Kill Switch:
Mike Cooper wrote in response to my kill switch suggestion:
"I believe this could cause the coil to overheat and burn out IF the
ignition is on while the kill switch is grounding the coil, I know this
isn't the intended mode of operation but it should be taken into
consideration."
A very interesting comment, one which caused me to do a lot of thinking.
Theoreticaly, it should not be a problem, but to be on the safe side, I
decided to do a test. I connected a spare Lucas coil to my battery charger,
and left it connected for an hour and a half. At the end of that time,
although the coil was very warm to the touch, no damage was done. I don't
believe the coil was any warmer than it would be from engine heat under
normal operating conditions, and I believe the temperature had stabilized at
the end of the test.
However, there have been other sugestions offered in this forum that work
just as well, and do not risk coil burnout. It would probably be a good idea
to use one of them, rather than mine.
Ultimately, I think it is worthwhile to install a commercial alarm unit. I
have one in my TR6, and I replaced the mechanical fuel pump with an
electrical unit, tied into the alarm unit. When the alarm unit is on, both
the starter and the fuel pump are disabled. In addition, I added a hidden
switch in fuel pump circuit to disable the pump when I park long term, such
as overnight at a motel.
Kris Cotton offered an excellent idea for using three switches. Kris, can you
provide a source (part No., etc.) for the switches you used - I don't know of
any place to buy switches that operate the way you show them. The three-way
switches that I can find locally have the contacts on one side of the switch
isolated from the other, in all positions.
Panasport Wheels:
I Have a set of Panasport wheel on my TR6. They are a drastic improvement
over the wire wheels I had on the car, from a handling standpoint. I much
prefer the looks of the wire wheels, but mine were worn to the point of being
dangerous. The only problem I have with Panasports is that they rub on the
suspension components if I turn the wheel hard in either direction. I
discussed this with Dave Hagenbuch at TRF, and he said most TR6s don't have a
problem, but once in a while one does. He also said that often one side is
worse than the other. This is the cas on my car - left turns are much worse
than right turns (which is no problem - if I turn right long enough, its the
same as a left turn, right?). I offer this just as info for those who are
considering Panasports I bought 1/4 " spacers, but the lug nuts are not long
enough for these. When time permits, I will replace the lug nuts, and use the
spacers. I belive 1/8 " extra clearance is enough.
Replacement Dashboards:
Under the heading of "wharever its worth", I replaced the dash in my "under
construction" TR6 with a home-made unit.
Since I am putting a Ford 302 V8 in it, I could not use the Mechanical tach,
and a couple of the instruments were bad, I decided to replace all the gauges
with Auto-meter units. Because of this, I could not use a commercial unit. I
have more hours in the dash than any other single aspect of the car so far.
The most difficult part of making it was cutting the glove box door out of
the solid piece of 1/2 " Oak I used, and making the hole for the lock
mechanism.
I used a scroll saw, and tons of patience and sweat, to cut out the door. For
access for the scroll saw blade, I drilled small holes where the hinges would
go. This way, when the hinge cutouts were made, the holes would go away. For
the lock hole, I made a fixture to hold the glovebox door at a 14 deg angle,
and used two forstner drills to make the round part of the hole. The first
was a 15/16", which drilled to a depth of about 1/8 ", then a 3/4 " to drill
through. The "keyhole" portion was cut by hand, using a very sharp chisel.
I hope I didn't go on too long about this, but maybe it will be of interest
to anyone else contemplating making their own dash
Differentials:
Does any one know what the torque/horsepower ratings are for the stock
differential unit and U-joints? Are there stronger u-joints available that
will fit? I know the factory TR6 racers had about 190 HP, and 186 lb-ft
torque, but, according to Ford Motorsports, the engine I am using will
produce 320 HP, and 340 ft-lb torque. I certainly didn't need this much
power, but I wanted the aluminum heads for weight reduction, and thats the
way they come from the Ford Factory. (by the way, with the aluminum heads,
intake manifold, and water pump, the 302/T5 transmission combination weighs
about 10 pounds less than the TR6 engine/trans combo). I bought a Jag rear
end, thinking to adapt it to the TR6 axle shafts, but when I saw the drastic
difference between the Jag and the TR U-joints, I realised I would be wasting
my time unless I replaced everything out to the hubs. Any suggestions?
Dan Masters
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