Morris Marinas:
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Well, my Mum is still using hers and I passed my driving test in this
car. I didn't really realise how bad the handling was until I bought
my midget (one extreme to the other) - the car really rolls badly with
the skinny little tyres buried underneath the oversized wheel arches
and I think this car bears responsibility for my lack of cornering
confidence (Scotty will confirm this). Anyway, the saving grace on my
mother's example is that it did have the 1800cc engine - I assume this
to be the same block used for the MGB, possibly with a more relaxed
head. Anyway, after many years of loving attention by my parents,
even this vehicle is now falling captive to the rust demons. I think
they're about to sell it to a member of the Marina Owners Club. I've
always maintained that the engine might be worth using on an MGB -
we'll see.
TR7/8 Turning Signal Cancelling:
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Well, I'm fairly sure I know the root of this problem, which is a
certain lack of "real" bends and junctions on US roads. These systems
are obviously designed with UK roads and junctions in mind - good
tight turns where you actually have to overlap your hands. My TR6
cancellation system never works on any of the roads here in DC, mainly
because all the turns are too shallow and junctions involve crossing 6
lanes in a large sweeping arc. My only solution was to get in the
habit of turning off the indicators every time. This took a lot of
getting used to, but I'm now reasonably reliable about this - it goes
with the regular 60 second check of all gauges and lights on the dash!
Oil Pressure and hot starting:
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Ok, well these ones are my problems. Having made an enjoyable trip out
to Baltimore last night with a couple of SOLers (hi folks!), I have a
couple of queries to those who were unable to make it. My first query
is with regard to my oil pressure (or lack of it). Once the engine is
warm and I'm cruising along the highway behind Dean's midget and
Arlie's FIAT (no slam) at maybe, 55mph (yeah right ;-), my oil
pressure is at about 25lb/sqft (not sure of the units here). I realise
that this is not particularly good, but I would like to know just how
bad this situation is and whether I can expect something to go
seriously wrong very soon. Once at idle, the pressure drops again to
about 13lb/sqft which seems frighteningly low! I expect that I will
put the engine through a complete overhaul once I get back to the UK
sometime next year, but I'm interested to hear opinion as to whether I
should try and replace some of the bearings before returning (Aug). If
I can be confident of the car lasting another 3-4 months as it is,
then I think I will leave it for the moment. Otherwise, if I'm close
to destruction, maybe I should take some corrective action now.
Ok, on to the second problem. Having chugged around Baltimore streets
last night (boy those lights are long) we finally parked outside a
local brewpub, only to find that they had finished serving grub. We
therefore decided convoy across to the alternative establishment only
to find that my TR6 simply wouldn't start. I'm sure this problem is
heat-related (temps must have been in the 80s), and I have just
replaced my coil, so I'm sure it's not ignition. I therefore think
that it's vapourisation of fuel (translation - "vaporization" ;-). I
had a similar problem at the weekend when crawling DC streets. The
solution is clear - leave the vehicle for at least 30 minutes and
catch a lift in the rear seat (yep, some LICs do actually have rear
seats of sorts) and sample the local nectar (in moderation of
course). Anyway, my question is this - does anybody else have
vapourisation problems for their TR6, or is this an indication of a
hot engine AND/OR poorly tuned carbs (it seems to run great). I notice
that the TR6 doesn't have a heat shield between manifold and carbs
which does surprise me - any comments would be welcome.
Exhaust:
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Does anybody know how I can get a louder exhaust. I currently have a
straight-through ANSA exhaust which you would have thought would be
sufficient to keep any passengers awake. This assumption was disproved
last night. Is there a way I can re-route part of the exhaust to the
passenger's footwell?
Also, Scotty and I were disgussing the relative merits of loud and
quiet exhausts and came to the conclusion that we would like to have
both. The loud is great for short trips, beneath bridges and tunnels,
and setting off car alarms, but it can get tiring on long trips - also
takes about 30 minutes before ears refrain from ringing. Has anybody
tried introducing a switching system that would direct the flow
through a silencer at the touch of a button? This would seem to be the
ideal solution!
Ok, that's long enough!
Paul.
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