2 questions Alternator conversion and rear shocks

[pace]

Has anyone converted their TR3 from generator to alternator and if so, what alternator, mountings, etc did you use?

Is it possible to replace the orig lever arm shocks with tube type shocks?

 

[SCguy]

There is a tube shock conversion kit being sold on E-bay of the early TR4. I'm not familar with anyone who has tried it though.

If it doesn't work on a TR3, I would think you could contact the seller as they state that they are the ones making these.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TR4-solid...sspagenameZWDVW

 

[martx-5]

I haven't got to this point in my restoration yet, but I will be putting in an alternator. The one to use is the Delco 10SI...Lester catalog number 7127-3. The -3 indicates the clock position at three. The amperage output for this unit is generally 63 amps, which is more then enough for the TR3, considering that the original generator put out a whopping 22 amps. There will be some futzing with the mounting of the unit, but the big problem is the pulley. If you want to retain the wide belt, you will most likely have to have your generator pulley bored out to 17mm, as the original generator pulley is 15mm. There are conversion kits on e-bay with the wide pulley for about $140, but you should be able to get a rebuilt Delco for a lot less. The wiring is pretty straight forward, and if you go on Dan Master's site... https://www.advanceautowire.com/, and look at the instructions for putting in his wiring harness for the TR3, he will explain how to wire in the Delco alternator and how to handle the ammeter with the excessive amperage.

I haven't seen any tube shock conversions for the TR3, but I'm working with Tony at Ratco to come up with something.

Edit: If you put in an alternator, you will also have to change over to negative ground. Not a big deal, but a few wires will have to be swapped.

 

[Alan_Myers]

Hi,

Conversion to an alternator is pretty easy. martx-5 gives you a good overview about using the very easy-to-find and inexpensive Delco unit (I bought a rebuilt one locally for $50-55 without a core to exhange). I've got one installed in my TR4, which is identical to your TR3 as far as engine and generator. Biggest problem you might have is finding enough room for the alternator next to the inner fender on your car, so you might keep looking for others who have converted a TR3 specifically.

Do add wiring to accomodate the additional power output. Dan Masters surely addresses this, but I think it worth repeating here. You can either replace the main wire with something much heavier or double up with a second wire to carry all the extra juice. The single original wire just isn't heavy enough to carry the load.

Yes, you'll need to convert the alternator to use the wide belt, if the route you are choosing is to keep the original style belt. I converted to a thin belt at the same time (less drag on the engine, easier on the bearings in the water pump and alternator) and it all was part of installing an electric cooling fan on the radiator, completely deleting the existing fan from the front of the engine. So, my installation also includes a harmonic balancer/crankshaft pulley combo that replaces the fan extension (which originally also served to help dampen engine vibration and is important to keep, even if the fan is removed, unless a true dampener is installed in its place).

There are some photos of the installation of the alternator on my TR4 engine, at the link below, if you want to see how it looks.

If you search the archives here you will find several previous discussions with more details about converting to an alternator.

There are also several very detailed and well illustrated articles out on the Internet that cover the subject. If you do a search, I suggest you look also for TR4/4A, since the engine, generator & mountings are all essentially the same.

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[Alan_Myers]

Hi again,

Forgot to mention...

Frankly, assuming you are using the original style multi-leaf springs on the rear of your car (anything else would be very unlikely), I see little reason to convert to tube shocks on TR3 (or TR2-TR4). One possible reason would be that tube shock replacements might be easier to get, assuming a fairly standard one were used in any conversion. However, in terms of performance they won't make much difference and the Armstong levers are pretty durable and aren't difficult to service or repair, if needed.

The reason I think the later cars with IRS and coil springs on the rear will benefit from tube shocks and the earlier leaf-springed cars won't is really pretty simple. The leaf springs have some dampening of their own, built-in, that occurs when the leaves rub against each other. This is just inherent in the design and can't be avoided. One result of this is that the shock doesn't have to work all that hard to control the movement of the rear suspension, so lever shocks seem to work fine.

Now, it's a different story on coil spring suspended cars, which most seem to feel really improve by switching to modern tube shocks.

One exception would be a mono-leaf spring. This would be a custom-made spring for TR2 through TR4 (and TR4A live axle cars), and isn't something you would normally find. Mono-leaf springs are only recently becoming more available and they do not have the inherent rubbing action, leaf to leaf, like multi-leaf do. In this case only, would I consider tube shocks to be a really worthwhile upgrade for the earlier cars.

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