So much fun with just a rod and a fileRemoving metal to get rid of sharp edges and ridgesGot rid of some weight, too. They’ll be peened later, at HDSSmooth, and now they each weigh 640 gramsMinimal work getting rid of sharp edges here, tooNothing drastic was done in the portsJust a little cleanup, imagining the airflowModified intake manifoldThe originalReady to measure combustion chamber volume
Easily one of the most enjoyable parts of my rebuild was the file work on the connecting rods. I have read the stock connecting rods weigh in at 684 grams, which means I filed about 44 grams off each. My aim wasn’t lightening them, though, just wanted to remove any sharp edges, grooves, etc., that might be a point of failure by propogating cracks. HDS would restore surface strength with their peening process.
With the ports and manifolds, my goal was just to clean them up a little to aid the flow. I would advise being very careful around the valve seats… make sure you leave enough material to insert new seats and still have a nice smooth transition to the port with no big pockets behind the seats. I tried to be very conservative there.
In the combustion chambers, I was again just focused on removing sharp edges to eliminate hot spots and smooth things out a little bit. It comes at a very slight cost in terms of compression ratio since I was making the chamber a little larger in volume. I was asking HDS to lop .140 of the heads, so it was of no concern at all.
Measuring the boresNoting the position of the oil pump drive slotsPiston/rod assemblies coming outCarbon buildupLots of combustion chamber cleanup to doHead is stripped except for guidesRotating assembly gone, block almost ready for machine shopHmm… how much can I increase the compression?Cleaned up piston, but HDS wanted to bore the cylinders, so these were not used
Well, everything looked as expected for an engine that probably hasn’t been freshened up since it was manufactured nearly fifty years ago. The cylinders looked fine to me, as did the pistons, but my machine shop of choice HDS/Carquest in San Marcos thought otherwise. Casey, the owner, knows what he’s doing. I absolutely trust him. Before getting the block and head over to him for the serious business, I decided to clean up the combustion chambers, ports, and connecting rods myself, as shown in subsequent posts.
Will this work?1/4 plate was beefy enoughEngine mount used as a template for holesYep it works, easy to rotate the engineSide mount worked out well for the TR6Piston tops and cylinders looked decent
The other engines I’ve rebuilt were always mounted onto the stand at the rear of the block. After reading what other TR6 owners had done, I chose the side mount. This worked out very well, and the 12″x6″ quarter inch thick plate was plenty strong… no flexing or movement at all.
Added strength because hoist is fully extendedMaking sure I could lift it high enoughEngine was removed with transmission then separatedThere’s a hole in my TriumphHead removalLighten the load for the engine standEngine removal crew: wife Linda and our friend Ellen LawsonOld friend and racer Chuck Burnett “supervising” engine removal
The engine removal was straightforward. I left transmission and cylinder head attached, but removed manifolds and alternator, disconnected driveshaft, wires, and hoses. The head was stuck on the block so we used the hoist to separate it from the block, making sure it was pulled up evenly. Because the hoist was fully extended to the 1/4 ton hole, I added a reinforcing square tube all the way to the hook, which required drilling a hole for the 1/4 ton pin.
Here are a few pictures depicting the state of the Triumph after sitting outside under a fabric car cover for twenty years… thank goodness it resided in Southern California. But it was truly a rodent hotel.
Just to get it home I needed to buy two new wheels and four tires. And find a locksmith… the keys were missing and the steering was locked.
Clearly we are looking at new floor pans in the passenger area, as well as the trunk. And pretty much everything else!
One word of advice for you when cleaning out an old car that has been host to rodents… MASK! The trunk, for example was at least four or five inches deep in droppings and twigs and nut shells and dirt. Gross.
I was somewhat careful about wearing a mask as we filled a garbage can with rodent droppings and shells and whatever the heck all that other stuff was, but not as careful as I should have been. My lungs have literally never been the same since that original cleanup. This is serious advice, heed it, please! Best practice would have been a good painter’s mask with dual filters, reasonably priced at Harbor Freight. I did utilize one, but there were occasions when I just wore a paper or cloth mask… that is not sufficient.
After declining to rebuild my neighbor Wendy’s Triumph TR6 for a few years because I was too busy building these old trucks, she finally approached me with an offer I couldn’t refuse. “Give me $250 and send another $250 to my favorite charity, and it’s yours.” Thus began a two year rebuild… not at the Barn but in my garage at home.
