A Car Story

Last weekend, several of our customers attended the first annual Vancouver, Washington Concours.   It was held on the ground of Fort Vancouver.  It was a beautiful setting, and it was very well attended.  Though not specifically a British Car Show, there was a very good representation of several British Marque’s.

The event had it’s issues, but everything went very well, and even though the weather was not the greatest, I think everybody had a lot of fun.

Two of our customers placed in the judged events, the TR 4 placed third and the MGA placed 2nd.

And, of course, there was the usual contingent from the PTOA.  These guys make every event they attend, fun to go to.  This is what owning a British car is all about, just having fun and enjoying them with other owners.

We are all looking forward to next year.

Enjoy the ride!

I had trouble believing that offering some coffee and donuts would be this popular.  Yet, since May, every Saturday we have been open, we have been doing the “Coffee and Cars” get together and the response has been great.

There’s no real event, we just let everybody know that on Saturday from 9 am to noon, we have the coffee pot on and we always have fresh donuts.  The idea is to just give you a small reason to drive your British Car out to the shop and spend a little time with other people who just enjoy British Cars.  The shop is open and you can walk around and see what new projects we are working on, and we can help you with any of your car needs.  Best of all, we have the coffee and donuts.  We do have hot water for tea and bottle water for the more discerning tastes.

We will be at the shop the next two Saturday’s.  Get the car out and come by and see us.  We’ve had as few as five cars and as many as twenty one.  You never know what you’ll see, but there’s always someone to visit with.

We look forward to seeing you.

Enjoy the ride!

True to my theme, this is one of those cars that has a story.  Our customer got this car in the mid 60’s.  It was a driver, and she loved the lines and style of the car.  Who can blame her, the TR 4A IRS is one of the best looking cars that Triumph ever built.  A few years after she acquired the car, she decided that it was time to fix it up.  At this point she took the engine and transmission out, stripped the interior and basically got a really good start on the restoration.  She was even able to tear the engine down and re-assemble it and get it ready.

At this point things changed.  She got married and life went on.  The fortunate thing is that she never lost sight of her TR 4.  Equally important is the fact the her husband realized how important the car was to her, and he kept the flame of hope alive for the restoration.  Fast forward to about six months ago, and that thoughtful guy she married finally was able to put his plan into action.

He was nice enough to enlist us as the shop he wanted to restore the treasure he and his wife had protected for so many years.  We picked the car up and the project began.

The major issue we found was that rust had taken over way too many parts of the car.  This became the most costly and time consuming part of the restoration.

We removed the tub from the frame, began repair on the tub and then began repair on the frame.  After the frame was repaired, we had it powder coated.

While the body work was continuing, we started on the restoration of the parts we were going to put back on the car.  One of the main parts was the engine.  We were happy to find that the rebuilding work she had done 30 years ago was still very serviceable today.  We opted to check everything, and install new seals and gaskets.  We did upgrade to the rear main seal to where there really was one, and made sure all other tolerance issues were met.

After we were able to get the drive train in the chassis,  we started getting everything installed on the frame.  This is where the Triumph’s really shine on restoration.  You can get everything on the frame and have it basically on the ground and then set the tub on.  It’s just like they did it in “The Old Days”.  Now the body work was drawing to a close, and things were getting painted.

The painted parts started to take shape.

Now it was time to secure the tub to the frame and start the assembly process.

After the finishing touches were put on, it was time for delivery.

It’s now on the road, and ready to go.  A project that started a long time ago is completed, and the big smile she had as she drove away told us everything we needed to know.

It’s this kind of story that makes it all worthwhile for me.

Enjoy the ride!

Here’s a little quick project that our guys here at British Auto Works just got back on the road.  When I say quick, that’s in restoration time.  It really took about six weeks.  What we have is a later Bugeye Sprite that our customer has had for about 10 years.  It was a pretty original car, it ran well and, the most important things is that it didn’t have any rust.

A major problem with the Bugeye is that they are very light and the trunk area is very susceptible to rust.  Of course the car is spartan to say the least, but they are very cute, and can be modified to run very well.  We have actually upgrade three of these type cars to a 1275 and installed the B210 5 speed, and they are very quick, and a ton of fun to drive.

What we have with this car, is that the customer wanted something a little different.  After some discussion we decided on using a Corvette red and add the two white stripes.  I think it made the car look sharp.

Our process was the usual.  We stripped the car of all the lights and chrome, we took out the interior and repaired some small dents.

Once we had the car back from paint, it was time to install the new carpet and insulation.  The seat were in good shape, so the customer opted to keep them as they were.  From there, it was installing the chrome and the lights, and it was back on the road.

I’ll have to admit that compared to an MGB, a TR6, a Midget, Spitfire or even a GT 6, this was a pretty easy car to work on.  Like all British Cars, they are good looking and fun to drive.

