67 Mk1 GT6 restoration

[John Bonnett]

Are you sure the Paddock ones are threaded Hazen? I bought from them and they have the spring steel clip. They locate firmly but when you turn the key most of the movement is free play. I was so disgusted with them I've replaced them with a couple of blanking grommets.

[byakk0]

Without digging further than this, I would assume so. It says 'nut-fix type'
http://www.jamespaddock.co.uk/parts.aspx?searchtext=621773PX

[John Bonnett]

Yes those look a lot better Hazen. Your first link was for the same as I bought. Do you want to get a pair first and then you can let me know if thery're any good?  

[byakk0]

lol. Tempting, actually. I'll prob go the cheaper method I mentioned first. I gotta recover from the headliner I just bought from Canley. (I decided a guaranteed fit simpler than attempting to make my own.)

[byakk0]

Unfortunately it's not all fun and games.
We've all been here at one point or other regardless of the project, you know, one step forward and 2 back.

Turns out in my haste I didn't get the shell prepped correctly-that is to say, some of the old welds from the old skin are still in place throwing my fitment off.
(sorry for the fuzzy pics. I must have had something on my lens)

The good news is, I put a straight edge on the skin and it was level everywhere but the lower rounded corners and one high point at the top, said welds I neglected to grind down.
That may not mean anything if I cannot safely salvage this brand-new door skin, aside from the fact that I mostly did it right the first time.

as taken from a stock door, the top channel should have a gap of about 7/8". My DIY job is 3/4" on one end and 1 1/8" on the other.


The narrow end


The wide end


And both ends of a stock door.



At first I wanted to try and make it work--but that would be a lot of headache and warped panels, so I decided to bite the bullet and remove the skin.
I saw on another forum a tool someone used to remove door skins, so I made one.
I bought $4 pliers from Walmart so I could modify it without worry,


Next, I ground three large grooves into the lower jaw so the edge of the door would have a nice slot to rest in. The serrated jaw as is would allow it to slip, and I didn't want that. Three grooves make it more versatile.


Then I welded the tip of the upper jaw and shaped it into a flat tooth, or hook.


This allows you to get right under the flange to pry it back up.


Working slowly, a little at a time, I raised the flange.


I need to do the rest of the skin, but I know the removal tool works, and so far the skin is still in useable shape.

[byakk0]

I successfully removed the skin without ruining it.
Then I was able to determine just where I needed to clean up to get the skin to correctly fit.

The ends are where I needed to remove metal from the shell


It was mostly this end that was the problem.



I needed to remove the amount of metal shown in red


As I was adjusting the skin after I had removed the small amount of metal, I found the skin was moving around and wouldn't stay where I needed it so I tacked it right at the top.


This allowed me to tap the flange over again.
I used a rubber mallet as a backer for the hammer instead of a metal dolly. I didn't want to mar or dent the skin any more than I had to.


This time the skin came out correctly. The gap for the window is nice and even this time.

[John Bonnett]

A great piece of work Hazen. I wish you joy when you get to the stage of fitting the weather seal and the clips.

[lancepar]

You might want to refit the door incase after removing and refitting the skin that the bottom corner does not stick out.

[byakk0]

yup. I've got something like that. Already aware of before hand.
Not sure how much of it is my own fault--lack of experience or otherwise.
more pics coming soon

I do have this bit of video. Bear in mind this was just after I bolted it to the A-pillar. I've adjusted it mostly since, but still having some issues and working out how to best address them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3DJu9jjnmk

[byakk0]

Bolted the door to the tub to see how it fits.


The area in yellow is a little proud at the bottom, and the area in red in turned down slightly.




The green tape shows how much room I need-that is where the edge of the door should be, as compared to the other side.



Also, the rain channel contacts the door, preventing any additional upward adjustment (for the bottom gap and fit)


After some adjusting I got the gap a little wider, but I think I am going to need to somehow widen it further by either cutting and welding, or unbending the flange and bending it along the green tape.


The bonnet is slightly twisted right here. Need to figure out how to undo that.

[byakk0]

Made some good headway on the door today, but I knew I would be pulling the car out of the garage, so I finally decided to tackle the mess behind it.

