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	After months of exhausting garage construction, it's time to get back to cars. Ironically, the first project isn't even one of my cars, it turns out to be Rob's TR4. Rob has spent several years restoring the car and it is stunning with the Royal Blue exterior and Biscuit interior. Last fall I expected the car to be "without a doubt on the road by Spring of 2007". Well here it is, nearing August and the car still doesn't run, although it is pretty. Kind of typical of British Cars, looks pretty but doesn't run. For the first time since Rob has owned the car (which is a looong time) all the lights actually work, which may explain why the car doesn't run. Everything can't possibly work on a British car at the same time. The universe would implode if that actually happened. This may explain why a Delorean was used to break the space-time continuum. Rob borrowed our hippie coloured sunshine yellow trailer and hauled the car up from Birmingham this last weekend. The rebuilt engine is all together and turns over, but only shows about 25lbs of compression on each cylinder and makes a gurgling noise in the exhaust. I suspect the camshaft and crankshaft aren't timed with each other correctly but we need to do some further checking before we start disassembling anything. The car hasn't run since the mid nineties so I look foward to hopefully waking the TR from it's long slumber. So now I'm thinking the TR4 will "without a doubt be running before fall of 2007". We'll see.
	The TR4 Arrives 7/25/2007
	Update 7/28/2007: Rob and I spent some time working on the TR4 this weekend. The timing was about 90 degrees out on the cam. We used the factory method for setting the camshaft timing and the compression came up to around 150 lbs on all cylinders so that is good. We reassembled everything and the engine fired right up. Initial problems are the temperature gauge is telling us we were overheating and the oil pressure seems lower than expected, generating about 45 lbs at 2000 RPM. We shut the engine down and stopped for the day but at least the car is running again. We also have very little clutch pedal so some investigation is required there. Update 8/5/2007: The clutch issue is resolved. A new line was fitted and the cylinder was turned around so that the bleed screw is at the top of the cylinder. They will trap air when the bleed screw is not oriented to the topmost position. A digital thermometer tells us we aren't overheating but have problems in the temperature gauge circuit, possibly related to a bad voltage stabilizer. The low oil pressure problem turns out to be a misadjusted bypass valve. I adjusted this using the procedure in the Triumph Workshop Manual and we now have good oil pressure. Convinced we weren't overheating I ignored the temperature gauge (relying on my digital thermometer instead) and ran the engine in for 20 minutes at 2000 RPM, carefully monitoring the oil pressure and temperature. All looks good except for some seepage of coolant from the rear cylinder head. The next thing to do is to properly set the timing and start tuning the side draft Zenith Strombergs. After the tuning is complete, I'll take a look at the coolant seepage
	Update 8/6/2007: I set the timing and tuned the carbs last night. The engine runs smooth but I still have a persistent coolant leak. After some more investigation, I determined that it was actually leaking where the heater valve fitting screws into the cylinder head (not the aforementioned freeze plug). Due to the design of the fitting, it is impossible to get it right without removing one of the cylinder head nuts and studs. I pulled the nut but the stud didn't want to move. I stopped by the local hardware store the next day and picked up some brass fittings that will give me enough clearance to get everything tight and sealed up. I'll install these fittings and re-install the heater valve, which should take care of the coolant leak. Update 8/16/2007: Still chasing a water leak but we did get to drive the car a fair amount. The voltage stabilizer took care of the temperature gauge issues. Rob went on his first drive since the mid nineties so he is happy. Our first test drive was less than 200 feet, as a broken battery cable came loose. A trip to the auto parts store and that is resolved. Our 2nd test drive went for several miles, which produced scary steering judder. Some investigation turned up some loose tie rod ends. We tightened the tie rod ends up and checked a few other items and then Rob took his daughter for a short drive. Later in the week I went on a 15 mile drive or so to help shake things down some more. The flashers have quit working so I need to look into that but otherwise the car seems to run well. I'll chase the water leak some more and see if I can get that resolved.
	Update 8/21/2007: The water leaks are finally resolved. It was leaking from two different places, the aforementioned heater valve connection and also it was leaking around one of the cylinder studs. Some of the cylinder studs on a TR 4 cylinder engine goes into the water jacket so it is possible for the stud to weep water past the stud and right up to the top nut. The head gasket will prevent the coolant from getting under the cylinder head so it forces it all the way up to the cylinder head nut. The factory actually had some sealer they used (at the nut on the cylinder head) and I believe it was lead based wire that looked much like solder. I used a modern silicone based sealer and now everything is dry. I also managed to correct a minor wiring issue and now the turn signals are once again working. Update 8/22/2007: The car went to the alignment shop today. It drives straight now. Rob has a set of wire wheels and plans to put those on Friday. We'll get the surrey top put on sometime over the weekend and other than the bonnet it should be ready. Update 8/28/2007: Rob was up over the weekend and we got the surrey top on and the wire wheels installed. Wow, the car looks great before but now it is just plain stunning. The bad news is the wire wheels did introduce a pronounced vibration at highway speeds. At backroad speeds (45-50 MPH) it drives nice but over 55 it starts to get shakey. Update 9/06/2006: I dug through a box of old headlights and finally found another Lucas headlamp that works so we now have a matched pair of original Lucas headlights (that actually work) in the car. I've driven the car quite a bit now and of course the oil leaks start to show up (it is a British car therefore it must leak oil). The differential has a minor leak and the valve cover is also leaking (despite being sealed with silicone sealer). I need to pull the valve cover off and see if it is straight. A bent valve cover can cause the leakage we are seeing. Rob did get a chance to finally show his car at our annual car show, which was the debut for this car. Rob (and the car) has now returned home to Birmingham.