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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-GB link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>I do hope my verbosity doesn’t auto-trash this reply from the server but I’m able to tell you why these replacement tranny covers don’t fit as expected. From what I have learned this far, it’s a universal problem and I’ve found the answer in a sheaf of papers written by my Dad back in the late 50’s. For those who are not aware, Dad was Quality Control Manager and Chief Inspector at Standard-Triumph until the Leyland take-over.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The problem first raised its head with the start of Herald production. What few people know is that key parts of Herald assembly were made by different suppliers namely the scuttle (firewall) bonnet, floor and rear deck. As a result and because the bodies were built up ‘visually’ and not in proper body jigs, the conformity of panel gaps and door shut lines were achieved by loosely assembling the entire structure and then using a variety of timber levers and rubber mallets to achieve overall alignment in which the “it looks about right” was the prime decider. This was by no means an exact science and in the early years of the Herald’s production life (certainly the first two years) resulted in horrendous warranty costs through water leakage. Gradually, they managed to get the issues sorted but with the arrival of the TR4/4A/5/250/6 the bodies were assembled in much the same way. That’s why we never took visitors into the body assembly area as the somewhat brutal way that things were put together was not felt desirable for visitors to see!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The issue of the transmission tunnel was a major headache. The factory fit version was made of a semi-liquid form of chewed cardboard put over a perforated zinc former and bonded with fish glue which was then baked to harden the assembly off. Initially, holes were drilled in this cover for securing bolts to be fitted but more often than not the holes failed to line up precisely with the chassis securing lugs. This was overcome (eventually) by briefly fitting inked spikes into the chassis lugs, resting the tunnel assembly on them and then hitting the appropriate point with a piece of one inch die tube to achieve the approximate hole punch location. The tunnel was then removed, inverted and the ink marks on the underside and scuttle mating surfaces showed where the holes needed to be punched. Having now determined the more or less precise position of the holes along the front and side edges, the tunnel was then put into a separate jig to mark off how much of the tail end needed to be removed with a circular saw.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Because of the ‘variability’ of where these holes eventually appeared means that no two cars were exactly the same in all critical dimensions and this is what the parts aftermarket has entirely overlooked. Those who now make these tunnels have assumed (incorrectly) that the size and positioning of the required holes was identical in every case and that’s why they’re such a s*d to fit and why they’re nearly always too short. Simply, someone has obtained an old cover, assumed its dimension was/is a one-size-fits-all and made accordingly. The originals were always made longer than necessary so there was a tailend to remove and that amount of removable section depends entirely on each individual car.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>How do you overcome it? You can’t – unless you’re really lucky. A strip of soft aluminium to bridge the back end is probably the only option open to anyone. With regard to where you locate heat mat, I feel the underside is probably better because if you plan to fit new carpets, these too will probably come to fit an ‘exact’ dimension rather than a sloppy one which was how the carpets were made in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Hope this helps<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Jonmac<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div>
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