BlankHi-=20
I just thought I might take the time to introduce myself, and my =
vehicle, as I have recently subscribed to this forum, and am enjoying it =
so far.
My name is Scott Roberts, and I am a resident of Southern New Jersey, =
here in the snow covered North-east. I have been working with cars as a =
hobby since I was about 16, which makes it about 18 years now I've been =
rubbing grease into my small injuries and improving my verbal skills =
through blasphemic recitation, but only as necessary(smash the hand, =
plug volt jolt, Lucas electrics in general- you get the idea) I am =
fairly well accomplished with small engines, having perfected my wrench =
turning skills on a WWII Willys MB Jeep for the great majority of that =
time. I have also experienced a 1947 Plymouth, a 69 Plymouth, and as one =
of my newer experiments, a 1952 Seagrave Fire Engine. But my most =
recent, and long sought after mechanical impasse on wheels, is a 1964 =
Triumph Herald 1200 Convertible.=20
My 1964 Herald came to me through a friend, and from a friend- I had =
been looking moderately, for many years for one. When I was a child, my =
father had two of these little buggies- One he was the original owner =
of, and the other he purchased some years later as a parts car. His were =
both 63's, but 64 is close enough for me. I have not yet ascertained =
exactly what problem he was having with his Herald to necessitate a =
parts car, but from what I am able to get from my mother is that either =
the crank or the camshaft needed grinding, and he bought the second car =
with the intent of swapping the engine, only to find exactly the same =
problem! I don't remember much about these two little monsters, but both =
were red with black tops and interiors, and while dad's was bone stock, =
the parts car had a wood steering wheel, but with no real horn button- =
just the big white plastic abomination clamped to the column. Suffice it =
to say, during my entire life I can only recall seeing his car depart =
the safe haven of the garage once under its own power, and I think I may =
have had a ride at that point. Both cars came with us when we moved from =
one town to another, but with the move came mom's order to sell both =
cars- she wasn't going to have them sitting around the yard! So both =
cars were sold for a very small sum, to a college student acquaintance =
of my sister's as I recall. A third Herald had been in the family for a =
short time before the move- basically a parts car minus the rear section =
and bonnet, which, while there for parts for dad's car, was also the =
biggest toy in my toybox at the time.... :)
Having been relieved of the opportunity to work on dad's Triumphs when I =
developed my own interest in cars, I ended up with the Jeep, and kept an =
eye out for a Herald. A few years ago a close friend and I ran into a =
wonderful couple who had a small stable with four Heralds- two 1200's, a =
12/50, and a 13/60. The 12/50 and 13/60 were their drivers, while the =
two 1200's had been under restoration, but time and other things taking =
precedence, they had been pushed out of the line up and were possibly =
for sale. My friend, a British and antique car enthusiast like myself, =
arranged to see them with me, and we went to the couples home. The two =
1200's were nice indeed- a yellow one I was fond of, and a BRG one with =
most of the work done for my friend. A deal was struck, but =
unfortunately, due to a job offer withdrawn at the wrong time, my =
financial boat struck a rock. My friend bought the BRG one, and later =
was given the yellow one. (The couple needed to let it go , as the =
neighbors were complaining.
Shifting forward a few years, my friend had sold the yellow one to =
another friend, and had purchased my jeep, and was paying me monthly =
installments. He realized his stable was getting large- he now had about =
6 cars between him and his wife(pretty, intelligent, and loves cars- =
where can I find one like that!) and they were looking at a 1946 James =
MC...Soooooo...I got an offer from my friend, and I gladly traded some =
of the upcoming Jeep payments for the BRG one.=20
Now enjoying the rest of the restoration in my garage is y 1964 Herald =
1200 Convertible- the owners from whom my friend purchased her had =
redone the entire chassis to new, only to not be able to get the engine =
to run- so I have a new chassis, suspension and tires to start =
with!(although I found a bad u-joint on the driveshaft) Right now I am =
in the middle of a body disassembly, stripping, repair and repaint. I am =
hoping to have her back in almost new shape by the spring- I am looking =
forward to zipping around with the top down. I have been concentrating =
on the body so far, but have done a few things on the engine- I am =
planning to go to the dual carb system, and have all the parts, just =
have to rebuild those SU's, and get the Spitfire header repaired. The =
body itself is in modestly decent shape, but has the typical rust on the =
entryway below the door on both sides. Likewise, the front and rear =
valances are in need of replacement. However, the couple who sold my =
friend the Herald invited me down last week to raid their stores of used =
parts- and my pick-up was almost sagging when I left(Their garage was a =
bit emptier, too...) I got a very nice set of r&l rear valances, but =
still need the center.=20
I am planning to use Rimmer Bros. for a lot of the parts I am looking =
for- Happily, I should be able to finish the restoration for less that =
$1,000.00! And, I have done a very non stock modification to the =
electrics- as a safety and reliability feature, I have redone the wiring =
behind the dash entirely- and added an 8 position fusebox, accessed =
through the glove box, to support all the major electrical subsystems. =
Two fuses on the firewall just doesn't seem enough. I also relocated the =
flasher to inside, and added a hazard warning light circuit, simply by =
adding a switch, and three wires, with two diodes. Nothing major there. =
The washer system has also been converted to electric, though to look, =
you'd never know... I am a bit of a master of car camouflage....
Anyway, I am planning to repaint either in her original light blue, =
red(to match dad's) or black- cause it looks just so sharp, but I =
haven't decided, and am having the hardest time doing so. But, I think =
the blue has the edge at the moment- saw one on a brochure I bought, and =
it is great.
Thanks for letting me ramble- hope you enjoyed this short(!) intro....
Scott
64 Herald 1200 Convertible
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