General TR Dumbest DPO

[STeve 1958]

When I got my TR3A a combination no centrifugal advance, distributor time at TDC, and no gap on the exhaust valves caused the car to blow flames out the exhaust pipe. I guess they thought that was a cool effect but the exhaust manifold was so hot you couldn't put your hand in to adjust the carburetors.
It's now driving nicely but I think I have a vacuum leak on one carb. Also thinking to recenter the needles if that might make the carb. work better.
I've now come to not trust any work done by the, so called, professionals who worked on the car.

 

[Foura]

I bought my 4A from a guy here in Oz who had imported a container with 5 other TRs. It was a "California " car as they all are when they are advertised here, because it means that they are rust free. When I got the paperwork, the last registration in the US was Denver Colorado, which explained some of the rust. It was basically a good car and has been great to own and drive after we restored it.

The seller told me that the car did not have overdrive. The last DPO in the US had also done his own wiring and had fitted a speed shop panel with six orange rocker switches with wires going everywhere. When I got the car home and started tracing the wires, one worked the heater, another worked an interior light and another had a wire going into the gearbox tunnel. Sure enough, the car had overdrive! The seller was a bit peeved when I told him later as he said he would have charged me an extra $500 if he had known that the car had overdrive. So my thanks to the unknown DPO. Needless to say, one of the early purchases in the restoration was a complete new wiring loom.

 

[Gliderman8]

According to the commission plate my TR6 had factory overdrive. It wasn't running when I got it and upon inspection I found out that the overdrive wasn't there! The DPO had it taken out . After my rebuild I installed a Toyota 5-speed so all is good.

 

[TR3driver]

Also thinking to recenter the needles if that might make the carb. work better.
I've now come to not trust any work done by the, so called, professionals who worked on the car.

Centering is easy to check: Remove the air filter, lift the air piston to the top and release it. It should fall rapidly to the bottom, and land with a distinct click. No click means the jet isn't centered.

But if it's been driven that way for any length of time, I suggest replacing the needle and jet with new. They are relatively soft brass, so they wear easily. The wear (if any) can be very hard to detect and will affect the mixture calibration. Somewhat counter-intuitively, it winds up making the mixture too lean at cruise, which can lead to overheating and lack of power.

"Professional" just means you get paid. Doesn't mean you know shinola.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon's_law

 

[Lukens]

Being a certified contrarian, let me change gears here. 6 years ago I flew to Spokane (from Florida) to look at a TR3. The car was owned by a Brit who said he had completely restored it (shrug?). It was cold as **** and snowing. All I could verify was that it ran, and that I was in love. I've driven that car all over this country. I do my own work and there's been the expected fair share of that, but I have never found anything... anything, on that car that was not as it came from the factory. I guess my PO was an exception to the norm. Thanks PO

 

[CJD]

Being a certified contrarian, let me change gears here. 6 years ago I flew to Spokane (from Florida) to look at a TR3. The car was owned by a Brit who said he had completely restored it (shrug?). It was cold as **** and snowing. All I could verify was that it ran, and that I was in love. I've driven that car all over this country. I do my own work and there's been the expected fair share of that, but I have never found anything... anything, on that car that was not as it came from the factory. I guess my PO was an exception to the norm. Thanks PO

I have had new owners call me for many years hoping I will have another restoration for them to buy. We PO’s are out here, but we are few and far between...and get insulted when potential buyers ask why our car is worth so much more compared to the run of the mill DPO cars!!

 

[STeve 1958]

My first TR3A was in 1974 ( I was 15 years old.) I pulled the oil pan and found several rings, and who knows what, ground up in the sludge. So I put the oil pan back on and drove it for three years.
I was definitely a DPO but had no money so what can you do? Made my own carpets from the ones out of my parents house. Made my own door panels, seat covers, glove box complete with boom box.
I sold that car for $1000.

 

[glemon]

As an aside, Triumphs are tough little cars, and they seem to survive a lot of abuse, bodges, and mistreatment, and like a faithful mutt just shake it off, wag their tails, and come back for more.

I can't really think of too many terrible DPO things, my Healey 100, supposedly restored, had one rear shock that had frozen and stripped so it bounced around happily spinning on the shaft, while the other side had no resistance whatsoever left in the mechanism. I never thought the rear shocks did much on our old live axle, rear leaf spring cars. They do. The Healey was a handful if there were any bumps at all in a corner (not helped by the fact it had old bias ply tires) until I figured out the problem.

 

[poolboy]

Back in my school days and early jobs...just getting there and back was the goal...not restoration....hose clamps, coat hanger wire, miscellaneous springs and black electrical tape and even the leather tongue from one of my desert boots helped in that regard.

 

[glemon]

Yes, same here, car needed to get me to work, whatever got it going again. Coat hanger exhaust hangers worked pretty well. Not exactly DPO, but sorta, kinda. My first Sprite had ripped up seats, I didn't have much money. JC Whitney offered some sort of tartan plaid cloth cover kit for cheap. Plaid is a British isles thing too, so it all went together, right?

I ordered them, but they didn't show up for weeks, weeks became months, and I wrote them off, I heard something about JCW being in bankruptcy.

After they were long forgotten they arrived, JCW reorganized and was back in business. I took them out of the box. God they were ugly, kind of a puke green plaid. I put them on hoping they would grow on me, or at least keep the stuffing in the seats where it belonged.

They didn't grow on me, eventually I scraped up enough money for a real vinyl kit, which I promptly tore with some big metal buttons on my bell bottom jeans. It was the 70s Baby!

 

[ed_h]

In college, I had an ancient VW van. One winter the accelerator cable broke. I drove it for a month with the idle screwed way up.

Ed

 

[Jerry]

When I bought my Healey BJ8 arrived in boxes. I knew it was 1.25 cars, the person that sold the car said he tore apart two cars. He labeled some parts left or right. But, he must have been standing in a different position each time and we finally decided to ignore his labeling as he did not know his left or right. I always wondered why he kept some of the extra parts. IE: Why keep only the lefts?
Jerry

 

[groupdeville]

Coat hangers for the rear exhaust pipe of a TR2 or TR3, if installed in a nice tight figure-8 configuration, are superior to the fragile rubber strap ones that Standard-Triumph installed. Just as quiet and much great durability, and adjustable ground clearance. I'm surprised that the "Big 3" parts suppliers don't manufacture and market them as an "upgrade".

 

[STeve 1958]

I was once driving through Arizona in a GT6+ when the exhaust started to drag. I pulled into a gas station and asked if they had some kind of muffler mount. The guy looked at my car for a minute and said. "Is that one of them there foreign cars" I said "Do you have a coat hanger?". I later told him it was British, our ally, so he got me a coat hanger.

 

[CJD]

I dunno. I have great relatives that fought against the British...twice! My battle with British cars often has me wondering if they have honored the peace.

 

[tomshobby]

When I purchase a car I figure it is my responsibility to inspect it and once I have paid for it there is only myself to blame for problems. So that makes me the Dumb Present Owner.

 

[Marvin Gruber]

Tom,
I will second that. Have been bitten a couple times but thats all part of it.
Marv

 

[DougME]

I purchased an old pickup for $50 and the first drive of 200' revealed horrible vibration in the drivetrain. Turns out PO had reinstalled the driveshaft without properly aligning the spider joint on the rear end and the whole driveshaft was whipping around 3/8 " off center, boy did that truck shake.