Congratulations on your purchase! I would suggest replacing all the metal
brake lines, since they've probably been rusting away from the inside. Also,
when you try to remove the rubber brake hoses, you'll probably wind up
stripping the various fittings on the lines anyway.
Your clutch hydraulics are also probably dubious, too.
When you adjust the valves, you might see if there's a bunch of sludge in
the top end of the engine ... If so, you might also want to pull the oil pan
and clean it out, make sure the oil pump screen isn't blocked, etc.
When you're doing the rear brakes, make sure the springs for the brake shoes
are in decent shape, along with the little rods/clips that hold the shoes in
place. Also, the rear brake adjusters are likely to be frozen, so check them
when you're taking apart everything else.
The carbs are likely to be gunked up from old gasoline. At a minimum, I'd
pull off the bases and inspect/clean the floats and the needle valve. If the
floatsw don't float or the needle valves get stuck open, there's a
significant risk of fire hazard and/or diluted oil from leaking gasoline.
And I'd make sure to replace all the rubber fuel lines (and make sure
they're for fuel!) Also, the rubber diaphragms at the top of the carbs are
likely to be stiff and will fail with use.
Most important thing to prevent you from killing yourself is to make sure
the brakes work, including the trusty handbrake. Be aware that it's not
unusual for clutch/brakes to work OK for a while after a long layoff, but
then fail fairly abruptly because the seals fail.
Good luck.
Graham
-----Original Message-----
From: Trumpet76TR6@cs.com [mailto:Trumpet76TR6@cs.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 10:07 PM
To: 6pack@autox.team.net
Subject: On The Road Again
I'm new to this list and to British cars. I just bought a 76 TR6 over the
weekend with a very straight rust free body and 62K original miles. It has
been parked for the last 12 years. It was started a few times a year and
driven forward and backward a few feet each time. The engine runs great
with
no smoke but the brakes are zero. I am wondering what all needs to be done
before it can be safely driven. I plan on a complete brake job including
wheel and master cylinders, rubber hoses, calipers, linings, etc. I also
plan on replacing all the radiator/heater hoses (some leak). And I will
replace the fuel, fuel filter and all rubber fuel hoses. And I will change
all fluids in the engine, tranny, and rear axle, and lube all the fittings
and grease the front wheel bearings. I allready replaced the tires.
Is there any other things that I should replace or check before driving it
so I don't ruin anything or kill myself.
Thanks.
Ken 76 AZ
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