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The Lobby
Enjoy the blog this week with Styx, Renegade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9eLz4DrwF8&list=PLnzWxFWr_jTmzyj1tVXs0Bdm ZZZOK5B5H&index=1
I had a few Stix albums, 8 tracks, whatever. What brings me back to this song, and odd that I haven’t shared any Stix yet – is a typical weekend night, high school cruising in Kinston, and good friend, Kurt, got pulled over in his hot rod Pontiac Sunbird. Several times. It was like the entire police department was after him. Several tickets in one night. And this song, seemed to be on his stereo when the cops came. I reckon the 72 car was parked, and he was driving a few of us around. Up to no good.
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Raced home this morning to hang the lights on the house to beat the oncoming rain that has been continuing in Dallas for a week or so now, on and off. Taking a break right now to lay down some commentary. Great holiday event for our D6 TR6 group. Super proud of everyone involved – amazed at how it has grown. Its more than a group or club – its purely servant leadership. Everyone – I mean everyone – helps each other. Imagine a giant garage, with your TR6 in it, on jacks, and 2 other owners are leaning over, handing you a wrench, or removing a road spring. And when done, you do the same. It’s a collage of support. And it’s all TR6. Field of dreams, if you think about it. Build it and they will come.
Biz is good, family is healthy, successfully procrastinating at holiday shopping.
Whats new
The week passed by, and no word from the shop. Patience, grasshopper. I said, at our holiday dinner – do I really want it now? I’m in this holiday window where, say, Alex calls, says get the car, and I get it home. Not sure the boss would happy with me, in the garage, weld sparks flying, banging going on, me, no sleep, and possibly missing Santa Clause. My garage aint that clean, and truly, I won’t be that distracted, but if I had to wait this long, whats a few more weeks.
The punch list is ready, and I’m sure I can George Bailey this event if I need it – hands showing up out of now where to wrench on this sled. For now, we are at t minus 20 and holding. The 20 was just made up- please don’t read into that number. I watched The Right Stuff this week, and that reference drifted in.
As always, the diary of the The School Car Wreck Blog is here
Did you put gas in your car? Go do that, even if it’s a gallon. And please drive with your lights on – we need all the visibility we can get with the distracted motorists.
Lets have a pint
My usual spot for less organized ramble. Ramblings that pop into my head. Things that somehow tie me back to my TR6.
I thought I would use this week’s blog as an early holiday reflection of thanks. My year has been the most change for me in a long time. In January, I crash a vintage car. In May, I get a health scare and work on my lifestyle. I learn how to work with deep pour epoxy, and I learn how to turn wood on a lathe to make a custom gearshift knobs.
My world gets routine like others. I mean, we all have change in any given year. Often, unexpected. Or even anticipated, we rarely aren’t mentally prepared. I go back to my dad’s passing. He wasn’t that unhealthy, but a heavy drinker, lived alone and was a bit of a recluse. We were planning his move to Dallas when his health fell off into hospice. I use this example as I don’t appreciate what is in front of me. I am surrounded by so much wonder, I should pray more, and give thanks. No need to read into this as me nudging you – just stuff for me in a reflection.
I will round this with some summary on the TR6 and that disruption. I have waxed on the incident many times, in various perspectives. When we are faced with a change like this, we move on and adapt. That wasn’t my first crash. Most likely won’t be my last. The moment when it happens, the surreal of dream and can we just go back a few seconds? Applesauce from apples. For me, this event was a blessing. I learned more about myself than this car. I realized how much I missed doing stuff with my hands. I am hard on myself with mechanic stuff, but I am more mechanical that I let on. What feels like this narcissistic banter is meant, I pomise, to help others with any paralysis. To take that deep breath and just get out there and do something, even if you have never done it before.
Ok – on the rest of this ramble.
Tech: Carb Journey.2
values
Throwback. Sizzling
Tech: Stromberg.2
After my carb vomit last week, I thought I would steal some noise from my 6pack carb journey, which I never finished. I started a diary of my carb rebuild, but it was less about rebuilding, and more about pulling some contraption apart, and polishing parts as if I were a monk in a cave. So, with that, I thought I would share some comments on that fiddling for this holiday, since many of us have some downtime. It’s a ramble on the carb sections, a series on each of the sections. Our carbs are full Dr Seuss contraptions.
