HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Happy holidays. I can’t believe in 2 days I will have been up here in NH a year already. I should do the year in retrospect but I think that might depress me a little. I do miss Bufflo and hope to spend a little more time there this year

In the shop this week…the engine rebuild went home. We had a bit of trouble with the front carb, the fast idle cam wasn’t on the carbs and we didn’t have a set up on hand, so dad is going to make a house call and correct the problem.

That leaves the fender repair as the last service job of the year. Dad hopes to have that fender painted and on shortly.

On the restoration front… the Beasts frame is painted…yeaa!!! That opens the paint booth for BlownTC to finally move to the front of the shop and get into the booth. The only problem is that there is now 2 feet of snow to go through to get to the back of the shop. I guess dad is going to have to bring the tractor and blower down to the shop next week.

TF Frame

The Beasts trans was pulled apart yesterday…ouch. I seems as though something (a bit of metal?) has been through the trans at one time. There are small chips out of a few of the teeth in second and third gear. There is the usual wear on a 50 year old transmission, wear on the cluster gear, first gear and the first and second gear sliding hub. The scare came when we tried to get parts. The cluster is no longer available, as well as the sliding hub. Luckily a few phone calls secured the parts we need for this trans and a few spares for the shop. Unfortunately we probably found one of the last cluster gears available. I hope there’s enough demand for trans parts to make it lucrative for a machine shop to tool up and make them.

Some of the major steps done outside of the shop are completed. The sheet metal is back from the stripper, the machine work is completed on the engine (it’s back) and the shocks have been rebuilt and are back.

Sheet metal back from stripper

The engine is going back together. The crank, cam and pistons are in. The timing gears and chain are back on. The oil pump has been rebuilt and is on. So there is some decent progress on the engine. I could see the engine back together and ready for paint in no time.

TF Engine

It’s late, I’m beat, I hope this post made sense…Later

Here it is!

As promised here’s the update!

The unplanned engine rebuild is finished. We are just waiting for some decent roads for the customer to have it trucked home. I would say bite the bullet and drive it hardy but with the road salt and all… The engine looks great and purrs like a…an MG!

Just an oil change???

The fender on the accident victim has a bit of welding to do on the new fender then it’s off to paint. It’s been fitted and looks nice. The push is to get these two, last of the service season, cars back home. Then the winter restoration period can get into full swing. Not that restorations have fallen by the wayside, we have made progress on non-paint restoration work but we need the paint booth to get into full swing.

Fender fitted

Paint wise we have a line up that’s scary. First is the accident finder on the TD. Then the doors for 53TD. The frame for the TF. By then the two TD’s should be gone and the floor opened up. The TF frame will find a home where it was taken apart. That will leave the booth open and BlownTC can come into the main shop. The body is going to be taken off so the frame can be painted decently. Then the rest of BlownTC and 53TD’s body parts need painting. The TA body tub will be back by spring and that’s another body and parts that will need painting. My personal TD body parts (forget those.) The Beast’s body and parts…. get the picture. Quite a backlog for the paint booth isn't it?

The dash on 53TD is almost finished and the interior is going in. I’ll wire it soon. All we need is ummm painted body parts!!!

53TD Dash

BlownTC is my mission…to get it into the paint booth. A lot of the parts are ready to go back onto the frame but it isn’t painted. I want to get the TC into the main part of the shop so it can be worked on.

The Beast is moving along. A lot of the major components are on their way to rebirth. I hope to get the frame out of the paint booth soon. Today I went to the machine shop and retrieved the engine components. The stripper will be finished with the body parts this week, by weeks end we hope to have all of the body back. And the shocks will be rebuilt by the second week of January. The carbs and oil pump have been rebuilt…not bad progress!

The TF carbs

The 37TA body tub is nearly finished. The gauges are back from England. And the dash panel is nearing completion. Soon we will have to get the frame out of the Quonset hut and bring it into the shop. But we don’t expect to see the body tub until late winter early spring.

That brings most cars up to date. I’ll try to be a bit more vigilant on getting posts up on a regular basis.

Hey all

Yes I’m still around. I see people are looking here but there’s nothing new. For that I apologize. I’ve been busy with Holiday issues and setting up for winter. Tonight I will follow this post with an update on the shop with pictures…. Promise!

Yes I'm still here!

Yes, I’m still here in Buffalo. I decided to stay a few days more than planned to fully get the house ready for the winter. My roommates would never think of the things to do as they are not homeowners. So everything is in all put away, the hoses and nozzles the water is off to the outside. Anything laying about is in and the gardens put to bed for the winter. Etc. etc. I’ve had my fill of partying, seen all my friends and had my fun. I could socialize a bit more but lets be real, it’s time to get back to work even though I love it here. Just a quick story why… the other night I went to one of the corner bars (a litteral 30 second walk from my front door), Nietzsche's , for a beer, my friend Bill bartends there. About 1:00 (yes AM) two more friends, John and Rose a couple that live in a hidden house behind and off to the side of mine, came in. They comprise part of the Allen Street Jazz Band. It was great to see them. A local singer Gretchen came in, a guitar came out, and the fun began. They sang songs and carried on for hours taking us all along for a ride into old jazz ballads, torch songs of yesteryear and laughter. I wish there was a place like this in NH…

Well dad just called wondering where I was. He’s off to the stripper to get the sheet metal of the Beast stripped. I think he sometimes wonders if I am actually coming back. But I do have work to finish and I do enjoy doing it.

