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Hello all Tr2 owners,

I would like to introduce myself as I am now the very proud owner of a Beautiful 1955 Tr2. I have been a member of the register for over twenty years as I have owned a 1975 TR6 since 1998. 

The 2 has been well looked after by the previous owner who bought the car back in 1997. it was resprayed last year, has a Hard top, unleaded head, new wire wheels & tyres, hi torque starter motor, front disc brakes, new master cylinder & petrol pump amounts many other bits and pieces.

The engine bay lets it down a bit but the real problem is it has not been driven much over the past five to ten years. I am no mechanic, so please excuse the daft questions I may ask in the future. I can do the easy stuff but I use a pro when more difficult jobs come along.

As fully expected it has developed a few problems now that I am driving the car on a regular basis. The biggest one being the radiator. It has a few stone chips which start to leak once the pressure builds up. I  fully expect to replace the radiator once further inspections have been carried out.

I have spotted on ebay and amazon, TR2 aluminum 3 row radiators for £180, made by GPI racing who I think are based in Netherlands. This seams to cheap to be true. 

Has anyone used this company or have any knowledge of these cheaper radiators. The rads on Moss and Rimmers come in at around £500.

Any advice on who sells the best radiators for the best price would be most welcome.

I have attached a photo the TR2 and of the ad on Amazon.

Kind regards

Grant Coulson

 

 

 

TR2 Photo.pdf TR@ Rad.pdf

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Dont bother with those rads theyre cheap for a reason, biggest one is they dont fit and are very cheaply made. This guy makes really nice Ally ones if you want to go down that route https://www.facebook.com/captaincoll/

Stuart.

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Even better, try and find somebody local who knows how to rebuild a rad. ! Unfortunately they are a dying breed. We are lucky enough where I live that we have avery good one , who has even taken on an apprentice. It might be worth considering doing away with the hole for the starting handle, a useful gain in cooling capacity for us folks with 3As, but maybe not so necessary for a TR2

james

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Hi Grant,

Welcome to the best TR ownership (Tongue in cheek)now you can live a fuller life.

You have got what looks to be a very nice car and a comparatively early one. if it was me I would always have the original radiator re-cored . The alloy ones are very fragile and stones damage them for fun.

As a self admitted non mechanic you need to be aware that changing a radiator whilst on the surface is a relatively easy task there are some technical difficulties. A search through recent posts will provide details.

With the assistance of the forum we can assist you to become a competant novice and the pleasure you get from the achievement will keep you warm all winter.

Please supply a picture of the engine bay for further advice.

Rod

Edited by Rodbr
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Grant, welcome.

I agree with Bob - get your existing unit re-cored - without the starting handle hole (unless you really really want to keep it).

I used Guildford radiators in Cranleigh for mine, but if you are in Kent, then there is 'Bryan and Sons Radiator Service and Petrol Tanks' listed in my Southern Classics magazine. They are located at 165a Camden Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 2RF. Tel. 01892 544635.

Southern Classics is a multi-marque car club with members across the South and South East. Firms listed in the mag have been recommended by members, but Southern Classics are  careful to say that the club has not validated any firm listed.

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Grant,

Most definitely have your old rad rebuilt.

I'm in West Malling.If you need someone to recore your radiator, 

Regal Rads in East Farleigh will do the job.Ring Steve on

07507230274.He's old school.Last time I was in with my TR2 rad,  he was

reassembling a radiator for a Centurian tank.He's also REASONABLE!

Good luck

Roger M-E 

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I also agree that a re-core of your existing rad would be a better quality solution than any new product. The main weakness of the radiator is the filler extension.  The uninitiated lean on the filler neck when doing up the radiator cap or inspecting the engine. This causes small cracks where the filler neck joins the radiator body. Ask the radiator specialist to strengthen this area by adding small fillets. With this mod it will last you another 65 years.

Mick

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Good morning chaps

My apologies for the slow reply, I'm currently working down in Southampton on the England v Pakistan test match for Sky. despite the inclement weather its been a very busy couple of days.

Thank you for all your suggestions and tips, I really appreciate your help.

I live in Horton Kirby, a small village in Kent, ten minutes from Brands Hatch. I will definitely do away with the hole for the starter and give the guys you have suggested a ring re a re core.

Bob, the only photos I have of the engine are 18 months old when I first went to look at the car. Other than a new master cylinder and Petrol pump nothing else has changed. I have attached a couple of photos.

Does anyone know which wing mirror I can use which attaches to the windscreen frame. I am reluctant to use mirrors on the wings as I really like the flow of the wings. All the mirrors at Moss and Rimmers appear to be wing mirrors. I do not feel safe just using the tiny rear view mirror.

Thanks again, for your help. i am sure I will be in touch with other problems in the future.

Grant

 

TR2 Engine 3 .pdf TR2 ENGINE FEB 2019.pdf

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post-12009-0-50740800-1496922500_thumb.jpg  post-12009-0-52177100-1496922502_thumb.jpg

Modified general purpose door frame mirror off ebay.  Choose one with convex mirror, not flat.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-CLAMP-CLIP-ON-CLASSIC-CAR-ROUND-OVERTAKING-PEEP-QUARTERLIGHT-CONVEX-MIRROR/321773155513?hash=item4aeb2cb4b9:g:K4oAAOSwKrhVbrv2

Bob.

