Ed the Herald

Today i picked up the Koni rear and Monro front shocks for the suspension and the Alternator + bracket for the Alternator conversion from Alan at the Triumph club today.  They're a bit rough but should clean up nicely when they are rebuilt. This last week I also put my order into Canley Classics , still haven't had confirmation, the guys are a little slow on the communication front but are really helpful and well priced. I've pretty much purchased every rubber part they have for a 13/60 herald, all the brake/clutch rebuild kits including caliper pistons, a new headlining, the replacement rear valance and splashed out on a set of brand spanking new rubber bumpers (even if the price still makes me cry a little) and a pile of little olds and sods. On the shiny "upgrade" front I've thrown in a set of new rotors mostly for the laugh factor, but maybe they'll improve the braking (realistically they couldn't make it worse), and a halogen headl...

Given i'd already started working on the car before i started writing this i've made some progress on the car already. Entire rear shell of the car has been stripped minus the running gear. Interior removed except the dash Firewall stripped Disassembled the heater and cleaned, sanded and painted it satin black. Ideally i want to pull it apart to a rolling shell then prep the body for paint. Once thats done i'll strip the running gear and prep that/ rust proof the underside again. What I've got so far: Most of the suspension part (ball-joints, trunnions, tie rods etc) Lowered front springs Lowering block for the rear spring Braided steel brake lines Nolathane bushes all around To get: Carpets Air compressor Etch primer Top coat paint Spray gun Tires Underseal Someone who can weld panel steel well :)

I decided after all these years it was time to put some effort into Ed and see what i could do with him. My plan is very simple, rebuild all the running gear and brakes, replace all the rubber seals and put together a car that is drivable standard looking but with some basic modifications to make it more interesting to drive today. Other than the head work, extractors and a DCOE 40, The engine will be standard, in the future i will put a warm cam in it, but given the latest development (a low mileage rebuilt engine at a good price) i'll be sticking with that and focusing my time and money on things that need to be done. I intend to paint the car myself, something I've never done before but I've always wanted to give it a go. My thoughts are, for the $300 its going to cost me for the paint (and how rough the paint is now), if i stuff it up i can always pay someone to redo it. I'll be stripping pretty much the entire car to bare metal (did i mention the paint was ba...

So whats this all about? Well its probably more for me than anyone else. I've decided to set this up to document the rebuild of my 1968 13/60 Triumph Herald Saloon. If you're reading this maybe there might be something in here that will help you along the way, maybe not :) First some history I purchased Ed (a nickname from his license plate) back in 2003/04 as a non runner, he had been sitting under a tarp in someones driveway for quite a few years.  He was in a pretty sorry state of disrepair but had very solid bones. (nothing much but surface rust) My mate Anthony and i went out to have a look at him and even though i was looking for a GT6 at the time, i decided for the $200 they were asking i would be silly not to. And so the journey began. We originally were going to tow him the 16km back to my house but after throwing a new battery in him and some fresh gas he started after a few cranks and i decided to drive him back under his own steam to assess the running gea...