TR6 First few days with First triumph

[daverosscohen]

UPDATE:

Car arrived late Sunday night at a parking lot near my house. With a we bit of patience, it actually started up first try. None of the lights worked (brake, turn, headlights, interior etc) but my house was around the corner so i took it easy and limped home up to the garage where I parked it. Unfortunately that night was the beginning of a cold snap down here, and 15degree weather is 15 degree weather... not to mention the blower wasnt working and there was no heat in the car. View attachment 31318View attachment 31319

Monday, tuesday, wednesday passed and i was working all day, let alone the cold, didnt get a chance to do anything.


Thursday rolled around (yesterday) I had a day off work and even though it was 20 degrees MAX, I was kinda sad in the morning that it was too cold to drive a convertible. THEN i thought.. its MY CONVERTIBLE and i'll drive it if i want to. (i'm canadian, so I figured I would have been skiing in this weather) I fired her up (started first time) realized i'm missing a choke cable clip on the front carb, so only 1 was choking. I had no oil in the dashpots (might explain the boggy driving back from the car carrier.

Once she warmed up, I put on as many layers as i could fit, and I went for a cruise. Got all sorts of strange looks. My friend sent me a facebook post somebody sent to him... about me at the coffee shop! Answer: Canadian... View attachment 31317

And incredibly enough (having bought the car sight unseen... had a friend of a friend look at it for a minute) it drove really nicely. Oil in the Dashpots fixed any boggy low rpm sputtery business. Air in the fairly new looking tires (although perhaps a bit small for the car) after a bit of driving around the neighborhood i noticed the turn signal indicator flashing. I had a friend check the lights, and the brake lights were now working, turn signals were working (although all the lights very dimly) and the headlights worked when i held the broken switch on. Low beam were almost non existent, and high beams were like low beams.

It idles kinda high (1600rpm ish) and with the choke on it was close to 3000rpm. The brakes worked nicely (perhaps a wee bit mushy) steering is pretty good, (rubber things obvious on the steering column in the engine bay (name??) are definitely toast. There's a small "clunk" in the rear end when i let the clutch out, (ujoint?) View attachment 31321View attachment 31322

I drove around the neighborhood, running errands. Getting all sorts of looks. Shutting down the car to go inside, it firing right back up no problem. Just overall driving strong, All the gauges were saying the right things, (except for maybe the speedo, which might be 15mph fast... or is it ) and the exhaust was making all the right noises

By the afternoon (after warming my frozen fingers up at home) I took it out on to the freeway for a minute. Overdrive worked great, it engaged and disengaged kinda abruptly. I'm not sure what it's supposed to feel like. And i'm also not sure what the proper operating procedure is for it, 3rd/4th gear, If you use it as a "5th gear" then what good is having 3rd gear overdrive? At higher speeds at higher rpms it kinda sputters ever so slightly under acceleration. (mixture?)

I noticed there was a new master cylinder and a new water pump. I also noticed when i was filling the dashpots (having been reading up/watching youtube incessantly) that the top of the carbs weren't on the right way (PO installed the top with the notches facing front of the car) which makes me wonder how the rest of the carb is put together.

Other than the weak electronics (dash says a strong 12-13 volts) all is well. Car doesn't appear to have any leaks underneath and until it warms up, I'm not doing much to it. Am I foolish to keep driving it as is until something breaks, or is there some kind of british car imperative that I dismantle my new car even though it appears to be in good shape mechanically.

View attachment 31320

Anyways.. Just wanted to update and say that i'm OFFICIALLY an owner of what appears to be a really solid driver. Excited for the journey ahead.

-dave

 

[daverosscohen]

 

[DNK]

Welcome Dave- Need a refresher on attaching photos

 

[NutmegCT]

Hey - congratulations on the new member of the family!

Your description of the "surprises" means there's a good adventure ahead, sorting out the details.