It's a random assortment of items that either have no real home yet in my tiny garage, or items I frequently use. I move all of this to the side of the driveway, then after I have pushed the GT6 back in, I replace it. Tedious.


I recently acquired 4 pieces of 1'x4' 5/4 MDF boards from work, so I picked up some 3/4" angle iron (remnants are cheap!). Using the casters I had on the rotisserie I was able to whip this together with the welder.



It's low and heavy, but I can store and move everything at once. I need more angle, but I plan on adding at least 1 more shelf. Abby is already sneaking my tools off the cart.


Here she is perusing a popular ad. She must be thinking ahead to father's day.


With that, (and my tools) out of the way I was free to work on the door. Well, as free as one can be with a toddler roaming the front yard. I spent more time chasing her than getting work done, but I'm not complaining. Gives my wife a break and we enjoy the time together.


This is a tight space to work in. Regular sized dolly's just don't fit in here very well, so I grabbed a narrow strip of 1/2" steel and had the lip turned right along where I wanted.


Here is an 'end-on' view, eyeballing it to check to see how straight it is. Not turned down at the end at all.


Tapping the flange down here was proving to be tougher than before but I wanted it tight so I couldn't just leave it.
Eventually I used some slip-joint pliers and the previously mentioned strip of steel as the backer (so as to not mar the outside surface). I was able to crimp the flange down nicely.


Ah, nice and straight. And lookit that. 21 1/2" inches. Should clear the windscreen gutter just fine now.


And it does.


After lots of adjusting, I finally got it about as perfect as I can, considering all the work I have done to it. I've made a few errors along the way, but not much can be done about those at this point. Does that make me a DCO? (dumb current owner, fyi)
The lower corner at the B-pillar needs the gap physically adjusted-as in too much metal there, so I'll either re-do the bend there by unbending the flange, or cutting and welding. The upper bit on the door was easy as that was a straight line. This one is a curve, so I'm not sure how just bending it will turn out... Guess we'll see (including me) in a future installment.


It stands proud of the bottom, just like many do after major work. Aside from the corner, all gaps are basically good. The top of the door is in line perfectly with the bonnet and rear wing, as is the body line that runs through the lower portion of the door. Not quite sure how to tackle that one just yet, but this is likely my own amateur self's fault. I can either leave it, or figure something out.
That too, I guess, we'll have to just wait and see.

[JohnD]

Wow!  For a small additional outlay on a pair of trucks, you would have a GIANT SKATEBOARD!

But a long way to go to the biggest there is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgETWBKCRSQ

[byakk0]

Quoted from JohnD

Wow!  For a small additional outlay on a pair of trucks, you would have a GIANT SKATEBOARD!

But a long way to go to the biggest there is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgETWBKCRSQ

That's funny. I did push my daughter around on it a little, but with 4 swivel wheels, I wouldn't want to ride it. A large set of trucks would certainly make it fun!

[Nick Moore]

I was thinking that it would make a great way to move a toddler around too! Ideas like that are why I'm not trusted around children  

It would also be good as a mechanic's slider to scoot under the car, but not under a Triumph.

[byakk0]

it could make a nice creeper, for sure.
Interestingly enough, I can shimmy under the edges of my car without jacking it up. Can't o much work... Much easier to raise it with a jack or something.

[byakk0]

First of all, I installed the seat-belt shoulder anchor points on the wheels wells.



Now back to the door. I got everything adjusted correctly. Well, nearly enough, that is. I need to weld the flanges down in a few spots as was done in the factory, as well as a couple spots that need it due to the shape of the aftermarket panel.The lower corner isn't quite as round as I would like, so I'll grind it to shape and it may end up needing a little bit of welding if I grind through the flange.


I opened the flange in this area once more and found I had about 3/16" more I could bend the flange, so I flattened it out and re-bent it in the new location. The corner I needed to slit to get it it bend to the correct shape.


The white tape marks the line I bent it back to. Unfortunately I don't have a before photo.


I was afraid at this point I was getting ahead of myself, but I went ahead and started cutting the holes. Previous measurements showed I had marked it as much as 1/4" too close to the edge. Looking other doors in my spares I found largest hole is cut flush with the inside of the door frame. My mark had it a little on the outside of the frame, so I drilled a hole where I knew it would be safe and stuck a wire bent to 90 degrees inside to locate the inner edge of the frame.
Using a small cutoff wheel on my Dremel I cut a larger portion away.
You can just see the lever the door handle push button contacts to release the latch. I have it in the correct location. Thank goodness. It would be terrible if I cut the wrong spot.


