TRIUMPH 2500TC
There weren’t many redeeming features of my big saloon when I bought it, except for its largely rust-free condition. But inevitably, dig a little deeper and you always find something. Stripping back the mud and engine oil we’d found a hole at the front of each wheelarch, as well as a section of the floor on the passenger side that had been stoved in completely. It’s the reason I got in touch with Corotec’s Mike Colasuonno.
I had planned for Dinitrol treatment, too, but the more he poked and scraped the bigger the job became so we ploughed the budget into welding. Colasuonno cut out rotten metal, cleared the sills of grime and debris, and masterfully crafted a single-piece replacement panel that dealt with the hole and the damaged floor. It’s great to finally sort a long-standing problem, and I don’t have to worry about water ingress. To top things off the sills were given a liberal dose of treatment to keep them rust-free.
I took the car on our TR8 shoot (C&SC, June) and, while it made it to Weybridge without incident, the ignition light came on when I set off home. The alternator has been temperamental for a while and seems very sensitive to how tight the fanbelt is. Frustratingly, a few days earlier I’d cleared out the car and removed two socket sets. Fortunately Robert Hughes lent me a basket of Jaguar spanners and I was able to slacken it off, but the light came back on as I reached the M25. The battery held out, and it could have been worse – solidarity with the Mustang owner I passed who had suffered a suspension failure on the A22.
Back in the garage I got the car sorted again within the hour: Wins International is just a short walk from my new house and while owner Geoff Unwin was busy, his two sons dug out an alternator and fanbelt.
The only minor setback was the new fanbelt, which seemed to be a few inches too long and would have caused the alternator to foul the battery, so I had to put the old one back on. Why it’s too long is a mystery, and could point to a non-standard pulley. My car, a bit of a mongrel? Surely not.
THANKS TO
Δ Robert Hughes Automobiles: roberthughes.co.uk Δ Wins International: winsinternational.co.uk Δ Corotec: corotec.co.uk