TR Register Feature

I was honoured last month to have an article about joining the South Yorkshire group of the TR Register.  Here is the article.

October 3^rd meeting

The dark evenings meant that we were mostly inside the ” Royal Oak” in Ulley village, but we still had a very lively and interesting get together, with many wife’s in attendance.

We were pleased to see Ian, a new member, in his recently purchased TR3A, and it created quite a stir in the car park. Ian had positioned the car under the floodlights for maximum effect, and it was good to see a car being used without its hood up, at this time of year.

He told us all of his earlier ownership of a 3A, and his determination to have another one in retirement.

 

 

I was lucky enough to have a ride in the car, and it proved well-sorted and eager to show off its ability to keep up with modern traffic.

Thanks to Chris Bowns, the group secretary, for posting the article.

 

The article can be found on the TR Register website at

file:///C:/Users/ianlu/OneDrive/Documents/TR3/October%203rd%20Meeting.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Tyres

The car came with four 195/60/15 tyres that were hardly used.  They were fitted in 1998 when the car was restored in Texas.  And they looked great!  But nearly 20 years old.

But after much talking with people, tyre and TR people, I decided that there were several factors that meant I should change.  First was the age of the tyres and though they were not cracked they had inevitably lost some of their flexibility.  Second was the risky use of inner tubes on 60mm profile tyres, meaning they could abrade through very quickly.  Then there were the drive-ability, steering and road-holding issues. Finally there was the look of the car, and as it is not a hill-climb variant, tyres nearer to the original certainly look more ‘right’.

Longstone Tyres of Bawtry (veteran car tyre suppliers) gave me lots of helpful advice, and a package deal on four Michelen XZX 165/80/15’s I couldn’t beat anywhere else.  Removing the rear wheels revealed leaks at the base of the rear suspension units.  Recon units ordered from TR Shop!

Comparing the two tyres (see photo) shows at least an inch or more difference in the diameter, so perhaps the true road speed, which has been about 10% below the tacho reading (measured at 45 mph at 50 mph road speed) may return to nearer the quoted speeds.  I’ll have to try it out.

The run back from Bawtry, on a crisp and sunny dry November day was sheer delight.  The car is certainly more nimble.  Lighter on the low-speed steering of course, but with a better feel of grip, especially on the rear wheels.  And from the side they don’t look a lot different.