So, I got my car back on the road just before Christmas. It was on the stands in the garage, but how did it get there.....?
Throughout the 90's the Six was my daily driver and occasional autocross and track day car. I drove it like crazy and ran it hard. It started with me as a wreck, I turned it into a show car, and the daily driving turned it back into a daily driver. Along the way, a lot of stuff wore out, worst being the transmission. By the middle of the 2000's, she would not shift except if I doubleclutched it hard.
My wife and I were about to become parents, so I decided to yank the tranny and rebuild it before my daughter arrived. We all know what they say about the best laid plans....
With the tranny out and measured up, I found that it really was worn out. The bearings in the bottommost shaft were shot as well. After having a machine shop work the bottom most shaft over and getting all the right parts, I began looking for synchros. No luck. I wanted NOS parts as I had been told that the repros were crap.
Several years passed, my daughter was born, learned to walk, learned to talk, and still the car was on stands.
Then I lucked into a set of genuine NOS synchros and a clutch kit. By myself, I wrestled the tranny back into the car and hoped to get it back on the road. Unfortunately, something was wrong, and it would not shift at all. I could not figure out what I did wrong.
After pulling the tranny back out and going through everything with a digital micrometer (everything was correct), I decided to check the clutch. Lo and behold, it was not close in dims to the old one. Since the 'old' one only had about 5k miles on it, I stuck it, and a new friction plate in and she shifted like a new car!
So on my 2011 birthday, my car was back on the road and driving!
My buddy Matt helped me put the transmission back in the car this last time, and he is a Triumph fanatic (of the 2 wheeled variety), so we had to go tear up some backroads and get a cool pic of the Triumphs together......
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Boxes At The Door....
Boxes at the door mean a busy weekend!
I'm currently in the middle of a bunch of repairs on the Six. As mentioned in the previous post, a smell of gasoline led to a huge list of fixes. The final task was/is installing a new gas tank in the car.
That task is near complete, but not quite yet.
So a new master cylinder is now in the car, as well as a rebuilt slave cylinder.
While I had the Master and Slave Cylinder out of the car, I decided to change the oil and pull the oil filter canister. I wanted to paint up the canister and get it looking right. I stripped it and painted it up.
While I had it out, a friend on 6-Pack forums offered a modern oil filter adapter for the car at a price I could not pass up. So that filter adapter is on the way, but I'll wait to oil the car back up until it is here. Thanks Ken!
Oh yeah, one other detail.... I got a used Carbon Canister bracket from another 6-Pack member and plan to strip it, paint it and re-install it on the car as soon as possible. Thanks Steven!
So, its another week off the road, but she'll be so much better when done!
I'm currently in the middle of a bunch of repairs on the Six. As mentioned in the previous post, a smell of gasoline led to a huge list of fixes. The final task was/is installing a new gas tank in the car.
That task is near complete, but not quite yet.
This has also reminded me that that the trunk looks like hell.... Evidence of 3 different body colors during the car's life, as well as damage from the gas leak. Definitely a task for this summer. I need to get the paint straightened out and get the thing looking ok again.
However, the boxes at the door were for other tasks....
First up, while the car was on jackstands, I found that the clutch master cylinder was leaking. As soon as I found the leak, I drained the system and pulled the cylinders out of the car. The slave last got a kit put in it back in the late 90's, so it was due. I decided to replace the master cylinder outright. What I found was that the cap was trashed, the return spring was broken, seals worn out and the pushrod clevis pin holes were worn flat out!
I would have rebuilt the master cylinder (have done it plenty of times before) but I found that the cost of the parts was near the cost of a new assembly, and the pushrod is no longer available by itself. I'll go ahead and rebuild the master when I find kits on sale at TRF, and keep it as a spare.
So a new master cylinder is now in the car, as well as a rebuilt slave cylinder.
While I had the Master and Slave Cylinder out of the car, I decided to change the oil and pull the oil filter canister. I wanted to paint up the canister and get it looking right. I stripped it and painted it up.
Oh yeah, one other detail.... I got a used Carbon Canister bracket from another 6-Pack member and plan to strip it, paint it and re-install it on the car as soon as possible. Thanks Steven!
So, its another week off the road, but she'll be so much better when done!
Friday, February 17, 2012
A Can Of Worms
When you're working on a car your own age every job you take on seems to lead to another. I think thats due in part to the age of the car, the miles it has traveled, and also because of the way it was designed. Lets face it, they did design fine cars back then, but we do know a little more 40 years later on how to design a proper widget.