I’ll start this series off with the top of the carb. I think this is the easiest part of the Stromberg. 4 phillips head screws hold on this dome and those thin service tags. Remove those, and that lid comes off, and you can pull your piston and spring. You might as well get used to that. Be careful pulling it out, and putting it back in because of the tolerances. Be careful of the needle. And I will advise, do 1 carb at a time. In other words, don’t swap pistons. I don’t know anything about that, might be fine.
That piston goes up and down, raising and lowering that needle. Its tapered, so more or less fuel comes thru that hole from the bowl, and that needle is the monitor of sorts. I don’t have any suggestions on improving this area for 1 simple reason. That area is designed to be that way. That shoulder the piston sits on? Yeah, its that shape and height for a reason. And the shape of that needle? Don’t polish that. Wipe it, maybe, but I would rather just leave it alone unless its rusty or black. And if that happens, track down a replacement.
If you have never replaced your diaphragms, this is where you start. I think they hold up fairly well, but with today’s fuel blends, their strength is challenged more than it used to be. A pair of those diaphragms are maybe 10 dollars, and most have them, some of those diaphragms are better than others. There is more to do in here, like rebuild the needle assembly. That’s pretty tedious, and I’ll leave that for another time, and smarter people. But its here that you would replace a tiny o ring so oil will stay in the damper. Most of the needles are adjustable, and with this rig out, you don’t need that fancy adjusting tool – just a long allen wrench to go down into that damper into that set screw. Remember this – and its opposite of logic. Righty rich, lefty lean. As in, Clockwise to richen the carb, and counter clockwise to lean it down. Most of the tuners work in 1/8 and ¼ turn adjustments, so stay with that, is my recommendation. It won’t hurt to note the position and count the turns counter clockwise to closed, if you will. Then, turn it back to the position. Rarely are each carb the same adjustment. That’s just part of the Stromberg lore.
Next week, we will flip the carb upside down, and chat up the float bowl.
Good luck, McGiver
Appraisal
I tried to watch Barrett Jackson this past week. Flipping thru the channels, for some background noise, I stop on this chit show. I love Barrett, but I realized that I have to be in the right mood for it. And, it feels like, over time, this crew has turned up the volume. In just a few cars, I am beat down with the oversell, the celebrity, the noise, and frankly, too much in the resto mod. Funny. Me, this lover of resto mod, pointing a finger at the masters of resto mod. Exhausting. I only had it in the background for maybe 30 minutes. But with that influence, I figured I would chat up some of the recent stuff on our values.
We get these social media shares of articles from – pick a car mag – and it tends to be wordy, much like this blog sometimes. I don’t like to get caught up in too much of that mess, given I am not flipping my current car. Sure, if someone walked up with a briefcase of cash, I might sell it and start over. I don’t think I am alone in that. In fact, I’d love to flip some 6s, but I know deep down, I’d miss the school car, and would stalk it like I do the 72 car. Today, we have this unique demand variable that we don’t know much about – the possibility that our marque, and others, will fall. Why? Kids don’t give a chit about a manual transmission, and certainly not one without a backup camera or the ergonomics found in modern cars.
It is amazing how values have shot up on any car. VW Beetles. Even modern older cars, way up in value, but in my mind, that is a different engine. Maybe its not. Maybe vintage is up cause people can’t get a 10 year old honda accord at a decent price. Or, since they are hard to find, why not go vintage and use this economic anomaly to enjoy some nostalgia. I guess that makes the most sense. You’re gonna spend money on gas anyway – this is more fun that fiddling with an EV charger in your garage. But I don’t want this wave of enthusiasm to morph into something that leaves us on the street like woody from toy story. Left behind – that sounds sad, doesn’t it? I don’t think that’s ahead of us, but we have to be prepared for those future disruptions. This isn’t a fad – old cars – but it has that fad layer, as in, attention goes up and down. At least it has over time, right?
