John Saunders
-
Content Count
39 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Calendar
Posts posted by John Saunders
-
-
1958 TR3a TS27457L (LHD). Newly imported from USA with all papers + S-T Trace.
Ideal basis restoration project: Complete, unmolested, full matching numbers, needs floors, sills, boot floor, seats, chassis & bodyshell solid, panels ok repairable.
Asking £5300
View London , Hampton Court Area. More info /view, Phone Peter Saunders 44 (0) 208 487 0046, or 44 (0) 7766237628.
Also Steel hardtop separately available
-
in case you did not know, the regn. was issued in West Sussex. It appears that some records are held at Chichester Archives - west sussex record office . Tel 01243 533911. Worth asking if they can supply anything for your car.
All the best, John S
-
Hi Alec, if you come across your parts list of the injection system on North American Cars I would be interested to see it. In fact, with your agreement, we ought to have a copy in the Archives - agreed ?.
Paul, many thanks for comments on DVLA Worcester. I will see how long it takes the full certificate to arrive from Gaydon, but otherwise will get hold of an online copy. You never know what will work, or not, so feedback is nmost useful
-
Thanks everyone for all your comments and advice.
I have sent off for a Gaydon Heritage Certificate a few days ago, so hopefully that will enable the DVLA to fill their little boxes.
I also went up to the DVLA Worcester who were incredibly helpful. Amongst other things they gave me a sort of unofficial document (no number) labelled documents needed for registration of a used vehicle. They also inicated items rerlevant to me.
One thing interested me in particular. Under a heading of 'Type Approval' it states that cars & bikes over ten years old do NOT need Type Approval, so on the face of it I am ok. Proof will come when I try it Register it with the DVLA.
Yes the Car is the full house fuel injected TR8. I am told the emissions stuff should be removed. However, I am also told it is not just unbolting the cats. etc. The ECU etc have to be remapped. That sounds expensive ! Think I will wait until I have done a few miles & saved up for that !
Will give you updates when car has safely landed & I have cleared a few hurdles.
Cxheers, JOhn S
-
I have just acquired a LHD TR8 Convertible from California, expected to arrive in England at the end of September. In conversation with Robsports, I was told that the TR8 does not have UK Type Approval and that may be a problem in Registering it with the DVLA.
I have adequate experience of fetching in cars from the USA (sidescreen TR's), but the Type Approval issue is something I have not encountered before
My Question :-
Has anybody experience of fetching in a TR8 from the USA ? ; what problems did they encounter & how did they overcome them ?
I have been told that I can get round the problem by importing into Belgium first, but do not want to go to the trouble and expense involved.
Likewise, I believe I could go for SIngle Vehicle Approval (SVA) or a variant = IVA. Again expensive and not easy requiring professional inspections etc.
Any other ways to solve the problem ? Surely there must be something not too difficult nor too expensive.
Alternatively, could I just go to a DVLA Office ( before they all close at Christmas) , with Customs import papers, application for registration of imported car etc. etc. & play dumb on the Type Approval, on the grounds the car is over 30 years old ? Problem is that I understand that the Type Approval came in during 1975, so they may not play ball.
Thanks for any relevant advice on this problem. John M. Saunders
BTW when I do get thhis 1981 TR8 on the road over here, I will arguably be the only person who has a car from the start of the line - TR2 TS 14 OHP 242 & one of the last of the line with this TR8.
-
HI there, Dont know if it helps, but the registration 277 BOX would have been issued in Birmingham July / aug 1960. This of course does not match a TR2,nor even a Francorchamps. The car could have been registered or re-registered then, which used to happen enough in those days. Can you tell whether it was a RHD or LHD car ? I cannot tell from the pic. I would have thought that all Francrchamps would be LHD, but I can find out about that.
All in a bit strange - maybe not a genuine car, but something composite ?
Hope this help, John S
-
The seats of popular choice seem to be the Mazda MX5 seats. They have a higher back / headrest and sit low to he floor probably lower than normal TR seats. By repute they are straight forward to fit. Some have speakers built into the headrest & other mods.
Hope tha helps & someone with more knowledge of them can advise. Cheers, JOhn S
-
If you click on the welsh filing reference below the pic. you will find that photo is one of three. All are interesting and one is a front view. The car is a bit of a mystery at present, as I am unable to match the spec. of the car to the records for the early cars. However, it must be before TS 140. I do wonder if it is a very early car retro fitted with wire wheels.