My own current can of worms started with a stink. After bringing my '73 back to life, the garage quickly filled with a strong odor of gasoline. Not a faint whiff like you left the cap loose on the lawnmower, but a strong odor, enough to fill the garage and make me scared to flip the light switch for fear of igniting an inferno!
First, I went after the usual subjects. I tightened the screws on the fuel pump, replaced all the fuel lines in the engine bays and did a full rebuild on the old Zenith Strombergs. All that effort actually did help, and some of the odor began to go away.
It was not all gone however..... and my wife was quick to let me know about it.
I then remembered that I had disconnected the carbon cannister and removed it from the car years ago. All the vent lines were venting to the atmosphere. A call to my father had him looking through the stash of old parts I had stashed in my parent's garage over in Arkansas. Those boxes had not been touched in about 15 yrs, but Dad found the canister anyway.
US Postal delivered the box a few days later and it took me no time to hook it back up in the car. Problem Solved!
Wrong.....
The only thing left that I could replace was the main line from the tank to the pump. So, up on the stands the car went and out came the line. Not before giving me a nice gasoline shower however. Gave what little hair I have left on my head a nice sheen.
While I was under there, I noticed a drip from the spare tire well. Not an active drip, but the evidence of one that had gone on too long. I touched my finger too it and instantly I knew I had bigger problems than I expected...
Removing the tank only took the removal of a couple more bolts, so out she came. I scrutinized the tank and quickly found the culprit.... I think the photo says it all.
Ferrous cancer had finally eaten away at the tank and put a good size hole in the bottom. The only thing holding back a deluge of motion lotion was the tank sealant we had put in that tank 21 years ago.
So, now I'm about to install a spanking new fuel tank in the car. Hopefully this one will last as long as the original did!
My own current can of worms started with a stink. After bringing my '73 back to life, the garage quickly filled with a strong odor of gasoline. Not a faint whiff like you left the cap loose on the lawnmower, but a strong odor, enough to fill the garage and make me scared to flip the light switch for fear of igniting an inferno!
First, I went after the usual subjects. I tightened the screws on the fuel pump, replaced all the fuel lines in the engine bays and did a full rebuild on the old Zenith Strombergs. All that effort actually did help, and some of the odor began to go away.
It was not all gone however..... and my wife was quick to let me know about it.
I then remembered that I had disconnected the carbon cannister and removed it from the car years ago. All the vent lines were venting to the atmosphere. A call to my father had him looking through the stash of old parts I had stashed in my parent's garage over in Arkansas. Those boxes had not been touched in about 15 yrs, but Dad found the canister anyway.
US Postal delivered the box a few days later and it took me no time to hook it back up in the car. Problem Solved!
Wrong.....
The only thing left that I could replace was the main line from the tank to the pump. So, up on the stands the car went and out came the line. Not before giving me a nice gasoline shower however. Gave what little hair I have left on my head a nice sheen.
While I was under there, I noticed a drip from the spare tire well. Not an active drip, but the evidence of one that had gone on too long. I touched my finger too it and instantly I knew I had bigger problems than I expected...
Removing the tank only took the removal of a couple more bolts, so out she came. I scrutinized the tank and quickly found the culprit.... I think the photo says it all.
Ferrous cancer had finally eaten away at the tank and put a good size hole in the bottom. The only thing holding back a deluge of motion lotion was the tank sealant we had put in that tank 21 years ago.
So, now I'm about to install a spanking new fuel tank in the car. Hopefully this one will last as long as the original did!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Get A Bigger Hammer!
I started making money as a mechanic when I was 12. That first job was on a lawnmower. I gained a lot of skills working in different shops around town. However, the most important lesson, I learned from my uncle and father.
Most of the lessons I learned in the shops were how not to get a job done right. Most of the wrench slingers I worked with were fast and generally effective, but they were not terribly accurate and exacting.
A carb would need rebuilding and they'd get it done. But the screws would all have rounded off edges from the wrong screwdriver being used. Have a job that needs a little force, hit it. Didn't budge? Use a bigger hammer! Bolt heads would have plier marks because they were too --insert adjective here (lazy, ignorant, hung-over, etc). They made the same money as me, but I think I felt better when I got home. Pride in a job done right is worth it.
