Finally everything off, but i have a couple of holes...

It was a good day down at the garage, I managed to undo nearly every bolt.  The ones I couldn't I used the angle grinder, sadly, the grinder passed away today... I have roughly cut all the outriggers off as they all had something wrong with them. Inside each of them their was a load of rust, so they may have failed at some point, and I won't be stripping my car down again... It will all be sorted out first time.

Rear suspension off as well...

Another bright day, got some painting done at home and was able to start on car by 11am... I got to use my hub puller today, it does make life easier having the correct tools. You can really see how some parts have deteriorated over time, i feel like I am getting somewhere now. I need to start cleaning down the chassis and removing the parts that I will replace with new ones I have bought.

Front suspension is now off...

Nut by nut, the suspension came off... I had to use the grinder a couple of times, just for the top mounts where the shocks and springs are. You have to mind your feet when the springs fly off! Looking at the chassis again, I think I will need 2 chassis rails, 2 front outriggers and 2 central supports to do the job properly. I have bought 2 new floorpans and mounting brackets, but will have to buy some 1mm steel to make up patch panels to bulhead. The brakes are off and will have a re-build at some point next year! In the next couple of weeks i will hopefully get the rear suspension removed.

Ideas to think about...

Just won seats on ebay, I really like the style and once I have learnt to weld, the frames can be adjusted to fit the space properly. The nice thing is that they are early Herald, I am hoping to unstitch the fabric and use as patterns, and ask the Mother in-law to remake covers or show me how too. Looking at the Sammio website recently the work they are doing on the G46, I like the boot lid and am thinking about incorporating one of them into the Sammio as I could leave the rear extensions in place. Somewhere to keep the tarpaulin when it rains... Also included in this post is a picture of the Lancia D24 which I will take a lot of inspiration from.

Arrival Sammio kit... where do i put it!

I left for Dorset at 3.15am Friday 21st October and arrived down there at 6.40am, ready for breakfast... It was very interesting meeting Gary and Mike, seeing what they were upto especially as the Exeter show was on the following day. What i did forget to do was to actually sit in one of the cars! So i still have no idea what it feels like sitting behind the wheel. I left at 10am and was back home by 1pm.

Engine out and bulkhead off.

Every nut and bolt seems to take forever, i guess some have never been touched. I have ordered parts for chassis and bulkhead, just need to buy a mig welder and learn how to use it! I plan on rebuilding the engine, just get it re-bored while the head will be re-built also with a polish up. Since finding out that i have a Mk.1 engine i can no longer have a sports manifold as it's only available for the Mk.2, i will just have to clean it up instead.

What a Mishmash...

The car i bought was a Triumph Vitesse Mk.2 2ltr. 1971 Rotoflex... basically correct, but it now has a Mk.1 2ltr. engine with a 1600 inlet manifold for Solex carbs, This also has a variation because it has angled trumpets adaptors so that the Stromberg carbs can be fitted.

Starting to strip car down to the bones.

Holes everywhere, i had hoped that they would belong to the parts of the car that i didn't need... but no. Front section of chassis rail literally fell off along with the sill, which revealed many more rusty bits. Maybe their was a better car out there? but not around this area, and i do want to start from scratch.

Delivery of car 18/10/11

The car had come down from Cheshire, i had paid £650... i have managed to sell £175 in parts, so not that bad.