Hi,
I think one reason that folks think that these engines won't last very long
is that the standard maintenance schedule calls for things like valve jobs
and "de-coking" at intervals far lower than what the "equivalent" US built
car called for.
By way of example, doing a valve job on a Chevy V8 is probably unheard of
before the car has 100k miles, and the preferred method of repair (at least
when I was a kid) was to swap in a whole 'nuther unit from the junk yard
(the breaker for our friends OTOSOTP). If you did a valve job, it was
because you were looking for more power and you were probably doing various
hop ups at the same time. Oh, and you just toss the old motor. Heck, I see
complete engines (GM V8's, for instance) for sale for $50 - and they run!
That's less money than what a complete set of gaskets for the TR6 costs!
My experience has been that the internals of all the Triumphs that I've
taken apart are just fine at 100k miles. Some of the cars that I've taken
apart have been stressed more that usual, my TR6, for instance, with lots
of Autocrosses and other like driving that some might consider "beating the
car" showed very little wear indeed. In fact, Len Renkenburger, TR6 Guru,
indicates that he had several TR6's with more than 150k mile on them before
they needed the crank turned or other similar drastic work done on them.
His method is to switch out the bearings every now and then and to make
sure the journals are round. This is good advice no matter what you drive.
On the other hand, folks in this hobby take a car that is possibly running
okay completely apart and then rebuild everything - regardless of whether
it actually needs rebuilding...
Now, if you have a Spitfire 1500, that's a dufferent issue... ;-).
Oh well.
rml
TR6's
At least one being "rebuilt".
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