My dad was different. He was never a paid mechanic, but he liked to do the job right. He took an almost strange pleasure from having the right tool for the job. I did not matter what the job was, he could find just the right wrench for getting the job done. Got a small phillips head screw, he'd find the right size screwdriver for that screw.
His modus operendi was perfect for little British cars!
There is an old saying 'Give an Englishman a piece of metal and he'll do something foolish with it'. Triumphs are true to this saying, and while they ooze character and charm, they also typically ooze plenty of other automotive products as well, with oil being the most common. Accessing many of the parts that would leak often took a contortionists physique and a cartoonist's imagination to figure out what kind of tool you needed to get the job done!
The Triumph TR6, being a blend of old and new had some odd, old features such as a paper element in bucket for a filter. It was bolted into place on the side of the block, with a substantial chunk of frame right in front of it. A snake's den of curling fuel, vacuum and hydraulic lines obstruct any attempts to get at the canister with a socket wrench. Box end wrench? Fuggeddaboudit!
Enter the flat, reversible ratchet wrench! Back when Dad found this one, these were not something you found at every big box home improvement store- those stores did not exist... Mom and Pop store? Nope. I really don't know how he found it, however he did, and now it remains part of the tools I maintain my '73 roadster with.
Most of the lessons I learned in the shops were how not to get a job done right. Most of the wrench slingers I worked with were fast and generally effective, but they were not terribly accurate and exacting.
A carb would need rebuilding and they'd get it done. But the screws would all have rounded off edges from the wrong screwdriver being used. Have a job that needs a little force, hit it. Didn't budge? Use a bigger hammer! Bolt heads would have plier marks because they were too --insert adjective here (lazy, ignorant, hung-over, etc). They made the same money as me, but I think I felt better when I got home. Pride in a job done right is worth it.
My dad was different. He was never a paid mechanic, but he liked to do the job right. He took an almost strange pleasure from having the right tool for the job. I did not matter what the job was, he could find just the right wrench for getting the job done. Got a small phillips head screw, he'd find the right size screwdriver for that screw.
His modus operendi was perfect for little British cars!
There is an old saying 'Give an Englishman a piece of metal and he'll do something foolish with it'. Triumphs are true to this saying, and while they ooze character and charm, they also typically ooze plenty of other automotive products as well, with oil being the most common. Accessing many of the parts that would leak often took a contortionists physique and a cartoonist's imagination to figure out what kind of tool you needed to get the job done!
The Triumph TR6, being a blend of old and new had some odd, old features such as a paper element in bucket for a filter. It was bolted into place on the side of the block, with a substantial chunk of frame right in front of it. A snake's den of curling fuel, vacuum and hydraulic lines obstruct any attempts to get at the canister with a socket wrench. Box end wrench? Fuggeddaboudit!
Enter the flat, reversible ratchet wrench! Back when Dad found this one, these were not something you found at every big box home improvement store- those stores did not exist... Mom and Pop store? Nope. I really don't know how he found it, however he did, and now it remains part of the tools I maintain my '73 roadster with.
If you have a Triumph, make sure to get one of these. Nothing reaches the oil filter canister faster and easier. They are easier to get these days, so you have no excuse. Regardless of job, get the right tool for the job. The job will be done quicker, better, and you might even sleep better at night!
Where It All Began
My love of Triumphs goes back a long way. Farther back than myself as well.
My grandfather worked in the auto biz most of his life. Willys, Packard and a bunch of other long since dead American auto marques were his bread and butter. Unfortunately, after the GI's got home and bought their first cars, the market began to taper off and business went south for all those brands. My grandfather's business went south with it.
He stayed at it though, and eventually became connected with an import car dealership that sold Triumph among other brands.
My father grew up driving early Spitfires and TR4's. He would even ride on the parcel shelf of race prepared TR4's as a race driver employed by my grandfather drove them to and from the racetrack. That planted the seed of a very strong Triumph tree in my Dad.
Years later, Dad had his chance to get hold of a TR6. The size and character of a TR4, with slightly more rakish styling and gobs more power than a standard TR4. It did not hurt that it was more modern too! He restored the 74 1/2 he found and built a beautiful car. Hardtop, Overdrive and a Nardi steering wheel made the car even more special.
I was about 5 or 6 when he bought that car, and I grew up riding to car shows in the St. Louis area on the parcel shelf. We even road tripped around the Mid-west in that thing. They say that the acorn does not fall far from the tree, and yet another Triumph tree was planted- in me.