My plan for this narrative is just to post pictures of the process, with captions. I’m sure that there will be posts dedicated to specific problems and solutions, but this build story will be heavy on photos.
Here is the current state of the TR6 as of Fall 2021…
Next guy can paint it… I have grandkids, and they don’t use the doorsCalifornia Special… no heater or topNow it’s a “fuelie”… Patton TBI system
Short drive in the TR6 on a nearby twisty road.
Enjoy the (mostly) photographic narrative of the two year journey. Click on the Triumph link in the table of contents at the top or left side of the page for a complete archive of posts. There is a list of vendors we used on this project in the Stuff We Like post.
The Barn has been at a standstill long enough. It is time to formulate a plan for the ’58 GMC, known around here as the “orange truck.” This helps us distinguish it from the blue truck, the black truck, and the green truck. We try to keep things simple because… what was I saying?
The ’58 GMC, in the yard awaiting its fate.
Generally speaking, the choice is between:
An LS-based resto-mod with a coil spring, disc brake front end, trailing-arm rear suspension, automatic transmission, power everything, etc., etc., or
An imagined NASCAR truck as it might have been configured in 1958… a small block, carbureted engine, retaining the drum brakes and leaf springs setup, manual transmission, with power steering.
In either case, we will want to focus on making the thing as quiet – free or rattles – as we can. Although the NASCAR truck would be lower, not so low that it can’t be driven to the lumber yard,
Considering that the truck has no engine or transmission, and that the rear end is an unknown quantity, it will be an expensive build (for us). I am guessing the “race” truck would be in the $15,000 area for parts alone, while the LS resto-mod would be more expensive but not excessively so. Heck, even rebuilding the hubs and spindles so that we can roll the thing into the barn is turning out to be surprisingly expensive.
I welcome your comments as we continue to scratch our heads and debate the alternatives.
Finally done, here is the After gallery. Click a picture to view the carousel…
Dashboard nearly complete.
Headliner, dome light, gun rack… check!
This was the “farm truck” in January 2017, the Before gallery…
The damaged fender and the old fix, lurking under the body filler that was blasted off.
Testing it out, with blankets and towels draped on the line to dampen the snap if the line should break.
LIft off!
Ready for disassembly.
And lastly, this gallery shows some of our work. There is no question that the paint job (and prep and finish) was by far the most time consuming and at times disheartening part of the restoration. The mechanical jobs were mostly straightforward, with just a handful that caused trouble. We got pretty good at rebuilding doors and windows but a broken – yeah, we broke it – passenger side window just as we were finishing the truck gave us some grief… nobody likes to backtrack. All in all, we enjoyed the project and we’re pleased with the result.
More importantly, Lewie is happy to have the truck just as he remembered back in the sixties, but made more enjoyable with the addition of power steering, power brakes, and the overdrive transmission.
Jim Tronier at work on the frame.
Back in the barn before the next rain. Bare metal will rust if you just drop a bead of sweat on it.
Sorting out the wiring for the dash… easy.
Dash lights spliced into blade connectors.
Fuse box above driver-side kick panel. Accessible but out of the way.
The 1956 Chevrolet 3600 “Farm Truck” is the third truck we have built at the barn, and in all three we have used the Rebel Wire 9+3 kit. The first to get the Rebel Wire treatment was Lance’s 1948 3100. We approached that initial job with a little trepidation, but Jeremy White at Rebel Wire held our hands the whole way and answered all of our questions. Having worked with many vendors in our builds, I can testify that customer service just doesn’t get any better than what Jeremy delivers.
Milestone for the ’48 wiring job… the lights work!
At $204.95, the 9+3 kit is a good bargain. In the Farm Truck, we have a full complement of electrical equipment, including the radio, electric wipers, heater, cigarette lighter, a couple after-market gauges, turn signals (an option in 1956) and emergency flashers, single wire alternator, and the electric overdrive unit. We’ve still never used the 3 extra circuits.
Rebel Wire 9+3 kit contents.
The wires are grouped for front, rear, dash, etc., and each individual wire is labeled every six inches or so along its entire length. The instructions are thorough and straightforward. This is about as foolproof as it gets.
