Starting a TR3B

[Don Elliott]

This is the valve for turning on the water going to the heater. If your engine stays cold or cool - say down at 135 degrees, you'll only get cool water (not hot) flowing into the heater under the dash. Reach under and open the two half-round flap doors to feel the heat. But you will only feel some heat if the engine gets to 195 degrees. If the valve stem is up then the valve is open and you should feel some heat. If the valve is turned down towards the bottom, it is closed.

 

Don Elliott, Original Owner, 1958 TR3A

This May will make it 52 years that I have owned my TR3A from new.

[TR3BGeorge]

HOOORAY.

The car started, no problem. A friend came over and sprayed 2 short squirts of GUNK "Thrust" (ether) on the carbs. Started right up. Drove it for 1 hour. Smooth as a cucumber. Oh what a sound. I didn't feel any heat though in the car. I thought I turned the little knob on the left to let heat in but I didn't feel it. It was 32 degrees today, no snow, no salt, just pure pleasurable driving.

Can't wait for SPRING.

 

"Frisky" Lady Sings the Blues

 

Hey GR (mind if I call you by your first name?), keep the heater valve open YEAR ROUND. The Triumph engine has circulation problems, PARTICULARLY IN CYLINDERS 3 & 4, so you want all the circulation you can get back there. Not to mention the extra quantity of coolant that it will require. Every little bit helps.

 

P.S. If you want heat in the cockpit in 30-degree weather WITH THE SIDECURTAINS OFF, you will need gasoline and a match. The quantity of gasoline will depend on how you feel about (a) your upholstery, and ( your skin. Personally, as a know-it-all Yank, I would put the sidecurtains on and leave the gasoline at home.

[GR8968]

Thank you Stuart, Don and George.

 

"Frisky"

[Menno van Rij]

WARNING!!!

 

 

If the heater valve has been shut for a while, it's very important to check the condition of the rubber hoses that are under the dashboard, between the scuttle and the heater!!!! These are known to perish. And when they leak, they're leaking boiling water on your knees... Better safe than sorry: check them and REPLACEthem when you are not sure about their condition!!

 

Menno

[BrianC]

Menno's warning is important and it's also a wise precaution to check the water level after opening the heater valve and running for a short time and then, if necessary, topping up and bleeding the system (plenty of advice already on the Forum on how to do this).

 

P.S. Don't forget to open the flaps under the heater - it has been known to happen (but not guilty personally )

Edited March 3, 2010 by BrianC

[ianc]

The fact that you need to squirt some very volatile fluid into the inlets to get the car started made me think of a few things.

 

A few years ago, the petrol companies in the UK produced Lead Replacement Petrol (LRP). It was extremely difficult to get the car to start with this stuff in the tank (the engine would spin, but not fire), and I quite agreed with Paul Hogan's description: Lousy Rotten Petrol! I managed to find real leaded petrol near my home, so, at considerable expense, that's what goes in the TR's tank - never any problems starting on that!

 

If modern unleaded petrol is left in the tank for some considerable time, the most volatile components seem to escape and what remains is something which the engine does not like as much, and so proves difficult to start.

 

If modern unleaded petrol sits in the pump and carburettors for a long time, it can leave a waxy deposit, and this could affect the fuel/air ratio - and that could making starting difficult. In 2009, I had to replace my second-hand motor mower after 30 years, and the new one has special procedures to deal with this problem caused by the fact that the mower is likely to remain unused for 5 months.

 

Ian Cornish

[BrianC]

If modern unleaded petrol is left in the tank for some considerable time, the most volatile components seem to escape and what remains is something which the engine does not like as much, and so proves difficult to start.

 

Just one of many reasons to use your TR regularly - all year round.

[TR3BGeorge]

Hello Frisky,

 

Rereading your last email, you mentioned turning the "little knob on the left." If you are talking the "big" knob on the left of your dashboard, this is the heater motor switch. It is a little strange for us Yanks, but SOP for the Brits:

 

Turn it completely counter-clockwise to turn OFF the blower motor. As soon as you turn it a little bit clockwise, it is "ON-MAX." Then, as you continue to turn it clockwise, the blower decreases, to a faint breath at maximum clockwise.

 

Here is a problem that you may or may not have. On my 1958 TR, there was a definitive CLICK when the switch was turned off or on. That switch was 3 years old. Now, I have a TR3B, where the switch is 40 years old. THERE IS NO CLICK to tell me whether the motor is on or off. I have to turn it all the way counter-clockwise to be sure that it is off. This is a nuisance in one sense: it is difficult to get maximum air, because if I turn it too far, I will turn it off. (Note: I have to be SURE every night that the knob is completely off, because the way the restorer wired the car, everything is HOT, with the ignition key off. One night, I ran down the battery because I left the heater switch on. This will be resolved when I have a new wiring harness installed, when my ship comes in. (see below))

 

Then again, I have a 160º thermostat in it, so I am not getting real hot air to begin with!

 

Enjoy your B. We have had two days of 60º weather, so I have put the sidecurtains in the trunk. Which will guarantee rain or snow.

 

P.S. That is another long-term goal I have, for when "my ship comes in:" to get a new heater rheostat switch that has the definitive "click."

[Richardtr3a]

Good luck. We have to admire someone taking on a TR3 with limited experience. You will find it good fun and there are many people to help you here.

The little lever on the side of the petrol pump is used to prime the carburettors with petrol. The pump is mechanical and driven only when the engine is turning over.The carburettors need to have a full float chamber and a hand priming job will leave more power in the battery for the spark. If you pump it a few times up and down you can feel the liquid being moved. When the float chambers are full it will feel different and you will not be able to feel any liquid pumping.

The choke cable will work more easily if it is only connected to the front carb.

It will also pull more easily if it is not squashed against the heater, if you have one.I moved my cable to a new position which is more in line with the hole in the bulkhead. This make a straight run and an easier operation. I had a switch for the spotlamps in that position and swapped them over.A new cable fully oiled up will help. It is designed to pull out without twisting. A half turn will allow a small locking nib to locate in the stem of the cable casing and leave the knob proud of the dashboard and two hands free for driving.A half twist back allows it to return to normal.This is sometimes worn out and people make up there own ways of holding it out, ie paper clip. It is possible for the jets to be slightly pulled down even when the choke knob is fully home on the dashboard. This will play havoc with your consumption. You can make sure by pushing the jets upwars . They are the little forked tubes which you can see being moved by the levers under the carbs when someone else is pulling the cable. A spring pulls the jet back up again when the cable is released.

 

Only strip down the carburettor jets if you have a kit of new seals and someone who has done it before to help. If the cork seals start to leak they are very close to the exhaust, and could be dangerous.

 

In summary 1, new cable in straight run. 2,Carburettors recent new seals.3, Operate on front carb only

 

Once started try and push the knob back in as soon as possible. The position of the accelerator is not so important and a bit open will help more mixture into the engine but will not affect the petrol pump.You may not need the choke at all in the summer.

 

We all hope you have fun and please ask for any more help as required. Good luck.