On Thu, 24 Oct 1996 Paulsv@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 96-10-24 10:42:35 EDT, lchillin@siu.edu (Lawrence
> Schilling) writes:
>
>
> >>
> It seems to me that there are two types of Triumph engines (at least in the
> TR3 and 4).... Those that just had a valve job, and those that need a valve
> job. I just read, in the service manual that the head should be removed
> every 15000 miles for "decarbonization." How did Triumph manage to get
> buyers to accept this?
> Best Regards,
> Paul
>
We must remember that automotive design and construction has come
a very long way from the `50s and `60s. When our cars were new,
THEY had come a very long way from the cars built in the 20"s and
30's (the average engine life for a model T was about 10,000 miles
before it needed a total rebuild). Tolerances in engine
construction were controlled by humans running the various milling
machines ("blueprinting an engine" meant taking your "factory-built
engine to a specialist who brought the beast to design specs).
Tune-ups for cars in the 50's and 60's generally went with oil
changes... every 3,000 miles or so.
Today we're spoiled. Our cars are designed by machine, build by
machine and to tolerances that are designed by computer. This, and
the computers that control engine functions have extended average
engine life to well over 100,000 miles. Hell, I traded my Mits Eclipse
in last year. It had 128,000 miles on the clock. The Mazda I traded
for it had 178,000 miles on the odo. Neither drove or acted like
you would expect a car with such advanced mileage to act.
Greg Petrolati
gpetrola@prairienet.org 1962 TR4 (CT4852L)
"That's not a leak... My car is just marking its territory!"
Greg Petrolati, Champaign, Illinois
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