Further, if you check on the welsh site itself there are a considerable number of TR2 even TR3 pics. from the same source. One of a TR2 in a repair garage, front fully stripped, o/s front inner wing dented, being rebuilt. Another out on a rally track, or rough green lane. well worth looking around.
Cheers, John S
-
Hi Rod, Apologies if my first response didnt clear up your query. I will try again.
Firstly to the best of my recollection there is no reason why a girling nine inch drum will not fit a lockheed nine inch set up. I seem to recall doing exactly that, because they could be found in better condition, but it was some time ago.
Secondly, your real query seems to be about replica (Japanese)drums and fitting to Lockheed. These drums have only become available relatively recently, so there is not much info. around about them. I would suggest that the problem is likely to be that they will be thicker around the centre than your ordinary drum. Also they may use a different fixing instead of the ordinary slot screws that hold your TR drum in place. You may therefore have to flare the end of the hole where the screw is fitted in, to take your original screws.
BUT one thing for sure, the person most likely to know about these Japanese drums is Tony Sheach. The other possibility would be TR Enterprises. Simon ( and of course Steve), who are well into Racing, should have knowledge of what is involved and even whether it is worth while.
Hope this helps this time. Cheers, JOhn S
-
Hi Rod,
The 9 inch and ten inch rear brake assemblies are interchangeable, but only as a set. By that I mean that the back plate, drum and brake linings are unique to either the 9 or ten inch and cannot be interchanged with the other size. Also brake shoe springs are larger and heavier duty on the ten inch set compared to the nine inch items..
A few parts such as the wheel cylinders, are the same. wheel hubs are the same, so you change over the two sets on the axle.
As you will note from above, yes a nine inch Alfin can be fitted, but only to the nine inch back plate and nine inch brake shoes. Similarly a ten inch Alfin only fits the ten inch. The ten inch brake shoes are significantly larger, than the nine inch, tho, not much, if any, on the width.
For what it is worth, for originality or Concours purpose, fit the correct original size. The nine inch are not common these days. For efficiency fit the ten inch size !
Hope this explains it for you. Cheers, JMS
-
A related question please, what would be the 'correct' orientation of an adjustable wheel, that is, with the front road wheels aimed straight ahead?
would it be like this: Y or inverted?
According to my understanding, reinforced with the pic. in the S-T workshop manual, the wheel spokes would be an upright Y. Note this is probably not so difficult on an adjustable wheel, which you can take off & slot on to make it in the right position. For the conventional wheel which is on a keyway, the only way is to adjust the track rods one sode or the other until the wheel is straight again.
My own car which has adjustable column has the wheel crooked sinbce when it was rebuilt. Must get round to iit one day, but car is off road at this moment anyway.
Cheers, John S
-
Hi Alec,
The adjustable steering column is a different animal to the fixed. The inner projects about four to six inches further out of the oter casing. Yes it is also noticeably a bit wider, tho' cannot tell you by how much. The main difference is that it is differently fixed. The adjustable has many narrow splines, whilst the fixed is different ( keyway from memory). The Mayflower wheel should fit the standard TR2 etc. column.
The steering wheels are completely different and not interchangeable. Dont forget, if you need an adjustable steering wheel, then there are various other bits to get. The sensor tube is different and fixes differently to the steering wheel centre. There is a large tapering spring below the wheel to cover up the splines. There are two special ends to the spring as well. A lot of fiddling around & not so easy. Believe me I know to my cost as I changed my TR2 from fixed to adjustable type thinking the wheel was all I needed. As a matter of interest, the adjustable wheel if fully extended will go several inches further towards the driver. Who needs an airbag ?
Didnt I ask you a bit ago whether you needed a fixed or adjustable wheel? In fact I can set you up with an adjustable wheel, but fixed I cannot help. Send me an email or give me a call.
Cheers,
JOhn S
-
Hi there,
Please note that the spare wheel fit is a well known problem with all sidescreen TR's. You should be aware that the car originally had a tyre that was the size of the 155 x 15 ( 5.20 x 15), not the 165 x 15 (5.60 x 15). The normal solution was to fit the smaller 155 x 15 tyre which would fit inside the spare wheel compartment UNLESS the boot floor has been pushed in as commonly found. Anyway, I have fitted a 155 x 15 ok into my TR2 spare wheel compartment.
Please note that I suspect that the 60 spoke wheel will fit with the smaller tyre, but I am not promising that.
BTW be aware that the 155 is not a commonly available size of tyre so you may have to search around. My TR2 has Vredestein's all round & they used to make a 155 size. They were all affordable, look good in traditional size, but I think the 155 was a special order - not in stock.
