[Mgs] Triumph content - delete now if offended

Rick Lindsay rolindsay at yahoo.com
Wed Jul 22 13:41:12 MDT 2009


Hello Friends,

   Long time, no type.  I miss chatting with you guys.

   As some of you know, I traded my MGB for another car.  After
that I bought a '62 Triumph TR3b.  It is a car that I have been
trying to buy for over 10 years.  The lady finally agreed to my
last purchase request.  The roadster is a one-owner car, passed
down to his daughter, and now owned by me.

   I write today to tell you that I should be able to start the
car this weekend, the first time in 10-1/2 years!  All systems
have been rebuilt, all fluid-related bits have been cleaned or
rebuilt - or are new - and the electrics are tested good.  I'm
pretty excited to get the old girl ticking over.

   Just a bit of history; The car was parked 10+ years ago
because it had become unreliable.  Multiple trips to the
mechanic had produced no relief.  The problem appeared to be
fuel starvation but all components tested good.  A few days ago
I found the problem.  While rebuilding the fuel system, I
decided to rebuild the mechanical fuel pump.  When I opened the
pump, one of the two screws that retain the pump-valves was just
laying on the diaphragm!  The other screw was still in place
but was loose.  In short, the valves were not being held against
their gaskets and were therefore leaking.  Any time larger fuel requirements were put on the pump, it would under-supply.  
Therefore, at highway speeds - especially after spirited
acceleration - fuel starvation would occur, and the engine would
sputter and die.  After rolling to a stop, the owner could prime
the pump and at low fuel demand rates, the car would start and
seem to run just fine.

   So that's the story.  Thanks for 'the read' and thanks for 
sharing the excitement of bringing an old, neglected sports car
back to life!

regards,

Rick
'62 Triumph TR3b
'79 Ferrari 308GTB
'83 Ferrari Mondial QV
'03 Land Rover Discovery
'08 Mercedes C300


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