Hi MW,
> 1. I believe the front top bow just "floats" in position and is held in
> proper place by the strap and tension of the top itself. My TR3A had
> the top straps off and I fooled around with the placement for several
> hours till I got it in a position that created sufficient tension on the
> top as well as a comfortable height for my head.
That's the conclusion that I came to as well. It seemed logical to
think that it would collapse all the way back til the bow ends rest
on the middle bow, but there didn't seem to be any way that could be
right. Mine is all adjusted and fitting pretty well now, floating
as you describe.
> 2. Can't comment on the side screens as the ones I have are probably J.
> C. Whitney replacements that don't fit; I have not installed the
> mounting brackets and probably will not. On a related note, though, on
> a 60 MGA that has similar side screens, I was able to remove the
> Plexiglas by bowing it slightly and getting it to come out of the
> frame. On both the MGA and the TR3A, both window panels slide fore and
> aft so setting replacements in should be done in a manner that will
> allow water to go past the over lapping window in front.
I have the older style side screens that are a one piece plexi unit,
no sliding possible, though I trust that inclement weather will
still find a way around. I could try bowing the plexi a bit and see
what happens. Why is that everything on these little cars that you
want to take apart is stuck together by God Almighty and the pieces
we screw, bolt, rivet, weld in place fall off on such a regular
basis? I am not sure what I am going to do about this. I can get
these from Moss for about $260, or $450 for the new fangled units
with movable plexiglass panels. I will probably need to lacerate
myself with broken pieces of shattered plexi before I understand what
a good deal these replacement pieces are.
> 3. Speed Bleeders. I do most of my work at night, sometimes late at
> night and found the allure of speed bleeders pretty high. Rarely get to
> bleeding until my wife is sick of the thought of coming down to help. I
> ordered a set of Speed Bleeders for the MGA (7 brake and one clutch
> slave cylinder) and ultimately sent all but the clutch slave bleeder
> back. The problem I had was they would not seat far enough in the brake
> cylinders to permit a good seal. I tried using additional teflon tape
> to try to get the seal tight, but never was able to get them to work
> properly. Now on the clutch (which was a 3/8 dia. fitting instead of
> the 1/4 inch used on the brakes, it worked fine. That could be because
> the clutch slave cylinder has a very small capacity and one good pump on
> the clutch pedal can fully purge the slave cylinder. Thus the presence
> of air bubbles in the clutch slave cylinder is not so much an issue as
> in the front brakes where the disk brakes have a larger, two chamber
> capacity that can not be purged in a single pedal movement.
Well the bleeders are in and when I get the broken brake line
replaced, I will get to test these units on a TR3. The clutch
cylinder bleeding was a breeze.
> By the way, have you had the car on the road enough to see if there is
> an overheating issue?
Bought the auto in the next town up the interstate, have only had it
on the road getting it home and in the garage. It steered poorly at
the beginning of the ride, had lost all semblance of braking by the
end of the ride. I don't think it overheated, but I was pretty
distracted as I rolled down the hill toward my garage and realized
the brakes were taking the rest of the day off. I don't recall the
temperature gauge at all. Motor had 80plus pound of oil pressure and
enough torque to spit up small chunks of the pavement as I tried to
get to know the clutch. Steering, we don't need no stinkin
steering. As I say, I was pretty distracted.
I don't know how my fixes are going to hold up when I get back on the
road, but I have seatbelts which I will be using and I may opt for a
helmet as well.
> Good luck
Yes, luck would be a welcome thing, I think.
I, or a representative of my estate, will post immediately after I
get this thing rolling.
Geezer, Buffy and the twins
59 TR3 TS52320 (a daily driver wannabe)
|