Rear Valence, and wing attachment bolts

[stuart]

I have had to lead all the way round from the deck back round  to the middle nearl on several plus along the bottom of the boot lid too. Dont forget to fit a slave rubber seal in the boot aperture and the lock to get a better idea of how it sits in relation to the rest of the opening.

Stuart.

 

[Motorsport Mickey]

Hi Stuart, I see you joggled a spot welded a repair panel in there along the boot lid bottom, will you be leading the “ groove” and into the spot weld “ dimples” as you finish it.

Mick Richards

Edited March 13 by Motorsport Mickey

[Kenrow]

That Stuart, is some high-level work...

[Steve Morris]

On 3/4/2026 at 8:10 PM, TR4Tony VC said:

Or just debumper the car and be done with the horrible holes …. Far nicer IMHO.

Looks the bizzo

[Malbaby]

Hi Dave.

The side gaps at the top of the boot are unusually small for a Triumph.😁

IMHO, your problem gap will not be fixed by lead loading alone as the drip rail will become too narrow...Can be overcome by lead loading after first splitting the drip rail, moving it across   and welding in an infill.

 If you cannot find another drip rail section from a wrecked car to weld on, followed by an infill, then I would hand fabricate a new drip rail section and tack weld that in first to match the contour of the boot lid, again followed by an infill.

Although lead loading is preferred, using a quality metal based 2 part filler works well.       

Have you confirmed that the contour of the repro valence matches the contour or the wings where the valance curves in at the bottom...You may be lucky.😁

Edited March 13 by Malbaby

[stuart]

17 hours ago, Motorsport Mickey said:

Hi Stuart, I see you joggled a spot welded a repair panel in there along the boot lid bottom, will you be leading the “ groove” and into the spot weld “ dimples” as you finish it.

Mick Richards

TBH that was a previous repair Mick and the boot lid had an inch deep filler all over it, it had been seam welded inside so it only need a thin wipe of stopper over the joint on the out side.

Stuart.

 

[dave bailey]

23 hours ago, stuart said:

I have had to lead all the way round from the deck back round  to the middle nearl on several plus along the bottom of the boot lid too. Dont forget to fit a slave rubber seal in the boot aperture and the lock to get a better idea of how it sits in relation to the rest of the opening.

Stuart.

 

Thanks for the photos Stuart, I'm just wondering if that level of expertise with lead loading is within reach of mortal man!  However I've slid seamlessly into another potential problem. In that having loosely assembled the boot floor and sides, I now find that the rear end is too low to match up with the boot sides without encouragement from a big lump of timber wedged under the inner wing assembly. I'm thinking that I might have to slice the inner wing to allow it to move up a bit. Anyway I'll start properly assembling the boot sides working from the forward end using self tappers, and see where we actually end up. The problem might just go away🤪 Dave.

[dave bailey]

13 hours ago, Malbaby said:

Hi Dave.

The side gaps at the top of the boot are unusually small for a Triumph.😁

IMHO, your problem gap will not be fixed by lead loading alone as the drip rail will become too narrow...Can be overcome by lead loading after first splitting the drip rail, moving it across   and welding in an infill.

 If you cannot find another drip rail section from a wrecked car to weld on, followed by an infill, then I would hand fabricate a new drip rail section and tack weld that in first to match the contour of the boot lid, again followed by an infill.

Although lead loading is preferred, using a quality metal based 2 part filler works well.       

Have you confirmed that the contour of the repro valence matches the contour or the wings where the valance curves in at the bottom...You may be lucky.😁

Yes, I tend to agree, that the best solution will be to cut out and refabricate the valance section to fit. I think that the lower contour of the valance looks to be not far off a fit with the wing. 

Dave.

[stuart]

FWIW the repro inner wings do need some cutting about to fit, also whats the measurement between the top seam at the side of the back panel and the joint of the tonneau extension, Ive got a 4a and a 5 here and one is 6 1/2" and the other is 6 1/4" as your looks to be too long.

Stuart.

 

Edited March 14 by stuart

[stuart]

16 hours ago, Malbaby said:

Hi Dave.

The side gaps at the top of the boot are unusually small for a Triumph.😁

IMHO, your problem gap will not be fixed by lead loading alone as the drip rail will become too narrow...Can be overcome by lead loading after first splitting the drip rail, moving it across   and welding in an infill.

 If you cannot find another drip rail section from a wrecked car to weld on, followed by an infill, then I would hand fabricate a new drip rail section and tack weld that in first to match the contour of the boot lid, again followed by an infill.