Edited by Lebro
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The challenge is to find a mirror that attaches to the windscreen frame but does not foul on the sidescreen when opening the door - hence, Bob's modification.

There are numerous mirror options and preferences if you search this forum. This is my arrangement but there are many others.

IMG_8019.jpg.91e95630186b95170b02fe17e87c4a14.jpg

Miles

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Grant,

The Australian TR Register has a member who produces a Dzus mounted mirror which goes on the base of screen stanchion. Very neat.

Unfortunately he will only ship within Australia, so you need someone there who will receive it and forward to the UK. All a bit of a faff, but really tidy.

Chris

 

7173A21F-0EF2-43C4-B88E-6F4484BEEFE8.jpeg

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Hi Chris,

Great for a hot climate where you don't fit sidescreens. I doubt there is room to open the door with a sidescreen fitted with them mounted on the rear most fasteners.

I have Harley Davidson ones on my 3A but the threaded type.

Rod.

PS Pics on the way tomorrow.

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4 hours ago, cjstoodley said:

Grant,

The Australian TR Register has a member who produces a Dzus mounted mirror which goes on the base of screen stanchion. Very neat.

Unfortunately he will only ship within Australia, so you need someone there who will receive it and forward to the UK. All a bit of a faff, but really tidy.

Chris

 

7173A21F-0EF2-43C4-B88E-6F4484BEEFE8.jpeg

Pleased you like it Chris. I don't believe he has any left now.

Edited by John McCormack
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16 hours ago, Rodbr said:

Hi Chris,

Great for a hot climate where you don't fit sidescreens. I doubt there is room to open the door with a sidescreen fitted with them mounted on the rear most fasteners.

I have Harley Davidson ones on my 3A but the threaded type.

Rod.

PS Pics on the way tomorrow.

Hi Rod,

Actually the door opens fully against the door stay and the side screen just touches the mirror. Best solution I have seen which is why I went to a lot of trouble to get hold of one ! (Not all my doing though, John McCormack did most of the running around and organising on this - above and beyond the call of duty)

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  • 1 month later...

Thank you for all your advice on the radiator and wing mirrors. 

Thankfully I did not have to replace the radiator. It turned out to be a combination of Me over filling the rad, along with the thermostat and kenlowe fan not working. It didn't help that the overflow tube was drenching the rad making diagnosis very difficult. Why didn't Triumph fit a bottle in the first place ! The cooling system now works perfectly, well, for the time being !

Unfortunately due to work commitments I have only been able to spend a few hours working on the car in the past few weeks.

My biggest problem now is the indicators, they stopped working whilst I was test driving the car before I bought it. I didn't think it would be such a problem as my TR6 had the same problem. A dodgy earth was always the culprit but having checked all the connections to the lights i still have the problem. I bought a new switcher from Rimmers, still no luck. I can only think it is the actual lever on the steering wheel.

The symptoms are, The yellow light on the dashboard stays on all the time, the bulbs are all working when I switch the lights on but do not flash when I engage the indicator lever. Any ideas please chaps.

I also have a question about gear oil. I want to drain the gearbox and the diff. Can I use the same oil on both. I was thinking of  either Castrol Classic ST90 SAE90 Classic Mineral Gear Oil or Comma EP80W-90.

Can you also advise me which oil is best to top up the SU carburettors please.

My quest for the perfect wing mirror continues, thanks again for your advice.

Kind regards

Grant

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Won't advise on your electric question as most on here are more competent than I.

Your question on mirrors is subjective and only thee can decide what tha' likes.

For oils I've been using various SAE 90 in overdrive gearbox and diff for 49 years

james

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2 hours ago, Grant Coulson said:

the bulbs are all working when I switch the lights on but do not flash when I engage the indicator lever. Any ideas please chaps.

The indicator bulbs use different filaments from the sidelight so that doesn't add anything other than the earthing of the lights is probably OK.

The indicators on the  sidescreen cars have wiring that runs up inside the 'stator' tube in the steering column. There are a bunch of bullet connectors in the loom which exits from the end of the steering box and it is possible you have a bad connection there. You obviously have power to the flasher relay which is why the dash yellow lamp is lit, but there is a break somewhere downstream of that which is the power feed to the indicator switch in the steering wheel hub.  Does the horn work because that follows the same route? 

I suggest you start by checking those bullet connectors but if those are OK it gets slightly more complicated because getting. at the indicator switch in the 'control head ' requires some careful dismantling. 

Edited by RobH
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I think the problem must be more than a break in the wire, because the warning lamp should not come on at all unless at least one of the indicator lights come on.

I would check the flasher unit, is it ok, & is it wired correctly.

Bob.

Edited by Lebro
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Yes of course you are right Bob -  for the lamp to be on all the time it has most likely been connected to the normally-closed contact on the new flasher relay instead of the normally-open one, so probably just a matter of swapping the wires over on the P and L terminals. 

 

 

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Hi Rob, James and Bob,

Thanks again for your advice, I will check the bullet connectors tomorrow just to rule that one out. I hope it is the flasher unit as I do not fancy dismantling the steering wheel. I might have connected the wrong P & L terminals to the new unit. The horn does work.

Ill order some Castrol SAE90 for the Gearbox and diff, Thanks guys.

 

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