One caution: I personally wouldn't do a lot of driving until I'd carefully checked out all the brakes (lines, hoses, cylinders, shoes, etc.) If it GOES, it sure better STOP.

You're on the way!
Tom

 

[NutmegCT]

PS - that photo of you in a parka, sitting in the driver's seat is GREAT!

 

[DNK]

The pic of the empty garage with the 6 is a good one.
You'll need all that space for repairs and spares!! :congratulatory:

 

[Marvin Gruber]

Dave
Your doing great! With any LBC you going to have a few things that need attention for a while. Don't think your going to hurt a thing but as Tom mentioned if brakes are a little iffy I'd start there first with repair. Hopefully just bleeding them will fix that. I'm in Florence, AL only 2 hours away so if you need something just PM.

Marv

 

[NutmegCT]

And in addition, may I highly recommend "Mickey's Magic Garage", located in beautiful Clarksville TN.

:banana:

 

[TR3driver]

Hey, Congratulations, Dave! Great feeling, isn't it?

Am I foolish to keep driving it as is until something breaks, or is there some kind of british car imperative that I dismantle my new car even though it appears to be in good shape mechanically.

I'd want some brake lights before doing too much driving; and give the brakes a good test to be sure that all 4 wheels are working. (Find a deserted stretch of dry road and see if you can lock all four wheels.) Otherwise, just drive it until spring or something breaks, whichever comes first.

Once the weather warms up, though, I'd go looking for that clunk. Breaking a U-joint can ruin your whole day; and having the diff tear loose from the frame isn't much better. Much easier to fix before something breaks.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Too Cold To Drive -- you are correct, it's your car and you decide if it's too cold to drive. I say 'never'. I do use a blanket over my legs for extra warmth, but then my TR4 has no heater and the TR3A is pretty open.

As noted, brakes and esp rubber brake lines are worth an inspection. I would suggest the same for coolant hoses and belts if those appear old. At the very least a spare belt and a means to repair a hose (super tape) could be in the boot.

You will want to investigate that clunk at some point. If you can get the car on a lift that might help -- also a good time to examine the diff & trailing arm mounts and check the thrust washers -- lots of posts on all these items.

As you suspect, overdrive is much more than just a 5th gear -- e.g. that 3rd gear OD you wondered about is often just the right choice for mountain driving. On steep twisty roads plain 3rd feels like too much and 4th can bog down a bit through the tight turns.

I know some think it is nuts to buy an old British car 'sight unseen' but that is exactly how I got two of mine. Both greatly exceeded my expectations but still not an approach that would suit everyone.

Enjoy the drive!

 

[George_H]

From someone who tore out a u-joint "many" years ago, you really don't want to do that. Its very very messy. I would make sure the brakes are OK as well. As far as driving till it breaks,Well thats going to happen anyway, So drive.

 

[trrdster2000]

Dave, Congrats and you are in for a great ride. The car looks great, sorry the weather is so bad, I'm having the same problem here in NC. Don't be temped to get it running in the garage because of the cold, just never a good idea. You do need to look at high RPM, hope you have a Synchrometer.

WE are all here to help, enjoy the car and make it a fix and go for as long as possible.

Wayne



pm

 

[TexasKnucklehead]

You also might want to check the date codes on those tires to see exactly how old they are (and check the spare). A tire coming apart at speed is another thing that can ruin your day.

Looks good. I hear you about these frigid temperatures. I actually had an icicle on my house today! Winter doesn't last long in Spring -it's supposed to be in the 70's by Sunday.

 

[mrv8q]

I'm with the other advisors; at least, pull the wheels and eyeball the brake cylinders and hoses for leaks, splits, etc.

Biggest help to the electrical system on my '6 was disassembling the fuse box and cleaning all the connections. Everything worked a whole lot better after that.

Good for you for enjoying her in the chilly weather. Summer's gonna be fun!

 

[poolboy]

Have you bought any Manuals ?

 

[tdskip]

BTW - not positive but think this is e first thread with a Twitter reference. Nice going Dave!