Item Subject: cc:Mail Text
Hi there!
I've got a project for this weekend that I don't want to screw up. I'm
going to tune my ignition system, something I've never done before. In
high school, (13 years ago!) I tuned old American cars with friends,
but I hardly remember anything.
I bought a timing gun, and a digital dwell meter ( tools I've never
used before) , I'll get new plugs and cables, and I think the
condenser and points are ok, so I don't think I'll need anything else.
I'm going to find a book on tune-ups before I start, and I have 4
different (mediocre) Tr3 shop manuals, but what should I REALLY know?
About my car:
I've got a 1959 ('60) TR3a. It's been mine for um, 9 years. The
previous owner was my Dad, and I inherited and restored it when he
died. It's in good shape, all things considered. So far, its all
stock, plus a bolt-on electric radiator fan. It certainly looks nice
anyway. The only real problems are bizarre electrical episodes, oil
leaks, noisy shifts, and overheating in traffic. I think the
alignment is off, and there is way too much free play in the steering,
but I have not figured out how to do anything about those problems
yet.
Re: the fan. I just put it on, and it seems to have really helped the
overheating problems, but I have been unable to calculate the
electrical capacity on my TR3's electrical system, so I don't know if
I am exceeding some tolerances, or headed for other trouble. Should I
be concerned?
Now for the Flammable Horns...
I was driving home late one night a couple of weeks ago, when some
fool tried to merge into me, and I hit the horn. The screws securing
the push switch had loosened, and the horns stuck on. In a normal car
this would have been embarrassing, or at most annoying. In my Tr3, it
was a crisis. After a few moments, white/brown smoke began to waft out
from under the hood, with that unbistakabe balkilite smell. I grabbed
the extinguisher ( always carried for just such an emergency! ), threw
open the hood, and yanked out the wires to the horns. This seemed to
be all that was required.
When I got home, I looked through my shop books and discovered that
Satan must have been on the design team at Triumph.
It turns out that the horns are a device like a cross between an
ancient electric doorbell and a bellows. Periodically, the driver is
supposed to dismantle the front engine cowl, and adjust the breaker
points on the horns. Manual says "Failing to perform this periodic
maintenance can result in the horns drawing excessive current, and
producing a short circuit in the auxiliary electrical system. As
flammable vapours can collect in the front cowling, this could be
hazardous."
What the hell in the 30 amp fuse supposed to be for?
After spending a whole day trying to find two 1/4 inch crescent
wrenches, I tried to "Adjust" the horns to the get the current draw as
specified in the manual. It took two hours, and 5 fuses to do it with
the horn mounted in the car (as recommended). I did not attempt the
second horn.
Am I insane, is there something bizarre and evil about my car, or am I
really supposed to do this?! Is there a way to adjust the horns
outside of the car? Is there a way to do it without removing the front
cowl??! Should I reduce the size of the fuse for the horns?
Please Enlighten me!
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