>The more I look over the car the more confused I get. For instance, the
>Chassis plate on the driver's side door jamb states that the car was
>built in Sep. 71 (a '72 model), the chassis number is CC75665L, and the
>color code is 55. According to the information I have, that color code
>was not used after the 1971 model year 9or, at least, wasn't used in
>'72).
For a car made near the transition, it's quite possible that a
previous-year color would be used. I'm not sure how far I'd trust the
lists of what color was available in what year as much as other information.
They probably had left-over paint.
> Some of the other mechanicals (like the radiator hose layout)
>also don't appear to match the '72 model year, but those might have
>been changed by a PO. Comments? FWIW, the engine number is CC75510E.
>I'm beginning to wonder if this particular car was put together with
>whatever pieces Triumph may have had laying about. :)
Probably. The engine number seems to match the car - 150 different
is basically a match.
>Also, I was stuck waiting in line for the drive-through teller and I
>noticed the engine temperature starting to approach the red line of the
>gauge. Now there was still plenty of white left before overheating, but
>I was only idling for about 10 minutes, and it was a cool day. Is this
>typical?
You're probably missing the cardboard (yes) shroud between the
radiator and the fan - without it the fan is rather ineffective. Mine is
missing it also - on a hot day, idling, my needle will go from less than 1/4
to ~1/2 (highest I've seen it go after ~20-30 minutes, though it was still
rising).
TR6 springs revisited:
I just got back from ~650 miles of mostly-highway travel to my 15th
reunion in my '70 TR6. The good news - it didn't miss a beat, and with the
new alignment it's drivable on the highway - I got up to 85 without a shimmey.
Driving on the highway is a bore, but the 25 miles each way by twisty backroads
from my parent's to the school each day were a blast - perfect convertible
weather. And the TR6 is too heavy for my former classmates to carry up the
stairs into the administation building like they did my '65 Sprite.... :-)
That's still considered one of the most memorable moments of our class's time
at the school.
The bad news: the fronts springs mentioned before are really way too
stiff. Perhaps they might do for autocross (with stiffer rears), but they're
like rocks for regular driving. If you hit anything with one tire the whole
car tilts over to match. It's made doubly bad by the fact that the left-rear
seems to either have sagged (unlikely, it's a new uprated spring with <4000
miles on it) or there's something wrong with the frame/mounts, and that the
rear shocks definitely need to be replaced - topping up with oil last fall
hasn't really helped.
More bad news: after that trip, the driveshaft ujoints are complaining
about not being replaced when I did the rears. (Yes I know I should have,
but I didn't have enough new nylocks, and wanted to get the car back on the
road.) They've been making little complaints under full torque for a year
or more, but after that trip they're noticably louder (and showing up under
lesser amounts of torque). And I even had them greased when the alignment was
done, too. Oh well, it shouldn't be that bad, and while I'm in the rear I
can check the rear springs/etc and drop rebuilt shocks in.
Lastly, I've got a problem with the drivers-side door: it pops
open, especially when I have the window up (and thus don't have my arm applying
a small amount of inward pressure). I assume it's working it's way loose
due to vibration/flex and outward pressure from my knee and shoulder. Has
anyone dealt with something like this? Do I need to grease it, or replace
the latch, or re-adjust the latch-plate, or ??? It's rather annoying, both
from safety and annoyance sides. It seems to do it every half an hour or
so with the window up on the highway, and has done so since I bought it.
--
Randell Jesup, Scala US R&D
Randell.Jesup@scala.com
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