Major Maintenance!

Just took Thanksgiving week off to enjoy some time doing things I wanted to do..... One of them was to work on the TR!

I finished up all of the items listed below.

- Balance Wheels
- Re-grease front wheelbearings
- Hit all Grease Zerks on Universal joints
- Pull rear axles and grease splines
- Top up Differential (GL4)
- Top up Transmission (GL4)
- Change oil and filter (ZR1 20-50)
- Check exhaust joints and mounting
- Check installation of Goodparts TA Brackets and Addco Rear Bar
- Install stainless clutch line
- Paint drums with caliper paint and cook (painted and cooking now)
- Paint calipers with caliper paint and cook them.

Pretty good list if I do say so myself!

The car drives great now too with the wheels balanced better than they were.

Some Photos From Around Town!

Just some cool photos from around town.....

Panlong OBD II scanner for modern cars.

I know some of you will occasionally work on your daily drivers/modern cars and I do as well...

Over the years, I've gone to Autozone/FLAPS to have the codes read off the ECU and find out what was wrong with the car. I've saved myself a ton of money over the years replacing my own sensors and other simple parts that were not major issues, but I hate having to go to the store to have the codes read. There are code readers available at the same stores, but they can be a little expensive.

My wife's DD (Honda) recently started 'acting funny' to her, but when I drive it, it seems fine. I popped up the 'wrench' signal a couple days later, but provided a direct Honda code on the dash indicating it was time for a tire rotation and transmission fluid change. Wife was still convinced there must be something wrong with the engine.

I found that since I had last looked at a code reader a couple years ago, new versions have come out in the form of a Bluetooth enabled code reader which uses your smartphone as an interface. That is nice because the code readers I've used at the FLAPS usually have a pretty clunky interface.

The first one I looked at was an ELM127 reader, which is available for about $20 on Amazon. There appear to be a couple different versions, but then I found the newest version in the Panlong Mini OBD II scanner. Lots of positive reviews on Amazon about the scanner.

I ordered one via Amazon Prime and got it in about 2 days with free shipping. Cost was about $15.

To use the device, you have to download an appropriate app to your phone. The suggested app for this unit is called 'Torque'. There is a free version and a 'Pro' version for about $5. I have only used the free version so far. The unit can be a little finicky in pairing with your phone and then reading the car. It was easy with the wife's Honda, took 2 tries for me to get the sequence right with the Chevy (I think I just did not wait long enough with it the first time).

What I've learned so far is that I can:
- Read all the codes in the car (Amy's car and my truck are both running fine and neither had any codes....)
- Set up an interface to see running diagnostics as the car is running and driving (only works with the Bluetooth/Android version, won't work with the Iphone supposedly).
- Add other performance based measures which use the GPS and the accellerometer in the phone to assist in the calculation.

For $15 and the free app, I'd say its completely worth it. I guess maybe I'll see later if I see an issue with the car via the Panlong that it truly pays for itself.

If nothing else, in my mind, it makes sense to know what codes your car is throwing when you have a problem even if you take it to someone for service. More information means less of a chance of getting ripped off.

So if you work on your modern car, this little device so far seems worth it.

Memphis Euro Car Show 2015

The Memphis Euro Car Fest was a great event again. Unfortunately early morning rain held a few people back from coming (in my estimation) but turnout was still pretty good.

I ended up again with a 2nd place in the TR category, placing behind my buddy Dave and his great looking TR250.

Here are some photos.

New Wheels For The Old Girl!

I grew up with Dad telling me about the Group 44 TR6's and seeing TR6's with Minilites and Panasports on them. I've always wanted to put the same wheels on my car, but costs prohibited that....

Well, in the past few years, a wheel was introduced which mimics fairly closely the look of the original Minilite, but with a modern spin. It is also much more economical than a set of Panasports. Despite the low cost, I've seen enough sets on other owners cars that appear to have served them well and given no problems.

With cost out of the way, I decided to get a set. Father's day helped fund the project and off I went.

One major detail about the Konig Rewind and any 15x7 wheel on a TR6 is that they normally require spacers on the front to prevent the wheel from rubbing the suspension where the upright hits the upper ball joint and upper A-arms. A 15x6 will not do this, but I've not found a 15x6 Konig Rewind. There are two problems with running spacers - you need longer studs, and you will get outer fender rub!

My friend Keith has a set of the 15x7 Konigs on his car, and he had already gone through the modifications necessary to make his car eliminate the rubbing. He gave me some photos which showed what needed to be done and helped out with parts too.

Basically, the upper suspension area needs some heavy mods to eliminate the rub points, and you need a larger steering turn stop. The larger steering turn stop reduces your turn circle slightly, but I really have not been bothered by it too much yet.

