> I have never in my life seen an alternator rebuilding shop
I found a small shop just north of Guelph, Ontario ( by driving into town
one day ), that did my starter, generator and control box on the TR3a. The
owner was an old english guy and knew exactly what I was talking about.
"Lucas, eh no problem!". He told me to bring them all in and he
recalibrated everything and corrected some very old mistakes. Bead cleaned
everything and repainted back to original. You would swear they came out of
the factory yesterday.
> driveshaft balancing shop or specialist.
I was told by the NAPA guy I deal with to talk to a place in Waterloo,
Ontario called Harmon Truck. I got them the u-joints and they stripped the
driveshaft and put it all together, balanced and painted it. Very nice for
$100cdn($75usd). Very worth it in my opinion, no worries.
> Should I expect to find a "fastener store" down the block
In Kitchener, there is a huge fastener supply oulet called Spaenaur and they
supplied 98% of the fasteners on the TR3. I ended up buying bolts & nuts by
the box, heck of a lot cheaper than the small blister packs in retail
stores. I think the entire car came to about $500cdn with spares that are
used on the Spitfire and the Mustang :-) Again, going there was a word of
mouth from the same NAPA guy.
Since owning these cars I have tried very hard to establish a good
relationship with the NAPA guy I deal with. I take my business to him, in
return when I have questions or need services he knows or can find out where
to go. The NAPA outlet supplies a significant number of garages in town so
they know who to deal with. I think the best thing is finding relationships
with good local vendors and try and help them while they help you.
There was the thread about the "twits" behind the counter of the retail
outlets, this adds fuel to establishing the good relationship. And most
times the "older" NAPA guys are car buffs themselves. Besides the NAPA guy
has learned so much about LBC's :-D
David Templeton
'59 Triumph TR3a
'74 Triumph Spitfire
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