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Bfg

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Everything posted by Bfg

  1. Harrington also did conversions to the Sunbeam Alpine and their Alpine Harrington Le Mans looks very much like a GT6. Beautiful roof-line design. Did these come before the GT6 and if so - were Harrington acknowledged by Triumph for their design ?
  2. So they were actually racing 1256cc Spitfires with a fastback (by Harrington perhaps ? ) at Le Mans, rather than GT6's (no bonnet bulge / six cylinder) ?
  3. GT6 - Le Mans 1960 photo(s) on Ebay < here > from Germany. It's too expensive for my holed pockets, but still if I had a passion for the race GT6's cars then I probably would. ^ which looks sorta like this when the perspective is corrected. There is another, which I think is also a 6 ..speeding down a straight at speed on its own, but the image is too small for my old peepers to be certain it is a 6. Pete.
  4. Bfg

    Michelotti drawing

    I didn't know the TSSC has a museum ! well what'ya know. ?
  5. A sincere Appeal : As the TR4A project car from Arkansas is never going to happen for me, and am imminently I'm loosing my home with its garage < here > - I'm pushed to move onto the next phase of my life ..involving immediately downsizing, selling or giving away what I don't see fitting into my future (..best as I might imagine a 5-year plan) ..and this includes my not taking-on any more total-rebuild projects - does not mean that I am giving up on my dream to own and to extensively overland-tour in a TR4 / 4A. As a carry-over from my former (working) life & times - I had been restoring Katie ..my 1948 Sunbeam S7 motorcycle. Circumstances dictated my finding her a new and enthusiastic custodian, and that I've recently and successfully (I hope) done, as I've been paid a deposit by a very nice chap from Somerset. The conclusion to that sale / the balance of that money is due on 15th August. But it would be really upsetting to then see the emotional and fiscal value of that exceptional motorcycle just dwindle away in paying everyday bills, so although in no great hurry - I really would like to buy a TR4 or 4A from the proceeds. Should a driveable and structurally sound TR4 or 4A (I happen to prefer an IRS car with overdrive for touring) happen to come along in the £8 - 10,000 price band - then PLEASE, pretty Please even .. I'd like to hear of it. Yes, I do know that presentable and safe roadworthy TR4A prices now start a bit more than that, but that's all I can afford so I'll be happy to accept a little scuffy example and to spend my own time and my skills to steadily improve it (as a rolling restoration). Due to my new-found circumstance of having no workshop - it must be road-worthy though, and presentable enough to use as is and perhaps restore later on. If you know of such a car and you or the owner feels it really deserves to be appreciated (..loved even), and steadily improved while being used and enjoyed, and perhaps even shared through my website conversations - then please get in touch. I'm in no immediate hurry as I have to move house right now, but perhaps you might be kind enough to remember me when conversations turn to someone possibly wanting to find a new owner for their car. BIG Thank you, Pete. 07958 100 633 p.s. I'm also posting this here so you might remember where and find it again, perhaps in a few month's time, whereas those in the for sale or wanted do tend to get lost in time.
  6. Is it the nut turning or the Bolt ? An open end spanner will show you what's turning - just the nut or the nut and the bolt. If it's the nut then you have plenty of access to use a hacksaw a 45 degrees to the nut and to cut it part way down (to just before the stud's thread, so as to not damage it) And then a hammer and cold chisel into the cut, to crack the nut open enough to work it off ..so all in all just a few more minutes task. Pete.
