PAUL AND ROSS’S FIVE RESTORATION TIPS

1 My best bodge

Ross says: ‘I’m a tool maker and we can’t get away with anything at all, so I don’t do bodges’! Paul backs that up by adding that when the car was built up, he fitted a Borg and Beck clutch – but this wasn’t good enough for Ross, as Triumph had fitted Laycock clutches when new. At Ross’s insistence, the gearbox was removed and a perfectly good clutch was swapped out for a new old stock Laycock unit. Fortunately, having a pit in which to work made the whole job a bit easier.

2 My biggest fail

Ross and Paul found fitting the Webasto folding sunroof was a nightmare. ‘When we got it, it was all in bits with the car’ says Ross. ‘So, not having taken it out, we didn’t know how it should fit back in place.’ Starting at the back and working forwards proved to be the wrong approach, so at the moment the job looked almost finished, the whole roof had to be taken out and started again. Needless to say, Ross and Paul learned from their first attempt and the folding roof now fits perfectly.

3 My first success

Ross says: The offside sill was the first job I tried and it’s come out well. The wheelarch which was really tough, with both inner and outer arches needing to be cut away and repaired’. He learned so much, working on Paul’s car was much quicker.

4 My best piece of advice

‘Always buy the best car you can find, with the most solid bodywork’ say Ross and Paul. They add: ‘Bodywork is expensive and timeconsuming to repair. Panels are starting to be remade for Triumph’s big saloons, which helps, but there’s still an awful lot of work involved in fixing a rust body. Mechanical parts are pretty much all available through Chris Witor and not too expensive. Fixing mechanical problems is almost always quicker than welding up a rotten bodyshell.’

5 My proudest moment

Ross recalls two high points in his project. The first was: ‘When I finished the welding and the shell was ready for paint’. The second was at the MOT test station, where the tester was seriously impressed by the quality of his restoration work.