Finally

It's back in and it runs! It's all smooth and quiet again and I was very excited this afternoon when I finally heard it running again. I'm talking about my GT6 engine, which came out of the car because it made some unhealthy bottom end noises. After a closer examination I found some pretty worn big end bearings. Luckily the crankshaft didn't suffer from it. We measured the crankpins and endfloat of the crank which was all within the limits. Oilpump was also OK, so only new big end bearings came in. I managed to find some OE quality replacements which isn't as easy as it sounds. My supplier in the Netherlands only has the cheap repro County bearings in his pricelist but can also do OE quality if you ask for it. I think this is a bit odd, but according to him his customers only want the cheapest. Not me though, esp not on bearings.

I was a bit worried about mating the engine back to the gearbox but surprisingly it slided in very easy. It's all about having both gearbox and engine in a correct angle! Well I first started the engine today and it sounds very sweet! Hmm I love the Triumph sixpot.

PI progress

Not much really. I've been sorting out the bits that came with the car and found out there is a lot missing. Luckily the specific PI bits are all there, it's mostly trim and stuff that I need. I've spoken to the previous owner who still has a donor car somewhere in a lock-up. Hopefully I can get it off him and complete my car. I cleaned the leather seats, they are in reasonable condition, only the leather has completely dried out. Not sure what to do yet, I'm thinking of fitting modern (BMW?) seats which will give more support than the original ones. Still plenty of time left to think about these things. James made up this PItastic pizzledown that shows exactly how much time is left before it has to be finished. RBRR08 is my goal !!

Also had a quote for doing the bodywork and paintjob... Why is paint so expensive??