When I return to the shop I’m going to sandblast the frame for the Beast and get it painted before winter hits (it's done outside.) That will set it up for parts to go on it as they come in. The engine is in the machine shop and so far there hasn’t been any surprises (but I haven’t been there.) There’s a ton of work there but the frame is bare with the exception of the rear bumper. I just can’t get it off…YET. It will submit but I have to bring out the big torch and heat it up (the bumper isn’t the only part that had to be brought to submission.) At this stage I like to think the car is going to begin to go back together. It’s funny how it can come apart in a couple weeks and take, sometimes, years to get back together. I often wonder if all the parts are readily available and the money is available just how long it would actually take to put one of these cars back to “show” condition. Dad says it take between 800 and 900 hours to complete a car. That’s about 22 weeks of straight 8-hour days working non-stop on one car. OK, I’m freaking myself out time to move on!!!

The TF Frame (bumper still on!)

I have BlownTC to get the frame painted and the suspension, brake cylinder and pedal box finished. A little clean up on the engine and some paint there and we can then think about the interior, wiring etc. There’s a few weeks worth of work right there. Once I get it into the main part of the shop I hope to keep it there.

53TDs’ interior is beginning to go in, so the push there will be to get the dash in and wired, the interior in, then think about the rest of the painting. Everything is prepped and primed. I really hope to roll this one out in the spring.

That gives me 3 cars to work on during the winter, not too bad of a workload. The wild card is the ’37 TA. The body tub is expected between late winter and early spring. I believe that may be the longest held car in the shop. I don’t even know how far that one goes back. The owner was caught up in the 9-11 event. The company he worked had to reorganize in that area and he lost his job for a while and held up work on the car until the crisis worked itself out. Holding up work on the body tub put it at the end of the line of that shops work and they just got to it this year! We should have it back soon.

On a lighter note, almost, my gauges are back from England. Of course I haven’t seen them being here in Buffalo. They got the full treatment from probably the number one vintage gauge restorer around. It set me back just over a thousand dollars so far. Yikkes! I’m actually thinking about selling my car when it is done. Take it to a few shows win a few trophies then put it up for sale. I retired years before I was financially ready to and selling the car would get me much closer to the goals I had set for retirement. With weekend work I’m hoping to have my car ready to debut by late summer. HAH, we all know how that one goes!!!

Later!

Another week!

Things went pretty well this week. The TD with the snapped valve is going home. The thinking is that the intake valves were of a softer metal; all of the intake valves were mushroomed on the stem. Also someone had put in hydraulic lifters, which may have contributed to the failure. We changed to original lifters, changed the pushrods, put 4 new intake valves in. It’s running smooth, has a bit more power and is getting picked up in an hour.

As planned the engine parts to the Beast (TF1500) went to the machine shop Wednesday (I think it was wed) and the TD engine we had there was picked up. There was sticker shock when we picked it up. I think my engine was the last one we had fully machined back in 2002. A lot of work is done everything is cleaned, bead blasted and magnafluxed. The block and head are resurfaced. The crankshaft, flywheel and pistons are balanced. The valve seats are replaced and valves seated and installed with new springs. There is a lot of work done and the engine is better than it was when it was originally built but it’s now costing around 2700 at the machine shop. It cost me around 1800 when I did mine. Take care of your engines! Check oil pressure and levels! Watch for loss of power.

MGA cylinder head also had to go to the machine shop. The head gasket was blown and the heat generated cracked the head between #3 and #4 cylinders. It had to be welded and machined. The heat generated also loosened one valve seat. On the bright side it’s already back at the shop. It should only take a couple hours to have that car ready to go home.

Next week should be busy for Dad. He has an engine to assemble and the MGA to get done. Me…I only have one goal in the shop next week and that is to get the frame sandblasted and painted for the TF. That would be the last thing I need to get done to have my winter work lined up. I have three cars for the winter (four including my own.) BlownTC that is still waiting for the paint booth! 53TD, which is waiting for its’ center panel to come back from the shop. And the Beast.

Wednesday I’m off to Buffalo for a “recharge.” My house is on the haunted tour this year for the neighborhood association. I’m letting them use three rooms of he house for the tour. Plus I have loads of catching up to do with friends etc. My next post will be from Buffalo.

Just a couple pics of the Beast.

Left front spring, broken.

The frame is almost ready to sandblast.

See ya…

UGH!!!

