1966 Triumph 2000->2500->4000

Yeah I've got all that bump-steer testing to go. The rack is in the same position fore-aft as it was as standard (hopefully!), but is 57.2mm lower than the standard position. I'm hoping that just translates to a downward motion of the steering arm rather than an outward one.

So, on the 18th March my first little daughter arrived! Life's been a little hectic since then (as expected!), but my other half and I have been very understanding giving each other time to disappear a little while to decompress (which means a little garage time for me!).

Next step on the subframe was to reinforce the bottom underneath where I'd clearanced (as well as provide a mounting point for the skid plate under the rack).







This was one of the more challenging things I've ever welded. As it had been underneath a 60s British engine for decades it was completely soaked in oil which bubbled up out of the seams whenever you went anywhere near them with the welder. Ended up having to weld over it once with it spattering and occluding all over the place just to burn it all out, then grinding it all off and doing it again (and again) until I had a good weld. Still, worked ok in the end!

After that was closing up the hole I'd clearanced, using the good old 'in-situ hammer forming' technique (i.e. tacking it in place and beating it with a hammer)






Definitely the easiest way to get complex curves like this.




After that I thought I'd extend the middle section of the subframe down by the same 10-15mm or so just to protect the sump a little, and add in some captive nuts in case I want to make a skid plate across the middle too.



So that was that on the subframe. It's currently on its first coat of paint so should be looking spick and span fairly shortly!

Nice work.

Ref Steering: If the arm from the rack to the steering arm changes that will change the bump steer (better or worse) In an ideal world the track rod arm is parallel to the bottom arm or virtual bottom arm if an A Frame. Moving the rack down 57mm could improve the angles.......

It's always a trade off putting a different engine in. On my AJ30 installation i have room to move the rack - slightly - to improve bump steer but no room for an exhaust manifold for example!!

Right! Long time no post. Turns out that although having a kid is nowhere near as all-consuming as I'd expected, it does still have an impact. Lots done, but in lots of short spurts and not a great deal of big stuff ticked off just yet. Still, getting there slowly.

The main project has been the front suspension, starting with the struts.



Turns out it had Koni inserts!



Completely shot mind, so I don't mind having bought a set of GAZ adjustables.

Slightly sketchy test of the springs showed they were 157lb/in, which fits pretty well with the 160lb/in stock rate online.



Stripped the struts down with the truly wonderful angle grinder paint removal discs. First time I've use them and they're brilliant.



Bought a set of 2.25" coilover conversion kits from RallyDesign just down the road, and a set of 200lb springs. These match the existing aftermarket springs you can get for T2000s, but gives me a bit of an easier time switching around ride heights and different spring rates if need be.



Turns out the GAZ struts are about an inch shorter than standard T2000 struts. Typically people shim them up with spacers dropped into the bottom of the shock, so I've ordered a pair of 15mm long 46mm alloy spacer tubes with a 20mm centre hole. They fit nice and snugly down the strut tube and should locate the bottom of the insert nicely.



I've also tested out some de-rusting acid solution from Bilt Hamber on all the various front suspension gubbins, which took a while on some of the more corroded bits but worked a treat. That's all currently with a local zinc platers being made all shiny



Meanwhile I've painted the lower control arms and subframe. Can recommend Bilt Hamber epoxy mastic as a chassis paint. Seems much better than the POR-15 I've been using previously, which works well when it's gone off slightly but out of the pot it runs off edges leaving them exposed far too readily.




Next up is a set of camber adjustable strut tops from a TR7. You can get these in the right bore for T2000 struts, though I've had to drill out the bottom of the spacer to 19mm for 3mm depth or so to give enough threads poking out the top for me to be comfortable with them. I'll also need to make up a spacer so the spring pan will sit on a proper shoulder in droop, for which I'll need the lathe up and running.



Positively, the boltholes for the strut line up nicely with the slightest tickle of a file. Maybe half a mm per hole which should help keep them in the right position. The OD is too big to fit though, so that's another lathe job...

Lastly, because you can never have too many things dismantled all at once, I've pulled the rear suspension off as well ready for the BMW diff swap



Hopefully will be getting some bits built back up again soon!

