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How Far Would Any of You Drive Your Triumph?
- Thread starter KVH
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I've driven my 1500 Spitfire, about 500 miles round trip before. I've never had any problems jumping in it and taking off for a weekend down to Dallas, or Tulsa, or further.
Mark_Gibson
Jedi Trainee
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I drove mine from Fayetteville NC to Little Rock AR and back in 1995 to C-130 flight school. Car gave me no problems, but it was over 100 degrees every day in Aug 95, so the top never came down!
Mark
Mark
Mark Jones
Jedi Warrior
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I drove my Spitfire 1700 miles from where I purchased it in Kentucky to Nova Scotia. Only problem was a leaking carb float. I wouldn't hesitate to do another 1700 mile trip in it again.
Geo Hahn
Yoda
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Next week I'll drive over to Las Cruces NM for the British weekend there, then into Texas to meet some family members, back thru NM & TX with stops at Carlsbad Caverns & Guadalupe Natl Parks. Probably 1000+ miles over the course of the week.
I'm really just a piker though -- we have a local guy with 300K+ on his TR4. Makes it to all the national events (went to Red Wing, Richmond, Breckenridge, both Portlands, etc).
Biggest challenge for us is luggage.
I'm really just a piker though -- we have a local guy with 300K+ on his TR4. Makes it to all the national events (went to Red Wing, Richmond, Breckenridge, both Portlands, etc).
Biggest challenge for us is luggage.
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On 3 seperate occasions I have driven my spitfire between NW Montana and North Central Minnesota. Roughly 1200 miles one way. On one occasion the trip was completed in less than 24 hours. On another it was done in the dead of winter with the temp somewhere in the 19 below zero range F. Never has it failed me on long trips. It has given me a few scares on short hops however.
danmas
Jedi Trainee
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The fact that I'd be driving a Triumph TR6 would have no impact on the number of miles I'd be willing to drive. From my home near Knoxville, TN, I've driven my TR6 to Colorado, Key West (several times), Wisconsin, Canada, Maine, Pennsylvania (3 times), Illinois (4 times), Maryland, and numerous trips to the surrounding states. Except for the trips to Canada, Colorado, and Maine, these have all been one-day trips, driving nonstop each way, and they've all been solo trips - no co-driver. The trip home from Wisconsin was 18.5 hours, and I still felt refreshed when I got home. There's something about driving a TR6, top down, warm weather, that's hard to beat.
If properly maintained, and it's not at all hard to properly maintain them, a TR6 can be used just like any other car.
If properly maintained, and it's not at all hard to properly maintain them, a TR6 can be used just like any other car.
I once drove my Spit MKI from Lompoc, CA (N. of Santa babara) out to Witchata Falls, Texas and back for a tech school while in the Air Force. You know, when I started this I was thinking of the good times but then I remember pulling the transmission in the baracks parking lot at night to replace the mainshaft circlip (and that the little bend in it was there for a purpose.) I've always thought I was lucky to have been addicted to TRs for transmission work. I remember going to a Texas parts store and asking for parts for it and getting a reply in fine Texan drawl "A spitwhat? A spitwad? OOh a Spitfaarr. Whacht you workin on, an areoplane?" Then on the return 80 miles out side of Tuscon in the desert when it turned dark in the middle of the afternoon durring a rain storm (in the desert) with the radio, lights and the wippers on (full) when the question comes "Smoke? Why do I smell smoke?" and then noticing the generator light on. Luckily the storm passed quickly and was able shut everything off but the engine but still I was looking around the desert feeling like a RAF pilot over North Africa in a shotup Spitfire. I made it into Tuscon with plenty of power in the battery (it doesn't take much to run a early Spit) stoped in to see a girl friend for a couple of days. I have never seen so many wrecking yards in one town as is in Tuscon. Maybe it has something to do with Davis Mothan AFB, the big Airforce disposal boneyard. The first yard I went to had dozens of Spitfires (God, those were the days) and got a generator with no problem. The rest of the trip uneventfull.
Simon TR4a
Jedi Knight
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Obviously many of us are not timid about long trips!
If you"re looking for guidelines or advice I would say if you are staying on or near main roads and have a cell phone you should not have much trouble getting help.
Try to take with you a few parts that would stop the car, and might be difficult to replace on the way, having replacements with you will ensure they do not fail!
Finally, take ear plugs for the wind noise, sunscreen, and a towel to put at the small of your back for comfort.
When you get back you'll have stories too!
Simon.
If you"re looking for guidelines or advice I would say if you are staying on or near main roads and have a cell phone you should not have much trouble getting help.
Try to take with you a few parts that would stop the car, and might be difficult to replace on the way, having replacements with you will ensure they do not fail!
Finally, take ear plugs for the wind noise, sunscreen, and a towel to put at the small of your back for comfort.
When you get back you'll have stories too!
Simon.
StagByTriumph
Jedi Warrior
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Last year I drove my Stag to 4 shows, fully loaded, two in Colorado (local), one in Richmond Virginia, one in Lake Tahoe NV, not including a dozen or so "daily" jaunts of over 300 miles for the day.
