Triumph Herald Where to start

[M-Ster]

My sister has a triumph herald that has been off the road for 12 years in return for some long term child minding and cos i wanted to do it i agreed to get it back on the road for her.

After a look underneath for rust rot and making a good check round that it was cost effective to do and it was.

My first port of call was the engine which rather than mess about with i dropped in a running engine and gearbox for £100 i thought it was well worth it.

Where to next what should i do the rust on archs or keep sorting brakes etc should i remove body and paint chassis?? how fair shall i go

[TriumphVitesse]

First of all I would check the chassis thoroughly, ie the outriggers, side rails etc etc to ensure that it is worth doing before you get it good mechanically. Once you have established this I would replace the entire braking system, ie calipers,discs & pads,rear cyliders & shoes, master brake cylinder and all brake pipes (I reccommend the goodridge braided type. Once you have the car running, driving & stopping you can easily move it around to do the bodywork. Don't forget that the tyres will be useless after 12 years regardless of what they look like change them. The clutch will probably need looking at too - even if it appears to work the rubbers in the master & slave cyliders are probably shot. I have had a number of Herald and loved them to bits, wish I still had my 1200 Saloon, NME217E!!!

When you have done the bodywork make sure you rustproof it thoroughly - everywhere!

Good luck with it, they are great little cars that can be run on a shoestring!