  7. Just playing around .. I was hoping to buy a basket-case TR4A from the USA. The car’s seized engine had been unceremoniously dismantled some 20-years previously ..and that as the expression goes “is far as it got”. Ever since it’s been in bits and open to Arkansas humidity. So, while awaiting for it and the numerous other loose bits to be packed inside the rolling shell for shipping across the Atlantic - I attempted to jump-start the project from this end ..by buying another engine. The plan was to rebuild that and have it ready for when said project arrived in the UK. However after a full 12-months of waiting and gently prompting - I politely pulled the plug & walked away. So now I have an engine and no car. Hey ho. ! I also bought an alloy rocker cover. The reason for doing so was threefold. 1. the rocker cover supplied with the ‘spare’ engine was off a TR3 and cosmetically scruffy. 2. finding another very-nice condition steel rocker-cover was likely to be pretty expensive (reflecting the high cost of good quality re-chroming), and 3. I personally find the pressed-tin rocker cover to be somewhat utilitarian looking and not at all stylish for what has again become a prestigious sports car. I do tend to prefer the softer complexion of polished aluminium over the harsh reflections of chromed steel, so when a stall-trader at Stratford IWE was asking £50 for brand new alloy ones - that seemed the way to go. And then I deliberately selected a TR4 one without the breather pipe rudely poking out of its side. However., and for me there is very often a however., the alloy cover is a bit of an overly square block. It did cross my mind to cut n’ shove (reweld) the casting - to be of lower profile ..but then I thought the better of it (rewelding a casting is not always successful). No., I can probably live with its monolithic stature. And then, despite prolific engine cooling fins being all the rage way back when, even on ‘tuned’ Ford Anglia’s and Mini’s, to my eyes their style (..early 1970’s to me) seems a little incongruous for an early 1960’s Triumph 4-cylinder. So I considered removing the cooling fins all together ..to leave me with a clutter-free but nicely polished alloy cover. But then decided against it ..because, with just two central bolt fastenings I suspect the underlying cast-aluminium shell would be too weak to withstand being effectively tightened. But if., I were to just leave the fins / external stiffening ribs along its centre - then I’d lessen their dominance. The rocker cover’s style would then reflect “form following function’ rather than trend. Certainly it was an idea worth playing around with. I did a bit of design review (using Photoshop on the computer) and decided on the route I’d try. I was going to take my angle grinder to the task, but then by chance I overheard a tidbit of conversation between my friends Rich and Mike at the TR group’s club meeting in the Alma. Mike has a milling machine and was helping Rich with an engineering task. I approached Mike to ask if he might consider doing this little job for me, and as always - incredibly amicable, he proposed I bring the rocker cover along to the next meeting so he might have a look. Mike kindly undertook the task and Covid couldn’t halt progress within his workshop. At the informal ‘takeaway’ June meeting of East Saxons at the Alma, I received the result of his fabulous work. . . ^ Just as I had requested .. Mike has very carefully (and one shouldn’t underestimate the precision and extreme care he took to cut far enough ..but not cut too deep) to remove three of the eight fins, and the superfluous short ones around the back of the filler cap. ^ He’s done it so well the amount of final hand finishing would be minimal. And to be honest on seeing this done - I simply could not have got into those corners around the filler &/or to do anywhere nearly a good job.. It really is brilliant craftsmanship / machining. A little subtlety was to lower the height of the remaining fins, and then also to lower those either side of centre a little more, so their projected height lessens. Excellently done ! Huge thanks to Mike. I did the hand finishing over a couple of evenings and one afternoon at the weekend.. a very useful distraction to all else that’s happening in my little world at this time. ^ I started off with fine abrasive on power tools, and then wet and dry paper, to take off the slight highs and to round off the edges. . . I was happy with what was evolving. ^ The left side (with one fin removed) is polishing up nicely. Already looking more prestigious Having had a fair amount of experience in polishing motorcycle alloy cases - things went well. Castings can sometimes be problematic because just below the surface can be pin holes &/or discolouration of the alloys. As bought, there is a little veining evident in this cover’s deep sides ..but where those fins were removed it’s all very good. ^ Working into those corners was the most difficult parts of the job. On the left-hand side, where two fins had been removed and where there’s a tight corner at the filler, I reworked this little area several times more after this photograph was taken ..to get rid of the scratches I’d made in cutting out the last ¼ mm of one of those fins. It’s a time consuming task but satisfying to see the results becoming better with every effort made. ^ Early on I’d started with a round file to roughly shape the intersection of the now-lower fins with the filler neck. ^ But now with the outside corners smooth and shiny, I again reworked the tops of those fins (..rounding them so they looked as if they had been cast to that height) and addressed the last of the awkward hard edges with a needle file. As you can see my fingers are a little large to be get in to such details and to get their reflections fair. But we do this sort of thing for fun..! And so., after a lot of effort on Mike’s and my own part, we end up with a subtlety different style of rocker cover . . . ^ It is of course still a big square box, but to my mind it better reflects a 1960’s vintage. Imo, the result is visually more tactile, and its further exposed polished alloy is a compliment to other shiny & polished-alloy components in the engine bay, like the carburettors & thermostat housing ..and/or whatever other bling I might yet introduce.! Possibly not to everyone’s taste ..but hey., it’s good to celebrate our differences.! It’s what makes us and our cars all individual. I owe Mike BIG THANKS for helping me make this happen. Pete. - - -