Throwback. Hot Wheels
I mean, while we are here, right? It’s the holiday, and for much of this audience, me, those I know in this community, we are of a certain age, and those tiny cars were just a staple of my bedroom, littered on the floor, usually. I was not a big collector, never focused that much time on the cars available any given year. I know I had at least 2 of the original year cars. Buried in someone’s yard now, I guess. An amazing toy, mine ended with horrible positive camber from how the wire axles would bend on those red line tires. Durable, even if beat up. Nothing better than something that you can throw around, and still roll it down some track. My first and only hot wheels set had that plastic clamp, meant to attach to mom’s table, track slid onto that, down to that loop, and out to the other end. So simple, and captivating. Yellow orange side rail plastic, flat red connectors, a hot wheels car, and that loop base that held on 1 piece of track.
One Christmas, I get a sizzler set. First year sizzlers, and the box was check marked on the side as to which cars were in it. This California set had formed bank turns, figure 8, I think, and 1 of the 2 cars was the Boss 302, gold, close to Parnelli Jone’s Trans Am car. A hot wheel with an electric motor. I mean, I love my lionel train stuff, but if you are 8 or so, near 1970, and this big box of track and 2 electric cars appears under that wrapping paper, there is a good chance I didn’t speak to anyone for a week. This throwback was influenced by a simple search on ebay this past week, and a trip to youtube on how to resurrect a sizzler. Today, with reproduction batteries, cleaned up motor and contacts, you have a running hot wheel sizzler car. Fascinating. That tiny motor, in that frame, original red lines. Wow.
Fun memories, around the holiday. A great time to grow up – so much creativity around automotive in that era. I hope you had a sizzler. I hope some of you still have one somewhere.
That’s enough for today. See you on down the road. Remember. Smile when you drive, and whenever possible, take a kid driving.
Thank you for caring for your Triumph TR6. Lets also thank those considering one. This is a great mark for young and old. This mark is blessed with an amazing network of development, parts, owners, experts and car availability. A TR6 helps people everyday, lifting spirits, bringing smiles. A TR6 brings happiness to the painter at the shop, who has painted many cool cars. Please start your car with it out of gear and foot off the clutch to save your thrust washers – they struggle with oiling at start up. Please pop your hood and have a good look around the engine bay. Please put fresh gas in your car each week, even if just 1 gallon. Please have good insurance, and review your policy regularly. And please drive your 6 defensively, as if it was a 4 wheeled Harley, and keep your driving lights in good condition.
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I am the 3rd steward of CF50460UO, born September 1975 with paint code 19 and 11 black interior. Nicknamed “the school car”, is now over 100K in miles, with new Cayman Blue Mica 2 stage paint, and 11 interior. Car was delivered with original hard top and factory overdrive. Current upgrades include Volvo overdrive internals, König Rewind 16x7 rims, Michelin Pilot Sport 205.55.16s, 4Runner calipers and 7/8 rear wheel cylinders. Poolboy carbs, FlexAlite electric fan, Patton Fan Eliminator, Pertronix ignitor ignition, TR5 cam, pacesetter header, 70amp Lucas direct fit alternator, solid state Rheostat, Silverstar Halogen headlights, Wishbone blueprinted oil pump, Bastuck 9LB flywheel, Goodparts suspension on all 4 corners, Goodparts sway bar, Goodparts trailing arm brackets, Uprated Armstrong lever shocks with cycle fork oil, high torque starter, JVC Bluetooth audio with front and rear USB, 4 speakers, stainless steel bumpers, flip up scuttle vent, hidden antenna, window tint, custom gear knob, and other concours frustrations.
My to do list
New carpet, new panels, custom dash.
r200B diff with goodparts cv joints and hubs
fresh head with roller rockers.
At some point, a fresh square motor with lightened crank, cam bearings,
Hard top inside insulation, and dome light.
Oh, and AC
We would have a competition and count how many laps before the battery ran dead.
That might have been my best Christmas, as that may have been the year my parents took me shopping at Toys-R-Us!
What other toys at the time. Evel Kenievel, Stretch Armstrong, Big Jim dolls, Schwinn Bicycles (I had a Sears and a Ross Bicycle from Western Auto), Street Kings roller skates, Plastic Skateboards with urethane wheels and trucks, AFX Slot Car Sets....
Fun Times!