> I had a '58 TR 3 from 1968 to 1970, a daily driver. It had been beat on
> before I got it but when I owned it, every bulb and every gage worked. In
> spite of carbs that ran rich even after a rebuild, it started every time.
> The battery didn't go dead. Yes the starter motor failed once and I
> crank-started it. I had to replace the regulator at one point
> too. In the
> winter, it started when newer cars didn't. So, why replace the
> generator.
Ron, I have absolutely no problem with people who feel as you do. It's a
matter of preference.
In my case however, I found the generator to be simply inadequate to allow
me to use my TR3A as my sole transportation in the winter. I had to have a
car that would reliably start and take me to work every day, then start and
take me home at night even in temperatures that were consistently below
freezing.
Consider, the stock generator is rated for 19 amps. As I learned the hard
way, attempts to increase this (by adjusting the regulator) result in thrown
solder and expensive (to me at the time) rebuilt generators. There was a
time when fully 1/10 of my disposable incomes was going to buy new
generators !
Head and tail lights draw about 10 amps, another 3 amps each for ignition,
wipers and heater and there's nothing left to recharge the battery.
(Measured draw on my TR3A was 21 amps.) Plus, a cold start takes a
significant portion of the battery's capacity, and it takes lots of charging
capacity to make that up on a short trip (I only drove about 15 minutes to
work at the time). If a cold start takes 1/4 of the capacity of a 48
amp-hour battery, we need about 15 amp-hours to replace that (batteries
aren't perfectly efficient especially in cold weather). To do that in a 15
minute drive takes a 60 amp charging rate !
So, for less than the price of yet another rebuilt generator, I converted to
a Ford alternator. Not only did it absolutely eliminate my dead battery
problems, it allowed me to fit halogen headlights (very useful on dark
country roads) and an electric cooling fan (making summer overheating
problems a thing of the past, not to mention being cheaper than replacing
the damaged original fan).
Randall
Randall Young
59 TR3A TS39781LO daily driver (currently sidelined for OD transplant)
63 Sports 6 HB7826LCV rustoration project
71 Stag LE1473L daily driver (Real Soon Now)
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