Dad promised his Six to me when I was old enough to drive. He sold it when I was about 8 or so and bought a bass boat. The bass boat was cool, but not nearly as cool as the Six!!!!
Time passed, but not mine and my father's love of Triumphs. So by the age of 12 I was looking in Hemmings Motor News and the classifieds in the local paper. I saved every buck I could earn mowing lawns and began to build a pretty good sum up. Dad made a deal with me that he would match every dollar I earned with one of his own and we searched for the right car together.
Then on summer vacation before my 15th birthday, we found it. Under a car cover, and with a goat standing on the bonnet, we saw the unmistakable silouette of a Triumph TR6. The cover was ragged and the car was worse. Motor did not turn over, brakes and tires were flat, and the interior was long since rotten. I think we found enough mouse homes to run a research center for years.
We started the restoration by rebuilding the brakes and clutch hydraulics. Rolling the car down the driveway and popping the clutch freed the locked motor. I don't remember how we got it back to the garage.
My uncle is a body man and knows how to straighten panels and lay some paint with the best of them. We took the car to his shop in Arkansas and the three of us worked our (his) magic over the period of a few weeks.
We continued that process for several weeks and after installing a new interior, we had a running car!!!!!!
My grandfather worked in the auto biz most of his life. Willys, Packard and a bunch of other long since dead American auto marques were his bread and butter. Unfortunately, after the GI's got home and bought their first cars, the market began to taper off and business went south for all those brands. My grandfather's business went south with it.
He stayed at it though, and eventually became connected with an import car dealership that sold Triumph among other brands.
My father grew up driving early Spitfires and TR4's. He would even ride on the parcel shelf of race prepared TR4's as a race driver employed by my grandfather drove them to and from the racetrack. That planted the seed of a very strong Triumph tree in my Dad.
Years later, Dad had his chance to get hold of a TR6. The size and character of a TR4, with slightly more rakish styling and gobs more power than a standard TR4. It did not hurt that it was more modern too! He restored the 74 1/2 he found and built a beautiful car. Hardtop, Overdrive and a Nardi steering wheel made the car even more special.
I was about 5 or 6 when he bought that car, and I grew up riding to car shows in the St. Louis area on the parcel shelf. We even road tripped around the Mid-west in that thing. They say that the acorn does not fall far from the tree, and yet another Triumph tree was planted- in me.
Dad promised his Six to me when I was old enough to drive. He sold it when I was about 8 or so and bought a bass boat. The bass boat was cool, but not nearly as cool as the Six!!!!
Time passed, but not mine and my father's love of Triumphs. So by the age of 12 I was looking in Hemmings Motor News and the classifieds in the local paper. I saved every buck I could earn mowing lawns and began to build a pretty good sum up. Dad made a deal with me that he would match every dollar I earned with one of his own and we searched for the right car together.
Then on summer vacation before my 15th birthday, we found it. Under a car cover, and with a goat standing on the bonnet, we saw the unmistakable silouette of a Triumph TR6. The cover was ragged and the car was worse. Motor did not turn over, brakes and tires were flat, and the interior was long since rotten. I think we found enough mouse homes to run a research center for years.
We started the restoration by rebuilding the brakes and clutch hydraulics. Rolling the car down the driveway and popping the clutch freed the locked motor. I don't remember how we got it back to the garage.
My uncle is a body man and knows how to straighten panels and lay some paint with the best of them. We took the car to his shop in Arkansas and the three of us worked our (his) magic over the period of a few weeks.
We continued that process for several weeks and after installing a new interior, we had a running car!!!!!!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
What is this blog about?
Welcome to Coventry's Finest. This is my blog dedicated to the finest sportscar to ever come out of Coventry, England, the Triumph TR6!
More specifically, this blog is about my experiences as a 3rd generation Triumph fanatic, and 20 plus year owner of the best car the Triumph marque produced. I hope to pass on some good tech info, practical advice and good old fashioned rambling about my ramblings in my 1973 TR6.
I hope you come back often, and find yourself at least mildly entertained!
More specifically, this blog is about my experiences as a 3rd generation Triumph fanatic, and 20 plus year owner of the best car the Triumph marque produced. I hope to pass on some good tech info, practical advice and good old fashioned rambling about my ramblings in my 1973 TR6.
I hope you come back often, and find yourself at least mildly entertained!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)