1972 Triumph TR6 looking for a purpose

Back in Virginia for now, but I only have 3 weeks to wrap things up before moving to Colorado.  Packing is underway, but I'd really like to get the TR6 running so that it can be moved around under it's own power.  This mainly involves coming up with a fuel tank, making some lines, and hooking up the fuel rail along with some wiring.

I finally received the fuel pressure regulator and in-tank pump assembly I'd been waiting for.  The pump assembly is too wide to fit on the top of the TR6 tank.  More on that later.  Here's how the fuel rail is looking.

I'm thinking that fuel should enter at the front, pass through the regulator, and return along the passenger side frame rail.  The hose above is laid along this route.  I'd like to put the regulator on the firewall, but there's just not enough room between the tags on the firewall and the hood latch.  So maybe on top of the foot well as above.  I can run a hard line from the bottom of the regulator to the hard return line on the frame.  A short flex line would connect to the fuel rail.  I'd also need a supply hose and hard line to connect to the front of the fuel rail.  A 90 degree fitting to a hard line over the water pump and down the side of the block (like the stock routing) with a hose to the hard supply line on the driver side frame rail should do the job.

An oil catch can needs to fit in there somewhere too.  Richard Good puts it in front of the hood latch so that the drain can go into the stock fuel pump location.  This could work with careful hose routing.

The good news is that I'm now living in Colorado and slowly getting a house set up.  The garage is littered with furniture refinishing projects and more.  Once everything is in place, there should be enough room left for the car project.  Unfortunately (or maybe it's a good thing), the Triumph stuff and most tools are still in Virginia.  The project TR6 still isn't running, so it will be trailered behind a box truck full of tools and parts sometime in October.  I'm not looking forward to that drive.  The other TR6 will either be driven, shipped, or sold.

I hadn't been in this thread for a while so I just went back to the start and read every post.  Man, you do nice work!  I look forward to following along as you complete it.

Hi! JoeTR6

Great work.

The fuel injections system is impressive.

Will you have a separate writeup on FIS?

Or a list of parts involve?

Thanks

Greg

In reply to gogo70tr6 :

Greg,

I probably should document the EFI setup better.  It's still a work in progress.  I'm going to pick up the car and tools in Virginia next week and drive it all back to Colorado, so I'll be able to work on it again.  Haven't done much on it since last March.  With any luck, I'll have it running by next spring.

Here's the prototype for this project.

Autocross TR6 with EFI

It used a one-piece injection manifold that works well but is no longer available.

I'm back in Virginia this week getting ready to do the final move to Colorado.  This involves packing up tools and parts, getting the TR6 ready for transport, and getting rid of lots (too many) extra parts.  I had at least 6 old pairs of lever shocks, 4 stock front sway bars, and several sets of springs.  It's just dead weight to me now.  So today, I took over 1500 lbs. of steel, iron, and aluminum to the scrap metal recycler.  Otherwise known as old car heaven.

Or is that old car hell?  Ah, well.  It's no longer my concern.  That's 1500 lbs. I won't be loading, unloading, and wondering where the berkeley it's going to sit for another 20 years.

The load-out begins tomorrow.  Wish me luck.  1900 miles in a U-Haul truck towing a trailer should be interesting.  This is also the last night I will spend in the house I've worked on and lived in for the past 20 years.  Kind of a weird feeling.  But it's time to move on.

Difference between a rut and a grave is the depth of the rut. Looks like you out of a rut and on a new path to somewhere.  Ain't life grand!

Pete

Almost everything made it to Colorado intact.  Backing down the U-Haul ramp on my Dad's old T100C was challenging.  The tires are from 1978 and rock hard, so braking was a suggestion.  Then again, so are the brakes with new tires.  That bike is my next project.  It's pretty much worn out from being a flat track machine in the early '70s.

I've gotten things mostly into place.  With three storage shelves along the back wall, there's not much room for a workbench.  I should have bought a house with at least one unfinished area in the basement, but we needed space for kids and activities.  There's a nice storage area in the attic over the garage, but the only access is a hatch 11' above the floor.  I'll pack lighter, unnecessary stuff up there to clear some more garage space.  Eventually.  After my joints stop aching from the move.

Congrats on the move, and I'm sure glad you chose to keep the Triumph. Looks good in its new home.

Good luck out there although we'll miss you here.

I'm finally beginning to dust off this project.  Next up is electrical work and finishing the fuel system.  I'm still acquiring an interior project table so that as much of the electrical work as possible can be done in warmth.  That leaves making fuel lines, mounting the pressure regulator, and setting up a tank for fuel injection.