It was nice while it lasted. For a short, really short, time the shop was “open and airy.” We had one engine at the machine shop…I had gotten the TF engine ready to exchange with that one when we picked it up, eliminating one trip there. We had room to roll BlownTC into the paint booth when the TD fender was painted. It seemed like things were in an ordered plan, all was well with the world, then all hell broke loose AGAIN.

Wednesday we had a quick fix on a TD that has a Datsun 5 speed trans and rear end (the owner has the originals in storage.) The trans had worn bushings in the shifter. The fix took half an hour. There was a “rocky” engine and a little tightening on the stabilizer bar bracket took care of that. A test ride with the owner and they were off in an hour and a half. All was fine. Until the phone call…an hour out there was a strange noise, a loss of power, a couple of phone calls and the car and owner were on a flatbed truck on their way back to the shop. The car got aback to the shop about 4:30 and with in 20 minutes we had found the problem. What are the odds??? On the day the car had some unrelated items fixed, the engine decides to drop a valve? Now there is an engine with the cylinder head pulled off.

That is two engines completely pulled apart (one restoration-no rush, and one-“gotta get it out.”) And one with its’ cylinder head off.

An MGA, dad restored a while back, was on its way to North Conway, lost power and wouldn’t run well. He went over and looked at it, did a tune up, got it running and it was still down a cylinder. They drove it back to the shop on three cylinders and guess what? We pulled the cylinder head. The head gasket was blown.

If you’re counting that makes four engines. The restoration isn’t critical other than being ready to go to the machine shop when we pick up the one that’s there but the others were not planned work. I had thought the repair season was coming to a close, I guess not.

On the plus side we had just gotten a set of valves in for the TF restoration and so we had a set of intake valves to use on the TD. All the intake valves on the TD were mushroomed on the stem (dad thinks they were an odd set of valves made from a softer metal) and the one that broke did so just below the end of the stem. That was a good thing because the valve wasn’t able to fall into the cylinder, just ride up and down on the piston, making one small dink in the piston top. On the MGA we have the gaskets in stock to repair it. Both of these cars should be out on Monday.

Most of the machine work is done on the TD engine and she shop is waiting for the crankshaft to come back from being ground down, which is expected to be back Monday or Tuesday. It’ll take two days to put it back together and half a day to install it. I really hope (there I go again) to have it gone within a week. Then we can get back to restorations. LOL, of course I’ll keep you posted!!!

I know sometimes my writing is a little choppy. I hope you are able to follow it!

Later…

Beauty IS only skin deep!!!

The beast…yup, that’s the new name for the TF 1500. At least until something better comes along, maybe the owner has a better name for IT. As dad laughs at my cursing he says, you never know what you have until you get into it. The Beast was such a nice car to look at when it came in…now the only thing I still like about it is the nice shiny wheels.

The sheet metal that came off the body tub (fenders etc.) really doesn’t look that bad (it still has to go to the stripper, who knows how much will come back still looking good.) But the body tub is another story. There seems to have been a water problem at one time. There were a lot of rusted screws, nuts and bolts. The cutting wheel is my friend!!! The rocker panels are pretty bad as well as the rear wheel wells. Also for some reason the top rails, both inner and outer, were cut in the middle and pieced. There were a number of nuts missing, one on the body brace to the roll bar and two were loose. I never test drove this car but it must have rattled a bit.

Top rails when the bolts were out!

A little bondo in the wheel well

Rusty rocker

On the bright side the fight is almost over. All the sheet metal that has to go to the stripper is pretty much ready to go. All I wanted is to have the engine ready to take to the machine shop when we pick up the one that is there now. The last parts came in on Thursday, I ran them down on Friday and was told the engine work would probably be done this coming week. So I had to hustle to get the front off the Beast and while I was at it got the rest apart. It will be easier to get the engine out!!!

Dad has finally gotten the TC he was working on pretty much straightened out. He has the fender for the TD that was in an accident almost ready to paint and has the parts ready to fix the damage. He has a water pump to change and the engine to rebuild and install…then I think he’s caught up and can help with restorations. If he gets this done in the next couple weeks we will be in good shape for the restoration “season.”

Catch you later…

Yawn...sorry tired

I had high hopes of working at the shop a bit this weekend…and I did, but just a bit! Dad and I cut about 4 cords of wood (now to split and stack it!) We cleaned up the area where we stack it. I also stacked a little over a cord on the racks on the deck, preparing for the winter. But I did get down to the shop to clean and overhaul the sand blaster.

I had used the sandblaster a lot this past week getting the parts ready for the engine rebuild on the MK II. I found out Friday, while putting in another order, that the cams that were on back order until October had in fact been shipped already. I ordered two in case they were so back ordered that they wouldn‘t have any in a week or two. I need one for the TF restoration coming up. My plans are to bring the TF engine parts to the machine shop when we pick up the MK II engine pieces.

