Triumph TR-250 (CD4212L)

I own a not-at-the-moment-running Triumph TR-250. The car has (I think) the original paint, and has always been garaged and not driven in the winter, so it's rust-free as far as I can tell. Here's a rear view.

I'm getting ready to dive into some repair work (May 1999). Here's the problem. This is a shot of the right side lower wishbone mount from inside the engine compartment. Whoops! Where'd it go?

Ah! There it is! This is a shot of the same spot from outboard of the right front wheel, with the wheel removed of course. Note the rust on the disk rotor. The car hasn't been driven in about four years (since the wishbone mount broke and I limped home the half mile or so from the bank). Here's a shot of the corresponding mount on the left-hand side. Ignore the brake fluid! Off to the right-hand side you can see the spin-on Fram oil filter peeking through an access hole a DPO put in the bulkhead to get access to the original oil filter.

The other three wishbone brackets and the trailing arm mount points look fine. I can't tell for sure about the diff mounts until I get the body off, but they seemed okay as well, from what I could see. (Cross your fingers!) I think the broken mount was repaired before, perhaps from a close encounter with a curb or a pothole. I have a new bracket and a gusset kit to reinforce things once it's back together.

Now, here's the plan. As I write this, it's early May, 1999. We just signed a sale contract on our house and we're planning to move from Scotia, NY to the Chicago area in early July. In that time, I have to get the body off, take the frame to get a new bracket and gussets welded on, put the body back on, and make any other necessary repairs to drive the car to its new home (like brakes - remember all the brake fluid and the rust on the disk rotor?). On the plus side of the ledger, I got the engine running last weekend. Oh yeah! I almost forgot. The battery is dead. I hope Murphy takes his vacations in the Spring.

Update, 1999-06-10

We're getting close! The rolling chassis is ready for the body. Now I'm waiting for my teenage son to bring over some unsuspecting suckers^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H friends to hoist the body back onto the chassis. If he comes through, do I have to let him drive it? ;-)

Here's a closeup of the fixed bracket that caused all the work.

Update, 1999-06-11

Not much progress today, but it was significant. Thanks to help from several friends and neighbors, the Triumph's body is now resting on the frame. Tomorrow I begin to snug it down.

Update, 2001-06-19

Note the rather large expanse of time between updates. Today, I made a first stab at bleeding the brakes and clutch and managed to keep the engine running awhile after it was fully warmed up without the choke. The PDWA is leaking (dang! they are expensive to replace) and the clutch seems suspect. However, the Triumph made it out of the garage and back under its own power, a definite step in the right direction. ;-)

Update, 2002-04-19

Another long interval, but after rebuilding and installing the carbs about a month or so ago, the car sat again. Today I installed a new water pump (the old one was leaking) and thermostat (it's cheap and the old one was of unknown vintage). It also now has a new battery. It basically started right up! (Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back, Skip...)

I have new interior heater hoses still awaiting installation. The old ones were leaking and were nearly impossible to get out. How will I ever get the new ones in??? Brakes and clutch still need attention, but I am getting closer. I plan to take the car to a local garage I trust whose owner has a TR4 squirreled away in the back of the shop and who always seems to be working on something interesting. Anyone know what it will take to get the car registered in Illinois? I hope to have it licensed for British Car Week, May 25-June 2!