Triumph Sports Cars

Since I replied to a couple threads for the first time today, I guess I better introduce myself. I submitted my writeup a few months ago but haven't participated in the forum.

My background information: Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I currently live in the Denver area. I was a Mechanic for 15 years. I have worked on everything from VWs to diesel trucks to Catepillar Heavy equipment. I went to school after that and earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of New Mexico. After graduating, I found a job in the IT industry. I make my living with the keyboard but still get my hands dirty. My 1979 Spitfire is the latest of many car projects through the years. I do everything myself, including the body and paint work on my projects. I belong to the Rocky Mountain Triumph Club and we have a great time. It is a busy club with several events scheduled every month. I have enjoyed the British V8 newsletter very much. Its a great publication. I seem to fit in with you folks compared to the typical British car clubs which are usually geared toward restoration rather than modification. We are an odd bunch aren't we?

Cheers,
Max Brewster
1979 Spitfire, 2.3 liter turbo Ford

Welcome, Max!

How about some pictures? We all feed off of each other, new ideas, different methods, diverse resources, shared with the "odd bunch".

The 2.3 turbo is a nice swap, with a little turbo kick!

I have found that around here, there are more opportunities to fit in since I did the V8 swap. The local TR/British Club welcome all types, the Ford guys are surprised, the Hot Rod boys are very helpful, and they all are great resources and support groups! BritishV8 is a great group! Jump In, the water's fine!

Looks like you are building a trailer for a little log distance use, so if you are ever heading out East, drop me a line!

Hi Don, pictures are in my writeup in the spitfire section.
click here: Max Brewster's Spitfire with 2.3L Ford turbo (26 photos)
Currently working on the trailer installing flooring. Will include photos as this project progresses.

--Max



(hyperlink added by Moderator...)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/2008 11:22AM by Moderator.

Nice Ride!

Do you have much turbo lag?

I can't wait to see the trailer completed.

Here is an example of what I want to do. It's from the National 6-Pack meet called the TRials back in 2002. I tried for 2 days to track this person down to get his or her contact info, left them my card, even had an announcement made at the awards that night, but no joy! ( it must have been my 10W-40 body wash from my showers each day)

Hello Max and Don,

You both have very nice rides and hope to see you in Wisconson in July.

I just had to jump into this thread and thank Don for posting those photos of the TRailer. That is brilliant! Don, why don't you make a signiture series and I'll buy the second one from you.

Ken

Don, not much turbo lag since I don't need a muffler. The turbo muffles the sound to tolerable levels. Its sounds like a tractor at idle. I passed a friend full throttle who was driving his TR3 on a mountain road and asked him how loud it was. He said it wasn't loud, just made a wooshing-whistling sound.

The TR6 trailer is cool. I thought of using my extra bonnet to do the same thing but I have other plans for it. I want to redesign it and replace the existing one. I hope to have the floor completed by the end of the week or so. I will include photos after that.

Ken, don't think I will make the meet in Wisconsin this year. Its a long trip from Colorado. I would like to attend some time, Maybe next year. I may have the interior done by then.

Max

Max,

That's the great thing about doing it yourself, the learning experience and wanting to redesign and make it better.

I think that's why the "How it was Done" segment of this web site is so poplar, plus being able to share ideas and get peer feed back.

Maybe I should put a turbo down on my Christmas wish list. I have been a very good boy so far this year.

Ken, are you the TR6 on YouTube at last years event?

I have been playing around with the trailer idea since 2002, and I still have not started. ( body and paint is next for me to learn)

I wonder if you could do it out of fiberglass????????? Have the front open for dry storage, luggage, bags and TR stuff, the rear to open up for cold, wet storage, to refresh you after a long road trip! I really like working with fiberglass, maybe carbon fiber??????

Wow!

I thought that was your car at first Don! Looking at the color and it looks like a 74,75, or 76 year with the "bumperets" on the bumpers.

That has to be the smallest TR6 I've seen with two wheels, now if you could only un-hitch it and drive it around or??

Great Ideas Max, Don.

Don, I'm in line after Ken for one.

Hmmm! nice retirement business? :-)

Nice Calvin,
Already pushing me off to retirement!

Don't push to hard as I recall there is an open invitation you extended!

Keep up the hard work as you keep me inspired.

Now about that trailer, I currently have 2 orders, If I put Debi to work on the assembly line, how many could I mass produce to keep my TR project needs met?

Max,

What's your design for the new trailer? Ideas?

One issue I have, after talking with a few bikers that pull trailers, is trailer walking.