  8. Colin if that's the pit for getting in and working under the car ..then yes I think you ought to empty it !
  9. In case anyone is interested I've just listed the Triumph 2000 flywheel on ebay. It's used but in really excellent condition, but for what looks to be impact damage to one side of a few teeth (see photos). Imo easily corrected with a file and then very serviceable, or else easily replaced with a new gear ring. Starter Gear Ring - Shrink on. I bought this flywheel with a Triumph TR4 engine, unknowing that it was the wrong one (bolt centres are completely different) and was told that it is from a Triumph 2000 / Triumph 2500 / 2.5pi and possibly the GT6 ..so has been suggested. I've now got a flywheel for my engine, so this is available to anyone who wants it. I'll list it in the classified ads. but look on ebay or drop me a line if you want dimensions or other photos Cheers, Pete
  10. TR4 engine rebuild quick update.. You may recall, although I must admit pre-corona-virus activities do seem another life ago, I had been stripping and cleaning the spare TR4A engine I'd bought, and I'd taken the crankshaft and cylinder head into the machine shop for regrind and balancing, lightening the flywheel, and for the cyl.head to be converted to unleaded. Upon subsequent receipt of those parts - I was concerned because the crankshaft had been excessively and very crudely angle-ground in an attempt to balance it, which at the time I couldn't understand ..and so I wanted to take it to another machine shop for a second opinion. The covid lock-down prevented that happening and so the parts were wrapped up and put aside while I got on with rebuilding vintage motorcycle engines. However, just prior to the shut down - my friend Rich, from the East Saxons group, had kindly lent me a mandrel for positioning the crankshaft's rear scroll seal onto the cylinder block. I'd not yet used it but John, I think also from our group, wanted to borrow it for a rebuild of a TR2 engine I believe. So on Saturday morning I pulled the cylinder block out from under its wraps in the back of the garage and set-to quickly doing this task, before wrapping and dropping that mandrel in for parcel delivery to John in the afternoon. The following is a comic strip of my fitting the crankshaft's scroll seal on the block . . . . ^ the mandrel I borrowed off Rich. It's in aluminium so it's relatively lightweight to post but vulnerable to getting scratched or dented. Handle with care. On this one, although seemingly otherwise new there were a couple of snags sitting proud along its edge. With a fine file I very locally redressed those to be level with the adjacent surfaces. . ^ the original scroll seal (grey) versus my new scroll seal (anodized cyan blue) with its evolved design to also take a Land-Rover type lip-seal (made of viton). NB. Before fitting I did run around the new scroll with a craft knife blade to remove a very sharp burr. . ^ ..first up the engine stand prevents getting to where the rear crankshaft seal bolts onto, so that had to go. . ^ After inverting the crankcase I used the overhead winch (from my garage roof beam) and strops to lower the engine case onto a wooden block. The winch remained in place as a safety guard but the weight rested on the timber ..which also stopped the engine swinging about as I fitted parts. The mandrel serves as a substitute for the crankshaft and whatever sized main bearing shells might be used ..so it just sits into the rear main bearing seat without shells. I pre-cleaned the seat and surrounding faces and oiled them, and the mandrel, before positioning it. . ^ The cap / other half of the main bearing seat was likewise cleaned and oiled before being carefully placed. With no seals in place - I used the two bolts (alternatively) to pull it down into place by hand. Tip - I often use this swivel on the end of the socket's extension bar as an easier-to-grip handle ..to finger tighten bolts rather than using a ratchet. This way I can feel that things are running in squarely and smoothly. The cap / half seat was pulled down and its rear face leveled with the crankcase before the bolts were finally pinched up tight using the ratchet handle (but not fully torqued up for this operation). That done, the mandrel was accurately located and pinched in place. . ^ The rear gasket face of the seat halves were smeared with Wellseal gasket compound and the first half of the new scroll seal was positioned and loosely held in place using the standard bolts. I also used a smear of Wellseal on those bolt threads ..because they go through into the crankcase. Note. the Land-Rover type / lip seal is not fitted while the scroll