Speaking of the TF…with the Jag gone there is a spot to house the TF. We are waiting for some screws to mount the dash in 53TD so I hopped on the TF and got to work on the disassembling the front of the car to have access to the engine when the time comes to remove it. I actually had 3 sets of sockets out Whitworth, metric and American. You find such an assortment of fasteners on a 59-year-old car. Dad would also like to have the sheet metal to and back from the stripper before the snow flies. We have a couple weeks left to “maintenance” season before we get into the serious restoration time, winter.

A spot to hang out.

Here we go!

A rust hole, hope the wood is ok!

Today we did some rearranging at the shop and made room so we could move the cars as we need to. This means that the MGA is now housed outside in the Quonset hut and there is a clear shot in and out of the paint booth. I’ve wanted to get BlownTC into the booth to get the frame painted so the suspension and brakes can be finished. Over the winter the body and metal painting should get done. Here’s hoping…I know how things go now…it only took me 8 months to figure it out!

We are also anticipating getting the TA body tub back sometime this winter. At times I don’t even remember this car is in the shop. We don’t do TA body tubs, just the TC, TD and TF. The engine is rebuilt and waiting, the frame is painted and waiting. I’m hoping to have a good amount of the work that needs to get done in the shop finished before the TA body comes back. I guess I’m forever the optimist…

Later.

Well I concede defeat as far as driving my TD down the road before summer is over. I still haven’t gotten my water pump back on. It is painted but we aren’t happy with the shade of red so it has to be repainted. Even if the pump was back on my gauges aren’t beck from England yet. They were sent out in May and are almost finished but I don’t expect to see them for another month or two. I guess that is the way things go when you have to rely on others’ expertise. They are getting a total restoration and at this point are going to cost well over a grand. But they are the original gauges and I think it’s worth it to have “brand new” gauges. I’m beginning to understand why you don’t set goals in this business. I had wanted to drive my car this summer…sans fenders, bonnet, sitting on an apple crate if necessary etc.

On other fronts…the Jag is gone so there is a little more room to move, dad hasn’t filled the open spot yet. This eventually will be the spot for the TF restoration. I am using the space to get the dash finished for the 53TD. That should go in tomorrow. Then the TF will be moved into the spot. This will allow access to move the MGA (yeah we have one of those too) out into the Quonset hut. I believe that car was put on hold before I moved up here so I don’t have the information on it. THEN…that will allow access to the paint booth and BlownTC can move in and get the frame painted.

Lets see…on the “dailies” the TC that came in to have the radiator exchanged (it had the one in it on loan) and oil changed is still in. It has two brakes not working. Taking them apart dad thinks that regular fluid was put in it and not silicon fluid. There is a lot of rust and moisture. It should be finished soon.

The MK II that had trouble with radiator fluid in the engine is on its way to an engine rebuild. The machine work is getting done and parts are coming in. I cleaned the sump out on Monday and sandblasted the red paint off of it. It’s looking much better. The only snag so far is that the camshaft and tappets are on back order. I have a bit more cleaning and the carb rebuild then we will be in waiting mode. That seems to happen a little in this business. If I’m not mistaken we have been in limbo with a ’37 TA for quite some time.

Sump sludge if you look through the plate you can see clumps

Bad tappets

Ok I'm off to bed…Later

Holy Crap!!!

HOLY CRAP!!! I got home Thursday night about 7:00 and as I passed the shop it looked like a parking lot. For real there were 4 cars parked outside and a trailer sitting next to the shops trailer, only I didn’t say holy “crap.”

Of the 5 cars that were outside one was the TD that was in the accident, previously mentioned. The B was just there for an oil change, lube etc. The cream TD with the rear wheel off was having trouble with getting gas to the carbs. There were two fuel pumps, two fuel filters and no gas. The car in the trailer, a TD again, I guess is just in to have the radiator swapped. It has had the radiator from my dad’s car in it for two years and it’s time to swap it out. The TD the is off to the right of the door came in for an oil change knowing that there was radiator fluid getting into the oil, it is now in for an engine overhaul and it’s not looking good (more on that in another post.)



The B was out quick on Friday. I hadn’t planned to work until Monday; I still don’t feel up to par. But I tore the rest of the engine apart on Friday. The TD with the gas problem went out this morning. Yup Saturday work. Monday the Jaguar is heading home and hopefully the engine parts will be off to the machine shop or at the latest Tuesday. My hopes are to have the TF engine parts ready to go to the machine shop when we pick up the TD parts.

I hope this is the last rush to have driving cars repaired and we can concentrate on the restoration projects over the winter. Bedtime…later

Almost back

I’m still in Buffalo. As luck would have it I got sick just before I was supposed to leave. I ran a temp of 101.6, not that bad but bad enough to make me not want to drive 8 ½ hours. I had clogged sinuses and an upper respiratory infection to round out my malady.

Dad wasn’t too happy with the delay it seems a car came in with engine trouble (antifreeze in the oil) and it’s turning into a total engine rebuild. He pulled the head off had it checked for cracks and warping with nothing showing bad. So it’s tear it down until you find the problem that is usually close to a rebuild anyway.

