BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted October 15, 2020 Report Share Posted October 15, 2020 From Motor Sport April 1957 Any takers for a repeat challenge? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richardtr3a Posted October 15, 2020 Report Share Posted October 15, 2020 How did they drive so far in less than 48 hours and get great mpg? It was a real team effort. Fantastic. Richard & B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted October 16, 2020 Report Share Posted October 16, 2020 Lands end to John o groats is the up hill way too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikej Posted October 16, 2020 Report Share Posted October 16, 2020 Pedant's Corner: Land's End carpark is 173.9ft ASL whereas John O'Groats' car park is a mere 19.7ft. So it's down hill! Sorry, but could not resist looking it up! M Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted October 16, 2020 Report Share Posted October 16, 2020 I tend to agree with Hamish. If you take a globe, and place a ball bearing at Land’s End, you have to push it uphill to John O'Groats'. However, once at John O'Groats' all you have to do is let go of the ball bearing and it will roll down to London. From that I guess that the TR involved in the “Race” simply turned his engine off at John O'Groats' and did not need to use any petrol until he reached London. Charlie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mick Forey Posted October 16, 2020 Report Share Posted October 16, 2020 Still a pretty impressive achievement. Mick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richardtr3a Posted October 16, 2020 Report Share Posted October 16, 2020 Turning off the engine would be a big mistake. There would be no power steering?? Richard & B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted October 16, 2020 Report Share Posted October 16, 2020 1 hour ago, Richardtr3a said: There would be no power steering?? Ah… Of course… And the air conditioning compressor would have no longer worked. (Could be a problem passing through the “Jet stream belt”.) And the brake servo would have no vacuum. (Tricky joining the Finchley Road from the Hendon Way without power assisted brakes.) Charlie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ralph Whitaker Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 Couldn`t possibly do it now. You can find an Auster, and we have plenty of TRs, but in the sky there are no roadworks or speed cameras, the plane would easily win. Ralph. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Hogan Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 I'm not so sure the plane would win. If you planned the journey correctly so that you hit the built up areas of Manchester and Birmingham at the right time, ie around midnight, then it ought to be able to maintain a steady speed. Bearing in mind there were no motorways back then it was a very impressive result for the TR3. As for the Auster, where did it take off and land? They must have used old RAF airfields like St Just at Lands End and Wick at Kohn O'Groats as they are the closest to those destinations and if so did the pilots drive to and from those airports or use 'public transport' like the Top Gear team did year later on one of their races? Now there's a worthy challenge for next year. Any takers? hogie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Hogan Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 PS where has the edit button gone? hogie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 18 minutes ago, Paul Hogan said: PS where has the edit button gone? The three little dots on the top right of your post Paul. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 1 hour ago, Paul Hogan said: I'm not so sure the plane would win. If you planned the journey correctly so that you hit the built up areas of Manchester and Birmingham at the right time, ie around midnight, then it ought to be able to maintain a steady speed. Bearing in mind there were no motorways back then it was a very impressive result for the TR3. As for the Auster, where did it take off and land? They must have used old RAF airfields like St Just at Lands End and Wick at Kohn O'Groats as they are the closest to those destinations and if so did the pilots drive to and from those airports or use 'public transport' like the Top Gear team did year later on one of their races? Now there's a worthy challenge for next year. Any takers? hogie. With an Auster they would have just used fields adjacent to each site back then. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 I don't think that 43mpg is out of order. I seem to recall that the TRs racing (not touring) in the Le Mans 24 hours managed over 30mpg, and a TR on the Mobil Economy Run achieved over 70mpg - but that was using clever dodges (over-inflate tyres, engine not running when travelling downhill etc). When travelling at a steady touring speed, the early TRs were amazingly efficient and economical. I tried to find the exact figure for Le Mans, but have forgotten where it appears amongst all the books sitting behind me. I feel sure someone else will find it. Ian Cornish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mike ellis Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 More details here. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mick Forey Posted October 17, 2020 Report Share Posted October 17, 2020 On our trip to Nordkapp, Norway in June 2015 in the TR3 we did 3,598 miles in three weeks and averaged 41.09 mpg. A lot of driving in Norway was restricted to 80 or 90 km/hr which helped the fuel consumption. Lots of speed cameras to keep you vigilant as the fines were heavy, as some of the group found out. Mick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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