Tag Archives: bowtie6

2017 Mileage Roundup

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Time for the 2017 mileage roundup for the fleet.  I started this type entry a year ago when I summarized the mileage totals to start collecting history on mileage traveled.  I made it a point after acquiring RedRock to create an account at Fuelly.com and then installed the app on my iPhone.  With a little discipline, I’ve recorded every fuel-up and the results are interesting.  The website provides a yearly totals view and that is where these screenshots came from…

Here is my 2017 mileage roundup:

Totals for: RedRock

Totals for: S2000

Totals for: bowtie6

Comparing to the totals from last year, I must drive MORE!!!

Finally, like I did last year, here is a gallery of the three dashboards taken on New Year’s day, 2018.

Note:

This might be one of the few times I post a picture of the mileage on bowtie6.  It shows 23,519 miles and this is a bit misleading (adding this as a reminder to myself too!):

  • I’ve driven my 1972 TR6 for 23,159 miles since I put it on the road after the full restoration.
  • The first engine – a 3.4L V6 from a Camaro –  ran for 14,513 miles.  That is when we discovered an irreparable frame failure with stress cracks and my cousin Jim built the new frame from scratch.
  • The 2.4L Ecotec engine/gearbox came from a Pontiac Solstice with only 8 miles on the odometer.  This powertrain was then installed in a new frame built at Jim’s shop.  On October 15th, 2011, bowtie6 left Jim’s shop and has been a hoot to drive.
  • The new Ecotec powertrain has 8,998 miles so far.

 

2016 Mileage Roundup

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I’ve thought about a post summarizing the 2016 mileage roundup of the fleet.  Questions such as “who will read it?” or “who cares?” came up, but then I read a post on DriveToFive and I changed my mind…

So borrowing Tyson’s idea from his blog, here is my 2016 mileage roundup:

Totals for: RedRock

Totals for: S2000

Totals for: bowtie6

Moral of the story, I need to drive MORE!!!

The daily driver is RedRock (duh!) and it did very well considering a 6.2L V8 with 400hp is under the hood.  The Camaro really does well on the open road though with an all time best of 24 mpg.  The S2000 and bowtie6 get driven only when the sun shines.  Matter of fact, the S2000 has seen the rain on the road only three times since I bought it.  Poor bowtie6, it got neglected big-time!  New Year’s resolution is to do something about this!

In closing, here is a gallery of all three dashboards taken on New Year’s day, 2017.  Should be interesting to see how this compares a year from now…

Note:

This might be one of the first times I post a picture of the mileage on bowtie6.  It shows 22,612 miles and this is a bit misleading (adding this as a reminder to myself too!):

  • I’ve driven my TR6 for 22,612 miles since I put it on the road after the full restoration.
  • The first engine – a 3.4L V6 from a Camaro –  ran for 14,513 miles.  That is when we discovered an irreparable frame failure with stress cracks and my cousin Jim built the new frame from scratch.
  • The 2.4L Ecotec engine/gearbox came from a Pontiac Solstice with only 8 miles on the odometer.  This powertrain was then installed in a new frame built at Jim’s shop.  On October 15th, 2011, bowtie6 left Jim’s shop and has been a hoot to drive.
  • The new Ecotec powertrain has 8,091 miles so far.

Fixing a Leaking 9 Inch Ford Rear End

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Note the grade-8 washers

I have recently noticed that the 9″ Ford rear end in bowtie6 has started leaking.  Nothing severe mind you, but just enough to make a mess of the garage floor.  So I jacked the car up and slid my new Race Ramps under the rear tires.  As it turned out, all ten nuts holding the third member in place, were loose.

But why?  Sure, wear and tear might cause things to loosen up.  Not wanting to leave this up to chance, I did a handful of Google searches and sure enough…  According to what I read on several websites this is a common issue on 9″ Ford rear ends.  The solution is to use copper washers on each stud.

In Search of Copper Washers

As you can see in today’s featured picture, we used grade-8 washers when we put the rear end together.  At the time, that is all we had available and after a short conversation with my cousin Jim, he told me he was not able to source the right copper washers.  Hmmm…

Two sets of Ford copper washers

So I searched eBay for some copper washers for a 9″ Ford and success!  I found a vendor offering “original” vintage Ford washers exactly for this application.  After reading the auction, I promptly clicked the “buy-it-now” button and ordered two sets for $6.00 per set of 10 washers.  Not bad.

Delivery was very quick:  the washers arrived in yesterday’s mail.  Cool!  Today, I lifted the car up again and crawled under to replace the grade-8 washers with the new copper replacements.  According to my research the washers are very soft.  As the Nylock nuts compress the copper washer they “seat” and this prevents the nuts from backing out.  Of course, this never happened with the hardened grade-8 washers.

Washers Replaced

So here is what the new washers look like.

The new copper washers are smaller than the earlier ones (see the featured photo for the “before” look).  The advantage is they have somewhat collapsed to take shape.  This is the same principle behind the soft aluminum washer on the oil drain plug on my Honda S2000.  Another problem solved!

Happy New Year

And so, I bid you all a Happy New Year.  I hope 2017 brings you great fortune and good health.  Cheers!

 

Sunset

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IMG_3239Drove bowtie6 to work the other day and on the way out, I see this awesome sunset.  The picture above does it no justice – it was just a little too late and I caught it when it was too dark.

Nevertheless, I thought it made for a cool picture…  Peace.

Six or One Half Dozen of the Other

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bowtie6 in the sunshine, sporting Panasports and that oh-so-rare factory hard top.

Today’s post shows six or one half of the other grouping of Triumph TR6’s gathered over at my friend Al’s shop.  You see, Al just got his business license for his TR6 restoration garage.  While bowtie6 did not come from Al’s shop, it was invited to take part in this impromptu car show of sorts.

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