Jeff,
Great stories, but if I'm ever out in your area and need a ride
somewhere --- I'll call a cab! <g>
Thanks!
Dave Moag
62 TR3B
77 Spitfire
La Canada, CA
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-triumphs@autox.team.net
> [mailto:owner-triumphs@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of
> Jeff.A.Williamson@jci.com
> Sent: Friday, February 25, 2000 7:37 AM
> To: T. R. Householder
> Cc: triumphs@autox.team.net
> Subject: re: Sidescreen TR Tales (long)
>
>
>
>
> Great stories! Now I don't feel so bad about some of the stunts I
> pulled in
> my youth.
>
> Like the time I got bored (and drunk) at an apartment complex pool party,
> drove my '58 TR3A between the buildings and up to the edge of the pool,
> squeezed 10 people in and on the car (most of them wearing bikinis), and
> went for a drive. The next day I discovered that the loud clanking noise
> that I had begun hearing from the rear axle was because several teeth had
> sheered off of the ring and pinion gears. That quickly ended a
> fun weekend!
>
> Or the night I was driving down the highway, paying attention to the knobs
> on my radio and not the road, drove onto the gravel shoulder at 70mph, and
> began fish-tailing uncontrollably. Rather than trying to regain control
> properly, I remembered seeing something on TV once that I was
> pretty sure I
> could do, so I turned the wheel hard and slammed on the brakes to put the
> car in a 180 "power slide". Well, the car turned 180 degrees, slid right
> off the road and into a ditch, tipped up on it's side, and then flopped
> over on it's top. After I managed to crawl out from underneath
> (still don't
> know how I did that), I got help from some buddies, flipped the
> TR over and
> back on it's wheels, took off the bent and broken windshield, knocked out
> the dents in the fenders and front cap with my fist, put on a motorcycle
> helmet, and started the drive back home. At one point, a state trooper
> pulled beside me to pass, looked over at me driving in 35 degree
> weather at
> 2am with the top down and wearing a helmet, noticed the clouds of smoke
> bellowing from under the hood where the oil had spilled all over
> everything, shook his head and kept going.
>
> There was another incident where I decided to show off to my buddies and
> peel some rubber. The only problem was that I was in a parking space in
> front of a building, so I had to do it in reverse. I sheered off 4 reverse
> gear teeth and 2 idler gear teeth in the process. No more reverse for a
> while, and I had to make sure I parked where I could leave going forward.
> As a cruel joke, my buddies used to find my car in the parking lot, and
> push it into a parking spot that required reverse to get out!
>
> There was a time when my parking brake did not work at all, so I carried a
> brick in the car that I used to chock the wheels when I parked. On more
> than one occasion, I had to explain the presence of a brick on the
> passenger floorboard to the police.
>
> One night a buddy who worked at the local airport, decided he wanted to
> race my TR3 with his '72 Toyota Celica. We filled up both cars with
> "aviation" fuel and went for a fast drive. My speedometer wasn't working,
> but he said I passed him at over 120mph! I didn't know a TR3
> could go that
> fast, nor did I know that the radiator could boil that hard!
>
> At one point early in my career when I had no time or money, and the TR3
> was my only car, I had to drive it for a week without a clutch.
> Speed-shifting on the highway isn't such a big deal. But negotiating stop
> lights without a clutch can be pretty tough! That probably contributed to
> my burned-up starter!
>
> I also learned the hard way the TR3's were not really built for towing
> large heavy objects, such as a 19-foot fibreglass ski boat. Especially
> up-hill. The other people at the boat dock were laughing hysterically as a
> Jeep was pulling my TR3 and boat back up the launch ramp. On the way home
> that same day, the police officer wasn't laughing at all as I
> plowed into a
> stop sign because of the extra weight that was pushing me from behind! I
> believe it was that stunt that contributed heavily to the
> eventually broken
> leaf springs
>
> Somewhere along the line, I also remember loosing my hood (and hinges) at
> 60mph, loosing a silentbloc bushing bolt (which led to NO steering) at
> 35mph, having to stop 6 times on the way home one night to unplug my fuel
> line because I had used silicon sealer around the gas cap filler
> neck area,
> and the time I lost some of my brand new interior pieces (rear carpet and
> fender-well covers) at 70mph because I had forgotten to glue them down.
>
> Sorry about the long post, but your post got me to reminiscing and
> rambling. Thanks for the memories.
>
> Jeff Williamson
> Belleville, MI
>
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