Ashley James
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Posts posted by Ashley James
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Epoxy isn't as good as oil for cooling coils, so is only used for applications where they might be shock damaged. PerTronix do one for Baja type racing for example. Therefore virtually all use oil. Bosch and Beru make special vacuum oil filled coils for use upside down on VW beetles.
You can tell I've had a lot of problems with coils.
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FWIW Pete Cox told me to replace the relief valve spring if the gauge did odd things.
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I'd love it!
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It is running rough. It maintains idle but roughly; any acceleration causes a backfire and it does not run any smoother. The distributor is an electronic 1-2-3 which has never given me a problem.
It might be timing but I suspect this is ignition and not carbs unless they're spitting back, rather than exhaust bangs.
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This is the correct adhesive. It's a bit like Evostik, but you can pull it off and reposition if you have to.
http://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/p-1263-heat-resistant-adhesive.aspx
You can also buy solvents to clean off the old stuff.
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Modern high temperature upholstery glue is incredibly effective and available from www.woolies-trim.co.uk in 1/2 litre tins. Don't use crappy aerosols, they don't work.
The original vinyl as on my TR3A was completely inflexible, didn't stretch and had the stitched bit around the steering column. Triumph had done an a amazing job, but it was torn and had unwanted holes through, so I bought half a hide of 1.7mm Brooklands, grained black hide from The Real Hide Company and we used that without the stitching round the steering column. My son helped me with the door cappings and the aluminium bit round the back and I think it looks good. He did all the interior panels for doors etc too using the same hide and marine ply. Leather does stretch and heating with a hot air gun will shrink it if you're careful.
John Skinners seats were the really difficult bit, not easy at all.
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Is it spitting through the carburettors, which means running very weak or is it backfiring which will be an ignition issue. Possibly an electronic fault in the distributor. It'd be a condenser in a normal distributor.
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It is a lovely old car.
Life is okay, but little bits of bad news and the pain she suffers are hard to cope with. Funnily enough this club has been quite a help and yet I don't go to as many events as I should.
I'm really sorry for taking the thread off course.
Ash
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Lee
I will do. As you can imagine I'm a bit unsettled at the moment.. Ash
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I agree with Jean because most people who want these cars are non technical and the best way to buy them is after someone else has spent a fortune having one rebuilt. They'll sell for less than the money spent and and be the best guarantee of reliable service you can get.
As a depressing example, my car probably cost me over £40,000 and it sure as hell won't make that
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Sorry to hear that Ash very sad
I know I have been there keep positive
Lee
Thanks Lee that's very kind indeed.
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I've got a similar problem. My wife has cancer in her spine and it's too painful for here to ride in mine, so it's in the factory at the moment where I can see it from my office. I love it and the body was restored by a good friend who died in the TT this year, so I don't know what to do. Getting old is a real pain.
Ash
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FWIW all shocks go up quick and come down slow, lever arms included.
My Bentley has larger and more complex ones than the Armstrongs and I've rebuilt them and revalved them to get the best ride and handling. I had to do the same with my Bristol.
Basically lever dampers are more complex and expensive to make. Therefore manufacturers switched to Teles and perfected them instead, but I agree with anyone who doesn't want to modify his car to fit Teles. It's not worth the effort IMO.
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Teles are pretty much universal on modern cars Tony and, as far as I know, no manufacturer, not even Morgan, uses lever arms any more. I have them on my cars, but it's easy to tell they aren't as good.
FWIW Bristol made their own Lever Arm dampers, they were a work of art and probably BMW originally, but they were discontinued around 1950 and replaced with superior teles.
It would be bonkers if things hadn't improved in the last fifty years.
PS. Don't you remember Morris Oxfords with the fronts bobbing up and down.
Having said all that, they're good enough for our old cars IMO.
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Hi Rich ~
Could that seat be from an Austin Healey?
Cheers ~
Tom.
No
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I'm sure that won't happen Pete, cos my Bentley doesn't and it's much better at overheating than any TR.
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I agree Don. My slight worry with the old type is that they might be old stock or made in small quantities and not very well. Same old story with lots of pattern stuff. At least with a new one it's a mass market product and likely to be okay.
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We didn't bother to restrict the bypass hose because there didn't appear to be a need. Fact is that for about a fiver anyone can test my theory for themselves and given the amount of rubbish that appears on the internet, that might be wise.
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To be fair Lever Arm dampers were never as good as modern teles, they didn't last as long and they're less good dampers to start with. Back on the sixties I was always having to buy them when the car was serviced. Fortunately they only cost £4-5, so although it was annoying, it wasn't the end of the world. However, given the mileage we all do these days and the slow speed of the always heavy traffic, they're probably good enough and last long enough.
I had to put four new ones on the Healey and two on the TR. There were Konis on the front of the TR and the near side one wanted adjusting up to match the offside, but there plenty of mileage in them still. They were new when the rears were.
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I'm not sure that is correct. I don't have a skirted thermostat in my Healey or my Bentley. I had all sorts of problems with the Bentley over years that were eventually traced back to a slow acting genuine R-R thermostat which, as you'd expect, is not like any other and costs £180. A Rolls Royce specialist chum who owns one like mine said that he hadn't used the genuine article for years, instead he paid a fiver for a Peugeot one. It comes with a rubber ring round it that makes it fit the larger diameter R-R hole.
Just as the Healey and the TR do, so Bentleys and R-Rs have a bypass hose that is cut off by the thermostat as it opens. Also because the engine weighs nearly double the TR and is more than twice the capacity, it gets frigging hot, especially in jams on hot summer days. Under all conditions, the Peugeot one keeps the engine a few degrees cooler than the £180 job and my son now suggests them as an alternative to customers who may well be driving in Spain or Southern Italy in high summer.
On our industrial estate is a Morgan specialist who offers both styles and he too is off the opinion that a modern thermostat without skirt is just as good as the original.
The problem is that with a clear block, a perfect water pump and radiator, all these old cars can get too hot in the hottest weather. The cooling system is a bit marginal, but in my experience, changing to a later and better Thermostat doesn't make things worse. It might be better because it reacts more quickly.
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I have a Fluke I use now and I've got used to it, but every now and then I look in the cupboard and see a Contax T2, an OM2n and loads of lenses and a flash etc, an AVO 8 and a very old Japanese Test meter as well. I should find a home for them, but the effort required.....
I didn't realise you could still sort a battery though. Thanks.
Ash
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R-R dampers rarely work as they should and their cranks are whippy, so at 62 mph on the motorway, you can make the crank actually roar, but on other cars you might just detect a vibration period at a certain speed if you're lucky. But it's unlikely to be as obvious as the one on the four cylinder TR engine.
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I was reminded of the symptoms of a failed capacitor on the motorway the others day. The car started misfiring and then popping and banging, which is the clue. In my case,the screw that held it down had come loose, so I didn't need the spare.
I also have an AVO 8 MkV if anyone wants to bid. Only problem is the 45 volt batteries are no longer available.
TR3a Squeaky Seats
in TR2/3/3A/3B Forum
Posted
Just make sure you're not being cruel to a small animal.