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TR2/3/3A Faltering at high RPM and under load demand

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Gatheringtree said:
Mission accomplished. This Triumph TR3A runs sweeter than ever. The engine literally hums on the highway at 70mph or the city at start & stop speeds.... No faltering, no floundering at all RPMs, and great compression. An amazing difference.

For those interested:
Items added:
* Pertronix Flame Thrower distributor Model D176600 on Amazon for $174.99
* Pertronix 40511 Flame Thrower 40,000 Volt 3.0 ohm Coil on Amazon for $49.00.
With a new 12gauge wire from the car's ignition to the new coil.
* Pertronix 804412 Flame Thrower Red 8mm Spark Plug Wire on Amazon for $48.99
* NGK BPR6ES plugs (I would have preferred the BP6ES for the extra voltage because I do not need a resistor and do not want a radio. But they were not in stock and I did not want to wait). I kept the plugs gapped at 0.025 and did not have to add an extra 0.005 to 0.007.
* Solid State Electric Fuel Pump by Facet, Part# 377-420 on Moss Motors for $109.99. This was placed between the fuel tank and the original mechanical pump. Preceded by a fuel filter between the tank and electric pump. I set it on a neoprene rubber base to make the clicking noise very negligible.
* New rubber gas line from the tank replacing all the old lines.
View attachment 87430View attachment 87431
New toy:
* An Innova digital timing light that sets the advance to 4deg and it also registers the RPMs on the display; at CarQuest for $104. Very easy to use. With the display set to 4 deg, just turn the distributor and bring the pully mark to the pointer. No guesswork.

I did not want to make a u-turn from the decision to go electronic; nevertheless, I did not turn a deaf ear to the advice. I will keep the distributor, get a replacement coil, condenser, cap & wires. I will keep them inbox. The tools needed for switching back to the point system are simple, and consist of a 7/16" wrench, a flathead screw driver, and a 0.015 feeler for the points. Finding TDC using the finger over the plug hole was easy. Now that I know how to exchange distributors, if there is a next time, it will be a cakewalk. I could do it on the side of the road.

Thanks again people for all your input.
Click to expand...
Is that fuel line touching the engine block?
 
Glad you got it all sorted out.

Just one point: don't worry about the resistor plugs, for two reasons. First, these days you can't get anything else, and second, you don't lose any voltage with them, because there is no voltage drop across the resistor until the plug fires. Then, it will suck up some spark energy, but not enough to worry about. I know this contradicts the "experts," but I've done the calculation and I can prove it.

Also, I have to express my admiration of your man cave.
 
Sarastro said:
Glad you got it all sorted out.

Just one point: don't worry about the resistor plugs, for two reasons. First, these days you can't get anything else, and second, you don't lose any voltage with them, because there is no voltage drop across the resistor until the plug fires. Then, it will suck up some spark energy, but not enough to worry about. I know this contradicts the "experts," but I've done the calculation and I can prove it.

Also, I have to express my admiration of your man cave.
Click to expand...
Thank you for that piece of advice. I’ll take your word on that. The car is running great!
 
Be aware that there are a lot of DEFECTIVE new fuel pumps that have found their way on to the market.
The symptoms seem to match , they lose pressure . Never trust a non OE pump,always re-build it dont
let it go!!
MD(mad dog)
 
mctriumph said:
Be aware that there are a lot of DEFECTIVE new fuel pumps that have found their way on to the market.
The symptoms seem to match , they lose pressure . Never trust a non OE pump,always re-build it dont
let it go!!
MD(mad dog)
Click to expand...
Some fuel pumps from the last few years had a problem with the pivot pin falling out. Those pumps did not have anything to hold the pin in place. It did not take much to fix them. I used a glob of JB WELD on each side of the pin. It works.
I did just buy one of the new pumps from TRF. They are expensive but I am confident that it is a reliable pump. I just put it on one of my cars.
Charley
 
charleyf said:
Some fuel pumps from the last few years had a problem with the pivot pin falling out. Those pumps did not have anything to hold the pin in place. It did not take much to fix them. I used a glob of JB WELD on each side of the pin. It works.
I did just buy one of the new pumps from TRF. They are expensive but I am confident that it is a reliable pump. I just put it on one of my cars.
Charley
Click to expand...
Ditto on the TRF pump. Looks to be very nice; made in Italy.
 
On the timing light… I thought we are supposed to use the Static Timing method, and the gun method wouldn’t work?
 
Jim_Stevens said:
On the timing light… I thought we are supposed to use the Static Timing method, and the gun method wouldn’t work?
Click to expand...
The static method is a very good starting point. From there thebook says to adjust as needed.
Depending on the particular timing light they do work. But then you are talking about 28 degrees at 3000. Not the 4 degrees static.
Charley
 
The problem is the stepped mechanical advance. The mechanical advance is retarded to allow hand cranking the engine without kicking back at you. But, the advance starts kicking in, even as low as idle. The result is that a timing light will read differently if one owner has a 500rpm idle, compared to another owner idling at 1000rpm.

So, if you have a setting using a timing light that works for you, then go with it. It may not be accurate to another car, though, with variations in the advance curve and idle speeds. The "Tips" book describes how to set the timing to optimum by road testing...not by initial or timing light settings.
 
Interesting--I didn't know that was the reason for the early advance.

In the Porsche 912 community, it's accepted that we should time the ignition at maximum advance, I think 32 degrees at 3000 RPM. Probably could do the same here.
 
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