Triumph Toledo C20XE

[v8ian]

The last few days things have been going really well, and the dashboard has come together as well as I hoped apart from a couple of sinks in the varnish,
Inside the car I have stripped and consolidated the birds nests to a more manageable pile, No wires without any unneeded terminals or scotches, all joints have been soldered and double heat shrinked in white sleeving so I know what I have modified... so far so good, powered up the car, and as far as I can see and test everything works, without the famous Lucas smoke trick,
Yesterday a 7/16ths/11mm ratchet spanner eventually arrived to help me reinstall the dash, This morning I was out in the garage as the sun was rising or was it the rain was falling?. fitting the dash is best described as challenging, you can see only 2 of the 10 nuts or bolts that keep it in position, so its a wiggle wiggle swear half hour getting the dash in position and some nuts started just under the screen so the dash wont drop, next to fit there are 2 bolts that are just above the steering column, these were loose when I took the dash out,....... enter the 7/16 ratchet spanner, starting both bolts was surprisingly easy, on with the spanner and tighten the first bolt, just before it tightened, theres a sort of reassuring bonk as the dash finds its position, nip the bolt up, and I now cant get the spanner off, turns out the "reassuring Bonk" was the edge of the spanner slipping over the edge of the bracket so it is now retained no matter how I wiggle it, first thing I need to do is move the neatly cable tied loom from its restraints, because I don't want to damage the wiring if I slip trying retrieve the spanner, off I go, clipping by feel because I cant see the ties when my hands are inside the dash clip clip clip, and a different sort of clip, which turns out to be the main cable to the ECU cutting thru, every wire is BLACK with no ID or Pinout that I can find, time to order a new loom, and its eyewatering £££. looking on the bright side, a new loom will come with less excess cable that needs to be homed under the dash like the one that was previously used I had in place.

At the moment I am going to concentrate getting the pesky spanner off the back of the dash, not quite sure how to go about it yet as I'm working thru a 4"hole, and the added bonus of hands like shovels

[glenanderson]

Oh poo...

[v8ian]

I have been trying to shear off the head of the bolt, when you want something to shear, you know it wont, all I'm doing it starting to deform the crash pad frame, at the moment all I can see as an answer is manoeuvre the spanner into a blind position and cable tie it out the way for now, and just hope I'm not going to have to remove the dash again, I seriously don't want to get a die grinder under the dash and cause mayhem if I slip, , Bit of a f-uk it moment.

[motardman]

This has to be the most unusual bit of bad luck ever had with a pair of trousers on. You could not make that up!

I hope you find a solution, very sorry to hear of the loom mishap. Bummer.

[glenanderson]

Well, the only bright side I can see is that you’ll always know where your 11mm spanner is…




Grabs coat and runs for the door…

[v8ian]

Meanwhile, in the bat cave, stumped by the dash, I thought about one instrument I could not fit in the dash, plus I need to mount the wiper switch, the headlight switch, a single wash/wipe switch and a speedo zero button, there is space on the bottom of the crash pad beside the A post, TBH I wasn't too fussed about the battery charge gauge, but I have a place for it,

[v8ian]

Meanwhile, in the Bat Cave--------- SUCESS-------------- the pesky entombed 11mm spanner has relented to Big Hammers, Big Prybars, big Screwdrivers and a healthy dose of Dremel, it willingly surrendered @ about 3,15 this afternoon, surprisingly unscathed,

[glenanderson]

Excellent.

Hopefully you don’t lose it now. 😉

[Alpina99]

Excellent but I thought it's the 10mm we're supposed to lose, 😁😁
Nigel

[glenanderson]

Nov 9, 2023 8:45:12 GMT Alpina99 said:

Excellent but I thought it's the 10mm we're supposed to lose, 😁😁
Nigel

In foreign/modern/metric world it's 10mm that's most vulnerable, yes; but in the world of almost proper measurements it's the 7/16" AF that goes walkies the most, which is as close as dammit to 11mm...

And real men lose their 3/16" Whitworth. 

[v8ian]

Nov 9, 2023 12:58:10 GMT glenanderson said:

Nov 9, 2023 8:45:12 GMT Alpina99 said:

Excellent but I thought it's the 10mm we're supposed to lose, 😁😁
Nigel

In foreign/modern/metric world it's 10mm that's most vulnerable, yes; but in the world of almost proper measurements it's the 7/16" AF that goes walkies the most, which is as close as dammit to 11mm...

And real men lose their 3/16" Whitworth. 

Lets face it, 11mm is just an adolescent 10mm, with a bit more attitude

[v8ian]

The Toledo is on the slow at the moment, I have to wait for a injection loom to be made, I'm on week 2 of a 6 week lead,
The one advantage of the delinquent 11mm spanner removal has meant I could remove the dash again to install some bits I failed to refit behind the dash, otherwise the glove box door did not fit very well., it does now, and now with the dash refitted back in the car little things can be tried, I pushed the clocks into their relevant holes, just for me, to see how it looks, and tried the supplementary gauge for position too, plus to keep the dash less cluttered I have moved the wiper, headlight and wash/wipe switches just below the crash pad, but still in easy reach, OK, theres still a wee bit of wiring to finalise, but that is waiting for the injection loom,

[biturbo228]

Looks dead smart!

[v8ian]

Today was a momentous day, its been a while since I accidentally chopped thru my bespoke injection loom, I ordered a new one from DTA, which arrived today,
I must say its so much better/nicer that the old loom wants to be for the cost, but I'm impressed.

Family commitments will stop me getting out in the garage, and to top that my back has gone with a BIG PING, Osteopath next Tuesday

[teaboy]

Liked for the loomy thing, not the backy twang.

[glenanderson]

WHS ☝️

[v8ian]

I have done nuffink over the festivities Both of us have been laid up with some sort of bug for at least 2 weeks, trawling the Internet of inspiration, I have been toying with the idea of better wheels as I'm not a lover of sprint wheels, a little while ago I bought a set of staggered ATS Cups trouble was that were a different PCD and on inspection, not going to fit either not being deterred I got the PCD altered and oversize inserts fitted so the wheels don't look odd or extra holes either, but never fitted the arch.
Today, the swmbo and the dog went walks miles away, result, so I wrapped up and ventured into the garage, tape measure, vernier, plumb line and calculator in hand went a measuring, seems the axle position I used fro my initial setup measurements was offset to one side. so that was adjusted, I refitted the problematic rear wheels, and they are very very close to fitting the car, there is a possibility that I may need to trim the lip a gnats, I have some 195, 45, 15s hiding so I will get those fitted and see where this leads, lets hope this is Clutching victory from the jaws of defeat, or, Defeat from the jaws of victory,, I'm not quite certain yet,

[horrido]

Is there enough metal to be able to shave the backs of the wheels a shade? Some aftermarket wheels are very thick. Just a thought. Probably a bad one.

[v8ian]

Jan 3, 2024 22:59:53 GMT horrido said:

Is there enough metal to be able to shave the backs of the wheels a shade? Some aftermarket wheels are very thick. Just a thought. Probably a bad one.

Looking for extra wheel space, never a bad shout, but theres very little to spare on the back of the hub, that was one of the first places I looked, a slightly narrower tire than previously wanted could be the answer, or not use those wheels, but the choice of wheels is very limited because of the 3.3/4" (95.25MM) PCD

[jake899]

I have Lotus Europa alloys on mine. Not seen them on a Triumph before. Got a bit of a Italian Campag look about them.