Having spent the last couple of years getting my Triumph Stag up together and re-building (or rather re-creating) my Plus 2’s twink, I’ve just started on the restoration proper. The Body is now sitting in my drive on a pile of tyres and the old chassis with suspension still attached is in my garage ready to be stripped down (albeit with my new second hand Spider chassis on top of it). So I’ll be doing regular updates(ish) as work proceeds and be asking questions as I go along!
First question is what does the panel recommend to paint the Spider chassis with. It’s currently red, with a few chips and so I don’t need to strip it or blast it - just tidy it up. I was thinking red Smoothite which should give good coverage and protection with minimal preparation, but I know the formulation has changed so what does the panel recommend (I’d like to keep it red but I’m not going to used red oxide primer for it 
) and has anyone used the modern Smoothite formulation?
Matt
I used red smoothite on mine Matt.
Spray version for most of it before adding the suspension, and then a paint brush to repair the inadvertent chips.
Peter
If you Spill or get some petrol on the Smoothite i think there can be a reaction but i’m not so sure
Onwards and upwards - after many delays I’m back on the case with my Plus 2 resto. and am lurching forwards with it. The chassis is now all painted (red smoothite) and I’m about to rebuild the suspension. Wishbones and ‘a’ frames will be stove enamelled red next week and uprights will be black for a bit of contrast. I’m not getting the wishbones and ‘A’ frames powdercoated for a couple of reasons - they will be in the way of road debries so will get chipped and enamel is easy to touch up, and secondly I’ve see what can happen if you crack powder coating (for example around the bolts) and watch water wick between the coating and the metal…
I’m also going with original style metalstic bushes rather than poly bushes - cheaper and hopefully a bit more compliant as I’m after comfort not ultimate road holding.
Hopefully I’ll have some pictures in the next week or two to show progress.
iSnce the last update, the front suspension is now fully refurbished and on the car along with new discs and callipers. After trying to fit standard bushes to the rear A frames, I’ve fitted polybushes - the standard ones were soooo tight I gave up and the polybushes are one heck of a lot easier to fir. Lots of lube needed to fit them onto the chassis though.
I’ve pulled the rear suspension down, and have got new wheel bearings, rear discs, CV drive shafts etc. to fit. I’ve respayed the hub carriers in a fetching shade of gloss black as well, so it’ll be time to reassemble it all and fit back on. Been having some issues with getting penny washers for the diff, and have had it in and out a couple of times before reading the manual; also bought a diff brace from Kelvedon so it’ll have to come out again to fit that
I’ll try to post up some pictures…
It’s my understanding that the diff brace can be fitted with the diff in situ (on a Spyder Chassis).
Yep, the Diff needs to be sitting loose in the chasis for the Brace to be attached. Then the Diff (with Brace attached) can be finally secured. I am happy to be proved wrong, but I have never been able to remove or replace a Diff from an unmodified chassis whilst the Brace is still attached to the Diff.
Diff brace now on, fitted to the diff while it was sitting loose in the spyder chassis, but with the bottom attachment in place. And the diff is mow bolted in, with an excess of penny washers (don’t ask…). I’m getting quite adept at taking it out and refitting it 
- must learn to RTFM and BB’s book before doing stuff. But I have got a new Plus 2 in one piece to compare with the project now (see a.n.other listing).
I’ve also just refurbed the handbrake mechanism (white push button job) and am waiting for a new cable. As the car had suffered a carb side fire when it was taken off the road the original cable inner was plastic welded to the sheaf so had to be cut off, but the actual pull mechanism was in reasonable shape… This weekend may result in the rear suspension being fitted assuming I can get the wheel bearings into the hub carriers without destroying my immaculate new black paint job on them…
Latest update - I’ve now got the rear suspension all on and fitted, along with the new CV drive shafts. I was a bit worried when I was working out if everything fitted that the rear callipers seemed to need spacing inwards…
Then I read the manual and realised that the disc fitted to the inside of the rear hub spider, and everything fitted fine apart from having to just ream out the holes in the discs a tad. Now I just need to fit the hubs and I’ll have a rolling chassis.
Photos to follow…
good work Matt. I’m pleased the Wheel inserts are going to a good cause
Alan
Thanks Alan - the inserts will be used!
Here’s my newly assembled rear suspension
and the front end isn’t looking too shabby either:
Oddly the reds are the same in real life, but not in my camera’s eye; the rear was photographed in natural light, the front under florescent tubes and flash…
More to follow - hopefully rolling chassis this weekend (again…)
is that a Classic Bike Wheel in the second photo 
'71 bonnie?
