Triumph Herald Rebuild Two

August 2007 – October 2008

20 years after the first rebuild, things were starting to get a bit “untidy”. No major rust other than the doors. The rest of the body was just suffering from surface rust. Filler on the original bonnet extension (bonnet had to be extended by 31/2″ to accommodate the 2 litre 6 cylinder Vitesse engine) had cracked and let water in. Replacement of this was to be the biggest job. The panel beating needed to be better to reduce the amount of filler used. Needless to say rebuilding the car I had originally rebuilt 20 years ago brought back a lot of memories, undoing the bolts I had tightened up all those years ago.

Chris with bonnet up
Getting ready for the start
Bits start to come off (you didn’t think I was going to do it did you?) August 07
Herald chassis strip down
Body off to reveals the chassis in good repair
Bonnet extension
The biggest job – redoing the bonnet extension which allows for the 6 cylinder engine to fit
Triumph Herald Bonnet extension
New bonnet extension welded on
Front valance also needed extending
Sandbalsting Triumph Herald
Sand blasting in progress (no its not Chris in the suit). November 07
Chassis & body sand blasted and zinc coated
Studio converted into a spray booth! March 08
Rebuild Triumph Herald chassis
Chassis painted and ready for rebuilding. April 08
Shiny bits going on
Most parts were cleaned and replaced
All nice and shiny
Chassis ready for engine
Body on and ready for filling. May 08
Herald door skin
New doorskins zinc’d on the inside to prevent rust
Filled, sanded and undercoated. June 08
On its way to the spray shop
Getting her new coat of paint
In the meantime bolts and brackets needed cleaning & painting
She’s back! Sept 08
…and looking nice and shiny in her new coat
Chrome on and MOT’d
With new hard top from ebay
Almost there
Just needing bumpers and badges to finish. October 08