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TR2/3/3A What air filters for '59 TR3?

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Afrodesia

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I grew up working on my dad's '59
but that was a long time ago & I've forgotten a lot of what we'd done. After he died, I decided I was going to get one & enjoy driving it myself in his honor. Well, I finally found one & its on its way to me right now!!!

At any rate, it has no filters & I need to order some but can't figure out what is going on...most of the ones I see online don't even look like they'll fit. Does anyone have any great advice for me like my pop would've given?
 
Hello, Afro, welcome to the <span style="text-decoration: line-through">asylum</span> forum. I'm assuming you know what the factory original air filters look like. An alternative I use is offered by our friends at Moss Motors: K&N filters, Moss number 222-955, K&N number 56-400.

These are also offered by K&N in a beveled ait filter style, but I don't know the number offhand....

Being a '59, is your commission number pre or post 60K?
 
Welcome -- not a lot to add to the air filter discussion.

Like many other choices you'll make -- brake fluid, gearbox lube, tire size, etc -- a lot will depend on how you plan to use the car and what level of originality is important to you.
 
Thanks for the great info.
The car is arriving today *fingers crossed* so I will have laid eyes on it & know more soon. I'm just hoping to get it off the transporter & up into the garage without too much work. I think the battery will be dead & will likely have to use a hearty spray of carb cleaner to get it to start but I'm prepared. Like I said, I grew up working on one with my dad so it wouldn't be the first time for either of those two scenarios to occur.

It has no filters now at all & I will be looking for originals at some point but want to get something decent on it til then. I'm going for stock to start but may consider certain 'upgrades', as it were, if they offer enhanced safety or reliability.
 
Welcome to the Forum.
I am not far from Fair oaks, Pat lives in Folsom, If you need a hand just P.M. me. I would love tp see your 3
 
Oooh, exciting! Hope it meets your expectations. We love pics here on the forum!
 
Air Filters?? We don't need no stinkin' air filters... :laugh:

Actually, I run with Piper-X foam socks over the velocity stacks.
 

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I have running the original air filters, still with the original wire mesh inside for the past 54 years. Maybe some of the original bugs are still in there too.

But about 7 years ago, I bought a filter at Sears for an industrial Home-Vac and cut it into 4 parts. I slid these on and added some "AMS Oil for Foam Filters" which I dribble onto the foam.
 

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Hey, Don -

A while back I saw some discussion somewhere regarding potential fire hazards with foam type air cleaners. Just wondering if this was the stuff of urban legends or real...

Obviously, you haven't had any issues in seven years!
 
Mickey Richaud said:
A while back I saw some discussion somewhere regarding potential fire hazards with foam type air cleaners. Just wondering if this was the stuff of urban legends or real...
Click to expand...
I would think that, with Don's setup, the wire mesh in the original filter would act as a flame arrester and protect the foam. I also believe the chance of fire is remote, especially with a well maintained engine like Don's.

But I have personally had a foam air filter catch fire, so the hazard is more than just a legend.

This was on a clunky old Honda motorcycle. Original air filter housing had been lost, so I was using aftermarket foam filters. It had a tendency to 'sneeze' back through the carbs occasionally and that time it was enough to set the filter on fire. Fortunately I was able to stop and rip the burning filter off before it did too much damage but I gave the bike away rather than fix it.

My friend rode it occasionally for a year or so, until it 'sneezed' again and set the vapors from a fuel tank truck on fire. (He was starting it in a filling station that was having its tanks refilled and apparently there was a layer of fuel vapor on the ground.) Again the fire was put out without too much damage (none to the station or truck), but he junked the bike. Sometimes "free" is too much to pay :smile:
 
Ok so I can't figure out how to post pics but the car arrived just before a three week vacation so I didn't get a chance to do much investigation. All is relatively well but won't stay running unless I'm spraying carb cleaner in the carbs. So that's sort of an issue. Also does not have a trunk lid so I am in the process of locating one. First things first, figure out how to keep it running!
I can do a few things on the car but it's been a long time… Anyone know any good local mechanics? Mobile maybe? ; )
TS45924 LO (with surprise overdrive...yay!)
 