seal is being positioned. . ^ The other half of the scroll seal was likewise positioned and loosely bolted in place. It's nigh on impossible to get a feeler gauge inbetween the mandrel and the scroll seal, and any slack in its bolt holes is very little anyway. However I did gently tap them together and sideways so they were tightly aligned to one another (I could feel no step between one and the other with my finger tip running across the split / join). . ^ I tried using a powerful LED light array, with the garage doors closed and lights turned off, but could see no light coming through between the mandrel and the scroll seal. I guess that must be pretty darn close and so tightened up those eight fastenings. These are only 1/4" screws, fastening against aluminium with little lock washers, so they don't need to be brutally tight. . ^ Job done. The scroll seal was accurately positioned and now bolted in place on Wellseal compound. I released the two rear main bearing bolts just a little and slipped the mandrel out from the end. The cap / half seat will have to lifted off to fit the crankshaft at some time ..but for the time being - the cap can stay put to protect the scroll seal from getting knocked before that task is done. In my own circumstance I'm not sure when that will be as I haven't yet had the crankshaft checked. I've also been given short notice to vacate the house (and garage !) I live in. So for the time being this engine's reassembly is low priority. The outside of the crankcase is painted, and all other bare metal faces inside and around the block have been coated with oil to protect them from humidity / corrosion. The crankcase is back on its engine stand and then the whole case has been wrapped in plastic bubble wrap to keep the worse of the dust and moisture out. If I get a chance I'll get the crankshaft in asap but if not then it'll have to go into storage as it is. . . .. That's All Folks ..for today I bid you a good one and good health. Pete.
  11. Bfg

    Car Lifts

    Hi Adrian, The TR4A I was trying to buy fell through after a year of being inadvertently mucked around. And then just two weeks ago I was given notice by the landlady to move out of my home (16 years here and bike and car hobbies so a lot of stuff to clear) ..bottom line :: my owning a Triumph cannot now happen ..at least any time soon. However, given the single garage space I have and the reality that I could really have done with something flexible (ie. lifting all the car, or from one end, or from one side) without framework or bridges being in the way (for example best access for when welding / painting the chassis, replacing the exhaust, etc.).. I figured the best thing I might do is to invest in a pair of decent low-profile but high-lift trolley jacks (race-crew lightweight aluminium ones would have been great but they are very expensive !) and then as n' where required to make myself a selection of beams.. specific to lift under different parts of that car. The obvious one would be a channel section to lift along the whole length of the sill, and then another to lift the chassis members under the front of that car, ie. purpose made with location blocks that fit the chassis and clear its engine / ancillaries. These 'beams' would follow the general principle of those used with a garage ramp. ie. a beam with various interlocking blocks to fit where the underside of the car is not flat. The various beams would be in steel and compact in dimension to lessen their obstruction, and then the custom designed (interlocking) blocks could easily be made out of timber (perhaps with ribbed rubber mat glued and stapled onto them). The 'combination jacking and tilt set ' would be purpose made to fit that TR4A and be as flexible to lift or tilt as I need ..even when parts of the body tub or chassis weren't there (eg. as the sills were being replaced), but then also convenient to hang on the wall or in the roof beams when not in use. Naturally I would take inspiration of how and where to lift from those who design & sell scissor and other car lift, tilt and rotisseries like Eastwood and CJ autos. But I convinced myself that from the basis of just two low-profile high-lift trolley jacks I could make and evolve a set of lifting beams & pads which actually fitted this Triumph, and in practice was less obtrusive and perhaps more useful for all sorts of restoration tasks when the car was less than whole &/or needed turning to a more accessible angle. Just-perhaps it might also work out less expensive than an off the shelf lift / rotisserie and the trolley jacks too. oh yes, I'd also make jack-stands from interlocking timber blocks too. Pete.
