'74 Argosy 20' Motorhome restoration/rebuild

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by mayco

Love the color Brad. What color are you going with for the interior? I vote a nice tan or black

New Tan interior which is a dark tan (lighter than brown). Originally it was black but my old 73 had the dark tan that I really liked

[mayco]

That will be CLASSIC!

[Keyair]

Triumphant Shag!

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by martin300662

Did the Triumph Stag ever make it to the US? They come in at 2800lbs with the original engine but that is often swapped to the Buick/Rover 3.5L V8 which reduces the weight significantly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Stag

The biggest reason people swapped out the original 3.5L V8 to the Buick/Rover 3.5 V8 or Ford 302 V8's is that the original engine was just two Dolomite 4 cylinder engines welded together. It was a hideous lump of an engine that had teething cooling problems and timing chain issues.

Triumph did get smart and put the Rover V8 into the TR7 V8 and TR8.

Quite a few Staaaaaags at the biggest British car show in Bronte Park Ontario, the third weekend of September; along with Aston Lagonda's, Jag D-types and lots more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOOh86Xyx1M

Cheers
Tony

PS How is the Coosa coming?

[Keyair]

I had a Dolomite Sprint!
Man, think about if they had welded 2x of them together!

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Keyair

I had a Dolomite Sprint!
Man, think about if they had welded 2x of them together!

I think they did and put it in the Stag. I believe that's why engine swaps are so popular for the Stags......

[Keyair]

The block of the Stag was technically 2x 1500cc Dolomite slant 4 cylinder engines, it is true, but the Dolomite Sprint was a 2000cc engine had a unique 16v head, that produced 127hp, and made it quite a beast.
The 3000cc Stag motor was only rated at 145hp.

[bkahler]

Ok, got the TR6 tub back from the paint shop and it's now sitting on the frame.

Now I can concentrate on the Argosies and possibly even get a little work done on the TR6 at the same time

Brad

[mayco]

Looking incredible Brad! I have a general question, possibly stupid but I'm curious. As you go about reinstalling all the components of the TR, sequencing has to be a consideration and possibly an issue with some or all of the reinstallation. A needs installed first then C then B then F before you install D and E.........and so forth. So are those sequencing issues kept in your head from all the experience you've had with these cars, notes you've made as you dismantled the car, reference material available, trial and error?????

We have all ran into those situations where you've installed a component only to find that two steps further down the road you have to remove it again in order to install the next piece. I'm guessing that you're just so familiar with the TRs that through your experience, you've got mental notes on the tricky situations. Ive never taken a vehicle of any sort down to bare bones like you're doing, just curious how you avoid the two steps forward three steps back sort of thing in a project of that magnitude. I realize the TRs appear to be relatively straight forward.......famous last words of an Airstream Classic Motorhome Owner.

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Ok, got the TR6 tub back from the paint shop and

Now I can concentrate on the Argosies and possibly even get a little work done on the TR6 at the same time

Brad

That looks great, Brad!

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by mayco

Looking incredible Brad! I have a general question, possibly stupid but I'm curious. As you go about reinstalling all the components of the TR, sequencing has to be a consideration and possibly an issue with some or all of the reinstallation. A needs installed first then C then B then F before you install D and E.........and so forth. So are those sequencing issues kept in your head from all the experience you've had with these cars, notes you've made as you dismantled the car, reference material available, trial and error?????

We have all ran into those situations where you've installed a component only to find that two steps further down the road you have to remove it again in order to install the next piece. I'm guessing that you're just so familiar with the TRs that through your experience, you've got mental notes on the tricky situations. Ive never taken a vehicle of any sort down to bare bones like you're doing, just curious how you avoid the two steps forward three steps back sort of thing in a project of that magnitude. I realize the TRs appear to be relatively straight forward.......famous last words of an Airstream Classic Motorhome Owner.

Mike,

I've always been told there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers.....and those are right up my alley!

In reality the Triumph cars (prior to the TR7 and later) we actually pretty simple cars to work on. I generally take a lot of pictures prior to and during disassembly and use them as reference although it seems that there is always one or two pictures I wish I had taken that I didn't. As in everything else nowadays the internet is a god send.

It's not to difficult to look at a part in your hand and know whether it will interfere with trying to get something else installed or whether it's ok to install now. I very seldom if ever have to remove a part because it's in the way of something else.

Probably the major differences between rebuilding the Argosy vs the TR6 is the amount of documentation and parts available for the TR6. I can name at least six parts suppliers off the top of my head where I could call or order online just about any part I wanted for the TR6. Not so for the Argosy or Classics

If the Argosy was as easy to work on as the TR6 the Argosy would have been on the road years ago.

Brad

[mayco]

Well it's gorgeous, love the color. Going to be so classic looking with the interior you've planned. No doubt a blast to drive. Years ago, a good friend had a Subeam with the V-8 that I got to drive a couple times. Don't remember if it was a Tiger or a conversion but it was fast. Too much fun!

[bkahler]

When I was 18 or 19 I had a 73 TR6 with the same color scheme. Had a blast in that car

A V8 Sunbeam would be a hoot to drive!

[Keyair]

Nice one Brad!
Pretty color.
Nice Tigers are fetching serious money now!

[bkahler]

In order to keep Tony happy I opted to go with Coosa board for the flooring replacement

Made a day trip down to Knoxville to pick up three sheets of 1/2" Coosa Blue Water 20 board. This stuff is incredibly light! The round trip took about 6 hours out of my day so hopefully it turns out to be worth the time and expense

The short term goal is to get the flooring installed before end of the year so I can drive the Argosy for the first time. Now to see if I can actually meet the goal!

Brad

[Scottorious]

Brad, what did you decide to do with your wheel wells? I just got to mine and noticed that someone cut some pieces off and they really just don't seem useable. Wooden boxes lined with aluminum would be easy enough but getting some fabricated might be a good but expensive option. Certainly nobody probably sells such a part anymore.

[bkahler]

My original ABS covers had cracks in them and I didn't feel it was worth the effort to fix them so I had two new covers fabricated. They are fabricated from 16 gauge steel with the same overall foot print of the original. The new one looks larger but that's due to the fact the original was curved. Later Airstream motorhomes used steel enclosures exactly like what I had fabricated.

In the picture you can see the new one on the right and the old one on the left.



I'll post a couple more pictures tonight to give you an idea of what I still need to do for final fitment.

Brad

[bkahler]

This should give you a pretty good idea of the overall shape of the housings.


I have a little bit of notching to do on the flanges at the bottom to get the housing to slide all the way up against the outer skin.


The outer wall of the housing nestles up against the outer aluminum skin. I have to cut the curved section out of the housing to match the curve of the wheel well opening. The housing, aluminum skin and the wheel well trim all fit together as one piece when it's all done.

[Scottorious]

That looks really nice, I should probably go that route but I fear the cost. You'll mount them directly to the frame and bolt the subfloor on top?

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Scottorious

That looks really nice, I should probably go that route but I fear the cost.

Total cost was $179 for both. There are some seams that I only had them tack weld to hold them together figuring I could save some money by welding the bulk of the seams myself.