TR5 Fine Tuning
June 15, 2021
Our 1968 Triumph TR5 is on the home straight with just a handful of fine tuning tweaks that need to be carried out. We’ve noticed
tr5
TR5 Up And Running For The First Time
May 12, 2021
Our 1968 Triumph TR5 has been a total nut and bolt restoration, with it looking like just a chassis and some mechanics only 6 months
Heat Wrapping The TR5 Exhaust
May 5, 2021
Mauro has been heat-wrapping the Triumph TR5 exhaust using a Header Wrap. This is done to improve the exhaust flow and to reduce the risk of
TR5 TLC
April 27, 2021
We had Auto Electrics come over to wire up all of the electrics on our 1968 Triumph TR5. Our TR5 has had its bonnet repainted.
Triumph TR5 Fuel And Brake Lines
April 6, 2021
Our classic Triumph TR5 is progressing well through its nut and bolt restoration. Mauro has recently fitted the fuel and brake lines as well as
Triumph TR5 Gets A New Hood
March 12, 2021
Kath has been working on the TR5 hood recently in the trim shop with the rest of the team. She bagan the process of making
TR5 Trim Fits
March 9, 2021
Kath and Brian have both been working on our 1968 Triumph TR5 recently. Kath has fitted the door cards which could be placed in now
TR5 Trim Continued
February 25, 2021
Kath and Brian have continued their work with the 1968 Triumph TR5 and are now tackling the rear quarter. Kath has added foam over the
TR5 Carpet update
February 19, 2021
Our 1968 Triumph TR5 is still sat in the trim shop having its new interior fitted! Its a very exciting development as fitting trim to
TR5 Next Steps
February 17, 2021
Our Triumph TR5 has had a bespoke bumper iron made in the workshop to fit underneath behind the front wheel. One of our technicians made
Catching Up With The TR5
February 15, 2021
Our 1968 Triumph TR5 has been progressing in leaps and bounds under the expert eye of our technician Mauro. Chris has painted the roof in
TR5 Update
February 3, 2021
The reverse lights have been fitted to the TR5 along with the fuel gauge sender unit fuel return pipes and fuel hose filler. Rubber and
Windows Fitted To The TR5
January 28, 2021
As I’m sure you know by now, Mauro is Mr TR5, handling the majority of the restoration on our lovely 1968 Triumph TR5. The latest
Advancements on the TR5
January 26, 2021
Mauro’s recent adjustments to our 1968 Triumph Tr5 include added fittings to the dashboard and many small mechanisms added throughout the vehicle. It’s the small
Corrosion Corrections For The TR5
January 14, 2021
James has been working in the fabrication bay to prepare the Triumph TR5’s windscreen. The front screen surround frame has corroded in the lower right-hand
Triumphant Steps For The TR5
January 7, 2021
Mauro has been dedicated to the renovation of our beautiful 1968 Triumph TR5 that is slowly resembling more of a car now. With the engine
Workshop Walkabout
December 2, 2020
Our week has been very busy with two photoshoots at the start of the week and new projects arriving in the workshop. Tr6’s new hood
1968 Triumph TR5 Interior Restoration
February 11, 2020
Our Triumph TR5 is currently having it’s interior trimmed at our in-house trim shop. Kath has made webbing straps to attach to the seat frames.
1968 TR5 Stripping Components
January 15, 2020
We’re in the early stages of our TR5 restoration. We need to asses which parts of the vehicle can be refurbished and which components will
TR5 Fine Tuning
June 15, 2021
Our 1968 Triumph TR5 is on the home straight with just a handful of fine tuning tweaks that need to be carried out. We’ve noticed a few small running issues and exhaust troubles that we will address next.
TR5 Up And Running For The First Time
May 12, 2021
Our 1968 Triumph TR5 has been a total nut and bolt restoration, with it looking like just a chassis and some mechanics only 6 months ago. Today it was started for the first time and it ran as expected with no series issues. The expected teething issues of a brand new engine have occurred, including a large amount of smoke as the new components are run for the first time. The next step is to road test it to see how it runs.
Heat Wrapping The TR5 Exhaust
May 5, 2021
Mauro has been heat-wrapping the Triumph TR5 exhaust using a Header Wrap. This is done to improve the exhaust flow and to reduce the risk of the Scavenging Effect. Scavenging occurs when the rush of the exhaust gas leaves the cylinder pulls in more fresh air and fuel.
It also lowers the temperature in the engine to reduce the risk of overheating. Wrapped headers will increase the torque and horse power by a small amount as well.
TR5 TLC
April 27, 2021
We had Auto Electrics come over to wire up all of the electrics on our 1968 Triumph TR5.