Haha I was expecting more of a cliff-edge but I think a gradual decline is more like it

Next few bits and pieces progressed, in my usual scattergun approach

First off was a bit of de-rusting on the diff mount. Dragged the subframe assembly out of the car and pulled the mount off:




I've bought a bottle of deox c acid rust removal stuff from Bilt Hamber and made it up in a bin. Wonderful stuff! Goes to show how wire wheeling heavily rusted parts still doesn't quite get all the rust out:



Also managed to pick up an E36 compact subframe for £20 and liberated the diff mount:




Next up was sorting the pedal box. Welding the bias bar into the pedal worked perfectly, but the threaded rod on the master cylinders wasn't quite long enough to reach. What I really need is some 5/16ths threaded, 1-1.25" long hex standoff nuts, but they're not a common fastener it would seem. Ended up tapping some tube and screwing that on using a piece of threaded rod, which gets it all connected while I source some proper hardware.




If I can find a source for the right standoff nuts I might look at getting a batch of the adapter plates made in 6082 aluminium with helicoiled studs. I've done some rough quoting and would probably be looking at £50 each for a batch of 5, or £40 for a batch of 10. Not sure how many takers there would be though, seeing as it would only really fit saloons and stags.

The next thing I've been pottering along with is a rear disc conversion. There's been about half a dozen different approaches for TR6s all using a caliper mounting plate that sandwiches between the hub and the trailing arm like so:



All of them have used discs that needed machining, and often custom handbrake cables. Using the brake disc catalogue I've put together I found that a 258mm Hyundai Coupe disc and a 76mm-70mm spigot ring would work pretty well.



I've picked up a set of MGF calipers, which very nearly fit perfectly just bolted to a flat plate on the back of the hubs, but are out by 2mm.



First iteration of the design had two plasma-cut plates, a caliper mount and a spacer. This would increase the track by 9.5mm each side though, so I switched to a machined plate that looks a little like this:



That only increases the track by 7.5mm a side which is more likely to be within the range of plunge for both the UJ and CV driveshafts.

Again, happy to produce a batch if people are interested (after I've tested it works of course!). Looking like £150-200 a pair for those in hard anodised 6082 ally, again depending on batch volume. Would be interested to know if anyone fancies a set.

Also happy to share CAD files if they want to make a pair themselves, but commissioning them individually does work out more expensive.

Spent a fair while vacillating around about how whether it's better to mount it too low but in the right place fore/aft, or the right height but too far forward, before finally thinking 'I've hacked a great big hole in the floor for the gearbox, why am I concerned about a little bit of clearancing at the back?' 
So I've spaced the diff forwards by 10mm with some extra nuts and washers:



...welded an extension to the diff plate and drilled yet more holes:



...and actually put the pinion in a sensible location:



I don't actually think it'll take much clearancing of the floor at all. A little under the middle of the rear seat to get the prop high enough (not an issue if you're using the original gearbox as mine's sitting much higher), and a little expansion of this pre-existing scallop:

loving your work Simon, that brake bias box looks familiar

Lots of other projects taking up time recently, but I've done a few bits and pieces to the big Triumph.

I plopped one end of the subframe in my bin of acid and it came out much more silver than just wire wheeling, and also showed up pinhole I didn't realise was there





So I bought myself some citric acid so I could play at being a drug smuggler...





...and some 120l barrels...





...so I can now dunk half of the subframe at a time!





It's slower going than the Frosts stuff I've used in the smaller bin, but significantly cheaper for a big barrel. I've also got a barrel of baking soda solution to neutralise the acid where I can't reach to wash it out. I've put about 2kg of citric acid into ~110l of water. We'll see if that concentration works and up it if not (I know our water's quite hard here so it'll start at a more alkaline level than softer water). Eventually I'd like a barrel of phosphoric acid (milk stone remover is the cheap way to buy it in volume) and water as well so I can etch and rinse big things as well, but this will do for now.

I've also picked up some rather nice goodies for it





4-pot vented Stag brakes. Nice and light compared to the stock bits. 6.3kg per side (plus pads which they didn't have in stock at the time).











That compares to 10.2kg per side for the Stag setup (discs were a hair over 5kg each)





I've also weighed the rear brake components. Stock T2000 rear drums weigh 6.6kg per side, and my MGF caliper/Hyundai Coupe disc and shiny adapter setup comes in at 7.2kg. A little heavier, but worth it I think to have rear discs that don't need manually adjusting for wear...

Oh, and speaking of shiny brake adapters, my prototype set has turned up!








Nicely machined in 6081 ally. The brake mounting tabs are only 8mm rather than 10mm, but I didn't want to push the wheels much further out than that in the arches. Will keep an eye on them to make sure they're not fatiguing...

Always look forward to updates on this one.