Martin Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Hi all, a year ago I could not resist. Unfortunately finishing the Mini of my son prevented me cfrom starting with the Herald. Aim is to have the Vitesse running gear mated with the Estate. The dismantling began and I´m astonished how solid the car is. Yes here are the pics Only welding I found was beneath the fuel tank. Many critical areas (C-posts, windscreen, chassis) very good. Cheers Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphlux Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 That looks like an extremly solid estate shell ! Will save you a lot of time while doing the bodywork. I suppose you have rust on the wheelarches !? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Yep, those parts look good. How about wheelarches, tread plates, body mounts (esp under A pillar)? And of course front corners of bonnet? What is easier with the authorities - Vitesse becomes estate body style or Herald gains two cylinders and some cc's? Will watch with interest Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 Rear wheelarches are without rust. Treadplates need repair, a-post looks good. Bonnet salvagable whith some repairs, but I'm after a Vitesse one as well as after a skylight sun roof. Authorities, hmmm, will check that out later, both seem to be possible. Cheers Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT6Steve Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Did I read that right? A Vitesse estate? How freaking cool is that! I'll wager there's not ONE in the USA. We have a few Vitesses badged as Sport Sixes but I' not aware of any station wagons, as we call them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 About twenty vitesse estates where built by the Park royal Garage ?? I think in London. A local Triumph dealer. Not many original ones left I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Yep, that's right. Triumph never made any on the lines but a few were converted to special order at the Park Royal service centre. A few others have been built less officially. Co-incidently I was speaking to a friend today who has a Park Royal one. It is in bits and has been for a while but the bits are in fairly good condition. He has no immediate prospect of putting it back together so I (half seriously) offered to buy it. I don't think he's selling though...... Would be a very cool car done right. Not that many Herald estates left now - they got beaten to death in the 80s mostly. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 (edited) Here was an unofficial one: After the 'Ring it didn't have straight panel, but the body went to someone in Liverpool building another for rust replacement. IMHO, another profitable model that Triumph missed, like the Spitfire 6 (AKA Gitfire), but then in the 60s, "estate cars" were just vans with windows, utility vehicles, without the cachet of the Reliant Scimitar (and Princess Anne), or the modern hatchback. It would have been a 'simples' model to produce though, at no extra cost. Instead Park Royal had to buy complete Herald Estates, and replace the bonnets, engines etc from the Triumph Spares Dept, so the cars were very expensive. John Edited August 31, 2014 by JohnD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 chassis looks good, but the welding quality of Triumph , hmmmmmm and some other intermediate work in front of me Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphlux Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Looks like you have a chassis which is in pretty good shape ! Have some fun with the modern 'plastic' car ... you might need lots of different clips to get it back together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Martin, A body shop friend showed me recently that what you have to do with your modern is completely intentional. In the name of energy absorbtion, front panels are sacrificial and if necessary, so is the engine and front suspension, which all break off and go under. You were lucky to get away with 'just' that bent cross member, which is only there to hang the plastic bodywork on! Enjoy your Vitesse Estate! JOhn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 to add speed, add lightness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Ah, tinworm attack...... Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pomwah Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) Ah, tinworm attack...... Nick I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that Triumph engineers designed the cars to, over time, develop deformable elements to absorb some of the energy of impacts. I'm almost positive it was the "Triumph Integrated iNhibitor With Optional cRumple Modules" or maybe it ended with Optimal Crash Mitigation Edited November 25, 2014 by pomwah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 a bit of cleaning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 unfortunately s l o w m o t i o n. Allways some niggles with the Mini of my son where I have to digg in. Drives me crazy that little car. Nice result, only some minor holes showed up after sand blasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Looks very good - apart from from some strange holes on the left side........ oh, wait.... Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted August 14, 2015 Author Share Posted August 14, 2015 rear tub in front of me. Wtf did Triumph use to glue in the sound deadening, No clue what glue they took. It is nearly impossible to get it away even with nitro thinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Suspect it is some ancestral version of Evostick contact adhesive (the one that could take you a trip is used in confined space!). You could try Carb cleaner - that seems to dissolve nearly anything...... Not sure I've even seen a floor which is intact along the front edge joining section before..... Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 (edited) Have you tried heat? A paint stripper heat gun might be enough, else a gas torch - the propane type, not a gas axe! It might soften enough to scrape off. Paint stripper hook tool, the shield shaped type, for the curved bits. Good luck. John Edited August 14, 2015 by JohnD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT6MK3 Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Maybe you need some DCM based stripper. Getting the floors stripped on the Spitty tub was horrible - I resorted to heating them up, then laying in a solid 1/4" layer of stripper, and basically stirring and scraping till I could scoop out the goo. Horrible stuff. Took about 3 days a side. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zetecspit Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 celly (nitro) thinners should do it, but tend to evaporate too fast. Get some kitchen roll/loo paper/tissue and tinfoil. Soak a layer of tissue with the thinners, cover with foil and leave for an hour. That tends to shift most stuff. May need several layers of tissue to hold plenty of thinners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphlux Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 My tub was also in good shape and looked like yours. I only took the sound deadening off wherer there was rust and I left the rest untouched. To take it off I used a wold chisel to scrape it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 so, took some paint stripper and put some plastic foil on it. Will wait some days and then report back. My idea was to leave the bitumen in the car, but I hated the sticky adhesive, which had soaked up dirt from 40+ years and if i let it there, covered with carpet I would always have in mind that this "Bähhhh" is underneath my ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zetecspit Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Plastic foil will dissolve (probably) and then the lot will dry out. I would use tin (aluminium) foil, and leave a few hours, keep checking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now