Subject: [TR] Waking a Sleeping Car

From: William Brewer <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2013 15:06:07 -0800 (PST)

I woke up a TR3 that had been sitting in a field for 11 years. Raccoons
had had kittens in the passengers footwell (the hardtop was still on). Before
it arrived at the "ran when parked" spot, it had been side swiped on the 405
freeway in LA, ran off the road and rolled onto its side in the fireweed stuff
that grows on the side of the SoCal freeways.
     After I got the car home
and knowing nothing about Triumphs, I rebuilt the fuel pump, replaced the
plugs and wires, squirted oil in the cylinders,  changed the oil, fixed a
radiator leak, poured in some gas, got out a spare battery, hotwired it and it
fired up pretty quickly. It backfired a rats next out the exhaust which took
out the expansion chamber on the muffler. I took the car for a low speed test
drive. The tach and oil pressure gauges still worked. About 2 miles from my
house the car stopped when the rust in the gas tank plugged the lines. I
should have known better than to try that.
     I drove the car with that
engine, trans and brakes for almost 10 years before doing any serious
rebuilding. Tough little cars these are.

     21 years later the car still
runs great and is the best car that I have ever had.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39699927@N08/8518944877/in/photostream

-Bill in Tehachapi

** [email-masked] **

Archive: http://www.team.net/archive

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From: Tim Gaines <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 10:00:30 -0500 (EST)

After finishing the HVDA tranny conversion on my TR6 (loving it so far!) I now have to get back to the Spitfire differential rebuild I started 3 years ago, before retirement.  I may not pull that off by myself, but at some point I have to revive the poor engine that I have neglected most of that time (the guilt is terrible).  My question is, what do I do with the 7 or 8 gallons of gas in the tank?

Tim Gaines
Clinton, SC
1974 TR6
1980 Spitfire  

----- Original Message -----
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked]
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2013 6:18:56 PM
Subject: Re: [TR] Waking a sleeping car

<snip>

One, of course, is never run the old gas.  Even if it starts, it will varnish everything in sight to some degree.  While you're at it, stick a magnet in the gas tank to see if it collects a pod of rust.

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From: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 09:34:15 -0600

I had a similar problem when I took posession of a long-dormant TR3 last
year, BTW, new gas and it fired right up.  Didn't want to dump it and the
local recycle only take oil.

I mixed it some of the old fuel 50/50 in the lawnmower.  After determining
that would would work in a lawnmower, I poured the balance into a half-full
tank in the '68 Land Rover, low compression/low performance engine.  The LR
sure stunk for a couple of weeks and performance suffered about 15% but I
was able to use it up.

Bill

Bill Beecher
'58 TR3A TS/30766L "Tarbaby"
'62 TR3B TCF/2549L " Aunt B" (in rehab)
www.triumphowners.com/1566
'68 Land Rover Series IIa 88" "The Beast"
"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit
there"  Will Rodgers

-----Original Message-----
From: [email-masked]
[mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Tim Gaines
Sent: Saturday, March 02, 2013 9:01 AM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: Re: [TR] Waking a sleeping car

After finishing the HVDA tranny conversion on my TR6 (loving it so far!) I
now have to get back to the Spitfire differential rebuild I started 3 years
ago, before retirement.  I may not pull that off by myself, but at some
point I have to revive the poor engine that I have neglected most of that
time (the guilt is terrible).  My question is, what do I do with the 7 or 8
gallons of gas in the tank?

Tim Gaines
Clinton, SC
1974 TR6
1980 Spitfire  

----- Original Message -----
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked]
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2013 6:18:56 PM
Subject: Re: [TR] Waking a sleeping car

<snip>

One, of course, is never run the old gas.  Even if it starts, it will
varnish everything in sight to some degree.  While you're at it, stick a
magnet in the gas tank to see if it collects a pod of rust.

Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/triumphs/[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 15:12:03 -0500 (EST)

I had about 7 or 8 gallons of old, rusty gas in a TR7 I parted out.  I 
filtered the gas through coffee filter material and added it to the tank of my 
TR6 about half a gallon at a time just after a fillup.  I was loath to put it 
in my Oldsmobile for fear of clogging the injectors.  In the TR6 the worst 
that could happen is I would have to rebuild my carbs (which are due anyway 
since I haven't rebuilt them since 1996).  At any rate the TR6 was quite 
happy with it and it was put to good use.

I wound up with about a gallon of the nastiest, rust laden gas in the end 
and donated it to a friend for lighting his annual Halloween bon fire.

Dave

In a message dated 3/2/2013 9:25:06 AM Central Standard Time, 
[email-masked] writes: 
> My question is, what do I do with the 7 or 8 gallons of gas in the tank?

---

From: Tim Gaines <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 2013 23:43:06 -0500 (EST)

I should have thought of the lawnmower for burning old gas.  I actually did that, on a much smaller scale, with a gallon can of gas that had been in my dad's trunk for a few years.  I guess over the course of the spring and summer, I should be able to use up 8 gallons in small doses.

Thanks,
Tim

----- Original Message -----
From: [email-masked]
To: "Tim Gaines" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]
Sent: Saturday, March 2, 2013 10:34:15 AM
Subject: RE: [TR] Waking a sleeping car

I mixed it some of the old fuel 50/50 in the lawnmower.

<snip>

-----Original Message-----

Tim Gaines
Clinton, SC
1974 TR6
1980 Spitfire  

----- Original Message -----
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked]
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2013 6:18:56 PM
Subject: Re: [TR] Waking a sleeping car

<snip>