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new tr owner questions

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electric

electric

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I have just bought a 74tr as I have like these cars for such a long time. I have two questions.
1) the car has Strombergs and I was told to throw them away and put SU's on, what is the groups adavice on this.
2)I have been looking at putting new suspension on the rear, using the tube and bracket, or would puttin in new heavy duty springs be just as good.
I would like to keep this car as original but I would like to be comfortable while driving this.

looking forward to the discussion

CF14941
Electric
 
Welcome to the best Triumph forum on the net!!!


TR6?
pix please....



I changed over to tube shocks, I have never regreted it. :laugh:

theres nothing wrong with Stromberg carbs, providing they are setup correctly.

I just dont like fiddling with carbs so I changed over to Webber dgv's.(basically no maintinance)
 
1. There is nothing wrong with the ZS carbs if set up right.

2. You can rebuild the levers. My car has a bunch of suspension changes, but I stuck with the lever shocks - I just had them stiffened up when they were rebuilt. It corners better than the seats can hold me...
 
Hi electric, and welcome to the forum.Zenith Strombergs are not a bad carb in my opinion as Kodanja said, once tuned they give little trouble.Get yourself a needle adjusting tool and watch your plugs,adjust as nessasary until you get a good color.Any multi carb engine takes some fiddling to get them right.
As for rear suspension I went with Good Parts adjustable swing arm brackets and a tube shock kit from BPNW,along with their uprated stock lenght springs. Real happy with that setup.
 
Welcome!

Yes, pics please!

If your car is safe to drive I would suggest getting a few miles on it before making changes. Do some preventative maintanence and put the top down and get your hair messed up.

Chances are good that you will get a better idea of where to (start to) spend your money.

Many of us are very happy with our Strombergs.
 
74 here also. Common problems with the ZS carbs can be diagnosed on the Forums. We've all had them or know someone who has. If you do have problems with them, let someone know.
 
Strombergs are a very simple carb, as are the SUs. When set up right, no real difference between the two in my opinion.

It's basically a piston slide, and a diagrahm and a butterfly. Not much can go wrong with it that you can't fix with a screwdriver.
 
get your lever shocks rebuilt to heavy duty, just had mine done by apple hydrolics and the rear end is very firm but not stiff, your springs should be fine unless one side is sagging, welcome to the fun! I personally dont like the stroms, I put triple DCOE webers on mine, and I dont really care about the gas mileage, I get one month to a tank of gas
 
Hello and welcome to the Forum.

1. Forget that bad advice about the carbs. I have three ZS/CD's on my TR6 and they are fine.

2. Have Apple Hydraulics rebuild your rear shocks and drive the car for a while. Good tires and suspension bushings with rebuilt shocks are as good as anything that you will need for normal driving.

After you get to know the car, you can start to do some mods.

First get it running and tuned along with new oil and filter and new fuel filter. Make sure the ignition system, plugs, air filters and wiring are good.

Fan belt should be replaced of needed and a coolant system flush with new Anti-freeze will keep you going for a while.

Any questions, make sure that you come back here. There's a lot of Triumph tribal knowledge available on this forum.

Good luck,
 
my advise is just the opposite of a lot of what's been said, but here is what i have to say:
changing to SU's is a pretty good idea. i have seen it do a lot of improvement on a lot of cars. better throttle response, fuel mileage, little bit extra power, and a throaty sound (all fairly small changes mind you). so this may or may not be worth the money. also, they look much better if they have been well rebuilt. shiny top, no yellow plastic, very nice

the tube shocks, from people that i have talked to outside of this forum, and other research, the improvement seems not to be worth the money to to the swap. plenty of TR6's handle great with stock rear suspension.
 
Welcome to the forum!

I agree that you should drive the car and enjoy it before making changes. They never go back together as quickly as you expect, and you have a lot of cold months to tinker up there. Just make sure the car is safe.

That said, I installed the bolt-on tube shock conversion and love it. No alterations, so you can bolt the original back on if you wish. Most of the suspension upgrades require no mods, except for swaybars that require holes to be drilled.

SU's are nice, but are getting rarer and more costly. Not worth the price IMO.

New wheels are also a nice addition. The originals get fatigued and bent. Alloys, at least to me, are great. They track nicer and allow you to buy more modern tires that are safer and handle better. The redlines and similar designs look great, but aren't fun in the wet.

The list of add ons can be as deep as your pockets allow. It all depends on what you want to do.
 
And what ever you do ,don't throw them away!
 
to all who have replied, thanks for the helpfull advice.
I have driven this car for a few months already and have decided to do something with the suspension and carbs, just wanted to get the groups thoughts.
As soon as I learn how to download some pictures to this blog, I will add them.
YYC Dave, I am in Calgary to answer your question.

thanks again for all the input
 
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