'58 Complementary Triumph TR3 Motorcar

In Jim Weir wrote:

Of course, there is an alternator conversion for the Lucas (Prince of
Darkness) generator, and while it isn't exactly "stock", it does a lot
for the reliability of the machine.

I don't believe we ever had any trouble with the lucas generator in the
MGA which has been in the family since '63. Either that or my dad never
mentioned it, and I think he would have had it gone bad at some point.

You can also buy a Pertronix electronic ignition module for most of the
old Lucas distributors which replaces the points and condenser.

The wire loom that goes under the
carpet by the copilot's feet is also very interesting when it finally
frays shorted on a lonely road in Kansas between St. Louis and San
Diego {;-)

On the MGA the wiring to the SU fuel pump (which sits behind the
passenger seat) and rear light wiring is held in the same clips that
hold the fuel line to the inner frame rail. Now that was good thinking!
8^P Course these are the same people who saw no need to include a rear
main oil seal on the engine. At least they put a drain hole in the
bottom of the transmission bell housing.

----------------------------------------------------
Del Rawlins-
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On Mon, 02 Feb 2004 17:12:38 -0800, Jim Weir wrote:

The only reason I'm looking for a '58 is that the Cessna is a '58 also.

A Studebaker Avanti then?

Don
(Ignoring the gullwing SL.)

Another random thought or two, starting with California aviation
history: For many years, the FBO at Santa Ynez had '58 Chevy
Biscaynes as their rental fleet. Maybe they bought them from a
Tijuana taxi company. I seem to recall that they went for $8/day in
1970. Gas was thirty cents a gallon.

Typically, V8s of the '50s got 12-13 miles to a gallon. Caddys got as
much as 17. Remember the "Mobilegas Economy Run"? 20 mpg was
unheard-of for Detroit iron. Until the Falcon and Corvair. (OK. I'm
slighting the Nash Metropolitan.)

'58 was the only year for Chevys with that particular rounded body
style. The next year, Chevy went to the Martian Ground-Chariot body.
Basically, they hammered the fins on the '57 over sideways. '55s,
'56s and '57s all used different tricks to hide the gas cap behind the
left tail=light so that green gas-jockeys couldn't find it.

My old man had a '58 that he must have bought around '61. It was
painted what could only be called, "GM chalky sorta-blue." I learned
to shift on his '54, which was "GM chalky pretty-much-gray."

Don't mind me, I'm old.

Don

In rec.aviation.owning Del Rawlins wrote:
In wrote:

What is the one statement that is ALWAYS true about dual SU carbs?
They are out of sync.

You are speaking for yourself here. Once properly set, they typically
stay that way until the next idiot decides to screw with them in an
attempt to fix some problem caused by the Lucas ignition.

Not quite...

I still remember the picture quiz in one of the car mags that showed a
pair of SUs with the question "What are these?", the correct answer
being "Out of sync".

Other than cleaning the points and plugs at 3k and replacing them at
6k, I never had any problems with the ignition systems. Of course this
was before gold or platinum plugs became available.

I especially loved the carb on the Triumph. It didn't take long to learn
to keep a spare diaphram and a screwdriver in the trunk for when the
damn thing cracked and started leaking air limiting your max speed to
about 15MPH. Armoralling them seemed to make them last a bit longer.

--
Jim Pennino, spender of way too may Sundays sitting on the tyres of
British road oilers

Remove -spam-sux to reply.

Once the mechanic informed me the Jag repair would be delayed
several weeks, as the gaskets had to come from England.

I replied, "A real mechanic could just make the gaskets from
a sheet of cork."

"No, " he said, "This is a British car. You have to use a sheep."


wrote in message
...
In rec.aviation.owning Jim Weir wrote:
What does that mean?

Jim


Abafon Goula
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

-Hemmings Motor News

Trade-A-Plane equivalent for cars, emphasis on classics/collectibles.

Some things to keep in mind if you buy a British road oiler:

Why do the British drink warm beer?
Because they have Lucas refrigerators.

Why didn't the Germans bomb the Lucas factory in WWII?
They considered it to be allied territory.

How to interpret oil puddles under a British car:

Platter size - time for new seals and gaskets all around.
Saucer size - everything is normal.
no puddle - you are out of oil.

What is the one statement that is ALWAYS true about dual SU carbs?
They are out of sync.

Start looking now for a source of wentworth wrenches and bumper stickers
reading "All the parts falling off this car are of the finest English
workmenship". I'd send you one but I used the last one on the Jag.


--
Jim Pennino, Clean fingernails and British car free since 1985

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wrote in message
...
Jim Pennino, spender of way too may Sundays sitting on the tyres of
British road oilers

On the GT6 they made sitting on the tire to work on the engine real easy.
The entire bonnet tilted forward.

In Don Tuite wrote:

Typically, V8s of the '50s got 12-13 miles to a gallon. Caddys got as
much as 17. Remember the "Mobilegas Economy Run"? 20 mpg was
unheard-of for Detroit iron. Until the Falcon and Corvair. (OK. I'm
slighting the Nash Metropolitan.)

And of course the Nash Metropolitan used the same basic engine that is
installed in my MGA, albeit with a somewhat milder cam and only one
carburetor. The MG gets about 28 mpg if you can keep your foot out of
the throttle.

----------------------------------------------------
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In m Gerry Caron wrote:

"Jim Weir" wrote in message
...
My lady has just informed me that she would consider a complementary
Triumph TR3
to our classic '58 Cessna 182 a good idea. She's willing to cash in
her
old
Chevy on the Triumph...oil leaks and all...for a TR-3 of that era.

Anybody got a lead on one of those old rascals?


Just like old airplanes, start with the type club. Here's the web
site for one close by you, the Sacramento Valley MG Car Club:

http://www.svmgcc.org/

While Jim is looking for a Triumph, I think your suggestion makes a lot
of sense. 8^)

----------------------------------------------------
Del Rawlins-
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Jim Weir wrote in message . ..
My lady has just informed me that she would consider a complementary Triumph TR3
to our classic '58 Cessna 182 a good idea. She's willing to cash in her old
Chevy on the Triumph...oil leaks and all...for a TR-3 of that era.

Anybody got a lead on one of those old rascals?


Jim, running for Governor made most of us believe that you had lost
your mind. This PROVES it.

Why do they say "There will always be an England"?

Because when they finally turn off that great ignition the entire
country will just keep running on.

- John (FORMER owner 59 TR-3, 66 TR-4A) Ousterhout -

Don Tuite wrote:

Another random thought or two, starting with California aviation
history: For many years, the FBO at Santa Ynez had '58 Chevy
Biscaynes as their rental fleet.

If you really object to tinkering with cars to keep them running, don't buy *any*
American iron made in '58.

George Patterson
Love, n.: A form of temporary insanity afflicting the young. It is curable
either by marriage or by removal of the afflicted from the circumstances
under which he incurred the condition. It is sometimes fatal, but more
often to the physician than to the patient.