Bob,
You have covered a lot of ground with your questions! But here goes.
First a little about my car. It was a candidate for restoration, or at least
I thought it was! Five years ago my brother and I started a frame-off
restoration. It was a lot of work and if we had to do it over again, I am
not sure I would have opted for Concours quality but gone for an excellent
"driver". I actually have an excellent "driver" as I drove the car from San
Francisco to Portland for VTR and also to San Diego for Triumphest. So I am
not afraid to drive it. However, in retrospect it was too much trouble and
work to make it Concours as my car was far from a perfect, or even a good
restoration candidate. That said, I entered the car in 3 shows this past
summer and won 1st in Class three times. We will see next year how it goes.
One thing my brother and I decided at the outset, we wouldn't pay someone
else to do labor that we could do, if we had the time to do it!!! If we
didn't have the necessary tool we either made the tool, bought it, or we
paid someone only to use his special tool, as opposed to the whole job.
Now to your questions:
Re:Toyota gearbox.
There was a note on the list a just few days ago about the availability of a
Toyota gearbox "ready to drop in" to a TR. I won't address that issue as I
choose to replace my TR3 crunch (or crunched!) gear box with a later TR4
all synchro gear box. As my car had an overdrive from the factory, (and so
did three or four of my earlier TRs) I was spoiled and wouldn't settle for
anything less. The availability of the O/D gear in 2nd, 3rd, as well as 4th,
makes an incredible difference in the drivability of the TR series. The cost
of the swap was in the area of $1500 and it took nearly four months of
hassling with a vendor to get the right gearbox, but I love it!!!
Re:rebuilding the engine.
>From what you said, your engine is due for a complete rebuild. The TR series
engine is a very strong engine and is worth rebuilding. It is simple to work
on and the parts are available and not too expensive. If you know how to
turn a wrench and read a manual you can rebuild a TR engine! You will need a
"good" machine shop that is familiar with British engines or is able and
willing to learn. Check with local hot rodders and/or car clubs for
recommendations.
Some things to think about. You should be able to buy a later model TR3
block for not too much money, install new cam bearings and not have to worry
about that issue. All of the other choices for the later model engine will
be the same as the earlier TR2 engine.
Some places I saved money when I restored my car: My machine shop reground
and/or re-surfaced my original cam and lifters, I needed a new rocker shaft,
but installed new bushings in the old rockers rather than buy new ones. The
push rods were ok, the valve springs were OK, except for one, so he replaced
only the bad one, instead of all of them. I kept the scroll seal crankshaft
as I feel that a "split seal" is as likely to leak as the original. I took
my clutch (driven and pressure plate) do a "friction" specialty house, where
they rebuilt both, for a fraction of new, I took my rear brake shoes to him
too! Speaking of brakes and hydraulics, I sent my wheel cylinders and clutch
slave, out to have them resleeved in brass, much cheaper than replacing them
and they work great! I am pulling my master cylinders and calipers out in a
few weeks and doing the same for them, and wishing I had done them that way
the 1st time! We also did the complete interior ourselves. Looks perfect and
only cost a few bucks for door pockets, contact cement, 1/8" Masonite, and
vinyl. I did spring for the leather seat kits from Moss (big $!!) but they
are beautiful! (If you have questions on the interior, please come back to
me and I will go into the details of how we did the interior.)
Final comments:
The pleasure of having a "new" 40 year old car is hard to quantify! After my
trips this summer I have no qualms about taking the TR on any trip. I think
that it is as reliable as any other car in the family stable. I am careful
where I park it and am fearful of it being stolen or crashed into, but I
drive it on the freeways at 70-80 or whatever the traffic is doing. I really
enjoy driving it again.
Sorry for the rambling, but go for it! Foolish or not.
Jim Bauder
'58 TR3
Palo Alto, CA
<<Rob Wrote:
As a new list subscriber, I am resubmitting the following item. It seems
that the first submission didn't make the list.
Fellow Triumph enthusiasts: HELP!
Somewhere,, but I cannot remember where, I did see an address for
someone offering a kit to convert a TR2 - TR3 drivetrain to a Toyota Supra
5 speed gearbox. Can anybody shock my memory or tell me where or who is
offering this "kit?" Has anyone undertaken such a conversion? Were there
complications? Were you satisfied with the end result? Is this a cost
effective alternative to rebuilding (in my case having some else rebuild)
the old Triumph gearbox? Would the Toyota Supra five speed be a better
alternative than a rebuilt TR4 full synchro, overdrive gearbox? (Are there
any TR4 overdrive units available?) I am not worried about keeping the
gearbox in my TR2 authentic Triumph. My car (its name is IPE-GAGG (short
i - long e) ... Internal Percussion Engine - Grinding And Growling Gears)
is NOT a prime candidate for restoration. As a genuine "bondo buggy" it is
a sculptor's work of art. The fellow who restored my TR2 before I bought
it should probably have given it up as a lost cause and I should probably
do so too. But as he couldn't, I can't either. I feel bold and
adventuresome (silly and foolish?) and I won't throw in the towel on this
"car of character."
Over the Thanksgiving break I hope to pull my engine and transmission for a
winter project of overhauling my engine. I have never removed an engine
from an automobile before and only once have I overhauled an engine.
Thirty two years ago as a lad of seventeen I overhauled the 215 cu.in.
alumimium V8 in my first car, a '62 Olds Cutlass F-85. It was done in my
dad's barn with the engine still in the car. It was an absolute miracle
that it ever ran again. Do miracles ever happen twice in a person's
lifetime??
My gearbox is a mess with excessive growling in first gear and almost no
synchronizer remaining between first and second gear. (I have mastered the
art of double clutching on the 1-2 and 2-1 gear change, but it only works
with warm oil.) I saw lots of glittering gold (brass) in the gearbox oil
that I drained from the tranny last week. I might as well take care of
engine and gearbox together.
My engine must be in bad shape down on the crank. Even with 50 wt. oil I
have very low oil pressure, (0 - 5 lbs) on idle with a warm engine, 60
lbs on a coldstart. En route to an MG / TRIUMPH challenge event in Indy
back in August I think I lost an exhaust valve. Number 1, 2, and 4 have
175 - 200 PSI compression and #3 has only 68 psi. I have no evidence of
back pressure into the intake manifold or the carbs, but there is a new
irregularity in the exhaust tone (hence my belief that something is amiss
with the exhaust valve). No significant change in compression on #3 when
wet tested. Does this confirm "valve" instead of bad or broken rings?
Even before the compression loss in #3, I have had lots of puffing and
smoking through the oil filler cap crankcase vent. Since I have owned the
car (one year and four months) is has leaked and used oil excessively.
Previous owner had bored the sleves .030" over. Is that common on a sleved
engine? Should I count on new sleves and pistons this time around? (I
need to be cost effective on this job.) In a TR2 of my vintage, is it true
that carriers for the camshaft are machined into the block and if these are
worn a new engine is the only answer? In any case, the engine in old
TS7690 is ripe for an overhaul. Does anyone have experience with or
suggestions for or against grinding away the spiral oil throw groves on the
crank and going with the alternative "positive" main seal?? Since my
engine seems to have a wide range on problems, would a rebuilt "exchange"
engine be a better or more cost effective solution? I think these are
available from TRF.
Any tips, hints, suggestions, sympathy,
empathy, and prayers would be appreciated.
Yours for foolish endeavours,
Rob Blubaugh
4805 Locksley Dr. E.
Rensselaer, IN 47978
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