Our TR5 has had its bonnet repainted. The original paint job for this vehicle was done externally as per the clients request however we are now starting to see micro blistering within the paint and are endeavouring the rectify the problems.
Chris has stripped the bonnet to bare metal, applied rust treatment, added epoxy primer, body fill to smooth the imperfections and then applied polyfan filler primer which was rubbed down and covered in a high build primer. The final step was to then rub it down and re-paint it.
Triumph TR5 Fuel And Brake Lines
April 6, 2021
Our classic Triumph TR5 is progressing well through its nut and bolt restoration. Mauro has recently fitted the fuel and brake lines as well as fitting the panel in the wheel arch known as the ‘baffle’ plate.
Mauro has also been working on correcting and fitting the bumper as he wasn’t happy with how it was sat.
Triumph TR5 Gets A New Hood
March 12, 2021
Kath has been working on the TR5 hood recently in the trim shop with the rest of the team. She bagan the process of making the hood by laying the cover over the hood frame and lined up the roof bars with the hood seams. She then took the cover off, attached the webbing to the bars to keep the frame in the right position using the rivets and metal plates. She then made up some vinyl for the edges to go along the side of the frame with Velcro sewn on. This is done so the hood can fasten to the frame.
Kath then glued up the frame and vinyl, attached the Velcro strips and bolted on the metal channels on each side for the rubber seal around the top of the window. The next step was to insert the rubber seal, trim the excess off once in the channel and fit a rubber seal along the windows. The rear window rail was then pushed in between the hood cloth so it sits comfortably in the middle.
Kath then centred up and glued the cover in underneath the rail. To neaten it up, Kath trimmed off the excess material and bolt down the rear rail onto the car. She then attached stud sockets to the top of the cover at the back and riveted them in place. She could then pull the cover tight at the front of the car, marked the position on the front of the car with some chalk and glued along the header rail and under the front cover. Kath attached the metal channel along the front with the rivets so that they ready to have the rubber inserted in. The rubber is often hard to fit into the riverts so Kath applies some ‘easy slide’ to help it fit in.
The next step in the process was to attach 3 stud buttons on each rear side to secure hood down. These were riverted on each side of car. Next Kath wrapped the rear rail around & secured it with rivets.
The rear hood cover has also been made by positioning the template cover over the hood and Kath marked the centre. She attached a fastener, pulled the cover tight and marked a few positions of fasteners. She punched the hole out and then attached the buttons. She did this around the outside edge and once the outside was complete, she attached a couple of fasteners inside.
The final step was to make the tonneau cover. Kath added some fasteners along the top edge of the door, riveted them in place on both sides and centred up the cover before adding any fasteners. Kath marked the position of the first few stud buttons, attached the fasteners, clipped them down and finished by gradually go around the edge pulling the cover tight.
TR5 Trim Fits
March 9, 2021
Kath and Brian have both been working on our 1968 Triumph TR5 recently. Kath has fitted the door cards which could be placed in now that the door capping’s have been fit. Kath began by pushing in the panel clips into the back of the panel and aligning the clip with the hole in the door to push it into place. At first Kath noted that it wasn’t sitting straight forward so she had to adjust the panel by cutting off the piping from the top.
Once Kath had the clips in at the top, she could then go round the rest of the panel clips, cut out the holes for the window winder and door handle, fit the handles and move on to the other side to do the same thing again.
Kath also bolted the seat runners onto the floor and bolted in the centre console. This included fixing two bolts into the floor pan each side of tunnel section and one each side at the top.
The hood has also been fitted to check that the measurements align well. Kath laid the hood over the car ready to fit it later whilst she was waiting for the rubbers and header rail parts to arrive. By placing it over the frame, Kath could see if anything needed to be modified.
Brian has been fitting the chrome handle and lift up bar mechanism to the seats that allow the seat to move forward or back on the runners or from its hinges.
TR5 Trim Continued
February 25, 2021
Kath and Brian have continued their work with the 1968 Triumph TR5 and are now tackling the rear quarter.
Kath has added foam over the raised section in the boot and positioned the carpet over the foam to get an idea of how it would fit. Once happy, Kath could then glue the foam sections down and pack it out around the fuel tank. Once the foam is stuck down, Kath could then lay in and glue down the carpet in sections, pulling the carpet over the edge and down into footwell so that it fits tight. Once in place, Kath could trim around the corners, and get started on the hand brake gaiter section.
The hand brake gaiter section needed to have foam packed around the hand brake with an 11mm scrim foam piece so that the get carpet fits nicely. Once in position, the carpet can be glued down, making sure the fabric is pulled taught to ensure a fitted finish.
The next step was to fit the rear quarter panels and the door panel which clips onto a board. Kath found that she needed to adjust the panel around the wheel arch and the bottom section for seat belt eyelet first before fitting the sections. Once she had fitted the drivers side rear, Kath could then fit the passenger side and attach the carpet fasteers to footwells so that the mats don’t move about.