John
if it’s 71 that’s a unit construction. I think the pre-unit T120 is the original
Alan
Its a 1970 T120R Bonneville - unit construction and last of the pre oil in frame ones. Basically stock, apart from the wrong horn, alloy wheel rims, stainless mudguards and paint… Probably the best Bonnie you can get, similar model did the first 100 mph lap by a production racer at the Isle of Man TT…
The handling woes of Triumphs had been fixed by Hopwood and Tait, forks had two way damping and engine gave around 50 bhp reliably and all weighs less than 400 lb.
It came home from the USA in a bit of a state
and I rebuilt it about 15 years ago
Evening All
Just spent the best part of today with my mate Pete (PeterK of this forum) getting the Plus 2 Rolling chassis rolling. This did involve a certain amount of de-cluttering the garage, before we could get the wheels on and have a ceremonial roll out: pictures:
The plan was to fit the engine and gearbox. I’d put the clutch on the engine, and renewed the oil seals on the input and output shafts of the gearbox. Pete mate then fitted the clutch arm and associated gubbins and bolted the bell housing to the box, while I prepped some UNC bolts to fit the engine mounts to the engine. We got the engine off the engine stand using Pete’s hoist, and then, after a bit of faffing about were fitting the gearbox to the engine. It was a bit tight, so I used the big rubber mallet to help it to fit. This may have been a mistake as while we pulled the bell housing onto the engine by winding in the bolts I noticed a big crack on the side of the casting. Doh. Luckily I have a spare housing which I’ll be cleaning and painting this weekend, before stripping out of the old housing all the nice new bits to re-fit; then I can drop the engine and gearbox back in and get some room back in my garage.
Moral of the story - don’t use the really big rubber mallet, just the big one; although I’m not convinced that the crack wasn’t already in the bell housing before we started to fit it…I didn’t hit it that hard
before you fit the bellhousing to the gearbox you can put the gearbox to the flywheel to centralise clutch friction plate. Locate gearbox input shaft in friction plate before tightening pressure plate. That way the friction plate is perfectly central.
When you fit bellhousing to gearbox don’t forget to put sealant on the screw with a through hole into gearbox
Alan
Hi Alan - I made up a dummy first motion shaft in my lathe line up the clutch plate so alighnment was good. More importantly thanks for the reminder about the bolt which passes into the box which holds the (new) bell housing on it will had a good dollop of Welseal on it. Sunday will be spent cleaning and painting the ‘new’ bell housing…
…and post Christmas and another hand from my mate Pete the engine and gearbox are in…
Just need a large diameter (13.75 cm) cover for the starter motor end as its bigger on my 105E bell housing than it was on my broken bell housing…
So just need to add the prop shaft and that the rolling chassis buttoned up and then its on to the body…
When I said ‘I just…’ I had, of course forgotten a few minor details. Likes the rear brake calipers. These had been painted bright red (very nice) in the past but were a bit scruffy, with various bits of handbrake mechanism still attached and pistons which had seen better days. So, I thought, easy; get the pistons out, get the paint off, remove the handbrake bits and clean them up, replace the missing bits, new pistons and seals and and repaint and rebuild the calipers. Easy. Not.
Firstly the handbrake mechanism came off relatively easily (its still awaiting paint removal and refurbing mind), and Sue supplied me with all the missing bits and new pistons and seals. Getting the pistons out was interesting; an assortment of light heat, pipe spanners, compressed air, brute force and ignorance eventually freed them off. On a couple I had to cut a slot in the top of the piston, and drill a small hole in the piston’s side to enable me to use a rod to lever the piston around to break the obviously strong bond between the pistons rusty surface and the old seal. They all succumbed eventually…
Then the paint. Well, I tried, I really tried. Nitromores, super strong paint stripper, brake fluid, thinners, a mixture of the previous, painting on the stuff and wrapping the calliper in cling film and leaving for a day of two…nothing worked. So it was back to the big rotary wire brush, craft knife and dremmel, which got rid of the paint. Eventually. And covered my workshop bench and me in old powdered paint and bits of wire brush. I would love to know what the paint was, as it was really tenacious and tough. Then a dose of the flu kicked in, and a week later I got back into the workshop and painted the callipers in silver smoothite, and fitted the new pistons and seals - after reading up on the process in these forums they went in pretty easily. Thank goodness! Now I just need to refurb the handbrake mechanism and fit the brake lines and the rolling chassis will be finished; then I’ll turn my attention to the heater unit which is looking a bit sorry for itself…