Triumph 1800 Roadster Street Rod Restoration Second Year 2008

January - February - March

I needed a change of pace, so I started on the interior. The interior was missing the original front seat. Finding a replacement front seat was no easy task, restoring the front and rear dickie seats proved to be a major project. At first glance it would seem the arm rest was missing, but after removing three different coverings, we found the arm rest with out hinges. You will need to remove the seat back springs from the frame, then replace any broken or missing lower springs. Now it is very important to repair or replace the wood attached to the frame, as you will need the wood to shape and attach the material to later. Lastly clean up, and paint the frame.

Click any picture to enlarge.

Now add a tack strip around the top, and cut a extra material slot thru the side, for easer installation. Then tie down the springs to keep the seat shape constant. We used rivets to remount the seat backs to the frame, then use the armrest gap at the bottom to pull seat back material thru the slots.

Remember to pad the back before attaching the Mohair to the back of the seat. Then glue the black vinyl to both foot sections.

The dickie seats were straight forward to restore.

April - May

Next, my dash board and wood trim were in great shape. The restoration of these items was not so bad. I sent all the gauges away to be restored, and I changed the dash from a right hand drive to a left hand drive..

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June - July

Rebuilding the front fenders was not hard, but it was a lot work. For you do it your self, remember to not just remove the rust, you must replace the metal that has been affected by the rust, for the best results. The hardest part will be the outer wheel well curve, that all most all ways rusts out. We used a 5/16 inch rod to form the outer wheel support. This rod can be easily bent by visegriping the rod to a 15 inch wheel rim, then bend it around the rim for a start on your basic wheel well template. Now remember standard Triumph wheel wells are not completely circular like I have made mine.

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August - September - November

After great thought, Jim and I came to the conclusion that the old front end is not sufficient to support the stress of almost 500 HP V8. We removed the old front end, and found a Jaguar XJ6 front end. The XJ6 front end was to wide, so we had the front end shortened. Then we mounted the front end to the tube frame. For you do it you do it your self out there there is a lot of cutting and grinding that needed to be done to make the look correct.