Richmond was just over 4000 miles round trip from Colorado and local visits, Lake Tahoe was just over 2500 miles round trip. I do not hesitate to jump in my Stag and drive a thousand miles.
This year I will drive to Rockford Illinois for VTR 2005, about 3500 round trip, also to San Diego for Triumphest 2005, about similar mileage, then up to San Francicso and back to Colorado which will probably total over 8000 miles again for the summer.
But then again, I know every nut and bolt on the car by first (cussword) name too! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif
Richmond was just over 4000 miles round trip from Colorado and local visits, Lake Tahoe was just over 2500 miles round trip. I do not hesitate to jump in my Stag and drive a thousand miles.
This year I will drive to Rockford Illinois for VTR 2005, about 3500 round trip, also to San Diego for Triumphest 2005, about similar mileage, then up to San Francicso and back to Colorado which will probably total over 8000 miles again for the summer.
But then again, I know every nut and bolt on the car by first (cussword) name too! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif
Alan_Myers
Luke Skywalker
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Interesting question!
For me, I think the only limiting factor would be a sore butt or aching back, from too long in the saddle.
I'd trust my TR more on long distance road trips than most modern cars. There's a lot less electronic complexity to go wrong, it's pretty easily repaired and I know my way aroud under the hood.
On one darky and stormy night the original points slipped out of adjustment and were reset by the light of a Bic lighter.
Once the current restoration is complete, I'll be more confident than ever. For example, the alternator conversion uses a widely available Delco, the fuel pump is a common Facet, the water pump can be found at just about any Massey Ferguson tractor dealer and Mallory distributor parts are easily found at most auto shops. If I were using less widely available original parts, I'd probably take along a spare distributor, for example, or at least points/cap/rotor.
During the last long road trip in my '97 Land Rover I had two spark plugs go bad (Bosch Platinum, which were new less than 10,000 miles earlier) and had to replace the set mid-trip. No big deal, although a set of Champion "truck plugs" were the only thing available in a small Oregon town and gas mileage, not all that great to begin with, dropped off about 10%.
Nasty weather could be a concern. The TR isn't the best on ice or snow (but is a lot better than a 240Z I drove occasionally under similar conditions). And, I once had the TR's wipers stop working during a deluge, on I25 in Denver, during rush hour traffic.
We'll also have to wait and see how many miles and hours I can stand with a sport tuned exhaust and a fairly stiff performance suspension!
Cheers!
Alan
For me, I think the only limiting factor would be a sore butt or aching back, from too long in the saddle.
I'd trust my TR more on long distance road trips than most modern cars. There's a lot less electronic complexity to go wrong, it's pretty easily repaired and I know my way aroud under the hood.
On one darky and stormy night the original points slipped out of adjustment and were reset by the light of a Bic lighter.
Once the current restoration is complete, I'll be more confident than ever. For example, the alternator conversion uses a widely available Delco, the fuel pump is a common Facet, the water pump can be found at just about any Massey Ferguson tractor dealer and Mallory distributor parts are easily found at most auto shops. If I were using less widely available original parts, I'd probably take along a spare distributor, for example, or at least points/cap/rotor.
During the last long road trip in my '97 Land Rover I had two spark plugs go bad (Bosch Platinum, which were new less than 10,000 miles earlier) and had to replace the set mid-trip. No big deal, although a set of Champion "truck plugs" were the only thing available in a small Oregon town and gas mileage, not all that great to begin with, dropped off about 10%.
Nasty weather could be a concern. The TR isn't the best on ice or snow (but is a lot better than a 240Z I drove occasionally under similar conditions). And, I once had the TR's wipers stop working during a deluge, on I25 in Denver, during rush hour traffic.
We'll also have to wait and see how many miles and hours I can stand with a sport tuned exhaust and a fairly stiff performance suspension!
Cheers!
Alan
vettedog72
Jedi Knight
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Alan:
Tell me the trick about the water pump! I need a double pully on the pump drive shaft....I guess it could be pressed on or off. I like the idea of getting parts as I need them and Massey is not uncommon around my travels.
Tell me the trick about the water pump! I need a double pully on the pump drive shaft....I guess it could be pressed on or off. I like the idea of getting parts as I need them and Massey is not uncommon around my travels.
Geo Hahn
Yoda
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From a Massey Ferguson parts list dated 5/73: water pump is p/n 825 440 M91 though I have never tried to buy one from a MF dealer.
I don't really live in tractor country so I prefer to carry a spare water pump when the trip is beyond the 100 miles AAA will tow me home. Just be sure to trial fit the pulley as some grinder work is usually needed for the pulley to spin freely w/o interference from the pump housing.
I don't really live in tractor country so I prefer to carry a spare water pump when the trip is beyond the 100 miles AAA will tow me home. Just be sure to trial fit the pulley as some grinder work is usually needed for the pulley to spin freely w/o interference from the pump housing.
