Lest I get accused of being one of the'originality police' let me
describe Lazarus, my 52TD (#10855).
Engine: When I found him in 1988 he was suffering from having been
Volvoized sometime in his youth. The perpetrators never finished the
job so he had never been powered by the B16B that was under the bonnet.
It took a bit of hunting, but I was able to buy a late '53 engine
(28839) to replace the original (11225). Recently I rebuilt the engine
and bored it out .040", giving a displacement of about 1308 cc. The
valves were brought up to TF specs and the ports were matched to the
manifolds. I had .100" milled off of the head to give a compression
ratio of slightly over 9:1. This is about a stage 2.5 tuning.
Differential: A set of 4.3 gears from an MGA have been installed. This
allows me to cruise easily on Interstates at about 3600 rpm for 60 mph.
The added engine power more than compensates for the reduction in
torque. Besides, I can readily drop down into third gear and top out at
65 mph. BTW, I still have the original 5.125 gear set.
Ignition: I have installed a Pertronix system and use a Lucas Sports
Coil. The original points plate is in the tool box in case of an attack
by gremlins. http://home.earthlink.net/~budkrueger/Pertronix_Into_TD.html
Heater: Lazarus gets used year around. I've installed a 50's vintage
Arnolt heater with the diverter in the bypass hose.
http://home.earthlink.net/~budkrueger/Arnolt.html
Instrumentation: One of the first things that I installed was a
combination oil pressure/water temperature gauge. Lazarus is a bout a
month too old to have had one at birth. Motometers are nice to look at,
but are grossly inaccurate.
Cooling system: I have added an overflow recovery tank from an MGB.
The purpose is to avoid the loss of coolant that occurs at cruising
speeds when coolant gets into the overflow pipe and gets sucked out into
the air stream under the car. It comes back up through the engine
compartment and out through the louvers to make a mess on the bonnet and
fenders. This bit of plumbing (easily removable) eliminates the loss
and the mess. http://home.earthlink.net/~budkrueger/Overflow_tank.html
Lighting: Lazarus was about 15 months too old to have gotten turn
signals, but he has them now through the installation of the appropriate
wiring harness and components. A recent modification has converted them
into 4-way emergency flashers. A few additional fuses and relays have
been added for peace of mind and convenience.
Tires: Dunlop SP-20 radials.
Accessories: This week I was able to acquire a Doretti badge bar to fill
a few holes put into Lazarus' fenders some 50 years ago.
http://home.earthlink.net/~budkrueger/BadgeBar.html.
Lazarus is not a trailer queen.
http://home.earthlink.net/~budkrueger/OldFriend.html
Bud Krueger
52TD
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