Being that the TR is narrow, would a light weight trailer walk the same? NOT a GOOD thought.

What do you think?

Well...I carved up my knee with my body grinder Monday night while grinding a metal plate on the floor of my garage. It was deep, 5 stitches inside and 8 outside. No muscle or tendon damage thank God, but it sure is sore right now! Had a brand new 9 inch grinder disk on it too. It was ugly!! Haven't done something that bad on 25 years. So.. I am behind on the trailer. I will probably work on it this weekend. Pictures will follow.

Trailer walk is usually caused when there is not enough tounge weight but I'm no expert on bikes. There may be other issues to consider.

Originally the rear end to axle center was 30 inches and the front to axle center 27 inches. To make it front heavy, I am adding about 14 inches to the front of the trailer, out about 5 inches at the rocker panel and then forward another 9 inches in the form of a point. I will keep the spare in front. The weight of a car and four tires might make a difference also as far as stability goes. Typical trailer loading rules apply. Load heavier stuff in front, load front to back , check if there is tounge weight by lifting the hitch, etc.

I have seen some very short and narrow trailers behind sports cars used for extra tires for autocrossing and some cute little trailers behind street rods and they seem to be stable at highway speeds.

I guess I will be the Guinee Pig on the trailer thing. I am estimating it will weigh between 350 and 400 lbs empty. I will weigh it when I'm done and let you know.

I thought about making a few of these things as well. The down side is that they would be expensive to make any profit. I'm thinking $4000 to $5000. Locating a donor car, fixing rust, body mods, would be a challenge, but it is possible. Plus any liability is a consideration, especially these days. Probably better to make our own. It would be fun though.


Cheers,
Max

"Ouch" that must have hurt Max. I hope you have some good pain killers for that knee.

Good luck on the trailer, can't wait to see the pics...heal first tho.

Calvin

Max,
Sorry to hear about the garage incident. Speedy recovery to you. Safety fast in the work shop as well on the road. Eye protection is soooo! important too.

Don,
Funny you should mention "turbo" was on your Christmas wish list. That's exactly what I was singing last December. Calvin came up with this concept of using the STS Turbo system it the TR6. I did all my research and had all my suppliers lined but realised I'd never get it installed before summer with all the other things I wanted to do so that is on hold for now. But I'm definetily in favor of Forced Induction.
To answer your question Don, yes, Martyn Harvey was organized enough to bring a video camera to last years meet and kind enough to post a couple of clips of the TR6 doing the autocross in the 90F heat. Great fun was had by all! I just did my first ever youtube posts a couple of days ago. They are from when I threw it on the dyno last year. The lighting on these clips is not that great as I was only using a 5 mega pixel camera, but the sound is fun. Results are at the end of my "how it was done" article.

Ken

See TR6 on dyno here

I use a zip blade on my angle grinder almost daily, occasionally get a little nick and just hearing about it makes me cringe. Sooo lucky for you it was only soft tissue damage. I feel for you though Max. That's the sort of thing that really hurts.

So take it easy, don't stretch the scar and give it time to heal, the trailer will still be there when you get back to it.

Jim

You can never be to careful. I have had 3 some what serious injuries, including this one and cosider myself a very safety minded person. After all, I worked for 4 years for a Caterpillar Dealer, that can get you killed. Were talking equipment that weighs 60 - 70 tons or more! 15 years as a professional mechanic another 15 or so working on all my projects, I'm fortunate to have not been really seriously hurt. I still have all of my fingers, toes, and both eyes. I have worked with guys who didn't. This kind of thing reminds us all to work safely. I appreciate the concern and comments from everyone. Now back to talking about cars!!

Don and Ken were talking turbos. There is a guy in our Triumph club that turboed his TR6. He built everything from scratch. The intake, wiring, intercooler installation all look factory. He used a megasquirt computer which he assembled and programmed. The car dynoed at just over 200 HP at the wheels last time I talked to him. I am going to try to get him to submit a writeup. If he does, all of you will be impressed. I don't remember the year it is but this thing has a surry top. Its really cool!

He was going to install an RX7 differential, like I did, last time I talked to him but I'm not sure if he did it. I mentioned this in another thread, but its worth repeating. If I had to do it again, I would have used a late 80s early 90s IRS T-bird differential. Its plenty strong for these light weight cars, there are more gear ratios available, and limited slip is available too. Of course you still have to deal with narrowing everything. I think this option would be fairly inexpensive compared to something like a corvette rear. Monster Miata sells this setup for their conversions. I think one should always beef up the brakes, suspension, and differential after an engine conversion. What are your thoughts on diffferentials?

