TR7 Progress

A wee note about progress on the TR7.

• LH Door is reskinned, awaiting fitting and tweaking (which I will do once the floor on the LH side is completed). It also needs seam sealing inside.
• The LH front floor is practically complete. All I need to do is dress the plug welds, and get rid of the remaining surface rust on the interior before giving the bare metal a temporary coat of primer.
• The quarterlight frame for the LH door needs starting again, as there's some surace rust reappearing. It needs stripping, derusting and repainting.
• I have enough parts to repair the LH rear floor.
  
• I have rebuilt the LH rear drum brake, and have some parts to re-build the RH rear drum brake. I only need to rebuild the brakes enough now to ensure the handbrake works, as I plan to pull the rear axle out. This is so I can turn the car round on my slopy drive so I can fix the floor on the RH side.
  
• The bumpers are in the process of being refurbed - they need stripping down, derusting and the plastic parts repainting. I need two new sidelight assemblies - the fixing bolts were seized and broke on both of them, as well as a replacement front centre bumper cover.
  

That'll do for now...

One down, one to go...

I've finally finished replacing the left door skin on my TR7! Last step was welding the top edges, adding a little sliver of metal where I accidentally cut the frame too much when removing the old skin. Next time, cut through the frame, not the skin...

I had a few problems with my welder spluttering and popping. I thought it might be due to my clumsiness or the 28 year old steel on the door frame. After I finished the door, I went back to practising on some sheet steel to get the right settings. Experimenting with the wire speed resulted in a couple of pretty perfect welds, with a nice buzzing sound and good penetration. I've got a picture on my phone, which I'll upload later (if I remember).

Trouble is, I think my cheapo auto-darkening helmet is taking too long to react. My eyes are sensitive at the best of times (I can get arc eye - or what feels like it - on a bright sunny day), so I think I'll look into getting a new helmet.

TR7 Progress

TR7 Progress
Originally uploaded by marknotgeorge.

Here's the LH door having the edges of the frame primed with zinc rich primer, in preparation for fitting a replacement door skin. This should, with sealant, stop the edges rusting again.