Actually, the width across flats of a 1/4" BSW or BSF bolt is .438 to .445
inches. A 7/16" wrench has an opening of .440 to .446 inches. This is
according to my "Machinery's Handbook". So, a 7/16" wrench will fit a 1/4
BSW or BSF bolt. Frankly, I am not sure whether the bolts on the fenders
are BSF or UNF. Its a common misconception that BSW and BSF bolts were used
extensively on English cars, and this is certainly true for pre-war (WWII,
the big one) models, but by the '50s Unified threads were used almost
exclusively. I do not own any Whitworth spanners, and I have not yet had
the need for one on my TR3A. Back home in England in the sixties I had both
Whitworth and Unified wrenches/spanners, and it seems to me I only had to
use the Whitworth stuff on the occasional body/chassis fastener. Back then
I worked on Fords, Hillmans, Morrises, Triumphs and Vauxhalls, and I think
they were all pretty much the same in that regard. What say you, Jonmac?
In an earlier note, that evidently got lost in the aether, I said that the
wrench probably is not slipping on the head. What is more likely happening
is the cage nut on the other end of the bolt is turning inside the cage. If
you cannot see the bolt and are doing this by "feel", it would feel like the
wrench/socket is slipping. I found that removing the headlamp bucket helped
a lot because I could then see the bolt heads holding the fender to the
front apron. I have had to resort to grinding off the heads, however, in
most cases, because the cage nut was turning and I had no way to grab it. I
am currently doing this with my own TR, so I am intimately familiar with
this problem. Even Beau the Wonder Dog stays out of the garage now - he
says the language offends his delicate ears!
Michael Marr
1960 TR3A
Whitewater, WI
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-triumphs@autox.team.net
> [mailto:owner-triumphs@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Richard
> Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 6:36 PM
> To: triumphs@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: TR3 - Wentworth
>
>
> I'm surprised that no responded to the inquiry about TR3 bolt head sizes
> and explained that the bolt heads of "Whitworth" English bolts do not
> conform to the American bolt head sizes. Therefore US wrenches will
> either be too small or will slip.
>
> An excellent explanation can be found on the following URL.
>
> http://www.team.net/html_arc/mg-t/200008/msg00091.html
>
> Richard
> Once a TR3 owner (Whitworth Bolts)
> Once a TR4 owner Wife rolled this one
> For fifteen years a TR6 owner CF3525U
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