He also wanted to get the Jag out of the shop this weekend…ooops! So I guess if I’m up to it I’ll be putting in some hours this weekend to make up for the days I’m missing with this illness. I’m sure we can get back on track fairly quick.

Anyway that’s the short of it, I'll be leaving for NH in the morning...

I talked to dad yesterday, he's working on the damaged TD among other things. I'm guessing when I get back (next Monday) the plan is to get out the Jag140 asap. So there will be a spot to put the TF, i still haven't figured out a name for it yet, so that it will be out of the main bays. So it will be in "pieces" before i had thought.

With the painting that would have been needed on the Jag not being done BlownTC will be in the booth for it's frame painting quicker. I think things will move at a faster pace for a while, I hope!!! Speaking of BlownTC, here's a picture that may be of interest...I've never seen one before. I believe it's the same size as the oil pressure and amp gauges are.

A jaeger vacuum gauge

Ok I'm off to lunch...Later

BTW my e-mail...1953mgtd@verizon.net

Back in the Buff

I’m back in Buffalo for two weeks of R&R. I got into town Monday around 7, unloaded the car, did a few minor things to set up then headed out the door for some socialization at a local watering hole where a friend tends bar. It was real nice to get out and chat with a few friends and meet some new people. It is really easy in the city to strike up conversation with the person next to you at a pub, not so much in NH. There aren’t even many bars where you can just go out to have a beer and chat. For the most part they are service bars for a restaurant and close an hour after the establishment serves it’s last dinner, which would mean they close very early. So it was a breath of fresh air to be out in the city to say the least. I got back to the house at 1:30, an early night by Buffalo standards!

Well before leaving NH I was able to get BlownTC back on the ground and outside for some spot sandblasting with a “mini blaster.” I also wanted to hit the body tub a bit more with the DS sander when I had room to move around. If you’ve seen the pictures you know what I mean! I wanted to clean up the edges and “wrap a rounds” before prepping for paint (the frame that is.) I want to get the frame touched up before I put the pedal box, shocks and master cylinder back in. Once that is done I guess it’s clean up the engine paint the body tub etc. For the most part the body tub is ready for body work and prep for painting.

Some pics of BlownTC

Yeaaaa! I got a comment!!! I was waiting for that customer to come by and take the last rides in the TF before it gets disassembled and put away for restoration, which should be fairly soon. The Jag140 is going home to NJ and getting finished there. That will open a spot for the TF frame to sit. It would be nice to have the frame sandblasted and painted before winter and ready for a rebuild to a rolling chassis. Which would mean a lot of other things would have to get done before the fall. (And me enjoying R&R!!!) HAH Well it shouldn’t be long before the 53TD heads out, I hope. Then I will be concentrating on just two cars, which I’m hoping will be a comfortable workload. We shall see…

Later

Nekkid

Yep nekkid. That would be BlowmTC. While I’m waiting for a little clarification on where we are going with 53TD’s center panel for the dash, I jumped over to BlownTC. I do double up on a few things as I go along, like sandblasting the foot plate and foot rest for BlownTC when I sandblasted the horns for 53TD. And I welded up the “extra” holes in the right door for 53TD when I was welding a grill together for mom’s 80th birthday party.

So in the meantime while I wait I jumped over to BlownTC for some serious work. I stripped the body tub on Tuesday and today I washed it and hit it with the DA sander. There were a few spots where the “filler” was a bit thick but overall it wasn’t that bad. I’m hoping to get the “car” outside tomorrow for some spot sandblasting with the mini blaster. I should be able to fill in the door damage tomorrow and have them ready to prime also.

We had a TD come in last week that was in an accident. It was one that dad had done about 6 years ago. It met up with a Ford Explorer! The damage isn’t as bad as you might think. The right front fender is history, as well as the headlight bracket and the radiator. That’s without getting the car apart. We have a couple of fenders upstairs but I think we will just order a new one and see what it’s like. I don’t think we have ever used a new fender before. It will be an experience to see what they are offering as a fender these days.

OUCH!

Tuesday I’m probably going to head to Buffalo to check on the house and have some R&R the Big City way, etc. So if you don’t hear from me for a while bear with me.

Later…Chuck

Tale of the TD’s (tape)

53TD vs. MINE…

At one time I was ahead of 53TD with my own 53 TD (that was before I moved and began working in the shop.) I had my body tub on and painted, 53TD’s was still on the jig in raw metal. I had my floorboards in and the curtain box and rear deck in. 53TD was just a rolling chassis. Both engines were finished. So as you see mine was further along than 53TD.

Now they are neck and neck, but I believe 53TD is ahead at this point. Even after spending about 5 hours (5 hours didn’t get much done) on my TD today. I got my dash panel stripped, the center panel started (starter switch mounted, warning lights in and accessory plugs in.) I mounted the horn brackets, starter switch and painted some bolts. Not much done for the day, huh?

