1948 TA-14 DHC restoration story/blog

[quote="TonyO":208m8soe]Hi Paul,  Good to see that you have been making progress.  I hope that you haven't been adding-up all of the hours that you hae spent on the restoration though!  What do you think are the likely timescales now?  Is next summer a realistic target or will other commitments intervene?  Whatever it takes, I'm sure that your first run will be an absolute delight: we certainly enjoy ours and she grabs attention wherever she goes.    'Bon courage' as my neighbours are fond of saying when they looking at how much work I'm surrounded by!  All the best,  Tony[/quote:208m8soe]  Hi Tony, Thanks for your support! Unfortunately, these pictures are from quite a while ago, and the restoration is actually stalled at the moment as my wife has started to produce babies and they (the wife, and the babies) are taking up all my time! With no other time commitments and several thousand Euro, I think that I could finish it in about 3 months. However, I have neither the time nor the Euros, so it's under a cover in my shed:-(  I haven't been tracking my time, but I do have a folder of the receipts which I've so far managed not to add up! I don't intend to either until the work is all done.  I love that French expression 'Bon courage', it sums things up so well when there's significant work to be done! Posted by pryantcc 07/09/2012 15:28:26

Hi Paul,  Yeah, we'll 'bon courage' is certainly needed in heavy doses in these parts!  I empathise with your issues with respect to finding time to move things forward when babies (and wives perhaps!) are shouting for time and attention.  When our lad was a babe it was nigh on two years before any of slept for more than four hours a night.  Now, he's eighteen and life is much easier as I'm only now required to be a taxi/guide/mentor.  Fortunately, he is a physicist in training so I no longer have to scratch my head when it comes to electrical issues, that's all his 'bag' now.  Many people told me that it only gets worse as they get older.  They were wrong.  Age definitely helps.  All the best,  Tony Posted by TonyO 11/09/2012 21:12:29

Now, I'd been told that the engine ran when the car was parked up, I hadn't tried to start it, but I reckoned there was very little compression as it was very easy to turn it on the starting handle. There was a new head gasket in the boxes of bits that came with the car, so I decieded to take off the head and see how things looked.  [img:2xgiwwwi]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/20P1030133.jpg[/img:2xgiwwwi] It looked like there wasn't much of a seal on the very small amount of 'land' betwen 1&2 and 3&4. At least that was what I was pinning my hopes on! I'm no engine expert, but otherwise, things didn't look too bad. It's definietely worn, a little lip at the top of the bores where the rings come to I guess. No nasty scoring on the bores though. Just a bit of carbon to be dealt with.  [img:2xgiwwwi]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/21P1030131.jpg[/img:2xgiwwwi]  [img:2xgiwwwi]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/22P1030124.jpg[/img:2xgiwwwi]  So, I set-to with the wire brush on the end of the drill and cleaned up the head. This was the worst cylinder with slight recession on the inlet port and pitting on the exhaust. This photo will probably be too small to see it! [img:2xgiwwwi]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/19P1030138.jpg[/img:2xgiwwwi]    Here's the head all cleaned up and ready for a lick of paint. [img:2xgiwwwi]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/17P1030144.jpg[/img:2xgiwwwi]  Valves re-ground and placed back in the head. [img:2xgiwwwi]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/15P1030146.jpg[/img:2xgiwwwi] [img:2xgiwwwi]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/16P1030145.jpg[/img:2xgiwwwi]  I painted the block and head seperately. Also got carried away once everything was shiny and stuck loads of bits back on without taking any step-by-step photos  :?  [img:2xgiwwwi]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/11P1030376.jpg[/img:2xgiwwwi] [img:2xgiwwwi]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/12P1030375.jpg[/img:2xgiwwwi] [img:2xgiwwwi]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/13P1030374.jpg[/img:2xgiwwwi] Posted by pryantcc 09/10/2012 20:35:46

I tightened it all up and gave her a whirl on the crank handle and hey-presto, 100psi in all 4 cylinders! Phew!!  Then I was so excited, I stuck all the bits back on. Loads of photos here, no commentry required I think. Photos of engine stuff:   [img:36c5btw5]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/aP1030383.jpg[/img:36c5btw5]  [img:36c5btw5]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/aP1030385.jpg[/img:36c5btw5]  [img:36c5btw5]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/aP1030386.jpg[/img:36c5btw5]  [img:36c5btw5]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/aP1030387.jpg[/img:36c5btw5]  [img:36c5btw5]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/aP1030390.jpg[/img:36c5btw5]  [img:36c5btw5]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/aP1030391.jpg[/img:36c5btw5]. Posted by pryantcc 20/10/2012 12:18:42

