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Who drove their car today?

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Yesterdy never broke freezing and today brely hit 36. Glad the TR8 has an effective heater/defroster and rear window defroster. More snow to come tomorrow as well.
 
Almost dead of winter here on the island. COLD
We had to break out the long johns last night
at 67 frigid degrees. High today will barely
make 78 degrees.

Much to cold to even attempt to start the Crypt Car.
And the idiot PO ripped the entire heating system out
of the car.

But who knows? Maybe just for the heck of it,
I'll crank the Crypt Car and see if it will start.

d
 
Absolutely blinding sun here at a staggering 42 degrees. Dale... That's considered a heat wave here. I think we're going with a partial top up kind of day and hope the wind don't blow us off the road. Now... where's that picture through the windshield thread?

Have a great day!
 
Looking forward to the picture, Harry.
 
Saturday 02 December 06
The Crypt Car started with some difficulty,
attained operating temperature 180* and drove
a little over one mile without breaking down.
I think I just passed the 90 miles driven
since owned barrier. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

satdrive.jpg
 
Close on 50 here in NY. Did about 50 miles top down.
Next time I'll wear a hat...
 
50 miles in a single day without breaking down?

I sure envy you!! That must be sweet indeed.

I was stunned with 6 miles the other day returning
from the auto diagnostic shop.

If I had left the confines of our neighborhood
today, I know the Crypt car would have left me
stranded somewhere.... gut feeling.

d
 
Alan,

50 miles isn't bad considering how long it's been down. The thermostat is a 30 minute fix at the most. Working out the bugs is part of owning any old car. Give her a chance.
 
I was thinking Alan, maybe you're holding
the bar too high. 50 miles does sound like
a lot. I forgot how long your car was dead.

The Crypt Car finally has a more or less
functional engine (I think). But I still do not
drive it any distance I am not willing to walk home,
should it break down.

The past nine months have been phase one- getting
the engine to operate often enough to begin gutting
and replacing the drive trane.

So maybe you need to back off on your long trips.
Make small drives around the n-hood and get a feel
for the car. Get to know the sounds and smells of
the car. Learn the car's natural rattles, shakes
and knocks.

My goodness, look what months of torment I went thru
just to get a spark plug to fire?

I WISH the Crypt Car was in as good of shape as your TR.

regards,

d
 
Tinster, you are misunderstanding my issue here.

I have had my engine rebuilt by a race shop at a cost well into 5 figures just for parts and labor. I paid for it to be engine dyno'd so it would be run in (and so's I'd have some baseline as to the effects of the new parts). I have a new driveline, using a professionally rebuilt transmission, a rebuilt propshaft, a new rear end using a R200 diff, a bunch of very expensive welding work and a custom rear halfshaft/hub configuration. There is a set of rebuilt carbs (with an extra replacement because it has a triple carb conversion). It has a new radiator, an electric fan, totally new fueling system from the custom stainless tank forwards, and too many other goodies to list that I did personally so I know are done right, but you get the point...

So what you might say?

All the work listed above has been done by a mechanic in a LBC shop, not by me. It started out going in for an engine rebuild and some diff reinforcement for the LSD. Fair play, I added some "Might as Wells".

The car has been in the shop for a year for what I'd have figured was probably 2 months work.

Three months of that year is my fault, I spec'd custom pistons that took extra time to make. So lets call it 5 months.

I should have had it back in April.
I got it Friday and it still has a problem.

You on the other hand are doing all the work yourself. And more power to you. I wish I'd had the space to pull the engine.

My point is that I've paid for a car to be totally gone through. I expect it to run, run well, and not to have problems. If I can't drive it when I want, where I want, then whats the point?

It ran better before it went into the shop - then at least it only needed a valve job...

Perhaps now you can understand my frustration. If I'd done the work myself and it wasn't right it would be a different story.

Sorry, I'm venting this isn't personal. I just took out the offending thermostatic switch and found that the autoparts store near me doesn't have anything that will work as a replacement. Now I have to try to source one. Meanwhile the car is up on stands. Again. And if I don't get out of this foul mood it'll be on Ebay by month end.
 
Alan-no difference
"My point is that my wife paid for a fully restored
1969 TR6. I expected it to run, run well, and not
to have problems."

As I see it, I am still in the process of receiving her
gift of a fully restored TR6.

d

d
 
Alan:
That is the very reason I use for being a wanabe mechanic. It is hard to find reliable service in the car restore/modification market.

Sorting out a new car is tuff; other than the thermostatic switch, what else is a problem, why on stands? Might as well depend on ordering most parts rather than finding them at the local parts store.
 
It needs some wiring work, the interior needs refitting properly - to say it was put back in slapdash is to praise it more than it deserves, and I need to fit the rebuilt distributor when it comes back (thanks again Jeff).

Its up on stands so's I can get to the thermostat at the bottom of the rad - actually it is on the dining table right now. I can't find a match for it at Summit/Jegs either. This is going to be fun.

If I were to keep it I'd do the Masters wiring harness over the winter and put a new interior in, but I'm just not feeling it. I keep looking at 7 clones...
 
That pic made me smile. It's great to see someone really driving their TR. I drove LBC's through the worst winters for many years before wimping out. My wife still drives her MGA daily no matter what the weather from March to the end of October...This year she originally planned to drive it right through the winter...but since buying the truck we have a spare modern vehicle, so it's just not worth the hassle to keep it going all winter when theres a perfectly good modern car sitting right there. But as soon as spring hits the MGA will be back out in full daily driver status.
 
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