Alan_Myers
Luke Skywalker
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The TR 4-cylinder engine water pump was easily available at all Massey Fergusson dealers at very reasonable cost. I haven't bought one from them lately, though. I mentioned it in context of travelling in a TR, because Massey Ferguson dealers seem to be just about everywhere. There is even one here in San Jose, which is the last place I'd expect to see a tractor.
Ken at British Frame and Engine just supplied me with a 6-bladed high performance pump, that will be fitted with a bolt-on, thin belt pulley (single belt) soon. An OEM-style wide belt pulley would fit right up to it, too. Incidentally, the housing of this pump has been machined so to avoid any possibility that the pulley will rub. Highly recommended (although a bit more expensive than the usual pumps).
I don't know about a dual pulley, though. That sounds like a non-standard item and might be a problem. It might be necessary to have one made at a machine shop.
As far as I know, the pressed-on-pulley pumps are harder to service than the original type with threaded shaft and bolted-on pulley. I've only worked on the latter type.
Alan
Ken at British Frame and Engine just supplied me with a 6-bladed high performance pump, that will be fitted with a bolt-on, thin belt pulley (single belt) soon. An OEM-style wide belt pulley would fit right up to it, too. Incidentally, the housing of this pump has been machined so to avoid any possibility that the pulley will rub. Highly recommended (although a bit more expensive than the usual pumps).
I don't know about a dual pulley, though. That sounds like a non-standard item and might be a problem. It might be necessary to have one made at a machine shop.
As far as I know, the pressed-on-pulley pumps are harder to service than the original type with threaded shaft and bolted-on pulley. I've only worked on the latter type.
Alan
philman
Jedi Knight
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i drove my '81 tr7 dhc from eugene to okc twice in 2003 (2000 miles each way), twice to oak harbor in 2002 (500 miles each way) and drove my 76 tr7 fhc from missouri almost all the way home last year. i'll probably drive my fhc to okc next month. road trips are never a problem, sometimes they just take longer than expected.
The furthest I've been in any of my Triumph is about 100 miles in a weekend (32 miles to the lake, back into town, back out to the lake, then back home.) Last summer I took my '69 Corvette from Olympia to Long Beach, WA, which I'd estimate is about 240 miles round trip. It was the longest trip I've had any of my classics out on...Although it was interesting that I didn't actually drive the Vette at all -- my friend Adam wanted to drive both ways.
In both cases (100 miles in the TR3, 240miles in the C3) my back was killing me!
In both cases (100 miles in the TR3, 240miles in the C3) my back was killing me!
I'm a TR-7 owner now and routinely drive my '80 Spider 450+ miles every week; each trip home for the weekend is 300 miles round trip. The car has 80,000 miles on it now.
I owned a '78 Spitfire from 1988 - 1998; I bought it with 74,000 miles on it and sold it with 145,000 miles on it. Most of the time I owned it I used it for trips of 2-4 hours on two lane roads in interstates across New England. One memorable weekend saw me drive from Durham, NH, on a rainy night to western New York and then back. On many occasions, I drove it through regions that had no services whatsoever for most any car, let alone a Triumph. I routinely relied on the car to get me to appointments around New England on time.
The disagreeable failures included a dog drive in the distributor, the Lucas electronic ignition [replaced with a distributor from an old MGB], and a rear halfshaft failure when a u-joint yoke broke. However, they were spread out over 10 years. When I became more maintenance oriented, the number of failures diminished considerably.
Remember, they're pieces of machinery first and foremost. Most everything on a Spitfire is adjustable and therefore, needs adjustment. If you keep things tight and lubricated, and keep grounds clean, you'll be fine on a trip of any length.
Jeff
I owned a '78 Spitfire from 1988 - 1998; I bought it with 74,000 miles on it and sold it with 145,000 miles on it. Most of the time I owned it I used it for trips of 2-4 hours on two lane roads in interstates across New England. One memorable weekend saw me drive from Durham, NH, on a rainy night to western New York and then back. On many occasions, I drove it through regions that had no services whatsoever for most any car, let alone a Triumph. I routinely relied on the car to get me to appointments around New England on time.
The disagreeable failures included a dog drive in the distributor, the Lucas electronic ignition [replaced with a distributor from an old MGB], and a rear halfshaft failure when a u-joint yoke broke. However, they were spread out over 10 years. When I became more maintenance oriented, the number of failures diminished considerably.
Remember, they're pieces of machinery first and foremost. Most everything on a Spitfire is adjustable and therefore, needs adjustment. If you keep things tight and lubricated, and keep grounds clean, you'll be fine on a trip of any length.
Jeff
Ab Crevoiserat
Jedi Hopeful
Offline
I take my 74 TR6 from Long Island to Chestertown NY every summer. The trip is about 500 miles round trip. Of course while I'm there I do take the time to drive all of those wonderful Adirondak Mountian roads, and take in the ATA's British Motorfest show in Schuylerville, NY. Basicly I'd drive it anywhere!