.

I quit beer 25 years ago, shame really, a pint of JD No.7 is all I can handle now.

The first thing to do is to have the body stripped, the doors have gone off to be blasted, the bonnet and bootlid have already been done and primed to protect.

I expect that this is going to throw some opinions!

I was going to have the body dipped but after speaking to a number of high end restorers, those that specialise in Italian exotica and Astons I have been strongly advised not to. I have been told that it will make the car worth more in the long term, this was by SPL when I spoke them. Personally I don't believe this, what makes the car valuable is the quality of work done during the restoration and the car's provenance, it was then I went to see the paint shop who I want to use. The guy I normally use has retired and recommended someone, I was shown a shell that was dipped and left for 6 months in a dry garage before paint, it had the e-coating or whatever they call it. The majority of the spot welded seams had started to rust. Simply they think that the shell hadn't been neutralised properly and as a result nearly all of the seams had to be cut out and re-done. I know the company used, it wasn't SPL by the way. Apparently they blamed the owner for transporting and leaving the car uncovered.

After seeing that I was thinking a big no but properly done and with a big guarantee I can see the benefits.

I can see your OCD bump itching from here James!

Mark in Staffs had his NOS shell dipped and coated by SPL - but I think he waited for a dry day to transport it away and had it painted almost immediately. That seems to be the way to do it.

It's an expensive process, but the level you are working to almost demands it. Like the balancing of the engine, even if no one else notices, it will prey on your mind that you COULD have done just that little bit better!

Steve

Mike Barker also had his early Sprint (VA969) done by SPL so it would be worth seeking both his and Mark's opinions and experiences with the process. You can find their respective resto threads in the "epic Sprint restos" sticky.