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Leda Coil-over front struts	AP vented discs, 4 pot callipers, 200lb lowered springs.

First up, the Leda front coil-over struts have arrived at last and the front suspension is back on the car. They have been put back together using the AP ventilated discs and 4 pot callipers that were already on the car. The existing springs were also re-used for the time being. I'm guessing them to be shortened uprated 200lb's. This may be fine for Tarmac/Road use but may well be unsuitable for Rally use. The car cannot be lowered onto it's wheels yet as the back axle has not yet come back from S&S.

It is not clear whether this set-up was put on the car whilst it was a BL development TR8 or by the BL Dealership that subsequently owned the car for 8 years. Either way, from an originality point of view I am lucky to have this already on the car. Needless to say, new copper brake pipes and Goodrich stainless steel hoses have been used.


Swirling Plughole of Doom...with "L"	Goodrich Brakeline's

Another original feature recently obtained is a pair of genuine BL works lamp covers. These were not cheap but how could I pass them up? These are the "BL Swirling Plughole of Doom" with the Leyland "L" in the centre. The "L" went missing from this logo sometime in 1978, presumably to disguise the cars origins! Did they imagine that people would not recognise it from the swirling plugholes alone?? What were they thinking? From around mid 1978 the works cars seem to mostly have Triumph Laurel Leaf covers and/or LUCAS covers. I have plastic LUCAS covers but the Triumph Laurel Leaf covers are still on my wish list...

The re-cored radiator has come back from the rad people and the fans cleaned up ready to refit. The original idea was to use an aftermarket electric fan but the twin fans are not as heavy as they look. As this was an air-con car there are also 2 of them and they are also already bought and paid for!


New Tank, sender and fittings.	Petrol Tank, Shocks, top and bottom arms all with new urethane bushes, awaiting return of the axle

After some deliberation it was decided to stick with the existing fuel tank set-up. This has the advantage of being outside the bodyshell in the event of an accident, not to mention being a whole lot cheaper! The other option would have been a nice, but expensive, fitted alloy tank in the boot. As there are several different rear axle configurations which may be considered in the future which would require cutting into the boot. A "fitted" alloy tank might then no longer fit and thus be a waste of money. Another consideration was the thirst of the V8 in conjunction with potential road use. Again this is something that can be changed later on should circumstances dictate.

It was only common sense though to replace the tank, sender and the straps with brand new whilst it is all apart. There was no apparent fault with the old tank but once the rear axle goes back on it will be a much more difficult task so the job is done.


Console of SJW540S	NOS Lucas Hazard Warning Kit

You may recall, on an earlier page the aluminium panels made for the console. Weeks of trawling E-Bay (search Lucas) have yielded most of the switches necessary. The top row are easy-enough to find flick switches. Down the bottom are 3 lucas push-pull switches, again not to difficult to find. The large horn push (I didn't even realise what it was!) I have discovered is from a Land Rover. Once that revelation dawned on my it was simple enough to obtain one NOS.

Again obvious if you think about it, replacing the existing top panel you lose the hazard light switch. This could easily been overlooked until time for an MOT. (Is it required? From what year? Would they actually notice?) Anyway, hours of trawling E-Bay has turned up an aftermarket Hazard Warning Kit which appears to be what the works fitted. Only the power socket in the centre to get now... Incidentally, on the works car, the fuse boxes are mounted where the air vents normally live. I have read that the heater vents were "firewalled" and conflictingly that the heater is essential for demisting. I am retaining a full working heater and centre vents so plans are (at the moment) to put the fuse boxes on the passenger side fascia.


Webers and manifolds as purchased	On the car

Not a moment too soon a second-hand set of 4 weber 40's sidedraugths with Rover V8 manifolds have turned up. Impeccable timing. Up to this point I was planning on using a weber 4 barrel with a pro-flo air filter which comes highly recommended but lets face it, it doesn't have much visual "wow factor". This looks far more interesting, lets just hope I can live with their idiosyncrasies and their fuel consumption. There wasn't much in the way of a linkage with the carbs so getting the bits together to make it all work is another task.


Weber linkage parts	Turntable to syncronise each pair of Webers

The next problem is getting the lid to shut on it all! Yep, the bonnet will no longer close. The offside front carb is about half an inch too high. It appears that the works cars running this set-up initially had the back of the bonnet propped up a little. It looks like this was solved when the engine was moved backwards by several inches to improve the balance of the car. Having got this far into the build, I can't face it all coming apart again to modify the subframe and chassis rails. The plan at the moment is to try and lower it that vital half an inch in situ. I don't even want to think about putting any extra bulge in the bonnet.


Interior work in progress	Another e-bay find...works style single number plate light...numerous applications across the Triumph range no doubt


Rad and twin fans...	Rad, fans and PAS