I presumed everyone already knew that you can get any bearing and any seal
from a bearing house, but maybe not. There are very few exceptions to that
rule--and mostly they relate to some strange thrust bearing or a bearing
that was modified after it was made (grinding the outer diameter or adding
circlip grooves). I almost _never_ order bearings or seals from a Triumph
parts house, you just take the originals to the bearing dealers and they
match them up. Make sure you tell them the application because there are
tolerance and fit/finish/materials differences. The bottom line is that
manufacturers very rarely specify a bearing size--they use what is
available, and bearing dimensions almost never go out of fashion. I bought
two sets of wheel bearings for my TR3 from the local supplier. They match to
a Timken set but it's obsolete, so they cross referenced them to (as I
recall) some German manufacturer and pulled them right out of stock. The
same for seals--I buy them shrink-wrapped in sets of ten for less than two
from TRF. Better quality, less money, no waiting. What part of that doesn't
work?
I started doing this with motorcycles, 'cause bike manufacturers charge a
huge premium for old parts--pistons for my Honda CA95 (1962 150 Dream) are
$140 each!! A new wrist pin was $22!
BTW, a little race report. Did the Zupan's Historics at Portland
International Raceway over the weekend. My coil blew on the first lap of the
qualifier on Saturday (it was a new Mallory) so I had to start from dead
last (39th) on Sunday. The TR3 was running like a top--I passed 26 cars,
lapped a bunch more, finished 12th. This starting from the back has it's
advantages. Passed two Lotus 15s, two beautiful Arnolt Bristols (a nice pair
of Bristols), three 300SLs (one of them was even sort of fast) and the usual
set of Porchskis, Healeys, Sprites of varied flavors, and lapped an Aston
Martin three times (of course he looked like he was lost and trying to find
his mommy. Had more fun that should be allowed. I've looked at the tape at
least nine times--I fell asleep last night looking at it.
Couldn't take Peyote out--I don't fit it yet. Tried to convince myself it
was okay by driving up and down my driveway (about 1/8 of a mile) and almost
went off two corners trying to get my foot onto the brake. I'm just a leetle
long. I either need to re-do the pedals or have three inches taken off my
legs. But hot damn that's a fast car!
One last thing--I've located a very cherry Dolomite sprint transmission with
an overdrive. It's a bit spendy, but I understand it's the closest ratio box
I'm likely to find that fits up to a TR motor. I know we've been over this a
dozen times on the list, but some of you guys know this stuff right off the
top of your head. I've looked at the guts--looks like absolutely brand new
in there. Is this a good thing?
Oh, yeah, and I bought the ultimate tow vehicle--well maybe not as cool as
Bill's van, but pretty neat--a '57 Cadillac especially modified for
towing--the license plate and a section of the rear bumper folds down and a
class three receiver plugs right in. Totally cherry, four door--the model
with no center post (I forget what they called that), heavy springs in the
back, transmission cooler, AC, and more attitude than I can show up for. And
the wife is out of town--so it's a "surprise". One more surprise like that
and I'll be living in the caddy. And it was dirt cheap.
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