Using the samller size in an emergency has no apparent effect on the handling,is legal to my knowledge, but like the small space savers, I would not encourage use for long periods of time.
Hope all this helps. Cheers, JOhn S
-
Hi Colin,
Probably doesnt add much, but for your information,the Registration was issued in Newcastle upon Tyne in June/July 1959, making the car chassis number in the 52, to 55,000 series.
Have you tried checking on MY RAC, or the DVLA website, they can tell you if a regn. number is known. May not be on the same car tho'.
Best of luck in your search,
John M. Saunders
-
Nick,
If you fit secondhand halfshafts you should have no trouble as long as you replace with the same side i.e fit a nearside from another axle into your broken nearside, or offside in offside. The logic behind this is that they are identical when new, but after a while you get a level of twist, sometimes visible at the inner end splines. If you continue using one that has run that side, then there seems to be no problem. Change them over and they snap like carrots. If you buy one loose, then sometimes you can spot which way the twist is going by looking along the inner splines. otherwise take a chance, but buy two !
Of course, similarly when rebuilding your axle , make sure nearside half shaft stays on the nearside !
Not sure about oil seal failure, it ruins your brakes, but I dont believe that it affects your halfshaft life.
In my experience, looked after, they will go on forever. Certainly I am reasonably certain that my 1955 TR2 is on its original halfshafts after 180,000+ miles.
All the best,
John M. Saunders
-
Hi there,
Excuse me if I have missed a point, but normally the Heritage Certificate from Gaydon, or The Factory Trace (from Bill Piggott) will state exactly what was originally fitted to your car. You can almost always then get a good match to that colour.
The various books do state the options available in years, but yes from timne to time bizarre choices were made by the customer and the Factory built - no doubt at a price!
All the best with your rebuild
John M. Saunders
TR2 - TS14- OHP 242
TR2 VWA 65 ( on road!)
-
Hi there,
I have done quite a bit of work with these infernal catch systems. This was necessary to get TS2 correctly original and now I am restoring TS14, so will do the same with that. Even with the correct parts it was a nightmare to fit - ask TR Enterprises. It took them about one complete day and more than one person, merely to fit the sytem and make it work. I do suggest building in a fall back pull attached to the middle cable across the rad. Otherwise, when they go wrong, and they will, you will end up only able to open the offside catch, or if really unlucky , not even that. I recommend that you do fit quality replacement cables as this gives some hope instead of using the tired old ones.
You also need to be certain that the brackets on the inner wings are lined up as original and also that the plate over the top of the bracket bolting across the mechanism is adjusted correctly, is the right profile and not too worn.
I was one of the people who suggested Montego pins some years ago, tho' they may need modifying e.g. thinning down. You will of course need two. For the catches, suggestions included the lock off the later TR4a. I cannot confirm whether that does work, or not. Note that I seem to think that you needed a longer pin - like the montego, hence you could not use the whole mechanism. The only other suggestion which I have is that you look around at one of the Classic car shows and see whether you can spot something similar under other contemporary cars e.g. the MGA ( ok yes I have now washed my mouth out, mentioning MG's in this section). The catch systems turn up from time to time esp. in old boxes of parts and the people do not know what they are. So keep looking in the autojumbles.
I do have more than one set of catches for TS14 (Factory photographic & press Car OHP 242) and may be able to let people see what the originals look like, with a Jpeg. However, do NOT ask me to lend or sell you one, as there is NO WAY that I will let anything go until I have a set fitted and working on TS14. Even then, spares may be vital to keep. This stage of the project is probably still twelve months away, tho' I hope to have TS14 back painted sometime in the spring.
Hope this may help people a little.
Finally, I note one contributor has TR2 LDB 400. If he gets in touch with me I can tell him a little about the discovery of that car which I found near Cambridge. My contact email is johnmsaunders@hotmail.com.
All the best,
John M. Saunders
-
Hi There all you S-T experts,
Can anyone supply me with some info. I have acquired a rather nice Wooden cigar box with The Standard Triumph Badge and the initials J.C.P. professionally engraved into the top. It appears to date from the 1950's. The box turned up in the Yeovil area in a house clearance sale.
I would like to discover more about it and Jim Parkinson seems a candidate for the initials and he was a senior person at Standard Triumph in the1950's. I know that he died last October, but do not know where he retired to.