It's almost always better to start a new thread, rather than tacking onto an existing one.

Afrodesia said:
won't stay running unless I'm spraying carb cleaner in the carbs.
Click to expand...

Ok, so that is clearly a mixture problem. Did you pull the choke knob out and lock it? Check that the jets in the carbs are both pulled down by about 1/4"? Fuel in the float bowl? Maybe it's really old fuel and won't burn any more (so drain it out and replace with fresh).

Modern gasoline has a tendency to separate after long storage (especially in an 'open' fuel system like the TR3), and what comes out on the bottom will not burn in the engine.

I've also seen it dry out and leave a hard deposit that had to be literally chipped out with a dental pick to open up the fuel passage. So if none of the above helps, it may be time to pull the carb jets apart for inspection and cleaning.
 
Afrodesia said:
Also does not have a trunk lid so I am in the process of locating one.
Click to expand...
If you can't find one locally, you might try Albert in SoCal:
https://aroth.com/
 
I figured that but thought maybe there's an issue with fuel getting to the carbs instead of just running rich. Maybe clogged filter? Maybe bad fuel pump? I choked it and had it running for about 3 minutes but then died. When I press pedal, it tends to cut out so flooding??
Could be old gas, the kid said he drove it 14 miles the whole time he had it but not sure how accurate he's being. I'm goIng to drain tank anyway and surely the carbs could use a disassemble & cleaning.
I think I'll go the 'beer & pizza' route someone in a separate topic suggested & hope to pick up a thing or too. Ill even throw in some coin if I have to..I'd love to drive it soon while the weather is so sweet.
 
Sorry about the thread. I've never posted to a board before. Am I supposed To not mention other issues in the post so as not to cause a detour? Things tend to lead into other things so that might be difficult to curtail.
I can't figure this out so can you imagine me working on a car??? Ha!
 
Afrodesia said:
Sorry about the thread. I've never posted to a board before.
Click to expand...
No worries, and no need to apologize. Sorry if I sounded overly critical, it was meant to just be a friendly suggestion, no more than that. I get in a hurry sometimes and forget to add the niceties, but we are all (I hope) friends here.

Now if Andy, or Mickey, or Basil start telling you that you've done something wrong, you need to listen to them. But I'm just another Triumph goof, trying to be helpful (but not always succeeding).

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]
Am I supposed To not mention other issues in the post so as not to cause a detour? Things tend to lead into other things so that might be difficult to curtail. [/QUOTE]

Exactly! Thread drift happens, no one worries about it much. But if you ask a question on the end of another thread, there will be some number of people who have already decided they are not interested in that thread and don't read it. Maybe one of them has a good idea on your "no start" problem, but has nothing to say about air filters (or lack thereof).
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I can't figure this out so can you imagine me working on a car??? Ha! [/QUOTE]
Trust me, we (almost) all learned the hard way! Just some of us have been at it longer than others ... I rebuilt my first car engine back in 1970 or so; first TR3 engine in 74 I think it was. The Chevy only ran for a year; but that TR engine is still running today (or would be, if my Dad ever gets the rest of his car put back together).

So don't worry about "stupid" questions (there's no such thing although we do supply dumb answers from time to time :smile: )

And remember, good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.

PS, Sorry, I've got to run. But IMO the easiest way to post pictures here is to first put them up on a "sharing" site, like Photobucket. You can then embed references to them here, either using the
image3.jpg
symbol on the full replay screen, or with Photobucket you can just copy the entire "IMG" reference and paste it into your post.
untitled.jpg


You will still see the reference
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Code:</div><div class="ubbcode-body ubbcode-pre" ><pre>
DSCF0008dimmed.jpg
</pre>[/QUOTE] in your post, but after posting it will show up as the photo
DSCF0008dimmed.jpg
 
Thank you thank you.
I'm sure the lot of the posters here are of the friendly sort. And I will keep in mind new posts so as to receive advice. Makes total sense.
As for the photos, I'll get to it eventually. First on today's agenda is to drain a tank of gas : \
 
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