TR2/3/3A '56 TR3 Brakes and rear axle advice

[jwolff]

I have an early '56 TR3 with drum brakes which I was planning on upgrading the front to disc brakes (I've already gathered most of the necessary parts for the conversion using Toyota calipers)and was also planning on replacing the rear axle with the stronger Girling setup (I had one lined up this summer to purchase locally from John Herrera but didn't make it up in time). I'm starting to think now that I should probably keep the original Lockheed setup as it is an original wire wheel car and sell off the disc brake conversion stuff I had already purchased. My questions are: is the braking really that much better with disc brakes compared to drums all around and is the Lockheed rear axle as bad as I've read and heard (after seeing Eric's recent post I'm guessing maybe it is)? My tub is off of the frame so now seems the best time to tackle this project. Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any advice,
Jason

 

[Andrew Mace]

As for the axle, yes, the "Lockheed" axle shafts were somewhat more fragile. OTOH, if the car is seldom driven "at the limits," then you might have nothing to worry about. (Could be that this is the first failure in 55 years on Eric's car?)

As for the brakes, the big advantage of the front discs (IMO) is not so much improved braking capability, but resistance to fade under repeated, stressful use (think descending a winding mountain road). The other arguably major advantage is that the front discs eliminate four of the six adjustment points in the braking system. Beyond that, a properly set up and adjusted Lockheed system should be fine for most normal driving; if you plan to be more aggressive in your enjoyment of the car, upgrading might be a good idea all around. Keep in mind that you pretty much need to change everything, including all the lines and fittings (and you may or may not need to fabricate some brackets for the different front hoses, etc.?), and I'd definitely go for the Girling master cylinder setup as well.

I'm sure others will have slightly differing opinions.... :wink:

 

[jwolff]

Thanks Andy! Since the car came to me in a bit of a mess with a 3A front apron, TR4 master cylinders, holes cut out in the rear valence for indicator lights and quite a bit of rust I figured the best bet at my skill level would be to make it a driver. I've since located a small mouth front apron (if anyone needs is interested in a 3a apron let me know), welded in metal to fill the holes cut out in the rear valence as well as completed all of the rust repair in the tub.

Guess I'm wondering if it would just be easier at this point to keep the majority of the brake system original (I don't have a Lockheed master cylinder to work with, but do have a good Girling MC setup). But since the brake lines need to be replaced and the drums need to be rebuilt I'm thinking I should forge ahead with my original plans and place another wanted ad for a Girling rear axle. If anyone has one fairly local to Northern Virginia please let me know, I'd prefer one with 9" drums but not too picky.

 

[6969ronin6969]

As the unfortunate recepient of what is looking like a half shaft failure on a Lockheed axle it is certainly annoying. However, as Andrew said this very well could be the first time this axle has broken. It's certainly the first time for me, and I drive pretty regularly and at a decent pace so I'm not babying the car.

I completely agree with Andrew, it depends on what you want to do with the car. If it's more a weekend fun car and you are trying to restore to an origianl level then you may want to keep the origonal setup, especially if it is a factory wire wheel car. If you aren't concerned about originality, then some modifications could offer the benifits Andrew outlined above. My car was originally 4 wheel drum, but a PO had already converted to front disks with TR3 calipers. (I'm still running the 1 piece Lockheed axle obviously...) I've still got the 1 piece master cylinder. With this set up the brakes work just fine. I've driven a 4 wheeled drum TR3 before and as Andrew pointed out, for daily low key driving they work just fine, I didn't notice much difference, but they will fade quicker than disks.

Good luck!

Eric

 

[jwolff]

Thanks Eric and good luck to you!
I think I've talked myself back into my original plans to modify the car while the body is still off of the frame (I'll keep the original stuff for down the road in case I decide to take the car back to original when I have more money and time).

I've placed a want ad here in case anyone has any leads: https://www.britishcarforum.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=418

 

[TR3driver]

Just to present the opposite experience, I owned a TR3 with front drums and never could get them to work to my satisfaction. They were "okay", but just never as good as my other TRs (which have all had front disc brakes). Seemed like they always wanted to pull to one side or the other and rarely the same way twice, which made having to stop suddenly an exciting experience every time. Unfortunately, living here in the Los Angeles suburbs, having to stop suddenly is a frequent occurrence. I guessing that Ashburn is close enough to DC that you know what I'm talking about, but maybe not.

 

[jwolff]

Good to hear about Randall... certainly helps with this decision. I am close enough to DC to know what you are talking about. I would like to drive this car a lot, even to work every once in a while so stopping quickly and without drama would be a big plus.

 

[CinneaghTR]

You should call Team Triumph in Ohio to see if they have the bits you need. Getting a replacement TR4A solid rear to the DC area was not prohibitive (but it is true that I needed one...).