Both bodies are on, mine is rubbed out. Both have the floorboards, curtain box and rear decks in. My TD is now sans water pump (donated to Winston.) Both are about even as far as items going back on the firewall, both have the horns painted and ready to mount.

I’ve started both dashboards, well stripped them at least. My center panel is under construction; 53TD is ready to go with the key switch rebuilt. The big difference on the dash is that my gauges are in England getting restored and 53TD’s are not. That’s one for me. (cough, cough...most of mine was done today.)

Most of 53TD’s chrome has been redone; my chrome is in a box ready to ship to the chromer… bummer. That’s one for him.

So we really are neck and neck to the finish. I do know that I will loose…the paying customer comes first. So it is 5 days of possible work to 2 days on the weekend. Like I’m going to give up all my weekend time!!! 53TD WINS.

Later…

It was a decent week at the shop. RacerTD went home to very happy owners. They came and picked up the car on Monday and headed right into a rainstorm. But it was a short one and they had the top up, they almost put it down when they picked it up!

Going home.

The paint booth was going well this week with the back plates, horns and various mounting brackets for the 53TD getting painted. Also the bumper backs for the front and rear bumpers to the 53TD were done. The steering shaft for the Jag 140 was painted. The water pump and branch pipe for my TD was done. So it was a good week for the paint booth.

We are at the point where you can really see progress on the 53. I’m about to start the dash and interior. And dad is getting ready to paint the fenders, running boards etc. The interior of the 53 is closed up, I just have to seal a couple points that I have a concern on and the carpets are going in. Now I’m kind of upset that 53TD has overtaken my car.

Interior front

Interior rear

I think I’m gong to have to work tomorrow (Sunday) to try and get my car ahead again.

Later…

Hello again

Hi faithful reader! I believe I have at least one person reading this blog, don’t I? Anyway I Shall Continue!

I know I haven’t posted in a while; I’ve been taking a break from the blog. And I’ve been consciously been trying to make money at the shop (taxes due on the Buffalo house.) I had to knuckle down and take a serious look at my finances or lack there of. It is six months into “retirement” now and I have to take a look at where I’m heading and where I would like to go. So it was time to do a bit of soul searching. Bottom line is someday I want to be back living in Buffalo. That is where my heart really is. I enjoy having the things that I like to do within walking distance or a 5-minute drive. And having friends to do things with. I haven’t found a place to live in NH and there isn’t much in the way of possible homes that are affordable at the moment plus I don’t want to sell my house in Buffalo to buy something up here. So here I sit…contemplating

OK enough of the bellyaching. What’s been happening in the shop? Well Racer TD is finished for the moment, inspected and waiting to be picked up. We had a few last minute problems. The major one again points to our suspicion that this car was raced at one time. During the run to the inspection station dad wasn’t happy with the clutch action. Upon inspection all I heard was, “What the hell.” I hear that a lot! It seems that the linkage was something fabricated to correct a possible broken link or something to get a bit more adjustment or??? Either way it looks like there is a different pressure plate in the car possibly a competition set up, can’t be sure unless we tear it apart and take a look. It’s working fine but still a puzzle. We were able to find a broken clutch link in our “bone yard” and weld another end on the existing one; they had cut it off and inserted a long bolt with a connection welded to it. Nothing surprises me any longer. Except maybe a car that comes in with nothing changed on it, 100% original! Anyway it’s up to the customer next time RacerTD comes for a visit. I believe that visit will include a paint job. Already it’s a great looking car. I’m undecided on whether I like the bonnet or not but how many have you seen like this one? We have another one similar to this one with the louvers on the top for my dad’s car.

New Chapeau

Side view

The other big progress has been on 53TD. The firewall is finished and installed, footplate is in and the steering column. I put the wiring harness in yesterday. The floorboards and rear deck boards are painted, I’m waiting on fasteners for the floorboards then we will begin the interior. Getting this body out of the paint booth was a priority to free up the booth a bit.

Progress!

We’ve had a backlog on the booth with this body in it. We generally don’t have a lot of painting to do (one maybe two cars a year) but we have a few parts waiting to be done. I have my water pump (which I donated to Winston) and my branch pipe (red), then the rims to the Jag 140 (white), then BlownTC is in the booth to get it’s frame painted (black), body parts for 53TD, back to BlownTC for body and parts and so on and so on. I try to line up all the parts that need to be a certain color and paint type to get as much done in one shot as possible. Plus there is 1500TF (no name yet) that is a total restoration. I’d better stop I’m beginning to freak a bit!!!

1500TF’s owner is up for vacation and wants to take it out for a few last rides before it gets “exploded.” I guess when it gets back to the shop we should have enough room to start its journey.

Well that’s the way it goes in a restoration shop I guess. I’m just not used to it yet. Will I ever be???

Later…

Almost!

