Hello fellow listers!
Good news to report (finally!)
As you may recall, in early May, I blew a tooth off my 1st gear countershaft
while drag racing Mark Price and his MGA. Well, technically, I blew the
tooth off when I tried to stop too fast, by downshifting from 3rd to 2nd at
way to high RPMs....
Anyways, after a long and drawn out affair, Dad & I have (finally!) rebuilt
the tranny and reassembled the TR3...
Rebuilding TR2/3 transmissions is EASY! At least when all you have to do is
swap a gear or two and reassemble. I would guess that taking it out,
repairing it, and putting it back in took us (Dad & I) about 3 weekends.
Oh, and if any of you are soon to embark on such an rebuild, one piece of
advice: Don't drop the interlock plunger or balls (bearings) - they will go
to some black hole that exists in every garage floor, never to be seen
again, no matter how long you sweep, bring out the magnet, etc.... 8-)
Other than that, we replaced the 1st gear countershaft (used, $100), the
gaskets, one interlock plunger, one circlip, and a pair of thrust washers.
All told, I spent less than $150 dollars on parts, and didn't need a single
churchill tool.
Anyways, the good news is that we took it for a spin tonight! Oh god what a
rush. I had (almost) forgotten how much fun that car is to drive. Just to
let you know how much I've driven that car: Between 1974 when Dad finished
restoring it, and 1997, Dad had managed to put about 5000 miles on it.
Between 1997 and 1999, I have put another 5000 miles on it. It was my daily
driver all last summer.
Gush, Gush, Gush.
To those who have running cars: Go take a slow comfortable drive....
Remember what you went through to get to this point. Enjoy.
For those who's cars are still "almost" ready.... Hang in there. The
payoff is so very worthwhile.... My own car, a TR2, is in this category....
Hopefully this winter will put me a lot closer to being on the road in my
very own TR.
To those who are still reading..... WHY!?! Go pack for VTR or take a spin
(or get to bed)....
Looking forward to meeting many of you in person at VTR and TRF...
Cheers!
Phil Pattengale
54 TR2 - TS1440-LO {project #1}
56 TR3 - TS13872-L {project #2}
philpatt@kalamazoo.net
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Track/2890/
ps. Hey Mark Price! Nah nah na nah nah!!! 8-)
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