For the upper ball joint area, I used my angle grinder and simply ground away anything that rubbed. After the work was done, I repainted everything to prevent rust and considered it done. This really took 3 tries on the driver's side, and 1 try on the passenger. As you can see, at full stop in reverse, there still is not a lot of room. This photo was taken before the oversized steering stop was fitted though.

The Steering stop is pretty simple. Unbolt the old one and bolt in the new one. Sourcing one is not so easy though. Keith had gotten two sets and gave me the largest set he got as he had not used it. Its to the far right in this photo (photos below are Keith's photos)

With all that work done, I'm very happy. The car drives extremely well. I'm a firm believer in the idea that you don't know how bad something is until you have something better- well, my old wheels must have been nearly egg shaped. Gone completely are the interstate vibrations and shakes that I felt at certain speeds. Everything is smooth as can be.

I'll get more 'good' photos later.

Triumph TR6 Sill Plates

I saw these on sale at TRF a number of months ago. Apparently everyone else did too as they went on backorder. Well, they finally came in and I was able to install them pretty quickly.

Some 3M body molding tape and #6 stainless screws did the job.

They cover nicely the scratched up sills that had survived years of abuse from passengers that hopped out without thinking about their safety belts.

TR6 Autocross Video

This vid was shot the same day that the photo in my avatar was taken. I really enjoyed autocrossing the TR6 and would like to do some more.

Wiring a TRiumph or other British Car

One of the tasks that you'll face as you work on a British car is the need to solder on a new bullet connector. Its an easy task, but it helps to use the right technique.

I documented my technique below. Maybe this video will help you or someone you know.

Videos from 2015 Mitty!

Here are some vids I shot at the Mitty!

First off, my touring laps.

 

 

Some awesome racing shot at turn 5 and 7.

 



 

And finally, the Coker Tour to get there.

 



2015 Walter Mitty at Road America

This year I was able to attend 'The Mitty' at Road Atlanta for the 3rd time. Again it was an absolutely awesome time. This year was made even more fun by the fact that my father was able to join me with his own TR6.

Before getting out to the Mitty, we spent time at Coker Tire and participated in the Coker Tire Tour which was put on by Classic Motorsports Magazine. The tour at Coker was great, and the drive down to Road Atlanta from Chattanooga was an awesome tour as well.

At the Mitty, we camped out and watched countless awesome races. The big bore stuff was a lot of fun to watch this year, as were the small bore stuff that included the Triumphs, Alfas, MG's and small Porsches.

We topped off the weekend by getting to tour the track several times in our cars. In total I got about 8 laps around the track. That was an absolute blast!

If you get the chance to go to the Mitty, you have to go. It has become one of the highlights of my year!

 

TR6 Dash Refinish and Dash Pad Replacement -- Part 2

To replace my top dash pad, I had to first remove my dash panel. I had done this as part of the dash refinishing, so that was out of the way. The second step was to remove the windshield frame. This was a bigger problem.

The real reason that the first dash top pad (which we replaced in 1991) peeled loose is that we were unable to remove the windshield frame. Its brackets were rusted absolutely solid. Every attempt at levering, banging, hammering, etc yielded nothing. Eventually, I got one of my neighbors to come over and help yank on it. I eventually ended up getting out my torch and heating the bracket- Heat did the trick! (and I did not set the car on fire).

With the windshield frame out, I was able to peel the old dash pad out easily and install the new one. I did glue the new pad in place. I did not want it peeling up 10 years from now.

 

TR6 Dash Refinish and Dash Pad Replacement

Before the 2015 driving season was to start, I decided to refinish the dash in my TR, as well as finally replace the top pad of my dash area. The dash itself had a little sun and water damage, and frankly I had not really finished it correctly in the first place. The top dash panel itself had released from the scuttle and from under the windshield frame and it was curling up. It looked terrible!

To re-do the dash panel, I had to remove all the instruments and separate the panel from the car.

From there, I block sanded the panel with 320 grit paper. This process took quite a while as I wanted to take it down past the sun/water damaged areas. Next up, I used Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil Gunstock finish to finish the dash panel. The way I did this was by using progressively finer grits of paper and 'wet-sanding' the dash. The lubricant for each grade of paper was the Tru-Oil itself.

My process was to put a drop of Tru-Oil on the dash, sand in small circles with the paper, then wipe the slurry off the board, across the grain so that I would push it into the grain and fill it. I did this 4-5 times with the 400 grit paper and 2-3 times with the 600 grit paper. Finally, I used 1000 grit, 1200, 1500, 2000 and 3000 grit paper.

Finally, I 'French polished' the dash with straight Tru-Oil with a little cotton buff. After letting this sit for a week, I buffed this out with a microfiber towel and Meguiars plastic polish. I chose the plastic polish because it is very gentle.

The results are wonderful!