Well we almost made it!!! The 53TD body tub is back on the chassis. There was a bit more painting than I had originally thought, the wheel wells and interior sheet metal weren't painted yet. Plus we had all that rain that brought up the humidity and that delayed painting. It’s best to paint in less humid days as we don’t have a climate controlled paint booth. So we did have a few slow downs but it is back on the chassis.

53TD (the lacquer still has to be rubbed out)

It just seems like everything works to slow you down in one of these shops. Monday we had a caravan come through; one of the drivers owns the Jag140 that we are working on. They were an hour out and called to stop in. We had 6 cars pull up, 3 TD’s, a TC, a MGA and a VW Beetle. I guess the Beetle was the safety car! They had a look around the shop looked at all the work that was in progress and hit the road. They were on a road trip to Nova Scotia. I would love to do that with my car when it’s done. How fun would that be? So while it was fun it put the cabash on work going on in the shop for a while.

The merry travelers

RacerTD had a good week but didn’t get to go home. After solving fuse problems and fixing the right rear taillight I thought the electrical problems were finished. NOT! While the fuel light was on due to the low gas, testing the circuit found the tank switch to be bad. I pulled it and someone had been in there before me and altered the inside of the switch. I was able to put the switch back to where it would work like it was supposed to. The next light that wouldn’t go out was a little harder to fix. With the dash back to original condition and the gauges hooked up we started the car and the amp gauge wasn’t working and the ignition light wouldn’t go out. To make it short the generator wasn’t working...new brushes and a bushing didn’t help…so we sent it out to get rebuilt. In the meantime the car has a loner from the shop. The seats are in, electrical is finished, new tires on, etc. AND today it ran down the road. I have to put the seat belts in. Dad will paint the frame for the top and Tuesday that should be done and on. But we still have to figure out something for air cleaners. RacerTD came in with 1 ½” carbs and now it has the original 1 ¼” carbs. The air cleaners that were on it won’t fit the new set up and the owner didn’t have the intake manifold and oil bath air cleaner, bummer. We shall see what next week holds for RacerTD.

On the road again

On other fronts I slipped my doors to my TD and my horns into the painting process and they are done. I may get the horns on tomorrow. I painted one side of the floorboards for the 53TD today. BlownTC will be back in the mix next week, hopefully getting the frame painted after the frame for RacerTD is finished. Then I can start the rebuilding of the brakes, pedals and shocks. All this talk about work…makin’ me tired.

Later…

The Best Laid Plans…

There is always more work than meets the eye. I’m the optimistic one… and I’m wrong a lot! While we had one TF go out (it's in the pic below.) That was the one in for a new master cylinder and a few small items. We had this one up at the house for a bit because we are full at the shop as always.

One hangs out!!! How many do you see? Can you name them?

The 53TD body tub got it's first coats of lacquer. It has been wet sanded is ready for the finishing coats but it’s been a bit too humid to paint. We do have an additive that slows the drying time but we try not to use it and paint only on dry days. It's not that big of a delay but it seems when we want to paint we get humidity (we only paint a couple of cars a year.) So the TD tub sits ready for final paint. That is one of two goals for this coming week to have that body tub back on the chassis.

The other is to have RacerTD back home. I worked this week on straightening out the electrical system of the car. It needed a bit of trouble shooting which led to some bad components, which I repaired. As it stands now, with the exception to putting the wires on the coil and barring no more surprises, the electrical system is finished and working. Yeaaa. The starter and choke cables are in. My goal is to be able to have RacerTD home on Friday…cross your fingers! And legs! And eyes!

Dad is already trying to push getting the “new” TF apart. I’m trying to hold off for a week or so to have the room to store it properly in it’s own place. It will be taking over the storage shelves from my car in the attic as most of my parts are on the car or ready to go in. When one of these cars “explode” there are bags upon bags of parts and it takes up a lot more room in pieces than it ever did assembled.

Tomorrow, Sunday, I’m going to get a bit of work done on BlownTC, which has been sitting on the back burner for a while. I think the week will be full putting the finishing touches on RacerTD and getting the body tub painted to be able to work on much else.

I think that’s about it for now…Later

Productive

It was another productive day at work as the pic shows. The dash is in RacerTD. Tomorrow I’ll have it wired and it will be finished. The dash that is… I have to sand the frame for the top and dad has to paint it then the new top can go on. Lets see… bolt the seats in, seat belts, and fit the tonneau and it’s finished for now.

Remember the old dash

Here's the "new" dash

I forgot we are headed to Louden for the NASCAR race this weekend so the shop will be closed Thursday to Tuesday. I’m thinking that RacerTD won’t be ready to go until sometime next week…bummer…

Tomorrow 53TD will get its first 6 coats of paint then next week another 6 or so. By the end of next week the body tub should be back on the chassis. We are just rolling along…

It’s Saturday and yeah I went into the shop today, but not to work on a customer’s car or to organize. I went in to work on MINE!!! Yup I’m back on my “do one thing each day on my car” kick. That way one day my car will be done.

