These snippets are contributed by members of various social media platforms and who are not nessecarily members of TROC. The posts recount people’s experiences and are therefore not definitive instructions or advice.
The Snippets are arranged here in much the same structure as the Renown Service Instruction Manual: links to that document are provided from each section heading.
General
Clutch
Email from Bob Hobbs to the Club’s Spares team. August 2025.
Hello All,
Regards the diffs and scrap or otherwise. The TDB and TDC are identical axles.
Of great importance are:
The small bevel “sun” gears that form the differential itself.
Behind each of the sun wheel that link one side of the axle to the other there should be dished bronze washers that sit on the shaft that hold the gears in place. These wear and if absent from a working axle will soon lead to it being a non-working axle as the small bevel gears will not be meshing correctly. SAVE THESE if the rest of the axle is being scrapped.
The main pinion gear and ring gear are manufactured as a pair and must be used as a pair. If they only have light surface rust they are probably OK to try putting into service.
From my personal experience with my very high mileage TDC, these axles start to have metal fatigue issues at 150k miles and there after. I know that the storage of these is a real pain BUT no axle equals no car on the road and when they are gone the likely outcome is scrapping of the whole car, good condition or otherwise. There are some companies that can manufacture gears as a one off but it is a seriously expensive activity for the main drive gears.
Do bear in mind that any axle that is left to sit and that is not moved will suffer from the oil seals drying such that the sealing lip sticks to the steel shaft. As soon as they are moved then the rubber tears with the resulting oil seepage thereafter. When I had trouble with an axle I bought from Chris Hewitt a brand new axle that had never been on a car. It was perfect but all the seals had to be replaced. Some are easy to do but the hub inner seals require the hubs to be pressed off the half shafts and a 20 tonne press is required to get the hubs off the tapered shaft. My axle took 16 tonnes for one of the hubs and 18 tonnes pressure for the other!
November 2024
Good evening all, a little advice on king pins & front suspension please. Hopefully over the winter months I’m going to recondition the front suspension on my TDC & while I replaced the king pins & bushes on my very first TDC back in 1970 I don’t recall how I reamed the king pin bushes. My assumption is that you need a parallel reamer long enough to span the complete distance between the two bush housings,but is it an adjustable type or just a fixed size & is it 9/16ths.
I am also in two minds as to whether to carry it out on the existing suspension or one from a donor car. So, any advice & info appreciated, cheers Doug
The reamer was a special order tool . It has to span the two bushes as you say BUT, the first section is a reduced diameter and cuts a little of the first bush then a little of the second and then once it spans the two bushes the reamer has an increase in diameter so that the two bushes are reamed to final size. It is illustrated in the Special Tools section of the manual. If you don’t have this reamer it is difficult to get an exact parallel cut for the king pin to move freely in. Best of luck. I have one of these reamers but as you will realise, it is rather precious! Therefore it does not go for holidays.
Road Springs and Shock Absorbers
Frame Unit
Propellor Shaft
HOW DO I REMOVE THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FROM THE DASH?
Hi Gary,
Assuming that your car does not have a radio fitted under the dashboard, move the front seat to the rear of its travel to give more space. Then lie on the floor on your back and with the aid of a torch look up to the space(!!!) behind the dash. On each side at about half the height of the central panel you should be able to see two wing n its. These can be reached, just, with the tips of your fingers. They need to be undone and if you have either a helpful female present with small hands or use your own well lubricated with a few choice words, undo these two nuts. The centre panel of the dash can be drawn towards the rear of the car thus giving access to the switches and instruments.
The wing nuts, if original, have a short section at the start that is devoid of any thread. This allows one to hold the nuts between finger tips whilst reaching up and then nudge them round till the thread engages. They do not need to be super tight so don’t overdo the tightening.
Once finished pat yourself on the back for doing one of the most uncomfortable jobs on the car.
If the car has a radio under the dash then clearly it has to be removed. I can advise on that as well, as I have done that many times on my own TDC. Let me know.
We stock new ignition switches in the Club’s range of peripheral bits and pieces.
– Bob Hobbs