I finished the larger hole with a file and the Dremel. OEM the small hole was incorporated into the larger handle hole, but with the way the handle is constructed I was able to leave a small bit of metal between the two. I'm hoping for a slight increase in strength in this location.
Then I carefully measured for the other hole and the lock hole as well.
Note the lock is a D shape. I cut the flat side with the dremel and a series of smaller holes around the perimeter of the rest. That allowed me to remove most of the shape. I hit the flat with a file and used the Dremel to round the rest of the hole.


And there you go. Handle and lock in place. Both function perfectly.


inside view with the lock mechanism engaged.


I then rehung the door. I had previously marked the location of the hinges, and I lucked out this time as the bolts started easily, and the door slipped right into place. I didn't have to fight either. 5 minutes and I was done.
See the results here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMbWtUwGa5s

[byakk0]

I didn't have much time today but I got something accomplished.

You'll recall I mentioned a large gap between the door at the B-pillar, right at the top.
You can just see it in this pic.
I was hoping the new skin would fill the gap, but I was not surprised to find it did not.


Thus, I needed to take care of it by other means.
One thought I had was to fold a piece of steel to match the bent flange of the door skin. Then I'd cut that to fit the small gap and simply weld it in. I laid out a piece of tape so I could transfer the shape to some metal, and then decided there really was not enough room to make that a success. I'd probably end up making it look terrible.



So, today I broke out the welder and built up a few layers along the way.
It needs a little bit of dressing still, but the shape is mostly there, and once complete, will be hardly noticeable.


I didn't have the best light for welding, so I just put this piece of white tape to mark how low to go. It showed up nicely through my mask.


And, the nearly final product. Just a little more fettling.

[byakk0]

Looks like I'm done...for now. Got it fitting correctly, so I primed it.
The metal I added to the upper RH really stands out now. Should go away when I get to the final bodywork.

[byakk0]

Needs hung and adjusted, but the guts are all in and function.



Back in 95 when I was driving it, the glass in this door shattered on me when I shut it once. Not sure why that happened. Thankfully I had a spare door, so I just swapped doors, as seen in the following pic.


This skin was in fairly decent shape, but it had a hole from a broken Lucas style mirror and all I had was bullets. My first thought was just to use it, with some paint stripping. Original color was Jasmine [light yellow]. PO of that door had done a lousy red paint job over it.
Come to find out the lower portion of the shell is quite rusty and would need lots of rehab. I was better off using an original-to-my-car shell. Funny thing is, it was one of the few things on my car that was nearly rust free.

So, for the first time since the glass shattered, this door once again has glass in it.

[byakk0]

Forgot to post this...


Looking good from the reader's point of view...

However, I have some adjusting to do. Wing window makes contact with the windscreen pillar at the top, so the window internals need some adjusting. The lower leading edge of the door is not very round, so it needs some work still. The lower edge of the door stands a little proud, as much as 3/16" or more, increasing from front to back. The gap at the bottom is too tight as well.

I've got to rotate the door clockwise a little, and bring the sill out somehow...
I'll get it eventually, but for now I may move on over to the passenger side and finish up the work over there, including a new door skin.

[byakk0]

Door needs a little more work but I need to take a break from it. It works sufficiently, for now.

Thought I was having fuel pump problems again when I went to start my engine this week. Turns out to be operator error. I haven't started it since August so it just needed some coaxing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TPqokPjwYo

With that out of the way, I can turn it around in my garage so I can work on the passenger side door, rocker, and rear wing.

[byakk0]

Took it for a small spin today and backed into the driveway with the help of my son as spotter. Need to fit the mirrors still.
Need to re-familiarize myself with the controls as I kept hitting the throttle and brake together, and I couldn't find the gears!

[junkuser]

Quite a milestone Hazen. Congratulations!

The rest will take time, but should be straight forward.
A great story.
Mal.

[byakk0]

for sure.
However, I still need to finish the passenger side. Door skin, sills, and wing.

[BiTurbo228]

Looking great! Must feel nice to take it for a spin