I’m at the stage where the car actually gets done. I’m rubbing out the body tub paint so I can get going on the interior. Once the body is rubbed out I can put in the dash and carpets etc. I still have a plan to drive it up and down the street this summer.

It’s a good reflection!

The dash didn’t get in on RacerTD, putting in the glove box door was a royal pain in the butt. And I forgot about the top and tonneau so this week we have to paint the frame for the top and get that in. I’m still shooting for the end of the week to have it ready to go home.

The 53TD is in primer and almost ready for topcoat so we hope to have it mated back to the frame next week.

Later…

Back to the Grind

I’m back in NH and back to work. This week has been productive. We almost have the body for the 53TD ready for paint, if were lucky we could be spraying finish coat tomorrow.

The center dash came in for RacerTD the gauges, switches etc were removed from the temporary panel we were building to get the car on the road for the summer and put into the permanent one. If you remember RacerTD had no original dash, there was a brushed aluminum dash with toggle switches and odd gauges. The dash should be back in the car next week and the wiring should be finished too. YAHOO!!!

Tillie is gone back home for the summer season and the TF that was in for locking up brakes got a new master cylinder and is ready to go back home.

And we have a new guest a TF 1500 in from Ohio for yeah you guessed it a total restoration. I’m hoping to hold off on that one for a while until we get a little room to move around. The body should be on 53TD by the middle of next week and hopefully RacerTD will be ready for some summer driving by the end of next week. That would give us 2 bays open to use one to dismantle the “1500.” It does take some time to begin to get parts back from the stripper etc. so there is some lag time before you can actually begin to assemble a restoration. And as you all know you never know what you may get into with one of these cars.

Anyway here are a few pics.

Later….

RacerTD center panel

1500

Another of 1500

And one more

Yeah I'm still here!

In case you haven’t guessed…I took a vacation. I went back to Buffalo for just over 2 weeks of R & R. I wanted to go to the Mash Bash, a Red Cross fundraiser, which was held on June 1st.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-_r3FQKlig
Then it was a weekend of partying. Followed the next weekend by the Allentown Arts festival. My house is in Allentown so it is quite a weekend here. During all this “fest-i-brating” I managed to rebuild half of my picket fence in front of my house. I have to make another set of pickets in NH before I come back so I can rebuild the right half. I have a few adjustments to make because I’m not quite happy with the left side yet. It seems a bit angular instead of rounded. Anyway…that’s what I’ve been doing.

A friend is singing tonight at Nietzsche’s, one of my favorite watering holes. It’s a 30 second walk from my front door and they have live music every night of the week.
http://www.nietzsches.com/

Tomorrow morning I’m heading back to NH and it's back to work. I do need to get some more work done on the house that is going to cost a small fortune. So I'll be at the shop and at the shop and at the shop. Get the picture?

Later…

Slow week

I’ve been on the organizing kick again. I’ve been going through things to see what’s about. It’s pretty amazing the “stuff” that is around in the nooks and crannies. I have one more area that needs to get organized and that’s the office. I hope it will be soon. I’m going to get a tall filing cabinet tomorrow, which will help greatly until we go to a computer. That will be a big help if I can only convince dad to get one!

I sandblasted and prepped for paint the rims for the Jaguar. I hoping to finish Jag soon, we have another TF coming in the second week of June.

I cleaned up 53TD getting it ready for the body (which I hope is ready in a couple weeks.)

Not a big week for major things happening just a bunch of little things.

The Boss will be home in a week... later…

Poor Winston

A classic good news/bad news…Winston went out to get inspected, his owner and my dad took him to the station. Good news, he passed with no problem…bad news, when he got back to the shop he was leaking water. A quick look at him and the problem was obvious…Winston needed a kidney transplant (water pump). As luck would have it a close relative was at hand (my TD) and was willing to give up a kidney. The operation was started and tomorrow Winston should be ready to hit the road again. With my dad heading out to go salmon fishing for two weeks he wanted Winston on his way by this weekend. The TD has a new “kidney on order.” All is well in the shop. Well almost.

Tillie was ready to head out for the summer but as luck would have it the generator kicked the bucket. Actually it must have been going for some time. The armature shaft is worn badly and the bushing is shot. We are sending it out to an expert to have a new shaft made. You can’t get an armature for a TC generator. And TC generators are hard to come by. This is the original one to the car. We hate to use something that isn’t right for the car. So Tillie will be around for a bit longer.

The AH sprite was finished and has gone home.

I’ve been working on getting the center panel finished for RacerTD, I’m sure the owners will be getting “antsy” with the nice weather we’ve been having so I’ve been getting work done on the panel with hopes of getting the dash in and wired next week. This is only a temporary panel as the panel we have for this car isn't back from the plater yet and won't be for a while...We shall see. Later

Donor…OUCH

Organ

Recipient…YUCK

Center panel for RacerTD