Fuse box in the ’56 was installed above driver-side kick panel. Accessible but out of the way.
Sorting out the wiring for the dash… easy.
We salvaged the original dash lights and a few inches of the old wires, then spliced them into blade connectors to hook up with the new wiring harness. Later, we added lights for the turn signal indicators.
We utilized the original dash lights and a few inches of old wiring.
We used the Lineman’s Splice to connect old to new. Here’s a link to a YouTube video showing how to do it: NASA approved Linesman Splice
And spliced into blades for connection to new harness.
Split “braided” wire insulation was utilized.
We didn’t go crazy trying to hide wires, just picked the appropriate holes in the firewall and then used split “braided” wire insulation. In the San Diego area, we found it in bulk at Marshall’s Hardware off of Miramar Road, and packaged (i.e., pricier) at the Off Road Warehouse in Escondido.
Since the mandate from Lewie was to make this truck just like he remembered it back in the 60’s when his dad bought it, we wanted to utilize the original gauges. It would have been easy, and tidy under the dash.
Ammeter wiring could have been this simple.
But I could imagine a cold, foggy night in San Diego after Lewie has been partying, external speakers blaring his tunes. Time to go home: get in truck, 300 watt radio playing, headlights on, heater on, wipers on, alternator trying to charge the battery, and then pushing in the lighter to smoke his fifth cigar of the evening. Poof.
Voltmeter and electric oil pressure gauges under dash.
After discussing all this with Jeremy at Rebel Wire (and Lewie), we opted for an after market voltmeter, and an electric oil pressure gauge. It looks fine, but does add 7 or 8 wires under the dash, which isn’t quite as tidy. The oil line to the original gauge certainly wouldn’t have been ideal, either. So, a bit of a trade-off, but safety was foremost in our minds.
There’s nothing better in a restoration project than ripping out the nasty old, frayed wiring and replacing it with a new harness. Rebel Wire has really taken the difficulty out of the equation, with great pricing and invaluable customer service… big thanks to Jeremy and Rebel Wire from the crew in the Barn.
We installed the 235 six without the transmission attached. Even so, we removed all the support structure between the fenders rather than trying to shoe horn it in and bang it against the firewall. Besides, this is a tall truck, and being able to reach in from the front made plumbing and wiring tasks much easier.
Stovebolt six back in the Farm Truck
We exchanged the original 318 Muncie three-speed for a rebuilt 319 with the Borg Warner electric overdrive. The transmissions were the same length so we were able to use the original driveshaft. Installations (with the clutch alignment tool) was a snap.
However, after filling it with GL-1 gear oil, which lubricates both the trans and the overdrive, we were surprised to find a leak on the passenger side of the transmission. I sent a couple photos to the rebuilder – All Trans in Greenville, SC – and they identified the culprit as a pressed-in tapered pin that holds the reverse idler shaft in place.
Hotrodder’s nightmare, a leak!
Bruce at All-Trans said tap a center punch with a hammer in the middle of the pin two or three times. We went further and lightly ground the pin and surrounding area so it was flat, center-punched the middle of the pin, and then randomly punched about a dozen dimples around the around the pin. This stopped the leak, but we decided to spread a layer of JB Weld over it, too, just to be safe.
number nine, number nine, number nine — the reverse idler shaft pin
The next step was hooking up all the overdrive relay and kickdown switch wiring, and the lockout cable. It was pretty straightforward, but our kickdown switch location under the gas pedal (on the engine side of the firewall) was a tight squeeze. We hooked up about four feet of wire to each of the four terminals before mounting it.
Bracket for overdrive lockout cable
The terminals on the relay that came with the transmission were labelled different than the original item, so that caused a little head scratching. In order to sort it out and to decide where to locate the relay, we used Google’s Sketchup to create a component diagram.
Relay for the Borg Warner overdrive system
As you can see, with the 235 six, we decided to mount the relay on the firewall near the battery, coil, and resistor. Of course, at this point we haven’t tested the overdrive. In fact, that’s on the schedule for tomorrow.
Component/wiring diagram for overdrive system
But we did fire up the engine after hooking up our new wiring harness and all the other controls and plumbing. We knew the engine ran fine from the test stand, but it’s still a milestone to fire it up in the truck.
