Fall is here

Wow, where did that summer go? Work is still ten hour days, and now school has started up again, so I'm teaching Automotive electronics labs 2 nights a week.  That pretty much just leaves me weekends to play with the TR. But, the last 2 weekends have been very productive.
Last weekend I got the patch work done on the bottom of the drivers dogleg, right in front of the rear wheel. I also got all the fender flanges sprayed, and the fenders on. Also I got the drivers door hung. And this week, so far, I shot the whole drivers side in DP primer, along with wire brushing the wheels, and painting them Valspar rattle-can red!
Minus the whitewall tires, I can actually , for the first tiem, see that this car will look like when it.s done.
I like it!

l;ong time no updates

I fiunally logged in here and realized the last post was in May!!! Holy cow! Anyhow, work has been slowly progressing on the ol' TR2.  I now have the Bonnet, boot, and right door in DP epoxy primer. That's a nice satin black, waterproof primer that will serve as the topcoat on this car till later.

Lately it's been on to the engine. I have 2 engine blocks for this car, so I hauled them out and got them bolted up on stands. the first one is out of a TR3, and is the one that came with the TR when I got it in Vermont. I tore it down to check it out. #4 cylinder was seized and the other bores are rusty. Being a wet-sleeve engine the cylinders are removable so I took the block right down to nothing.
the other engine came out of a 66 TR4A that I parted out. that engine has threads missing for some of the head studs, so the block is not much good, but the 86mm pistons and cylinders are good. So, Instant bore job for the TR3 motor.

That's about where I'm at at the moment. Next is cleanup of engine parts, measuring everything to see what's good, and ordering some parts to put it all together.
I have the TR3 head servicible, as I took it into work a few months back, and lapped in the valves. It'll do for now, while I save up to have the good flowing TR4A head done properly later.
And for now it looks like the TR3 cam will be used. the 4A cam looks a bit rough. Unless someone out there has a hot cam for an even hotter price.hehehehhe

Talk to you all soon.

Care package arrives

Happy Cinco de Mayo! as a treat here at the low-buck command center I got a care package in the mail today from fellow British car enthusiasts Dan and Terry Ludwig, and Pete, all members of the British Car Forum I hang out in most of the time. They heard mt plea, and responded with a box of goodies including brake hoses, a wheel cylinder, a clutch slave cylinder, a pair of windtone horns, a seedometer that should yield some good parts, an aftermarket temp gauge that should work nicely, and an original TR2 nose badge!!!!
A great treasure box indeed. I'm betting all of it will be used.
as the weather slowly gets nicer round these parts, work is getting closer and closer to beginning. I have had a few days out in the garage already, and the lawn furniture has been put back outdoors. Cleanup is occurring, and I can see almost all of the car now.
I hope to add several pics soon so stay tuned.

Back to the deep-freeze

Arrgh! things were starting to green up, and the snow came... now we're buried again. Predictions are for it to warm up again this week, but all outdoor activity is at a minimum. Currently It's clean-out time indoors. I've attacked the "room at the end of the hall". It's the old computer room, that was all but given up when the laptops cam into the house. Since then it's been a storage closet.  the last two days have found many of my missing books, a pair of safety glasses I was looking for for work,, some old pictures, a bag and a half of garbage, and a pile of cardboard. We could probably be on the show "hoarders".
Hopefully at the end of this it will be a craft room. with space for Gabrielle to have her stuff, and me to have my books and music equipment accessible.. Hopefully I'll find the bill of sale for the TR2 as well. then I need to go to the DMV to complete the paperwork.
Think warm, think warm......

Spring is coming...

