TR2/3/3A Goodbye TR3A

[Tinkerman]

Wow! very scary. You can bet I will be doing a check on all nuts and bolts before my runs around the neighborhood.
Sorry about your car, glad you are on the mend.

Tinkerman

 

[Moseso]

Griff --
So glad to hear that you're going to be able to run and jump and play like all the other boys. I did the other end of my spine (L3 & 4) and a couple of ribs, in a TR3, in 1972. Toasted the car -- I recovered fully. There was nothing wrong with the car -- the loose nut behind the wheel was at fault.

The lesson for us all can't be restated too often. Working on/with power tools is a life of constant vigilance. Cars are power tools, just like table saws. You're NEVER too old or experienced too invoke the basic safety rules.

 

[tinman58]

Wow Griff what sad news!! The good news is that you ar still alive. I just went out and checked all the lug nuts on my TR and all eight lugs on the rear wheels were (not) tight. With your post as sad as it is to lose a TR3 you may have saved a life or two. For that we all thank you. Roll bars are only as good as how they are mounted. Mine WAS mounted by six bolts to the tub sheet metal, I doubt that it would have done anything but make a solid place for a head to smack. Sorry about your TR but glad you are here to tell us about your experince.

 

[vagt6]

Griff, very, very good that you're still on the green side of the grass, and well. So sorry about your TR.

Look at it this way: you took the journey of restoration, you'll never forget that. Maybe someday, there'll be another lovely Triumph in your garage.

You never know . . .

Good luck to you, man. Don't be a stranger. :thumbsup:

 

[AngliaGT]

Griff,

Until I finally read your post,I thought that you'd
sold the car.What a shock to read about the accident.At
least you're around to tell us about it,& humble enough
to tell about your mistake & tell us about it.

- Doug

 

[billspit]

I'm glad you are on the mend.

After I rebuilt the engine in my Nissan truck, I took a quick trip to check it out. Less than two blocks from home, I hear an odd noise and stop. Don't remember how I realized what it was, but the lugs on both front wheels were loose. I quess I had forgotten to tighten them more than hand tight.

 

[DanB]

I'll tell you another bolt to check after restoration. The one on the linkage to the steering rack. Pretty scary when the steering goes at highway speed.

Dan B

 

[PeterK]

My first drive in a TR was a man who offered to let me drive his nicely restored 4A.. He drove out a couple of miles, pulled over, and let me drive back. As I drove he said I didn't get the 50 cent drive because he didn't know me and if I would like the speed.

I drove cautiously never haven driven a TR before. They had a very long gravel drive and we heard a noise as I turned hard into his garage. When we got out we noticed the driver side rear wheel lug nuts were nearly off (coincindence) and the wheel tilted out at the bottom and nearly off. Luckily for us and the 4A there was no damage done.

It happens, not your fault, not his. Really sorry for your loss - I know I spend a lot of time making my cars a certain way and I am very anxious to drive my 4A for the first time.

 

[TFB]

After similar motorcycle restoration experiences, I now have a policy of -put it on right and tight or leave it off or noticibly incomplete.To easy to mock up something loose,when restoring over long duration,and then forget about it.
Glad you were ok.
Tom

 

[Twosheds]

After similar motorcycle restoration experiences, I now have a policy of -put it on right and tight or leave it off or noticibly incomplete.To easy to mock up something loose,when restoring over long duration,and then forget about it.
Glad you were ok.
Tom

I attended a Human Factors in Aviation seminar at which they stressed a policy called "All the Way On or All the Way Off". For example don't put a cylinder on and snug up the nuts and quit for the day without torquing them.

This is especially important in shops that have employees working in shifts.

 

[sabot]

Sorry for yer loss, glad yer "ok".
It will also be a big loss to lose all your experience to the forum if you drop
off it.
take care tom