Cheers,
Max

Max,

Man, you got to take care of yourself! There are to few of us around now days. Heal up, I hear that Corona with lime will help, then get back to work on the car!

Ken, nice to put a face with a name and a CAR.

On to differentials. When we started my project, (Debi was in the garage as much as I) I located a C4 Corvette rear, complete, that I was going to narrow and drop in. I located a shop here that could do a little aluminum welding. Rebuilt the unit, disc, rotors, and started cleaning her up to take to the welder. Well, the beauty got the better of me, as she cleaned up soooooooo nice, I could not take a knife to her. So she now rides in a 32 Coupe, all bright and fast. (pic attached before)

The second Pic is of a C4 narrowed for a 240z. Note, how the mounting handle bar has been narrowed as well.

I know that these units can be narrowed and made to fit. There is a guy out there that has on in a Sprite! I'll try and locate the info and URL.

My 5.0 HO is only putting out about 245hp and about 240lb torque, so I went for the Nissan R200 differential and Richard Goods kit. Bolts right up! Calvin when on step more with the CV Joints. Check out the thread! I'll try and locate the specs, but I think it's rated at 350lb torque.

I think the T-Bird's is lighter, aluminum???? Than, say a Mustang or Cougar. There is some discussion about the Ford explorer differential, but you would need to build a cradle as the TR has no kick up and the current differential cross bar would not work. There is a few threads on the MG side about these differentials. Check it out.

It depends on what power you going to reach for and how often your going to go for it! If your a dragster, go for a complete Ford 9", custom frame, and full harness. There are those on this site that have been there and done that and have more info on the 9".

Sorry, It took me time to locate the URL from my old archive of pics and resources.

Bugeye/ Hemi / C4 rear

[www.modifiedhealeys.org]

Don, are't those Corvette differentials pretty!! I was looking at several options, Datsun, Supra, and Mazda when I started this project. Corvette for me was overkill and I'm on a limited budget. I wanted to stay with IRS. My 2.3 turbo puts out around 200 HP, 240 torque and can be easily make 300 HP with a few mods and computer reprogramming. I' m going to leave mine stock. The Spitfire only weighs 2080 lbs. Its plenty fast for me for now. I roamed the Pull and Save for 3 weekends getting ideas. The reason I chose the RX7 is that the bearing hubs were removable from the rear control arms. Datsun and Supra are welded on. I was able to adapt them to my homemade control arms. The issue that plagues me is the most common ratios are 4.10:1 and 3.91:1. A 3.63:1 is available in the rear wheel drive 626 but those are hard to find. Mine is the 3.91:1. I can't use 1st gear, its worthless at 3.97:1 ratio. I'm am saving up to rebuild my T5, it needs it anyway, with the after market gear set. This should allow me to use 1st gear 2.95:1 and it will have a .63 overdrive. Drivabilibty should be better and put me at about 3000 RPM at highway speeds compared to 3800 RPM now. The reason I mentioned the T-bird is that it had IRS in the last generation before they discontinued them to make way for the retro one. They are supposed to be good for 400-500 HP. Since our cars are lightweight I think it would be very hard to break one. It would just break the tires loose instead of exploding the differential. I wanted to let folks know that this seems to be an inexpensive option. Also, I was wondering if there was anyone out there that has used the T-bird diff in their car.

Trailer update. I got the floor almost finished. Did I mention that the floor was totally rusted out? It took longer since I can't bend my knee right now but I just have a few filler pieces to make and weld in. Pictures in a few days.

Thanks for the input..
Cheers,
Max

Don,

The invite still stands open for you Debi and son + any more children, it's the least I could do. The Corona's, lime's , soda's and BBQ can be waiting ready , just shoot an e-mail first for me. My Twin 15 year old son's I'm sure could have fun with your son.
Then we all can have a Corona with lime. It was 84 here today and there is a pool.


Max,

If you had the 3.63:1 ratio gears, do you think you could use first gear along with the rebuilt T5? What year 626 has this gearing? Next time I'm at the wreaking yard I can look and maybe some other's could also?


That Bugeye must be one sleak sleeper of a car!

Here is the best info I have found for Nissan Differentials.

[forums.hybridz.org]

Calvin, After the rebuild I will be able to use 1st gear with the existing 3.909:1. I want to stay with the more common gear set. Its easier to find parts in case I break something.

That sprite would probably fly if you went full throttle.


Cheers,
Max