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TR2/3/3A RE: TR3 Plugs & Wing Removal

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toysrrus

toysrrus

Yoda
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RE: TR3 Plugs & Wing Removal

Howdy Folks,

As you are all aware; I`ve purchased a `57TR3 Small Mouth. The "Dis-Assembly" process is coming along OK. I`m about to try to pull the Front & Rear Wings off. What sort of "Bolts" are holding the Front Wings on? Whitworth? Also; How the heck do you get those "Monster" flat hd. bolts out of the Rear Wings? I`ve BP Blasted the heck out of everything, Hammered away etc. but no luck yet so far. Whats the trick here?

I`m a fan of "NGK" spark plugs (Not cause I worked for them nearly 20yrs) but they do perform well. What plug would you folks suggest for the TR3?

Thanx in Advance on all of the above,

Russ
PS: Anyone here happen to have Front & Rear Wings For Sale or Give Away? Mine are bondo babies!
 
All of the fender/wing bolts are 1/4-28 SAE threads (unless someone has stuffed the wrong bolts in).

No "magic bullet" for getting them out, just a long list of things to try. One thing is to give the PB-B time to work : re-dose the threads every couple of days for a week or more.

Another trick that helps is to get a pair of needle nose vice grips and clamp them onto the cage over the captive nut. That will help hold the nut in place while you apply excessive force, and/or work the threads back and forth.

If all else fails, you may have to grind or torch the bolt head off, so you can remove the wing and then repair (or replace) the captive nut.

Can't help with NGK plugs; I've been running Bosch WR7BP ever since Ken at BFE (who is also technical secretary for the local club) reported getting more horsepower on the dyno with them. I can't say I've noticed the difference in power, but they do seem to work well for me.
 
Is Ken indexing his spark plugs? Indexing plugs is done by changing the washer thickness in order to have the grounding electrode pointing away from the center of the combustion chamber.
 
No mention of indexing them, just pull out one brand (I forget which) and insert the Bosch. They didn't believe the results, so tried it again; power went back down with the other plug.

But it certainly could be that the Bosch plugs come with the threads indexed differently than the other plug they tried, or something equally trivial. I don't believe this was a stock TR3 motor either; more likely a highly modified race-only motor (else why tune it on a dyno).

Hmm, I wonder if stock TR3 heads even have the threads indexed the same from cylinder to cylinder or head to head. I'll bet they're just random, so any indexing of the plug would be different from cylinder to cylinder even on the same engine.
 
That is correct. What you do is use a marker that makes non-conductive marks and mark the plug over the grounding electrode on the insulator where the plug wire goes on. You than install the plug and check which direction the grounding electrode faces. If it is incorrect you change the thickness of the washer until it points in the proper direction. We did this on the stock car to extract every bit of power available. Doing lots of little things right wins races. A little overkill for street cars, unless you like to fiddle.
 
Howdy Randall,

"Thanx" for the info. on the "Needle Nose Pliers". I would`nt have thought of that.

The PB Blaster is at work as we speak & Is working OK so far. Those "Rear Wing" Flat Hd. Screws are something else again!!

Thanx Again,

Russ
 
Been using NGK BP5HS plugs for many years with 95 octane premium unleaded. These have outlasted all I've tried, and stayed cleanest. No ethanol blend fuels used as they're not widespread here yet.

You might find NGK BP6HS plugs are catalogued for TR2-4A's, but they worked best on the old leaded fuel, and were one grade too cool for unleaded.

Viv.
 
Good Day Viv,

"Thanx" for the plug info.

Your correct in saying that the majority of catalogs spell out the BP6HS. I guess It`ll be the 5HS.

Regards,

Russ
 
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