  12. I'd guessed that's why you struggled with 10mm Adrian ..and a valiant achievement if I might says so. The jig saw is indeed remarkably useful for cutting steel as I found out the other day when I was copying a small bracket with slotted holes in it. . . Close tolerance accuracy wasn't actually critical, nor even its looks ..as it is mainly hidden under the saddle on my vintage Sunbeam motorcycle. Never-the-less it is satisfying and good practice to do things well. . . The outline shape and its slotted holes were traced onto the blank plate with a fine felt pen, together with estimated centre marks within each of the two holes which were to become slots. These are to take 5/16" bolts (so 8mm hole size is still tight) - but I started off with a 3mm drill bit for the guide holes. Of course those small holes didn't break into each other because of their spacing. I then used a 7.5mm drill bit to drill, just half-way through, one of each of the pair of guide holes. The plate was turned over and drilled from that side in the other of each pair of holes. This drilling goes fine.. but then breaks through to the previously part-drilled hole from the other side. Never-the-less, what this procedure does is to very clearly define each end-radius of each slotted hole. Using the jig-saw (steel cutting blade, with the bracket being held flat in the vice) I nibbled the broken-through hole to the end-radius on one side, before turning the plate over to do the same ..nibbling its way to the end-radius (still accurately defined) on other side. The hole was very quickly and accurately slotted in this way, and just needed cleaning up with a round file to tidy up the nibbled/rough inside edges. Pete. p.s. my apologies for being off-topic here, as it's not a tool made or modified, but it is a useful method for an otherwise awkward little task. So I thought it worth sharing.
  13. For next time ; I think you will find it very much easier (than cutting 10mm thick plate) to cut two sets out of 5mm and stitch weld the two together to make one. The welds could mostly be on the non working edges and any others won't need to substantial so would soon be linished flush. Just a thought. Pete.
  14. ^ Interesting proposition. I had assumed it was so, during production, the engines could be run up before being dropped into the car.
  15. This is a common issue on the old Sunbeam motorcycles I'm an enthusiast of. And on those bikes it's because the coil is failing or has been swapped for a modern one ..which because it is smaller - overheats. Particularly the case as the coil (on the Sunbeam) is situated within a dry electrical box with no through-ventilation. If you stop and let the bike coil cool down for half an hour then you can ride on again ..but it will falter after another 20 minutes or so, depending on ambient air temperature. In cool evening air the darn thing is fine. The vehicle's wiring is fine and the coil itself also checks out fine ..on the bench, because it's cool. Anyway to test the theory for free on your car - simply try moving its coil (temporarily) to somewhere where the air flow is steady and cool. If you're not driving in the rain, or off road rallying - there are usually plenty of options. Hope that helps, Pete.
  16. ..used to use Plasticine, but that wonderful stuff doesn't seem to be readily available in my local town of Ipswich. Reminder to self : order some off e-bay as it's right useful to have in the garage and on the boat. Recently I needed to create a dam around a cylinder sleeve, and had to use Blu-tack because I had no Plasticine. Blu-tack is not so easy to work ..but it did the job. Pete.
  17. Heads up - for anyone looking for a pair of TR4A projects. Please note ; They are not mine, I'm not selling anything here - which is why this post is not in the classified section, nor am I wanting to be part of any negotiation or transaction. The two cars belong to a local chap and former TR Register member who I'm simply trying to help out. I'll not publish his contact details here (publicly) - Please PM me and I'll give you his email address. There are two cars and both are TR4A IRS. Each has overdrive. I understand the owner's intent was to combine the best of the two cars into one. One (the blue car photographed below) is an American Import (LHD), the other (red car) is a British car (RHD) with older V5 documents. Each is a major project and will need sills, floors, lower footwell bulkhead, battery tray, chassis work or replacement, engine and mechanical rebuilds, interior, etc. The blue car appears to have a better chassis. There are also repair panels, such another pair of doors in red, sill outers and floors. There are also front bumpers and hood frames. He also has what looks to be a new or refurbished interior panel / trim kit and a pair of TR4 seats in red (which look to have been refurbished). The present owner would prefer to sell the two cars and all the parts as a lot, but may consider selling each car individually. Location off the A120, Nr. Braintree, Essex (for reference - that's not far from Stanstead Airport). There is a possibility of local delivery. PM me for contact details (only). Cheers, Pete.
