Hi All,
I've just finished replacing the door striker's on the TR-4A and man o man,
did that make a difference! I have solicited advice on my inability to
close my drivers door properly in the past (replaced hinges, aligning over
and over, changing door seals, etc), but I saw them advertised in Moss
Europe's flyer and it worked. Supposedly, this is a new product from Moss
(who knows how long, I haven't been paying much attention over the winter),
but if anyone has had this problem...this IS the fix. I put the new striker
on and with one minor adjustment, the door shuts like my Subaru.
Here at Low Common Farm, in the midst of Norfolk, the winter was a surprise
to me. Fairly mild by Brit standards, but my 4A did not winter well. I
started the car and drove it on occasionally on nice(r) days, but never in
the wet or during the salt. I had very minimally waxoiled the underside
(b.c. I didn't want all of the goop on my pristine underbody), in early
October.
A little background is necessary. I restored the 4A in California (orig
SoCal car), three years ago and moved to the UK last May. The body tub and
frame was sandblasted to the metal, and liberally dosed with etch primer,
primer, and paint. And I mean, I did it well (or so I thought). In SoCal,
I had never seen a hint of rust on the car. Not a hint! The 4A was garaged
at Low Common, but a curious thing happened. It rusted from the
condensation (mind you surface rust only), in all of the wheel wells and on
the lower sheetmetal (stone damage). Now, instead of enjoying the spring,
its time to deal with the rust. I'll be taking the outer body panels off,
removing and converting the rust, repainting the lowers with stone-chip
resistant stuff and really coating with paint/waxoiling the shit out of it.
Should I be so anal?,...Well, its WAS a completely rust free car, and if I
don't really prepare the car for next winter, its cruel and unusual
punishment. I now have all of the respect for people who live in New England
and the UK who have to battle this problem constantly and even drive year
round! I wouldn't mind traveling down the CARCOON road, but my wife is
still shrieking with laughter about the car going into a blownup condom.
However, she laughed when I brought the car home as well. Oh, Well.
Paul
Paul A. Carson PSC 37, Box 3244
SOFPARS Field Service Engineer APO AE 09459
Sanders, A Lockheed Martin Company or
RAF Mildenhall, Low Common Farm House
England Merton, Nr Watton
pcarson@lcfh.demon.co.uk Thetford, Norfolk IP25
6QG
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