TR2/3/3A 7.68, outer tie rod

[Dr_Mike]

Seven and two thirds seems a very odd measurement to appear in a car manual, yet there it is. Does any one know where it came from, or is/was it just the actual measurement when the tracking was correct?
Without the recommend ballast ( 300 lbs., equivalent to one very fat person or two skinny, malnourished Brits) my car seems to toe out. Can be adjusted. Any ideas comments?

 

[TR3driver]

That's my guess. Furthermore, someone measured it as 19.5 cm, then converted to inches for the manual.

The actual toe angle is much more important, and the resulting tie rod length dependent on so many manufacturing variables, that there is no earthly reason to give a measurement to .01 inches. +/- .5 cm is more reasonable.

 

[TRMark]

Britain didn't go metric until 1965, oh and 300 lb is 21.4 stone. Not that any of this means anything. I agree with Randall, actual is more important. You can use the string method and set the toe in your garage, it is not difficult just time consuming to set up. I don't know what wheels you have, but I have to wonder at the accuracy of measuring off of ancient wheels. I read (probably here) the factory spec for run out was .10", so you could be off by almost a quarter of an inch just because. Oops, just noticed you live in Canada, sorry about the imperial measurement, I can do metric but it is a second language to me.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Britain didn't go metric until 1965...

And yet the commission plate in a TR3A gives the weight in kilos.

I do not think it was a clean implementation (like, say, Sweden driving on the right). Even to this day asking a Brit for directions he is likely to give it to you in miles.

 

[sp53]

I believe the 7 and roughly 5/8 is to give an approximation so that when someone is setting up a front end they are able to get very close to the correct toe. That way one side will not be 8 inches and the side 6 and something inches. I had a car where the front end was done way out of balance with the tie rods. I do not think it matters too much unless the one side is extended so much more the threads are about runout and that would be weaker; I would think.