----- Original Message -----
From: <WEmery7451@aol.com>
To: <Malaboge@aol.com>; <fot@autox.team.net>; <vintage-race@autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2002 1:01 PM
Subject: Re: Cranks
> In a message dated 11/18/02 9:47:07 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> Malaboge@aol.com writes:
>
> << Did you know that with a good battery and no alternator, you can drive
for
> an hour with the low beams on and the voltage will only drop to 11. It
will
> take almost another hour to drop another volt. BUT, after that it will
only
> take another 7 minutes to get so dark out in front of you that you can't
see
> and the motor will stop!
>
> In 1963, I was still driving the 1959 TR-3 on the highway. I had to drive
> from Washington, PA to Beaver, PA in the dark (about 40 miles) with a
> non-working generator. I got about half way there when it became too dark
to
> drive. Fortunately, I was able to pull into a gas station to charge the
> battery. I was then able to drive the rest of the way, and get the
generator
> fixed the next day.
Here's three more examples...
1. 1967, traveling back from Norfolk, VA to Charleston, SC with two Navy
shipmates
in the TR-3 we lost the generator about 10 miles before we reached the NC/SC
border at about 4am. We drove the 10 miles to the border, stopped and had
coffee
at Pedro's (i.e. Soth of de Border) until daybreak and then drove the
remaining
150 miles or so to Charleston on the battery only. Once in Charleston,
I pulled the generator, the bruches were shot, and actually then found a set
of bruches in an auto electric shop which I bought and then fixed the
generator and was back in business.
2. 1988 - Driving in the One Lap of America, Charles Runyan and I were on
the final night transit when we lost the alternator in the TR-250 on US17
driving from CT to the next morning starting point (Erie, PA). Efforts to
fix (we had a spare) didn't work, so we went back onto US17 and fell
in behind an 18 wheeler. We called the 18 wheeler on CB channel 19,
told him of our problem and asked if we could hand behind him with our
lights off. He was cool with that and we did. Drove most of the next day
and the battery lasted until 20 miles before the finish. Jumped the battery
by a fellow One-Lap car and we made it to within visual site of the
finish...
jumped again by passing motorist and we limped in to the finish.
3. Driving home from the SouthEast VTR regional in our TR3 a few
weeks ago, we lost
the generator about 100 miles after leaving Jeykll Island, GA. We drve
all day on the battery...picked up a charger and 25 foot extension cord
at a WalMart in SC, stopped north of Charlotte, NC for the night...
charged the battery and probably coukld have gotten by all the
way home to NJ, but Vern Brannon lives in Charlotte and he had a
spare generator which we installed the next day and we were good
the rest of the way home.
Cheers,
Bill Sohl
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