  18. Good morning Andrew and welcome to the forum. "the engine is on its way out" doesn't tell us whether it's leaking, smoking, rattling, overheating, difficult to start, or just feeling lethargic in performance. Nor have you yet expressed what has been already been done to address any such issue ..to have arrived at the replace/rebuild crossroads. The reason I prompt such questions is because if it is just lethargic (a performance issue) and you haven't rebuilt the distributor and had the car professionally tuned - then you could be landing yourself with big bills which were not at all needed. A few points to note are ; if you replace the engine for another - then unless bought from a reputable (read : expensive) source as fully rebuilt and guaranteed - then you might well be replacing one lot of problems for another ..which may still need a rebuild to rectify. If you follow John's advice and go for a different engine, then beware that ancillaries and exhaust may also need changing, and those parts in good order will also cost a bundle. Again if you go for another engine and then need to rebuild it - well simply put.. you can't then take the best bits from the two engines to make one good one. the cost of a stage-2 tuned engine is considerably more than a close to standard spec one. If it's of concern replacing the engine will detract from matching engine numbers and the vehicle's originality. If the engine in you car is just worn out - then quite possibly so are most of the ancillaries too. Ancillaries include anything but the bare engine, so we're talking about carburettors, distributor, pumps (water and petrol), exhaust, starter and gear ring, clutch, alternator, coil and electrics, and so forth. I'm rebuilding a four cylinder wet liner TR engine at the moment, doing most of the work myself and the cost is likely to be £1800 for the bare engine (..you can double or triple this figure for a professional rebuild). But my total cost ..together with reconditioning the ancillaries will be over £4000. Admittedly this involved activities which I gladly passed over to the professional specialist. For example, fully reconditioning the twin SU carbs cost over £400 - but I know that without really good carburettors and a fully reconditioned distributor - then anything I might spend in the machine shop, or on pistons, camshaft, etc would be a waste. Tip : all else being equal - your car will run better on five-cylinders than it will with the ignition timing just 10o out. Triumph, like all motor manufacturers, designed and build their cars with ease of driving, tractability, smoothness in operation, performance and economy at the top of their criteria. They had to be competitive with other makes and they had to make a car that was desirable to own and economical to run. The engine's characteristics were balanced with the ability of the car's chassis, suspension, brakes, and steering ..in short, the car's overall 'feel' and handling. When you up-rate anything - you change the balance of characteristics in a car you obviously really enjoy (your 4th Vitesse convertible). So for example ; if you tune the engine to stage-2 and swap to triple carburettors - then you will (..and it's not a maybe) loose something of the pleasant docility of a six cylinder in a lightweight car. The handling & steering might cope but when you really use that extra performance it will feel nervous ..simply because the car lacks structural stiffness. And the driving experience / feel of the engine and carburettor induction noise will be markedly different, as to a lesser degree will vibration, but you'll notice the car rattles more. Starting may be a little more temperamental, and keeping everything in tune will take a whole lot more trouble and cost. Even from just starting off, you'll need to use more rev's when driving to keep the engine in its power band. And of course fuel economy will take a dive. For my own four cylinder engine, which I do like the characteristics of - I'm simply taking the cylinder bore from 86mm to 87mm, I've gone for a lighter flywheel, and I've replaced the damaged camshaft with one that has a fine reputation for tractability / pulling power in the low to mid range (legal) speeds, rather than high speed. I'm retaining a mechanical cooling fan but changing that for a lightweight plastic one (buy coincidence off a Vitesse). That's it - the carbs, exhaust and most everything else were imo to a good design specification anyway, and so my parts were totally refurbished to bring back to 'as new' condition. I'm not saying you, or anyone else, shouldn't tune an engine - I'm just giving you a heads-up re. your " What are the unknown unknowns? " Pete.
