5 or 6 months ago I was thrilled to report that the TR3 engine had finally
fired. Well, tonight I'm equally proud to mention that for the first time,
it sat and idled on it's own. Now, it may seem excessive that it took 5 or
6 months, but we must remember that I have COMPLETELY stripped everything
and rebuilt it in an unheated garage, "not to specification", with no help
beyond this list (Thank you!) and have never put a wrench to a car before.
Many of you were great assistance with the carburetor question. That
resolution is almost to embarrassing to relate. Same, with the starter
(turned out to be a bad {brand new} solenoid). One thing this hobby does is
it sure makes you humble. I cannot begin to relate all of the times this
car has made me feel like an idiot.
After two (non lbc'er's) friends (who should however know about such
things) stopped by, we were able to get the same occasional fire as before
but nothing else. Someone suggested it might have the wrong plugs so I
pulled all the plugs and went to the parts store. Not so, according to the
Bentley Manual, the "obsolete cross reference" and the "old car
application." Home again, (by which time the help was long gone) and screw
the old plugs back in. Hit it one time and it sounded like it was VERY
close to running. Turned the thumb screw on the advance / retard adjustment
about a quarter of it's range and it sprang to life. Yahoo!
The idle is still very high (2000 rpm) but it will run as long as my
nerve
holds out :). The only way to kill it is with the ignition key. Can anyone
suggest a run in procedure from here?
I do owe this list a bunch. Today affirmed to me that I'd prefer to
hang
around with a few smart people (you folks) rather than the rest of the
world. Specialized knowledge conveniently available is the real power of
the 'net. Thanks again.
Ken Gano
'59 TR3A TS57756L (not purring, but belching evenly)
'58 TR10 (next victim)
|