Our Classics
Imagine Alex’s frustration at having his beloved wedge stuck in his garage…
1981 TRIUMPH TR7
Last year saw one of the hottest summers in years, but for all the TR7 was running better than ever, it was trapped behind a broken garage door. It was a real pain when I’d fixed it six years ago, so I focused on a couple of small jobs while I worked myself up to doing it again.
I’d become aware that the cabin was smelling a bit more ripe than it should, so tried to work out where the fumes might be getting in. There are a couple of holes behind the dashboard to let various cables and wires from the pedals and dash through into the engine bay and it turned out that the rubber grommets had gone slimy and the holes had stretched. So I cut and re-glued two new grommets so I didn’t have to remove and refit the cables.
There’s also a removable scoop attached to the bulkhead that takes fresh air through the bonnet into the ventilation system. It’s sealed with rubber on the top and foam at the sides. Over time this foam shrinks and goes a bit hard.
I reckoned that the fumes would stay under the bonnet and I’d get more fresh air into the cabin if I could renew that foam. I couldn’t find the part listed anywhere, so I decided to use ‘magic eraser’ melamine foam. But when I’d fi nished, the shape I’d cut didn’t seal properly. Really, I was just putting off tackling the garage door.
First up, I needed to replace the cones, cables and spindles on both sides. This involves taking the tension off the powerful spring that runs across the top using levers and then securing it with mole grips and a special clip. That done, I had the left-hand side finished in no time. The right side, however, includes a pin through the cone that needs to be hammered out. And it wouldn’t budge. Every time I hit it with the 4mm punch, the clip keeping the tension off the big spring slid out a bit more. Inevitably, when the clip finally pinged out, the tension came back on the spring and the rusty cable snapped. It was lucky I was wearing eye protection.
I took the tension off the spring again, but still couldn’t get the cone off. The instructions suggested that it might be easier if I undid one end of the bar across the top onto which everything is attached. So I unscrewed one end and after a bit of fiddling it suddenly swung out, the spring fell onto me and the top of the door was hanging down into the garage. That was a real low point.
I’d been at it for hours, was starving, had no way of securing the door, had lost one of the bolts and had 40 minutes before I had to pick the kids up from school.
I needed professional help fast, so I phoned my mate Richard who I reckoned would know who to call. Instead, he came over to my house five minutes later.
And with an extra pair of hands and another pair of eyes, we somehow managed to get the whole thing back together and working with about fi ve minutes to spare.
Incredibly, I’d gone from the deepest depths of despair to giddy excitement in the space of just half an hour.
Time to enjoy the TR7 at last…