In message <950318123439_53414538@aol.com> writes:
> Thanks Teri,
> I've gotten enough replies that I think it'll be around 100 man-hours.
> Maybe less. All the stuff is ready to go (if it still works. I started on
> this 3 years ago) I have a TR guru about 5 minutes away, and he has a
> TR-4A, so I do have a pattern. Like you I have good electrical skills, but
> the body work has just about finished me. '4's hide their rust well, VERY
> WELL. I recall that someone told me the French invented rust....and the Brits
> perfected it!! This thing'll have approximately 75% new body panals welded
> in. I had to send that out. I have zero body working experience. At
> last....Fred's Folly may actually move under it's own power!!! Thanks again,
> Fred
Sounds alot like my TR3, new rear valence, floors, inner & outer sills, new to
the car bonnet, boot lid & doors, several sections where metal cut & new metal
welded in (including the bottom rear of both front wings & the bottom foot of
both dog legs behind the door). I hired all that out but did a lot of the
sanding myself taking the entire car down to bare metal (I don't pay myself
about $50/hr to sand). The dreaded previous owner wire brushed rust through
holes, fiber glassed over the holes and put on a fresh coat of paint. I had her
for about 2 years before rust bubbles started poping out all over her.
I started my rebuild just over 5 years ago. I am a bit ahead of you but not
much. The body is on the frame, the interior painted final colour, petrol tank
in, engine, transmission in & everything completed in the engine compartment
except the exhaust system, and intake system including fuel lines back to the
tank. I have the refinished insturment panel installed and wired. All the body
panels are back on the tub & fitting properly. The rebuilt steering box is on
the 3 and the steering related stuff is all reinstalled. All new stainless
steel hydrolic lines have been installed.
She is currently back at the paint shop getting final blocking and final colour
on the outside of the car. I've asked them not to rush the job and to keep the
car for 2 weeks after painting (so the paint will be dryer & harder when I get
it home) because its our rainy season and my garage consists of a plastic tarp
over an electrical tubing frame. I would just as soon wait to the end of the
rainy season to get her back, then take a week off work to put parts on.
A couple of things have streached out my rebuild. For about a year I was in the
bodywork phase & too poor to have any work done, so critical path work didn't
get done during that time. Later, I had to send the body back to the original
shop for a warrenty repair because the door openings were about 1/4 inch too
narrow. Not having a garage kept me away from the project while it was raining,
too cold or dark. Finally, not remembering exactly every single detail of how
everything fits together and not having another TR3 sitting nearby to look at
took a huge chunk of time researching the exact proper placment & routing of
many parts.
On the positive side, I should have no problms being ready for Triumphest '95
and should be done long before then. Her second to last Triumph club outing was
Triumphest '89.
Good luck in your rebuild!
TeriAnn Wakeman Large format photographers look at the world
twakeman@apple.com upside down and backwards
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