The original Coupe chassis required a fair bit of work, so I'm using a replacement "technical college" chassis instead. From what I understand these were rolling chassis Triumph put together to show the arrangement of the various mechanical components of the drivechain along with the steering, suspension and brakes. These display chassis were sold (or I guess maybe donated) to technical colleges throughout the UK for students to train on. The good thing is they've never been out on the road, so are pretty much rust free.
Paul at Triumph Auto Classique has made a few modifications to the chassis. It is possible to get the branch exhaust manifold to clear the main rails, but Paul has done a great job relieving the top edge (as per the later Spitfires) to make manifold fitment a lot easier.
I've never been a fan of the engine bay valences on the Herald. Most of the time they get in the way, and the only useful purpose they serve is holding up the radiator. To get the Shorrock Supercharger positioned where I need it, the right hand valence is in the way, so it has to go. To hold the radiator up, I'm going for the Spitfire "U" shaped bracket mounted directly onto the chassis, and we'll use the Spitfire bracket that goes from the top of the rad down to the suspension turret.
Shaun Ogbourne pointed out that the rear pockets of the side rails is a real muck and rust trap, so these are now closed off to prevent the ingress of any mud build-up.
(please excuse the funny picture angles of all these shots - the chassis was stood on its end leaning up against the workshop wall!)
I'm hoping to get the chassis and body into the final paint stage very shortly.
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