Wedge

[lee bishop]

how cool is that that you can buy brand new tr7 bodyshells, was it a luck purchase or are there loads of the things available??

[RUDDY]

how cool is that that you can buy brand new tr7 bodyshells, was it a luck purchase or are there loads of the things available??

Guy bought 108 of them after production ceased, he had 8 left, all dry stored and good as new.

Just picked up my new 3.9 bottom end and stage 2 'V8 DEVELOPMENT' heads, should be good for 200bhp+ and lots of torque, will get some pics up soon.

son

[RUDDY]

While work on the shell is a bit slow at the moment due to an influx of work at my mates bodyshop I have started on a bit of the running gear, had a few parts media blasted, etch primed and painted. Bottom arms fitted with new ball joints (what a tw4t to get old uns out ) and heavy duty rubber bushes, steering arms and anti roll bar clamps, all new nuts and bolts ready for assembly.







Strut tubes are away being powder coated, weighing up the expense of GAZ adjustable inserts over KYB (?) which seem popular with the TR guys although I have never heard of them, only other option is Spax.

Cheers, Paul

[MAD4IT]

KYB are(were) good shocks, Kayaba is the full brand name, original equipment on most Japanese cars through the 70's onwards, they used to do some heavy duty gas rears for MK11 Escorts as well. I ran a pair on the back of my old MK1 1300 sport (late model with good rear suspension), from what I remember they were about 3/4's the price of a pair of Billies back in the day (around 1985) I'm sure I paid sub £50.00 from Motorvation UK in Wolverhampton for them and the Billies were around £65.00.

[davethorn123]

That looks very good,i will be watching this one,Kayaba make good motorbike forks as well,i remember watchin a tr8 works car in wythop when i was a kid and it was an awesome site,
are you doing it in works colours

[RUDDY]

Picked the stage 2 heads back up today, as said they were stripped then aqua blasted, then the machine shop faced them up a very small amount, lapped all the valves back in and new stem seals. Nearly keeled over at the bill as I am used to a 4 cyl pinto





After nearly recovering from that bill I drove round the corner to pick up some more powder coating, strut tubes, brake disc back plates some of the front strut components and the front anti roll bar.

I am afraid rebuilding the struts with new inserts etc will have to wait until next pension day ...!!









All the best, Paul

[Frosticles]

Looking swish as ever Paul

[RUDDY]

Today I nipped up to the warehouse where the shell is now stored to trial fit the new doors, happy with the drivers door, went on very quickly, needs a wee bit more adjustment but not easy on your own, passenger side is nearly there but I'd had enough, popped the bootlid on more for ease of storage than fitting it.

Where the car is stored is about to be transformed into a new bodyshop with 2 new state of the art booths, I am hoping my shell may be the first through as a demo job by the paint companies.

Mobile phone pics only I am afraid







Cheers, son

[RUDDY]

Well guys I dragged my V8 doner car out of hibernation today, took some moving as brakes were solid, this car will now be stripped of all its useful parts and

When I got the car home I took the 15" wheels off and was pleased to find the car fitted with the Capri 2.8 front disc conversion, also tried on a 13" wheel and there were no clearance issues so I should be able to run 7" x 13" wheels as planned.











All the best, Paul

[dandibo]

Hi Paul
Resto is looking good any plans made for the colour yet??

[wetandwindy2]

lots of shiny bits there are parts as expensive as escort parts

[RUDDY]

are you doing it in works colours

As there were really only two works colour schemes on the TR's , white with red/blue stripes or red with blue/white stripes, its been done to death by every one who builds a V8

Hi Paul
Resto is looking good any plans made for the colour yet??

Narrowed to 3 choices, see below

are parts as expensive as escort parts

Its turning out more expensive than planned, lots of new stuff still available from specialists so very little Ebay madness fortunately, engine is swallowing a bit of cash


Colour choice down to

Original colour of Java Green with green check trim



Porcelein White with red check trim



Ford Venetian Red with red check trim



All the best, Paul

[Frosticles]

Venetian

[Dave1800BDA]

Venetian

he must have some left over i reckon from the RS2

[RUDDY]

Venetian

Now down to green or white .............