[TR] Purely Subjective Question re. TR3A Valve Settings

[Alex&Janet Thomson]

For some strange reason, International Harvester often published "hot" valve 
clearances for their older Farmall tractors as did many other manufacturers. 
That doesn't do much good when you are assembling an engine and it can't 
run. I found that adding 0.003" to the specified hot clearance when 
adjusting them cold would give fairly accurate results. But, we are talking 
about exhaust clearances in those tractors of 0.017 to 0.020", not just 
0.010". Is 0.003" a universal amount rather than a percentage of the hot 
clearance? Don't know. But, adjusting valves to a cold clearance when they 
are hot will give you more clearance when they are fully cold. You might 
notice a bit more clicking from the valve cover.

Alex Thomson

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <terryrs at comcast.net>
To: "triumph list" <triumphs at autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2011 7:08 PM
Subject: [TR] Purely Subjective Question re. TR3A Valve Settings


> Just curious if anyone cares to venture: what would be the loss of power 
> due to poor breathing, if one (omigoodness, not me, no--not me!) were to, 
> say, adjust the valves properly...well, except when the engine had not yet 
> cooled more than halfway.  Would one, and of course am speaking only 
> hypothetically here, about someone else...uhm, ehr, would the clearance 
> .010 gap actually be smaller by say a hundredth, and what effect does that 
> actually have on performance.
>
> Should he-who-can't-be-named have to worry about burning valves here???? 
> Or would it be just the mild loss of acceleration and top end speed????
>
> Terry Smith,'59 TR3A
> New Hampshire
>
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