  19. I am indeed thank you Tony.. Negotiating the purchase of a Triumph is quite exciting.! I'm hopeful this week .. but then next week I might well be thinking ..what the *!* were you thinking Bfg ! ? .
  20. ^ I was misusing one of those on Friday . . . ^ when I'm cleaning the thread of nuts - I use my brake adjuster as a convenient handle for the thread's tap - then I have the other end free to turn the nut. In this instance I was re-using very old but specifically shaped BSF nuts on a vintage motorcycle ..and then need to accurately but low torque them down for even tightness on aluminium cases - so their threads had to be clean and run free. Perhaps the misuse of bought (or otherwise acquired) tools satisfies the criteria ? Pete.
  21. Has anyone come up with neat home made sheet metal working tools ? I've seen cheapo manual folding devices on auction websites - are they any good for chassis-weight steel (like for making up new chassis U sections) ? and aside from a disc on an angle grinder is there an easier way to cut long lengths of sheet metal ..that's too thick for hand shears.? Cheers, Pete
  22. I was reading TR action #185 from March 2003 the other evening and happened upon a letter penned by Mr Dave Worne which may shed light on the issue of why Triumph crankshafts may require balancing, and how my own crankshaft may actually be fine ..despite first impressions ! Dave's letter (copied below) starts off by saying that his TR4's engine was fine. The engine pulled well and was smooth running, but then due to an unfortunate error the crankshaft was damaged. And after the engine was rebuilt with another crankshaft - the car just never felt right. The crank was stripped out again and this time was balanced together with the flywheel. However, the new balancing on the flywheel was obviously contrary to the original balancing (drilled holes). Mr Worne goes on to speculate that the Triumph factory balancing was done as a crankshaft and flywheel assembly, and when his engine's crankshaft was replaced - it threw the whole dynamics out of kilter ..and then a noticeable amount of metal had to be removed to get the new configuration back into balance. . This simple explanation may be nothing new to you guys ..but I'd not read of it before. Unfortunately Mr Worne's query ..regarding factory practice of balancing, doesn't appear have subsequently been answered in the magazine, but then I seem to be missing issue #187. My own TR4A engine ; was not quite the same because the crankshaft has not been changed, but the principle of why it was so far out-of-balance might be ..because when bought it - it lacked the original flywheel. I bought a TR3 flywheel (..because it's 10 - 12 lb lighter than a TR4A one) and had that converted to suit a TR4A starter motor and clutch. The crank and the lighter flywheel were each individually balanced, and then balanced (together with the new clutch cover) as an assembly. The machine shop expressed surprise at how much out of balance it was. And on seeing the amount of metal they had crudely removed - I was led to question whether their balancing had been done correctly. But because of the lock-down I have not had the opportunity to have it checked. But I'm thinking Mr Worne's supposition might be both insightful and logical ..after all if Triumph could get away with balancing the rotating assembly once, rather than piece meal and then again all together - it would have been simpler logistics and a useful cost saving. And insightful for us to also know., because if he is correct - then either changing the crank or fitting a non-original-to-that-particular-engine flywheel, or lightening one - necessitates the whole assembly to be re-balanced ..which is what most gurus say (but without their actually explaining ' why ' ..when the parts were originally balanced). Furthermore, I now wonder if balancing the crankshaft individually was counter productive, insomuch as it may have resulted in more metal being carved out of the crankshaft than might otherwise have been necessary ..had it only been balanced as a complete assembly. ? Of course, if buying an engine individually / loose - it would be really worthwhile to ensure you get the original flywheel to that engine. And then there's that old chestnut of broken crankshafts being attributed to removal of the mechanical cooling fan and its extension piece. Well I must admit that cast-iron piece on my own engine wasn't even true / turned in a lathe to be symmetrical. And it, its central bolt, the pulley & the fan all together weighed over 3kg. So sure - if it was likewise factory balanced as part of ' the assembly ' ..then when removed - the crank's balance might be thrown way off. And more so on some engines than others because there had been no effort to make it symmetrical so no two would be the same.. Lighten the flywheel at same time as fitting an electric fan and.. hey-ho the dynamics would be all over the shot.. I'll leave the thought with you. Pete.
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