I'm so elated! My Dad's TR-3 that recently was moved from CA to MA has run
for the first time in 27 years. I find that pretty amazing.
I've been working on it off and on for about a week. The braided fuel lines
at the carbs leaked like a sieve, but Henry Frye suggested a shortcut that
helped get it running despite that. He suggested filling the float bowl from
a gas can to test it. I tried it, and it started within seconds. It ran
out of fuel in about a minute, but the experiment was a success. At first
it ran pretty rough, but after it warmed up some it ran very smoothly.
After work today, I cobbed together a temporary repair for the fuel line. I
ran the engine for several minutes. It idled pretty smoothly. The exhaust
was clean. The generator is charging fine. The oil pressure is very good.
The tach doesn't work, but I found a break in the cable near the distributor
end, so this may be easy to fix.
Remember, I'm still using the antique points, condenser, plugs, rotor, cap,
and everything. I've got carb rebuild kits, but I haven't installed them
yet. I suspect the choke is having no effect. I'm just amazed how well it
works after all this time.
Thanks to all those on the list who sent encouragement or technical advice.
I need to order lots more parts to fix the clutch, brakes, lights, and lots
of little things. But a TR-3 that was retired around 1966 looks like it's
on its way to being on the road again.
Flushed with this success, I'm thinking I might even be able to get my other
Triumph running. There's a TR-6 in the barn that hasn't been run for many
years. Who knows?
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