Dunlop 72 Spoke Wire Wheels

These just arrived. I got them from Tom for a great price as part of a trade with my Dad for my steel wheels. I need to learn a little more about wire wheels and take them to be balanced before I put them on the car. I'm not sure if they require innertubes. I plan to have them sand/media blasted and painted or powder coated before they go on the car.

Had a good drive today. Went to brunch with Tom, Patty and Rick from the NBCC. Always fun to park three or four TR-6s together and see the reactions. Plus, my car really runs great in the cool dry weather.

The gas leak from the rear carb is not bad today. I think it must be some type of seal that dried up when I didn't start the car for a couple of weeks while I did the brakes. I'll look for replacement seals tonight.

My next small project is reconnecting the driving lights, this time with an in-line fuse. Next I'll install the British Leyland AM/FM radio, again with a fuse, and install the new "kidney pads" that hold the front speakers.

When the weather really stays cold I will start prepping to paint.

Brake rebuild update

I have installed new caliper pistons (stainless steel from The Roadster Factory) on the front brakes and replaced the flexible brake lines front and rear. I also replaced the two short metal lines on the front from the caliper to the flexible line. One appears to have a very small crimp in it. Not enough to close it off but that wheel/brake is not releasing as far as the other. So I'll get back out there tomorrow and go thru it again. I may try the old line just to see if the crimp is the culprit.

In the meantime, I started the car with the intention of test driving tonight. When I did, I found gas leaking out of the rear carburator. Could be that a gasket or seal dried out since I haven't run it in 3+ weeks. I'll look a little deeper tomorrow. Thanks again to Tom T. who came thru when it was time to bleed the system.

I still have the new (old) British Leyland radio to install and the new kidney pads.

I'm back...

I haven't posted much in the past few months. Things got busy in the rest of my life so I have just tried to drive when I can and repair with what little time is leftover.

Recenly I have undertaken rebuilding the front brake calipers with a kit from The Roadster Factory including new stainless steel pistons. Getting the old pistons out took some help from my Dad and the local Midas shop. As I was taking things apart I discovered that one of the front brake lines was 90+% clogged. Basically, no brakes on that wheel. I decided to go ahead and replace all of the flexible brake lines front and rear for safety sake. Tonight I am reassembling and hoping to get things back together in time for a drive tomorrow. The weather is suppose to be great!

Here is what I'm shooting for

March 25, 2007

I had replaced the clutch master and slave cylinders but had had some trouble getting the system properly bled. My buddy Tom was a great help again. Thanks to him we got the clutch working well and actually took the car out for a maiden voyage. Everything went well with the exception of having to bump start the engine after stopping for gas (battery may be shot). Also found teh driver's side front wheel to be heating up. Looks like the brake may not be fully releasing. Looks like I have my next project.

March 11, 2007

With my wife standing by with a can of starter fluid and a fire extinquisher I got it started!!! It runs a little rough...but it runs. As soon as I get the clutch working we'll be ready to drive

February 20, 2007

Got the radiator back in place. I learned one thing, make sure your clamps are on flush and straight before you tighten them or else all of the fluid you add will leak out. I also got the oil changed. The oil that came out was cleaner than I hoped. Pull the plugs, to get some oil to the cylinders to make sure they are free to move. I'll also be draining the gas tank and fuel lines this weekend.

February 10, 2007

I happen to be under the dash this afternoon and started fooling with the ignition switch. I got the ignition switch body back into the housing so that it matched up with the key switch. While still hanging half out of the car, I reached up and slowly turned the key. I figured nothing would happen, but suddenly the engine bumped and the car jumped forward an inch or two!! I was so convinced it wasn't going to turnover that I hadn't even taken it out of gear. I can't do anything else until I get the the radiator back in and the oil changed. You would think that the oil change would be easy, and I'm sure it will be, except that the jack that came with car won't even fit under the car! Thanks to my friend Tom who gave me a jack and I will be getting to this project this week.

February 9, 2007

Haven't made much headway. Its been too cold. I plan to change the oil, pull the plugs, and get some oil into the cylinders so it will be ready to turn over shortly. I have a remote starter that I got from Autozone for $9.00. Since the ignition switch is disconnected this will at least allow me to turn the motor over and make sure that the engine is "free" before starting.

February 1, 2007

I have pulled the radiator and sent it out for boiling and pressure testing. I discovered that the ignition switch is disconnected and that the toggle switch in the center of the dash that I thought was a starter switch isn't connected to anything at all! I have located a number of blown fuses and wires that are disconnected or simply cut off.

I am now pulling all of the accessories and gadgets out of the car that were added over the past 36 years, including a 1990 vintage CD player (you put the CD in a cartridge before you insert it!), an alarm system complete with a starter disable who's wires were melted at the fuses, 4 pairs of speakers, 2 sets of driving lights, and an amplifier. My thinking is to get things back to basics first before searching for electrical problems.

Welcome...

Thanks for visiting my blog. I am just getting underway with this project. My first goal is to change out all of the fluids, clean/flush the brake system and radiator and get my TR fired up by February 14th. That may be ambitious, we'll see.