In a message dated 9/26/2003 5:53:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
dorpaul@negia.net writes:
> Concerning the Toyota caliper upgrade
>
> 1. Why is this a good upgrade for my TR3A?
> (which has been sitting for 20 years)
It's good in that one goes from a "two-pot" caliper to a "four-pot" caliper
with bigger pads for more stopping power. So good? Yes. Necessary? No.
Remember
that the TR3 was, in its time, a pioneer in use of front disc brakes. In my
opinion, those original brakes were excellent then (compared to almost
anything
else on the road), and they're still certainly more than sufficient for most
driving circumstances even today.
> 2. Are we talking about the front wheels only or all four?
Front only, although someone made the logical point that rear wheel cylinders
might best be upgraded a bit.
> 3. I am an amatuer mechanic, should I attempt this?
If you're comfortable working on the "stock" brakes, then this isn't much of
an extension of that. At worst, "contract" out the more difficult bits such as
the adapting of the metric-fitted caliper to the Imperial-fitted setup you
have on the TR3A.
One particular advantage I can see of doing this on a TR3A is that one will
remove a not insignificant amount of weight from the front. The older
TR3A-style rotors and calipers both are rather heavy items compared to the
later TR (or
Toyota) parts.
I wonder, though, if it's worth considering some sort of MASTER cylinder
upgrade if one does the conversion on a TR3A? Any thoughts, anyone? I think I
would...
--Andy Mace
*Mrs Irrelevant: Oh, is it a jet?
*Man: Well, no ... It's not so much of a jet, it's more your, er,
Triumph Herald engine with wings.
-- Cut-price Airlines Sketch, Monty Python's Flying Circus (22)
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