My 'new' 1967 Triumph Herald 1200

Gerald's coming home next week, all being well! I'm not looking forward to the bill, but the man rang today to tell me the engine's almost ready to go back in. I'm hoping to run it up to the 'all Triumph day' at Duxford (because I've never been there and I love old planes) next weekend.

Oh, and specially for Cobol74 - a picture of my car with the bonnet up. I took it ages ago and forgot to post it :)

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Congrats.
 
Duxford is a good idea in lots of ways. :D

You can have a nice gentle run in of the new engine on the A1 or M11 there and back.
You get to see all the old Triumph cars & bikes and their doting owners. (Like you!:p)
You can also check out the aircraft museum, which is pretty cool.

Pleased that your car is about to be running again and will be retuned soon. You may have some nice ?top-down? weather, like today, before the crappy rain & wind season starts. :)
 
Bah real convertible owners drive in the rain with the top down.
 
Bah real convertible owners drive in the rain with the top down.

Wouldn't want to ruin the veneer on the dash though... :D

Access to the engine on Heralds is excelent with that forward opening bonnet I must say, very appealing to the home mechanic.
 
Unfortunately, you're going to be seeing that engine a lot, so that kind of offsets the easy access part. :p
 
Duxford is a fantastic museum in and of itself. I love that place. Never have managed to be there on a day when the Britannia is open, though :(

Steve
 
i....i can't hold it any longer

Wyvern
:listen, it's real, Gerald loves me so he is coming home.
 
My dad just bought a 1:43 scale model Herald. It's two-tone green :)
 
i....i can't hold it any longer

Wyvern
:listen, it's real, Gerald loves me so he is coming home.

:lol:

:nod: It's true... me and Gerald, we connected. What we have is a deep and spiritual thing :lol:

My dad just bought a 1:43 scale model Herald. It's two-tone green :)

The two-tone finishes are beautiful - I saw a fantastic turquoise blue and white one on my birthday and it was lovely. I saw a lot of good stuff on the road, but that just about made my day.
 
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The engine's back in, it's running... and now they think they've found the original fault, so I still can't have it back. It's looking likely that there was a cooling issue as the radiator's got a nasty weep. Still, that's a quick job and they have the parts on hand. There are a few recs on the service, but nothing that impacts on the work that has been done, nothing that will cause an imminent mechanical failure and some of which I should be able to manage myself.

Next job... rear brake overhaul, I think. They aren't dreadful, but in a FR layout with drum brakes, I suspect I shouldn't leave it too long...
 
Next job... rear brake overhaul, I think. They aren't dreadful, but in a FR layout with drum brakes, I suspect I shouldn't leave it too long...

What's wrong with them? Remember, with the balance and speed of that car, they can last forever, shoe-wise. Unless they are acting up...leave them alone. You'll have plenty of other things to fix :)

Steve
 
What's wrong with them? Remember, with the balance and speed of that car, they can last forever, shoe-wise. Unless they are acting up...leave them alone. You'll have plenty of other things to fix :)

Steve

They're a bit worn and the cylinders are a bit weepy. The front ones are fine and the master's fine, so it's not a huge job and it doesn't need immediate attention, but if I pass my driving test I've got a couple of fairly long runs to make next fairly soon and I want to know I'm not going to put my foot on the brake and keep going until I run up someone's chuff...
 
If the drums are anything like my MG's they should be a pretty easy job. Just make sure you have a book (even Haynes will be enough) that tells you which holes the springs connect to.
 
Thanks, Aratoga, that's good to know :) I've had a look at the diagrams in the handbook (it has a lovely fabric bound handbook that smells of oil and libraries) and it doesn't look too challenging.

The good news is Gerald's home! I picked the car up yesterday and it's looking beautiful.

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So far it's had a new (reconditioned) engine and gearbox, a new clutch (it wasn't essential, but it was a hell of a lot easier to have it renewed while the engine was out), wing mirrors fitted, a new radiator, some new pipes in various places and sundry work with the service. And they gave him a bloody good clean, so it looks fantastic!

However, there's now a worrying knock coming from the nearside rear wheel... Going to have a look at the bearings (the front ones need looking at anyway, there's a bit more play than I'd like there) next, and the brakes, and... (ad infinitum).

The funny thing is although I'd never really thought about it before, last night I realised what Setright meant when he said the Herald's suspension makes it feel like it's going to fall in half, even though it has a very sturdy chassis. It doesn't feel like it's going to fall in half, but it is quite independent... and yet, for an old car the ride's not half bad. And the chap that did the engine said it's one of the straightest, cleanest 1200s they've seen. This pleases me immensely, because it shows I judged it pretty well when I saw it. The engine problem was, as I thought, something that couldn't have been picked up without dismantling it, so I feel vindicated, if considerably poorer.

Of course, once I eventually pass my driving test, I now have the job of running it in before I can really take it anywhere...
 
if the "knocking sound" is happening just during suspension movement, it's likely bushings somewhere that are worn and allowing the suspension a tiny amount of free travel.

if it's a "wub wub wub" sound that coincides with speed, then it's likely a bearing.

Steve
 
if the "knocking sound" is happening just during suspension movement, it's likely bushings somewhere that are worn and allowing the suspension a tiny amount of free travel.

if it's a "wub wub wub" sound that coincides with speed, then it's likely a bearing.

Steve

Could also be a broken spring.
 
if it's a "wub wub wub" sound that coincides with speed, then it's likely a bearing.

Steve

That'll be it. I've a funny feeling it's actually coming from the front (there's way too much play on the nearside front wheel for my liking) and the sound is carrying. Ah well, it's another job to add to the list :rolleyes:

I don't care, I love my car...

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This is how it's looking under the bonnet...

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The new engine is sounding lovely. The only problem I'm going to have now is keeping the keys away from my housemate, who seems quite smitten and even made a random trip to the shops last night 'to give Gerald a run' <_<
 
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