Although lead loading is preferred, using a quality metal based 2 part filler works well.       

Have you confirmed that the contour of the repro valence matches the contour or the wings where the valance curves in at the bottom...You may be lucky.😁

I wouldnt mess with the tonneau extensions until youve got everything else right. as it maybe the angle of the inner wings isnt right.

Stuart.

[Malbaby]

From your latest pics, it does look like something is amiss with the rhs inner wing.

With the rear wings temporarily mounted, what are the wings to door gaps like?

Are both the right and left rear mounting brackets of the inner wings equidistant from the chassis rails....Assuming that they are, then the rhs chassis rail may be bent, or have you already checked the chassis for dimensional correctness?

 

[dave bailey]

18 hours ago, Malbaby said:

From your latest pics, it does look like something is amiss with the rhs inner wing.

With the rear wings temporarily mounted, what are the wings to door gaps like?

Are both the right and left rear mounting brackets of the inner wings equidistant from the chassis rails....Assuming that they are, then the rhs chassis rail may be bent, or have you already checked the chassis for dimensional correctness?

 

Hi Malbaby. In fact both inner wings are the same As measured with a spirit level and their distance to the garage floor (I've previously jigged the bench to be level with the floor) The difference you can see is that the N/S has been forced up by the insertion of the wood baton under it. 

The wing to door gaps can be made to be okay, but the bottom forward part of the wing has to be forced a bit to the rear and bolted. This would be consistant with the rear of the wing lining up with the inner wing/rear deck, being too low.

As for the chassis legs I'm confident that they are correct, as much measuring was done previously.

Dave.

On 3/14/2026 at 2:32 PM, stuart said:

FWIW the repro inner wings do need some cutting about to fit, also whats the measurement between the top seam at the side of the back panel and the joint of the tonneau extension, Ive got a 4a and a 5 here and one is 6 1/2" and the other is 6 1/4" as your looks to be too long.

Stuart.

 

Hi Stuart. As I say, I'll not start any serious alterations until I've got the boot sides where they should be, as you'll know, there isn't much wriggle room with these sides because their height is determined by the support bracket which is bolted to the chassis rail, I could remove the spacer pieces, but that would make the rear end sit too low, which would then effect where the bumper iron came out through the rear valance.

If I understand you correctly, the measurement you refer to, as shown on the attached photo, is 6.25in. on both sides.

I've shown on the other photo where I think I will have to cut the inner wings, (both sides,) in blue. the black semi-circle I've drawn on just above the deck is where the deck is bulging slightly high, so would be a good place to bend from. It would only take a few degrees of upward movement over the distance to the end of the wing to achieve the two cm. or so which I need.

Thanks all for your continued advice and suggestions.

[stuart]

5 hours ago, dave bailey said:

Hi Malbaby. In fact both inner wings are the same As measured with a spirit level and their distance to the garage floor (I've previously jigged the bench to be level with the floor) The difference you can see is that the N/S has been forced up by the insertion of the wood baton under it. 

The wing to door gaps can be made to be okay, but the bottom forward part of the wing has to be forced a bit to the rear and bolted. This would be consistant with the rear of the wing lining up with the inner wing/rear deck, being too low.

As for the chassis legs I'm confident that they are correct, as much measuring was done previously.

Dave.

Hi Stuart. As I say, I'll not start any serious alterations until I've got the boot sides where they should be, as you'll know, there isn't much wriggle room with these sides because their height is determined by the support bracket which is bolted to the chassis rail, I could remove the spacer pieces, but that would make the rear end sit too low, which would then effect where the bumper iron came out through the rear valance.

If I understand you correctly, the measurement you refer to, as shown on the attached photo, is 6.25in. on both sides.

I've shown on the other photo where I think I will have to cut the inner wings, (both sides,) in blue. the black semi-circle I've drawn on just above the deck is where the deck is bulging slightly high, so would be a good place to bend from. It would only take a few degrees of upward movement over the distance to the end of the wing to achieve the two cm. or so which I need.

Thanks all for your continued advice and suggestions.

If you look at the pictures I posted of what I had to do to that inner wing you’ll see most of it was actually forward of the top of the arch, I wonder if the angle of your deck isn’t right now and is heading downhill hence why your thinking you need to cut the deck in the middle, that won’t work as it’ll put the line from the top of the tonneau extension forward wrong. Are you fitting a Surrey to it as that would help you determine the right angles back there if you put that on and then dropped the roof on as well you would get all the lines right.

Stuart 

[Malbaby]

I would not be cutting any panels just yet....Need to establish a base line to work from.