The weather here in NY has, very slowly, been creeping back above the freezing mark in the last few weeks. Robins have been spotted, and flocks of geese are seen traveling North daily. The iceberg I shoveled in front of my garage doors as all but melted, allowing me to open the right side door for the first time in months. I even found a tiller buried in the snow.... It may have belonged to one of the members of  "The Lost Squadron". That'll be another small project soon, as I'll need that tiller for the garden this spring.
Yesterday, Friday, saw 60 degrees. Of course today, while I have off, it's back to 32 with flurries. I spent some time out in the garage anyway. It's a mess since I Quit my job as an auto technician 3 weeks ago, and started working in a shop that builds automation equipment for factories. That move caused me to bring home my "big ol'" tool box, and  try and stuff it in the garage. Also I brought my sand blaster home, and a roll around cart, and a mini fridge and my welder and some other random stuff... all of which is now stuffed in the bay where the BMW sat since it is back in daily service and no longer goes in the garage.
I managed to break down a couple of large boxes, and clear out 2 bags of junk. and I can actually see the TR that was under the pile. I'm attempting to keep working out there. It's gonna be a long process just getting the garage ready to work in this year.  the biggest issue it that I had major water intrusion this winter.  the front part of the floor is bad, and becomes a lake in heavy rain. This winter it flooded, then froze, then flooded more, and froze.... I had 3 mowers stuck in the ice, the sheetrock that was leaning on the wall is bad now, and the whole garage is still rather damp. Tools are already getting surface rust. I headed to the hardware store today for a fresh bottle of WD40 the help stop the problem.
Clean-up is first, then it'll be repairing the floor, installing a gutter, then starting on the TR.
All hinging on the weather cooperating.
I hope signs of spring are appearing where you are as well.

TR2 loaded up

TR2 loaded up
Originally uploaded by banjoben42

Here's the GLB TR2 on the day my Dad and I went to Vermont to pick it up in October of 2005. We piled the extra parts in the interior, and the back of the borrowed Chevy truck we took, and strapped the engine to the trailer in front of the car.
Here it is 6 years later and it pretty much looks the same. Fairly solid, but cruddy.
Most all the parts are there, and I hope that this summer it will become much more of a car that a collection of junk

The current state of disarray

Well, Like I said, it's mid-winter here in the frozen north. The TR is stuck out in the garage, unheated, buried under a pile of junk and recycling, but all is not at a standstill.
Last week I managed to retrieve a TR3 high-port cylinder head from under the workbench, locate the valves and springs, and tote them all into work to make use of some of the down time during the day. I cleaned it all up and lapped in the valves for a "down-n-dirty" workable cylinder head.  The valves and seats cleaned up reasonably well, and should be just fine for an interim motor  until I can afford to rebuild the TR4A motor I have in the wings.
This means the GLB TR2 will require lead additive for now. But I'll save the cost of the head work till later.

The journey begins

Welcome to the beginning of what may be an epic adventure. Let me start by introducing the cast.  First, there's me. I'm a 30-something auto mechanic who has always been a bit of an off-beat person. I like living history, bluegrass music and old mechanical things among my other interests. then there's my family. My wife of almost 14 years, Gabrielle, and my daughter Em' who's 10.
But this blog is  about a car, and the community that  I'm part of because of it.
This car is a 1954 Triumph TR2. My dad and I drove to Vermont several years back and picked up the trailer load of parts that I hope someday soon will become a drivable car.  I have had high hopes since bringing it home, but it always gets put on the back burner, and is currently languishing under a heap of junk in my 20x20 unheated garage here in the deep freeze of a New York winter.
the community is an online forum called the British Car Forum or "BCF". I have been an active member there since before I had the TR2. When I joined I had a 1966 TR4A that was barely hanging together.
I have made several great friends through the forum, and have had the chance to meet a few.  I went to Puerto Rico and visited "Tinster" Dale Todd and his wife, and helped work on his infamous TR6 known as Amos.
I met up with "Doctor Entropy" and his wife while on vacation  in warmer climates (Top secret security prohibits exact location disclosure hehehe)  Got to ride shotgun with John Herrara in his Powder blue TR3 during the "Tour de Marque" at Watking Glen vintage festival 2 years ago. Had "AngliaGT" Doug and his wife over for a chat  one fine evening,  Met up with Nial Mcabe and his wife at Watking Glen International while he was racing his MG Midget, and later had a great dinner at Seneca Lodge.  And a few others I totally can't remember  right now.
Anyhow, how this all fits together is this.
I have put out a call to the BCF to help me out in making this pile of parts into a car.  I need to get pieces as cheap as possible. I'm a professional Auto mechanic, and have experience working on vintage British cars, so doing the work is not the problem, but my budget had never materialized. So I need to get creative here.

I'm calling for all my fellow gearheads to find some of those bits they have been sitting on for years. Old gasket sets, and other odd bits, to help put this car together.  All contributors will be added to the "Wall of fame" that will be on the front wall of the boot (That's the trunk on an American car). And we're gonna see where this all leads.
I hope to add regular updates both here and on the BCF, along with pictures and more, so everyone can be part of "The Great Low Budget TR2 Build"!