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Re: TRF Summer Party Car Show

To: TRIPHSTEVE@aol.com, triumphs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: TRF Summer Party Car Show
From: Erik Quackenbush <erik@midwestfilter.com>
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 10:00:52 -0500
At 10:03 PM 8/9/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Bill and List-
>
>That TR5 is Charles Runyan's car (TRF proprietor). 
>
>I had the chance to drive it on Saturday from TRF to the Drive-In. As you 
>might expect, the car was very tight. What impressed me the most though was 
>the additional "spirit" of a PI (Petrol Injection) car. I have a 71 TR6 that 
>is a new restoration, so the suspension is as tight and as new as Charles'; 
>however, the acceleration of the 6 is nothing like the response of the PI TR5!
>
>After saying all that, I can rebuild the carbs on my car or send them off and 
>have them back inside 2 weeks for around $300. I can only imagine what it 
>would cost to sort out the PI if problems develop. 

I have a PI TR-6 which I drove to the TRF event (pimento red; parked next to 
Charles' TR-5 at the drive-in).
Assuming you have no vacuum leaks the biggest problem with the PI system is the 
original Lucas fuel pump.
Replace it with a Bosch unit and the system is mostly trouble free. Rebuilt 
injectors are available from Rimmer
in the UK for $200-$300 per set, and rebuilt metering units (the mechanical 
'brain') are 2-3 times that.

You can get similar power with a triple carb setup provided you make the other 
modifications that went
along with the fuel injection system. You need a higher compression ratio (the 
PI cars were 9.5:1),
a more agressive camshaft, and a different rear axle ratio.

I took my car to the dragstrip on Friday and broke 16 in the 1/4 mile before my 
fan broke off and sheared the
inlet off my radiator. Fortunately I found a local radiator shop and a used fan 
from an autojumbler and was back on the
road in 2 hours for about $60. The TVR that ran after me went off course and 
was trashed, so I consider myself lucky.

On the way home to Chicago my clutch started to disintegrate. First the 
throw-out bearing started squealing and then
I actually started losing fingers off the pressure plate. This was a Borg & 
Beck/AP clutch with less than 4000 miles on it.
I've ordered a new super clutch from British Parts NW. My advice- don't bother 
with the original B&B clutch- they're junk.

-Erik


--
Erik Quackenbush, V.P. Operations, Midwest Filter Corporation 
1-847-680-0566 fax: 1-847-680-0832 http://www.midwestfilter.com



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