Finally, Kath could secure the carpet down in the upper foot well around the pedals and focus on the rear cockpit panel which needed to be screwed into place. Kath cut holes out for the hood mechanism and fit the hood mechanism in place so that it’s ready for the hood.
Brian started on the seats and their frames. He began by fitting the rubber diaphragm to the base seat and added foam around the front edge. He then glued the base cover to the upper foam and secured the lower foam in place underneath. The next step was to glue the base foam and cover to the seat frame and add extra foam around the front edge. By pulling the cover tight around the frame and clipping it in place, Brian could then glue the rear flap to the frame.
TR5 Carpet update
February 19, 2021
Our 1968 Triumph TR5 is still sat in the trim shop having its new interior fitted! Its a very exciting development as fitting trim to a vehicle is one of the final sections that really makes all the difference visually!
Kath has trimmed around and glued into position the carpet on the driver’s side under the pedals. She’s also fitted the driver’s side sill and the carpet near the accelerator pedal.
The centre console was then just laid in place to make sure it fits with the sound deadening now in place. Once everything definitely fit, Kath could glue in the sound deadening around the upper tunnel section and glue the carpet in the upper head of the tunnel. She then trimmed around the pipes and wires and lay in the tunnel section. The next step was to then put the centre console in over the carpet to make sure it still fits after each modification. The driver’s side and passenger tunnel section could then be glued in and packed out with foam to make a better fit.
Brian has made up the centre console by sanding and filling the cracks in the existing centre console switch unit. He’s glued the inner section and pushed the leather into place and followed it up by glueing the outer section and pulling it tight around all edges.
Brian could then cut the holes for the switches and fill the cracks. Once repaired and sanded, Brian was ready to glue the leather to the console, and start on the gearstick section by glueing and stretching the leather around all edges of the console. He then cut and trim the leather to get it to fit perfectly around the back of the console. Once these modifications were made, he could glue the leather and turn over the edges for the gearshift hole. Once these steps were completed, Brian fitted the console into the TR5.
TR5 Next Steps
February 17, 2021
Our Triumph TR5 has had a bespoke bumper iron made in the workshop to fit underneath behind the front wheel. One of our technicians made a template based off a similar car’s bumper iron and once he was happy, then made up the final design.
The TR5 has also entered the trim shop where our trim team are fitting the interior fabric. On this occasion, the client ordered a pack of TR5 interior pieces meaning we’re just fitting the sections rather than making them from hand. Although these sets are designed to fit perfectly, sometimes they need to be modified as every classic is unique. The majority of the work will include sticking and bolting each piece in place and ensuring that it all fits perfectly.
Kath began by adjusting and cutting around the corners of the panels so they fit well when applied later. The Kath glued the foam in place under the wheel arches and trimmed the excess material off along the seam of the wheel arch trim. Once done, she could glue in place the wheel arch cover and glue in the triangle piece down near the bottom door seal.
Kath also fitted the sound deadening and glued it in place throughout the vehicle. Once fitted in place, Kath then begun to trim along the sides of the sills to remove any extra deadening fabric.
Once complete, the passenger footwell carpet could be laid and the sill fitted to the drivers side.
Catching Up With The TR5
February 15, 2021
Our 1968 Triumph TR5 has been progressing in leaps and bounds under the expert eye of our technician Mauro.
Chris has painted the roof in DTM (direct to metal) satin black, making its smart and ready to be attached.
Mauro has attached the fuel pressure relief valve and installed the fuel lines, fitted the clutch master and slave cylinder, fitted the windscreen frame, sun visors and interior mirror. You might also notice that all the badges have been fitted along with the bumpers and chassis plate. This magnificent classic is now started to resemble a car again.
During our weekly deep clean (that goes alongside our daily workshop cleans), we emptied the workshop of all our cars whilst we tidied up the workshop. This allowed us to really get a good look at the TR5 off the frame.
TR5 Update
February 3, 2021
The reverse lights have been fitted to the TR5 along with the fuel gauge sender unit fuel return pipes and fuel hose filler. Rubber and material covered sills have been fitted between the glass and the door panel on the front door windows to allow the glass to move up and down without moving.
Windows Fitted To The TR5
January 28, 2021
As I’m sure you know by now, Mauro is Mr TR5, handling the majority of the restoration on our lovely 1968 Triumph TR5. The latest development has been installing the window winding mechanism. Being able to see how the mechanism works beneath the pannel is very interesting as its something that would usually be hidden behind the trim panel.
Mauro’s process to ensure the working of the window mechanism was to refurbish and restore all of the working components, cleaning each down and rebuilding them again.