We made a decision in 2008 to move from Scotland where we were living back to my home town in Ireland. Way more effort went into getting the garage gear & the car shifted than did for any of the house stuff! I assembled the car as much as made sense so I could transport it all in one piece and fill it up with bits at the same time!  I fitted the bulkhead, pretty straightforward, 8 bolts onto the chassis outriggers. This could be permanent as I shouldn't have to remove it again for anything (I hope!).  [img:23m9sh2i]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1030096.jpg[/img:23m9sh2i]  [img:23m9sh2i]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1030113.jpg[/img:23m9sh2i]  [img:23m9sh2i]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1030116.jpg[/img:23m9sh2i]   I also reunited the body tub with the chassis. It was a bit of a struggle on my own with only an engine crane for assistance, but finally fitted without any damage.  [img:23m9sh2i]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1030360.jpg[/img:23m9sh2i]  [img:23m9sh2i]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1030362.jpg[/img:23m9sh2i]    I reckon the chassis has been bent slightly upwards behind the rear axle (a hammering effect has been caused by up-rated springs and a lack of bump stops! When the car goes light, the axle contacts the chassis & I reckon the spring tension has been bending it up at the back with every whack!) as the doors are about ¾ of an inch too low when I attach them. I hope to rectify this with an RSJ, a bottle jack and some strong straps. Yikes!  [img:23m9sh2i]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/DSCF4619.jpg[/img:23m9sh2i]  [img:23m9sh2i]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/DSCF4620.jpg[/img:23m9sh2i]  So, I trailored it to Ireland (note garage door under car for fitment on arrival). It sat in the garage without love for the best part of a year while loads of work was done around the new house. I had a guy come and look at it with a view to painting it. His quote at the time convinced me that I could affourd to have it professionally sprayed, so I got stuck into getting it to a paintable stage! I trial fitted the front wings (they are slightly different shapes as they are spares from two different cars), bonnet and radiator grill so that I could see what needs doing before it’s all cleaned up and painted. I found it very encouraging to see the car like this!, I felt like I really might be getting closer to the finish line! Sorry for the poor photo, I took it with my phone. But then babies started arriving and pyt paid to that!  [img:23m9sh2i]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/010920091.jpg[/img:23m9sh2i] Posted by pryantcc 10/11/2012 21:18:45

I spent an obscene amount of money getting some of my brightwork re-done back in June last year. There's more to do but I'm way to poor at the moment. Here's a before and after of the radiator cowl, I love it!!  [img:b4kn4d5f]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1060687DesktopResolution.jpg[/img:b4kn4d5f]  [img:b4kn4d5f]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1070597DesktopResolution.jpg[/img:b4kn4d5f]  Now, back to the task of getting it to a point where I start to stick chrome back on! I had one final structural piece of timber to fit across the rear of the body, behind the back bumper and under the boot. I made up a couple of brackets to attach it with, cleaned and painted them up.  [img:b4kn4d5f]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1090070DesktopResolution.jpg[/img:b4kn4d5f]  I was waiting to fit this until I could get a couple of cracks in the aluminium welded up. I also needed to fit a plate over the hole someone had cut to fit a tow bar!  [img:b4kn4d5f]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1090083DesktopResolution.jpg[/img:b4kn4d5f]  You can see the black timber which I made up sitting on the chassis rails in the photo below [img:b4kn4d5f]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1090082DesktopResolution.jpg[/img:b4kn4d5f]  So, I got one of those Duraweld kits which turned out to be relatively successful. The cracks were welded, the timber fitted and the chassis re-united with the body for what will hopefully be the last time! Attention was turned to painting. It was way too cold to do it without added heat, so I decided I'll do whatever prep I can, beat out and fill the dents, prepare and prime everything. That way, when the weather gets a bit warmer, I won't have so much to do to get things ready for some colour! A few patches were welded into the wings, then I got stuck into stripping the doors back to bare metal as I figured these would be an easy way to start and pick up some skills before I move onto the complex curves!  [img:b4kn4d5f]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1060310DesktopResolution.jpg[/img:b4kn4d5f]  [img:b4kn4d5f]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1090114DesktopResolution.jpg[/img:b4kn4d5f]  [img:b4kn4d5f]http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn315/prynatcc/P1090117DesktopResolution.jpg[/img:b4kn4d5f]  That’s it, much more stripping, filling and priming to follow, then hopefully when the weather warms up a little, I can decide on a colour and go for it! Posted by pryantcc 20/12/2012 14:15:32

Good work! Your postings give me the push to jump into the dirty work needed on the TA-14 Carbodies DHC.  First thing for me is to replace/repair the door hinge pillars and mating floor sill area.  The rest of my wood work is not bad...but nothing is good until my cowling sits properly and allows for the doors to shut snuggly.  I will try to chronical my renovations on this forum when I get started, following your lead.  In the mean time I hope to follow and use this new forum to learn more about my car and Alvis in general. Regards, Alan Posted by alsfarms 28/12/2012 18:36:29

[quote="alsfarms":qq0peqk1]Good work! Your postings give me the push to jump into the dirty work needed on the TA-14 Carbodies DHC.  First thing for me is to replace/repair the door hinge pillars and mating floor sill area.  The rest of my wood work is not bad...but nothing is good until my cowling sits properly and allows for the doors to shut snuggly.  I will try to chronical my renovations on this forum when I get started, following your lead.  In the mean time I hope to follow and use this new forum to learn more about my car and Alvis in general. Regards, Alan[/quote:qq0peqk1]  Thanks for the encouragement Alan. Unfortunately my project has been mothballed (abandoned is a more accurate description) for now as two babies mysteriously arrived (not both at once!)! Posted by pryantcc 11/01/2013 23:01:25

Hello Paul, hmmmmmm......must be more to the story when you talk about two babies arriving at your place.  I am past the baby business.  I am curious, did you restore your radiator cowl (shell) Alvis emblem or buy a new one?  Do you happen to have the original radiator cap?  Neither of my cars came with a cap so I will be duplicating a cap.  Do you have a good picture and dimensions or know where I could buy an original? Al Posted by alsfarms 16/01/2013 02:43:43

And one day Paul i sense a major restoration Bulletin article ! As to the coachbuilder you have an active TA14 Model sec Eileen Goddin listed in the Bulletin front pages who would love to know about your coachbuilder and may have info!  Vic Round Posted by Victor Felix Round 16/01/2013 10:38:32