Can anyone confirm that Jim Parkinson was indeed J.C.P. or else supply a name with those initials? Did he retire to the Yeovil area ?
Also does anyone know of of any more of these boxes which have survived and what is the story about them ?
All info. will be much appreciated.
Final note, please do not ask, it is NOT for sale !
Thanks for your help, John S
-
Hi Trevor,
Just to add a comment. I am a very enthusiastic TR2 owner/researcher, but I am well aware of their faults. For originality you need the correct type of mirror, which is available if you search.The glass is likely to be lacking the silver, but you can replace the glass with care. However, I should warn you that they are the most useless pice of kit going.
The solution is to find a car acessory shop which sells the suction mirror used by Instructors of Learners. Put this above the authentic one and at least you will see a little of what is going on behind you. If you enter a Concours event it is a quick action to remove it.
You may get some (not a lot) help from wing mirrors and you can sometimes get a mirror to clip on to the chrome insert next to the stanchions. This may not go well with sidescreens however.
Hope this helps. All the best with your TR2 restoration.
John S.
-
Hi there,
No info. to give you about the fate of your car, but are you certain about the Regn.? 788 BTB was issued in Lancashire in 1957 according to Glasses Guide to Registrations. Your car may have been re-registered of course, but as a long door, it should have been registered pre October 1954 approx. Dont know if this helps.
If you want to learn more about the car from this registration,(presuming it is correct) then if you contact the Preston Archives Offices, then they will supply you with whatever details they have. Phone 01772 263034, fax 01772 263050.
all the best,
john S
-
Hi There,
It depends what your thermostat housing is like. The early (1953/4) TR2's had what is known as a double thermostat housing . This is a very large lump of aluminium, with originals rare, expensive and corroded to hell. An enthusiast/ specialist in Holland has had some remanufactured, which are very good, but they work out at something like £300 each. The later type for TR2/3's are probably available through Moss, but I would not have thought that they would be the same as yours.
My father had a 1953 Triumph Renown PWJ 509. Fine car, we went all over Europe (even yugoslavia) in it late 50's early 60's. happy memories. Wonder what happened to it. Last known of in Sheffield circa 1970.
Hope some of this may help. If you want to know more about the early thermostat housings and to contact Hans Kooy contact me on johnmsaunders@hotmail.com
All the best,
John S.
-
Hi James,
Sounds fine to me. I am sure you will haggle hard by telling the seller that it is 'only' a hybrid !
All the best,
John S.
-
Hi James,
These changes occurred at 60,000 odd and whilst it is possible that a car close to that number could have the 'incorrect' features, a car at 71,000 should definitely show the items as described in Bill's book. Explanation could be that it has had a complete shell change for some reason - accident damage, rot perhaps etc. However, the Americans do seem to have a fair number of cars floating round on wrong papers/ chassis numbers/EB numbers. No real idea why, but they just do. I doubt they are stolen or anything like that. Incidentally, very many years ago I bought in England (and later sold) a TR3a where the chassis no. did not match the later spec. When I referred back to the seller later on he said they bought two cars from a scrapyard and made one out of two. Same in the States perhaps ?
It would be interesting to know the engine number on this car as it should be within about 1000 of the chassis no.
Does it matter ? I cannot say it worries me particularly, but what do you plan to do with the car ? If you are aiming for concours, then no chance. However, if you want a good car to use, then if it is ok to restore,haggle the price down and away you go.
Interesting to see reactions to this 'heresy' from other
people.
All the best with your purchase of a 3a
John S.
-
HI Mychael,
I can give you some information about your registration. JYD was issued in Somerset approx Nov. 1960, which appears to match the date of your car. JYO is not listed (at that time), so is unlikely.
If you want to find more about the Registration, first owner etc. then the records are held at Somerset Record Office, Taunton (01823 278805). I have phoned them for you and yes they will supply you with a cpoy of details that they have. The cost will be up to £11 and they will post to Australia. Their email address is :_
Hope you have success.
all the best,
John S.
FOR SALE Triumph TR2 1954 Longdoor LHD US import
in TR2/3/3A/3B Forum
Posted
For Sale. 1954 Longdoor TR2; TS 2453L; LHD recent USA import, with full papers & S_T Search. Nice complete, unmolested car, with long doors & wire wheels. Body & chassis sound, well restorable car. Needs floors, sills, seats. Only selling due to change of plans.
Asking £6500.
More info./ to view: phone john saunders 01594 510953. Viewed Newnham Gloucester
Separately available : new unused hood, tonneau, seat trimming set etc.