The cream coloured boot ledge is currently sitting higher on the rhs than the lhs [in addition to the obvious]....Will the rhs of the floor go lower.

Your pics show the lhs inner wing mounting bracket bolted to the chassis rail with no packer, is the rhs also bolted to the rail?

Do you have pics of the sides showing the front wings and doors fitment.

Are you certain that both B posts are in the correct position?,,.Same distance apart at the top?

Edited March 16 by Malbaby

[dave bailey]

13 hours ago, Malbaby said:

I would not be cutting any panels just yet....Need to establish a base line to work from.

The cream coloured boot ledge is currently sitting higher on the rhs than the lhs [in addition to the obvious]....Will the rhs of the floor go lower.

Your pics show the lhs inner wing mounting bracket bolted to the chassis rail with no packer, is the rhs also bolted to the rail?

Do you have pics of the sides showing the front wings and doors fitment.

Are you certain that both B posts are in the correct position?,,.Same distance apart at the top?

Hi. I'm probably getting ahead of myself at the moment, because the boot floor and side panels are literally just wedged roughly in place and other bits held in place with mole grips, so don't read too much into it. It was to give me some idea of the 'ball park' I was in.

Dave.

14 hours ago, stuart said:

If you look at the pictures I posted of what I had to do to that inner wing you’ll see most of it was actually forward of the top of the arch, I wonder if the angle of your deck isn’t right now and is heading downhill hence why your thinking you need to cut the deck in the middle, that won’t work as it’ll put the line from the top of the tonneau extension forward wrong. Are you fitting a Surrey to it as that would help you determine the right angles back there if you put that on and then dropped the roof on as well you would get all the lines right.

Stuart 

Hi Stuart, I understand what you're saying, and I'm reasonably sure that the forward deck section is okay. (I'm not fitting a Surrey top). I've worked out that if I cut where indicated, then I'll only have to move the rear section about 1.5 degrees up, which should go unnoticed in the general scheme of things. 

Anyway I'll continue to fit the boot sides (self tappers) and see where I am.

Thanks.

Dave. 

[stuart]

1 hour ago, dave bailey said:

Hi. I'm probably getting ahead of myself at the moment, because the boot floor and side panels are literally just wedged roughly in place and other bits held in place with mole grips, so don't read too much into it. It was to give me some idea of the 'ball park' I was in.

Dave.

Hi Stuart, I understand what you're saying, and I'm reasonably sure that the forward deck section is okay. (I'm not fitting a Surrey top). I've worked out that if I cut where indicated, then I'll only have to move the rear section about 1.5 degrees up, which should go unnoticed in the general scheme of things. 

Anyway I'll continue to fit the boot sides (self tappers) and see where I am.

Thanks.

Dave. 

There is a very slight curve downwards as you go backwards on the rear inner wing top as it goes from the "B" post top along the forward deck extension, along the rear deck and then steepens slightly along the rear tonneau extensions to the rear light pockets, its not much but you might be able to tell from these pictures.

Stuart.

 

[gloide69]

I guess the height of the boot floor and boot floor sides will be determined by the chassis mountings

[Malbaby]

Another consideration is how the outer panel swage lines "line up" on both sides of the car..

[dave bailey]

17 hours ago, gloide69 said:

I guess the height of the boot floor and boot floor sides will be determined by the chassis mountings

Exactly, and that in turn determines the height of the rear valance, which determines the height of the rear of the inner wings. It makes sense when you approach it from that perspective, unfortunately I hadn't quite grasped that sequence, hence my problem, Still I've got a plan!

Dave.

[dave bailey]

13 hours ago, Malbaby said:

Another consideration is how the outer panel swage lines "line up" on both sides of the car..

I've had it all bolted up, and the swage lines are fine, of course that may change when I start re-fettling.

Dave. 

[dave bailey]

20 hours ago, stuart said:

There is a very slight curve downwards as you go backwards on the rear inner wing top as it goes from the "B" post top along the forward deck extension, along the rear deck and then steepens slightly along the rear tonneau extensions to the rear light pockets, its not much but you might be able to tell from these pictures.

Stuart.

 

 

20 hours ago, stuart said:

There is a very slight curve downwards as you go backwards on the rear inner wing top as it goes from the "B" post top along the forward deck extension, along the rear deck and then steepens slightly along the rear tonneau extensions to the rear light pockets, its not much but you might be able to tell from these pictures.

Stuart.

 

Yes I see that Stuart, and am trying to preserve that curve as best I can, we'll see!