Enjoy the ride!

Out of the backroom, comes another good looking restoration.  This TR 4 is owned by a customer in Tillamook.  We didn’t do a frame off on this one, but it had been in an accident and had some front end damage.  We had to replace a front fender, and the inner fenders, but the rest of the car was in very good shape.

The engine and transmission were also in good shape.  We installed new seals and gaskets, and new mounts.

We added new carpets, new upholstery and put new rubber gaskets and seals for lights and glass.

The car is not painted with an original color, actually it’s a ‘02 Ford color, but it grows on you, and we actually had several good comments about the color.  What really made the car was when we put the Minilite style wheels and new P185 Michelin tires on the car.  After that, it became a true “eye catching”  TR 4.

If you’re on the coast, watch for it.  The owner wanted to have a driver, and he’s driving it

The frame is back from powder coat, and we are beginning to fit the front suspension parts.  We are going to powder coat the suspension parts which we are going to re-use.  The other parts will be new.  Our main goal now is to try to find component packages that will allow us to have certain groups of parts that will create a “sub-assembly” if you will.  These will then be fitted and ready for the assembly process at the show.

Here’s the frame as it looked back from powder coat-

Remember, this is what it looked like-

One of our E-Type projects is continuing.  We have the body and paint work completed and we are ready to clean and paint the frame, and get the engine and transmission back together and start putting in the interior.

We have sent the chrome off to be re-done, and we have ordered the new gaskets and seals for all the lights and trim.

Here are some before and after shots of the body.

This is the original color for the car, and it turned out really good.  Here are a couple of other pictures of the paint-

Posting the pictures of the latest E type restoration reminded me that I haven’t posted the recent pictures of the earlier restoration of an E type we are also working on.

This car has a bit more rust damage, but after the paint was stripped, we found some other damage in the rear quarter panels, and some in the hood.  For the most part though the body is in pretty good shape.

Our plan now is to cut out the rusted areas, and replace with new metal.  Most of the body panels that have been filled with Bondo, will be cut out and repaired with new metal.  This is the most time consuming part of any restoration.  It is also the part that receives the most attention.  We have to make the car look good so that every time you walk up to it, you think “wow, that’s a great looking car”.

All of us here at British Auto Works are trying hard to get as many classic British Sports Cars back on the road as we can.  Here are some pictures of one of our latest projects.  It’s a very nice Series II E type.  The customer has owned the car for several years, he is actually the third owner.  The car has had some suspension repair, and the engine has been gone through, but the interior and the paint needed to be done.

One of the best things about this car was that it had been well taken care of, and there was no apparent body or frame damage and there was only slight rust spots.  The sills and rockers were great.  We started by stripping everything off the car.

Once we got the carpet out, we did find some rust through spots in the floor pans.  These were small enough that we could patch the area with some fresh metal, and it would be better than new.

The next big thing was to get the motor and transmission out.  Typical Jag, taking the motor out is an all day project, but you do have to admire the engineering behind this car, it really is impressive.

After all this was done, it was off to the body shop and we got started on what few minor body imperfections there was, and prep for paint

Stay tuned to see the pictures of it painted, it’s the Carmine red.

Working on an MGB motor is really not that difficult.  The are a ton of websites, chat rooms, blogs, and other internet sites that can help you with your engine rebuild.  Yes even this one will help you.  If you have a question, or need some help, let me know.  We rebuild engines for MG’s, Triumph’s, Austin Healey’s, Morris, or any other vintage British car.  We do stock rebuilds all the way up to high performance racing engines.

However, the main reason why I am posting this blog, is that I have come across a motor that does exemplify a problem that I see all to often when an engine comes to me that needs some help with assembly.  The main problem here is that the customer wanted to be sure his head gasket was sealed, and he managed to over-do this step of the motor rebuild.

Now I am not saying that it is bad to seal the head gasket when you install it.  However, look at the type of head gasket you are installing first.  The new Payen gaskets are pre-treated, and if your block and head have been surfaced, you will not need to use any type of sealer.  If you have the County type, then it is a good idea to use some type of sealer.  I find that a copper based spray works the best.  Here’s where the tricky part begins.  You only have to have a light coat on both sides of the gasket.  You do not have to spray the block and the head, and most everything else on the motor as was done in the pictures.  You need to work quickly once you have applied the sealer to the gasket.  Once it is tacky, about 3 minutes, then get the gasket over the studs, and get the head on and torque the nuts in the proper sequence and to the proper foot pounds.

The most important thing to remember is to keep all surfaces clean and oil free.  The way these cars are driven, you should only have to install a head gasket once and it will be good for as long as you own the car, and probably the next two or three generations.