Well, it has been ages since we've had an update on my build. Sorry about that. Part of the problem has been that while parked at a strip mall restaurant on my way to a cruise-in, my Triumph TR3 got hit. Only damaged the driver side front fender, but paint-matching the 20-year-old single stage paint was looking unlikely, and the whole car was pretty much due for a make-over. The other driver did leave a note, and his insurance provider gave me a pretty low-ball quote (I've been told), However, Michael (dusterdb13) got me in touch with his paint guy, and he assured me he could do the repairs, paint the whole car, and make my deadline of late September for the VTR national meet. Well, he did make the deadline, just barely. He took a LONG time with repairs, and we ended up painting the car (in pieces) at 9:00 Friday night, in my driveway, with 3 vehicles idling with their brights on for lighting. 3 friends came over Monday and helped me throw the car back together, while Tuesday I got the lights, trim, new carpets and the interior back in. Wednesday we trailered it down to Georgia. We drove it all around NW Georgia ans SW North Carolina, and I ran the autocross on Friday in Franklin, NC. We had 63 Triumphs entered, 6 in my (modified TR3/TR4) class. won my class by 4 seconds (~40 sec. course) and second to a GT6 for FTD by .5 sec. If my fastest run had been clean (1 cone) I'd have had FTD. That GT6 was running a TR6 motor, had an LSD, and some "old" race tires.
So, back to the TVR. Progress has indeed been made, but it's been a 2 steps forward, 1 step back process. For instance, I figured I'd upgrade the charging system with a GM alternator, like I have in my Triumph. It's a common upgrade, and I even followed Dan Master's TR6 electrical book as a guide. It's essentially a TR6 set up, right? Turns out, not really. TVR, in their infinite wisdom, bolted the coolant tower (canister? chamber?) right next to the alternator, and the original Lucas unit is fairly small. The GM unit is substantially wider, and, although it barely fit, left no room at all for belt adjustment. All this figured out after I had bought the GM alternator, ground off the protuberances as required, "re-clocked" the mounts, and hogged out the TVR mounting bracket for the larger mounting bolt. The mods meant I couldn't return the alternator, and I had to pay a premium for a high-output Lucas alternator in the end! Oh, well, lesson learned, but now the engine ancillaries are mostly attached. Still working on the heater and cooling system though.
I also polished (well, sanded really) and painted the old T-slot wheels, even though I bought a set of Koenig Rewinds for it. They came out really nice, at least from 10 feet, and I plan on more polishing. I did it so I could run a set of Falken RT660s for autocross, figuring I can use them on both the TVR and my TR3. As the results mentioned above show, they are an awesome autocross tire!
This last week resulted in yet another step forward. I get together for lunch with a random group of Brit car guys, mostly MG owners. A TR6 owner there asked me how the TVR was coming along and if I had resolved my lack of seats. I told him I was still planning on an old set of Miata seats, and he said he had a set of after market seats and belts he took ou of his 6 when he found a stock set. Free! Turns out they're a pair of Corbeau racing seats with 4-point Simpsons competition belts... score!
I know I'm rambling a bit, but I want to get all this down before I lose it through some stupid action on my part. I plan to add a bunch of corroborating photos, but I have to remind myself how to upload them... yes it's been that long! So, stay tuned!