Last year, I bought a Tanks, Inc. PA-2 setup to mount a Walbro pump inside the tank.  I finally got it in July, and haven't had time to mess with it.  It turns out I was sent the PA-4 kit that includes a 255 lph pump instead of the 190 lph pump in the PA-2 kit.  Not sure there's a huge disadvantage other than a higher current draw.  With the largish injectors I have, 43 psi should be plenty of fuel pressure.  Maybe the higher flow pump will be under stressed and help keep the fuel cooler.

Unfortunately, the best source for aluminum fuel tanks that I'm aware of (Andy Wiltshire in the UK) no longer makes tanks for Triumphs.  Before looking into a custom job, I may as well try to fit the PA-4 assembly into a stock steel tank.  Time to fire up the grinder and welder.

Glad the move went well and life is starting to transition back to the TR6. It's really cool you have your Dad's bike.... my brother's first bike was a 68 Bonneville that he brought home in boxes, and he also vintage (road) raced a T100.

Good to hear you are getting settled in the new digs and that the car bug is coming back on line. And yes, I agree, you do have impeccable taste in car colors!

Pete

Step one of modifying the fuel tank to accept an in-tank pump unit was fixing my old Hobart welder.  The gun was broken in several ways and is an obsolete part.  There is an adapter kit to use a newer Inweld gun.  So fitting this finally happened.

I also have a fresh tank of shield gas and plenty of wire.  So cutting and fabrication starts this weekend.

I know that moves are really disruptive, but am hoping that you might have an update before long ;=)

Beautiful work!

Hope you are doing well Joe!

It's been a long winter, but I'm still breathing.  According to Google I walked 77 miles last month, mostly due to hiking.  The garage finally warmed up enough to work in, so I attacked the storage and work area issues.  One corner now looks like this...

The floor is almost clear enough to store my other TR6 that is still in Virginia.  I'm moving it here soon somehow, unless someone wants to buy it and save me the trouble.  Actually, I will most likely drive it here and fix a few things before selling it.

I'm still working on the garage.  A decision was made in early May to fly back to Virginia and drive my other TR6 to Colorado, visiting family along the way.  I'm not saying it's a good decision, but it will certainly be an adventure and (hopefully) cost less than shipping.  Here's the state of the garage now.  Adding anything else is going to require bolting it to the ceiling.  Somewhere.

The project TR6 got a little time last week, enough to put it on jack stands and pull the wheels.  There are at least two brake fluid leaks.  The worst is at the right rear wheel cylinder.  The wheel cylinders are new, so it's probably a less than perfect flare on the hard line.  I also ordered a complete interior set from Moss.  Seeing it sitting there will hopefully encourage me to get the car running this summer.

Saw a whole line of triumphs on 301 this morning on the way home from Annapolis this morning and thought of you and Ed. At least 6-8 TR6s as well as a few TR3s. 

Great to see the see this make a successful segue way. Going to be fun in the Colorado mountains.

I decided to spend some free moments in the garage actually working on the TR6 today.  Mostly this was trying to stop the brake fluid leaks at the rear wheel cylinders.  Taking the hard lines loose and turning them several times seemed to bed them in better, but the double flares just aren't very clean.  If they still weep fluid, I'll try again by filing them smooth.  After two rounds of bleeding and turning the rear adjusters in, the pedal feels very solid.  So yay for having brakes.

The trip to Virginia to pick up the other TR6 was delayed until the first week in August.  I'll have a co-pilot this time.  Here's hoping for freakishly cool weather and no tornados/floods.

In reply to JoeTR6 :

Nobody told you? There's always freakishly cool weather and tornadoes/floods in the mountain west.

Welcome!

Rear brake lines are still weeping fluid.  Maybe stainless is just the wrong material to use here.  I'll try some light filing on the flares and then probably order some mild steel lines.  At least fluid isn't leaking onto paint.

In reply to TVR Scott :

I'm talking about in Virginia and the Mid-west.  Typically, early August is a sweat-fest in Virginia.  Good thing the rear window zips down on the TR6.  But yes, the weather here in Colorado has been cooler and wetter than I expected.  BTW, I should check out the TVR before snow sets in again.

In reply to JoeTR6 :

This hasn't been a typical spring/summer for us.  Usually by now its in the 90's and super hot

In reply to JoeTR6 :

When I had a similar issue I used a little anti seize and it’s held up beautifully ever since.  My theory  is the anti sieze  allowed a slightly greater  crush which is needed when working with stainless steel.