My first project!
Discussion
Well, I have come to that time where I have found that car that I knew had to be mine. That car that I knew I must own, and at first site knew that I would lavish far too much time and money on her. And no, it is not some piece of shiney Italian exotica, it is in fact a 1969 Triumph Herald 13/60 estate that has spent the last 10 years of her life presiding in a garage on the outskirts of Windsor.
Through word of mouth, my father became aware of the existance of this car after someone noticed that he was driving a 13/60 convertible to work every day. After some negotiation, a night-time viewing and some slightly off-the-mark calculations, he parted with the princely sum of £100. I went to pick it up with him, expecting the worse, but as always with these things, I fell in love with her and have persuaded my dad that if I help with the rebuild that she can be my first car. Why not?? 40 MPG, massive, and I'm talking HUGE, boot, free road tax and cooler than a Punto.
The best part is that before the previous owner died, he lavished much time and energy on completely redoing the engine, and it is practically mint, Sure, it'll need a few bits and bobs before it runs, but it certainly looks more promising than the one in our other, running Herald. The interior, in all its tan-vinyl wonder, is absolutely immaculate, right down to the origional radio, which too is perfect. The only problems with the car lay with the body work, which, as you can expect, is rusty. Very rusty. But nothing that can't be fixed. In fact, after putting her onto the trailer, we decided to pull off the rear bumper strip by hand because the rear valance was so rusty that we didn't know if we could trust it on the journey home to hold. But that's a bolt on part, so it'll be okay.
Mainly, it needs a new door, a new rear valance, possibly a new bonnet, but surprisingly the arches are in reasonable condition, and are better than those I have seen on taxed and tested classics of a similar nature. I shall post some pics up of her, known as Roxy for reasons I shan't explain, in due course in the rare event that someone actually cares
She is currently sitting on my dads drive, but I shall be seeing her tomorrow, and shall give details of the progress made on her on here when/if possible. Thanks for reading this if you actually made it to the end of what was basically a ramble about my 39 year old mistress who is basically nice but a bit crusty around the edges.
Through word of mouth, my father became aware of the existance of this car after someone noticed that he was driving a 13/60 convertible to work every day. After some negotiation, a night-time viewing and some slightly off-the-mark calculations, he parted with the princely sum of £100. I went to pick it up with him, expecting the worse, but as always with these things, I fell in love with her and have persuaded my dad that if I help with the rebuild that she can be my first car. Why not?? 40 MPG, massive, and I'm talking HUGE, boot, free road tax and cooler than a Punto.
The best part is that before the previous owner died, he lavished much time and energy on completely redoing the engine, and it is practically mint, Sure, it'll need a few bits and bobs before it runs, but it certainly looks more promising than the one in our other, running Herald. The interior, in all its tan-vinyl wonder, is absolutely immaculate, right down to the origional radio, which too is perfect. The only problems with the car lay with the body work, which, as you can expect, is rusty. Very rusty. But nothing that can't be fixed. In fact, after putting her onto the trailer, we decided to pull off the rear bumper strip by hand because the rear valance was so rusty that we didn't know if we could trust it on the journey home to hold. But that's a bolt on part, so it'll be okay.
Mainly, it needs a new door, a new rear valance, possibly a new bonnet, but surprisingly the arches are in reasonable condition, and are better than those I have seen on taxed and tested classics of a similar nature. I shall post some pics up of her, known as Roxy for reasons I shan't explain, in due course in the rare event that someone actually cares
She is currently sitting on my dads drive, but I shall be seeing her tomorrow, and shall give details of the progress made on her on here when/if possible. Thanks for reading this if you actually made it to the end of what was basically a ramble about my 39 year old mistress who is basically nice but a bit crusty around the edges.
Ordinary Bloke said:
You'll be turning on a sixpence before you can say "Extensive Welding" 
You would think that, but the welding is going to be outsourced to a friend that knows what hes doing, I couldn't hope to even try myself. 
I have taken pics, but I can't post them up just yet, so I shall do so tomorrow (hopefully). I spent most of today gutting out the interior so that we could get to the rust
quality!
i bought a herald of ebay for 300 quid for a laugh last year (ebay bingo!) it was a local car and had been really badly painted, but me and my bro sorted out the worse problems it had and ran it for a few months (it also passed the mot with only a pair of front hoses needed)
it was great for town driving as the pillers where so thin, a bit of a pain on the open road as the box shreeked like a banshee.
in the end a mate of mine mithered me to buy it for 500 quid, unbolted the roof and drove round in the month of sunshine we had last year, when it started to rain a women bought it and drove it 200 miles home - the gear box must have drove her mad!
i really enjoyed it, not a patch on my usual 1960's minis (particually in the handeling dept!), but id have another - and they are so cheap!
ive just found a photo of the beast, known as 'scabbers' for obvious reasons!
i bought a herald of ebay for 300 quid for a laugh last year (ebay bingo!) it was a local car and had been really badly painted, but me and my bro sorted out the worse problems it had and ran it for a few months (it also passed the mot with only a pair of front hoses needed)
it was great for town driving as the pillers where so thin, a bit of a pain on the open road as the box shreeked like a banshee.
in the end a mate of mine mithered me to buy it for 500 quid, unbolted the roof and drove round in the month of sunshine we had last year, when it started to rain a women bought it and drove it 200 miles home - the gear box must have drove her mad!
i really enjoyed it, not a patch on my usual 1960's minis (particually in the handeling dept!), but id have another - and they are so cheap!
ive just found a photo of the beast, known as 'scabbers' for obvious reasons!
Edited by guru_1071 on Monday 23 June 08:51
Herald is a great car and an ideal starter classic. Added rarity of the estate makes the project even more worthwhile.
Best news is that the separate chassis makes the restoration more managable and even a full 'body off' job is achievable on a DIY basis.
I'd suggest that Cello does all the prep work himself before having his mate to do the actual welding - that way he won't use up his goodwill quite so quickly!
By the way, saloons with the top off isn't as good an idea as it sounds! The Convertible has quite a lot of stiffening in the body tub and the door locks are different. Yes, the roof only bolts on but it does add quite a lot of stiffness to the structure. Chopping is OK to have some fun with an 'end of life car' but they will sag 'til fit for nothing in a season or so.
Best news is that the separate chassis makes the restoration more managable and even a full 'body off' job is achievable on a DIY basis.
I'd suggest that Cello does all the prep work himself before having his mate to do the actual welding - that way he won't use up his goodwill quite so quickly!
By the way, saloons with the top off isn't as good an idea as it sounds! The Convertible has quite a lot of stiffening in the body tub and the door locks are different. Yes, the roof only bolts on but it does add quite a lot of stiffness to the structure. Chopping is OK to have some fun with an 'end of life car' but they will sag 'til fit for nothing in a season or so.
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