The glove box has also been fitted as well as the new heater vent hoses.
Advancements on the TR5
January 26, 2021
Mauro’s recent adjustments to our 1968 Triumph Tr5 include added fittings to the dashboard and many small mechanisms added throughout the vehicle. It’s the small details that make a big difference.
His recent work includes cleaning the wiper engine mechanisms and restoring the hand brake, gearbox lever and sun visor brackets.
The rev tachometer has been fitted meaning that the dash is almost finished.
The glovebox lock, door handles and door locks have also been fitted.
Corrosion Corrections For The TR5
January 14, 2021
James has been working in the fabrication bay to prepare the Triumph TR5’s windscreen. The front screen surround frame has corroded in the lower right-hand corner. He did this by cutting out the old rusty metal and old fibreglass to then fabricate and repair those sections. James cut away the rusty metal and replaced sections by applying a new coat of Zinc spray in place to protect inside the frame in the future. After applying the zinc spray, James welded the replacement in place, he then grinds, cleans and spot welds it all back together. The last step is to replace the metal channel that holds the sealing rubber.
We’ve also fixed the TR5 handbrake by welding in a replacement metal component as seen in the images below.
Triumphant Steps For The TR5
January 7, 2021
Mauro has been dedicated to the renovation of our beautiful 1968 Triumph TR5 that is slowly resembling more of a car now. With the engine now fitted in, Mauro has been diligently pouring over the engine bay to make sure everything is perfect.
Most recently Mauro has been working on refurbishing some of the smaller elements such as the heater box which has been stripped and serviced, and then reassembled with new matrix. The pedal box has also been refurburshed along with the dashboad, steering column and pedal box.
Once all these elements have been refurbished, they’ve been fitted back into the car.
Workshop Walkabout
December 2, 2020
Our week has been very busy with two photoshoots at the start of the week and new projects arriving in the workshop.
Tr6’s new hood cover
Our trim shop has been fitting the frame to the TR6. This includes riveting straps to the frame bars, marking positions for fasteners around the rear of the hood and fitting those fasteners in position. The next step is to clip the front edge of the cover in place while the fasteners are riveted to the metal bar inside the hood.
Brian, one of our trim shop specialists the glued velcro to the sidebars and screwed in metal channels for the side rubbers. Once all the fasteners have been fitted, Brian could then fit the cover to the car.
Lotus Esprit
Our Lotus Esprit has had a new water pipe fabricated from stainless steel to replace the old aluminium one that had rusted. This was made by hand in our workshop.
Jaguar E-Type Race Car
Although finish, the 1967 Jaguar E-type series 1 race car is always an ongoing project with new alterations being done frequently. This week a new door latch and release cable was fitted.
Triumph TR5
Our 1965 Triumph TR5 has had its split dashboard repaired. Refurbished by hand in our workshop, its now ready to be re-installed.
Peony Red Jensen
The trim shop has added wadding to the rear-seat centre section, glued the cover at front & back down and turned the fabric around the hinge at the back. The seats have also had the sides glued and pulled tight. Wadding has been added as well as extra foam to the side section of the rear seat base.
Primer has been done and its now ready for the fiberglass to be smoothed and corrected and the colour to be applied.
1962 Gold Jensen 541S
The Gold and Burgundy Jensen 541S had an issue with its engine which Ady, our engine specialist soon diagnosed as a cracked oil way. Oil was leaking into the water pipe. To discover the issue, Ady had to fill the oil way with water and push air through the pipe to identify the issue.
Photoshoots behind the scenes
Both Monday and Tuesday were jam-packed for our marketing team with two photoshoots for our race cars, the Jaguar E-Type and the Chevron B20. We’re excited to share the results of these shoots. A big thank you to Ellough Park in Beccles for allowing us to shoot on their track and to Mark O’Connor who featured in the Jaguar E-Type photos. As an F1 test driver and stunt driver, he was the perfect person to get behind the wheel and model for the shoot!
1968 Triumph TR5 Interior Restoration
February 11, 2020
Our Triumph TR5 is currently having it’s interior trimmed at our in-house trim shop.
Kath has made webbing straps to attach to the seat frames. She then begun stuffing the side bolsters and seat backing with foam, moulding the foam position to fully fill the available space.
The final stage will now be to stitch back up the leather outside of the seat and install components back together. As always, Kath’s attention to detail is second to none. Stay tuned to see our TR5 Restoration progress!
1968 TR5 Stripping Components
January 15, 2020
We’re in the early stages of our TR5 restoration. We need to asses which parts of the vehicle can be refurbished and which components will need to be replaced. As such, we will be stripping down every component and assembling from the ground up to ensure everything is in perfect condition.
Pictured below, Andy is stripping down the wheel hubs.
