Triumph Repair: TR3 A, float bowls, dashpot oil

Question
I'm fairly confident that I got the fuel float levels correct.  I'll look in the dashpot area and see what going on there.
I haven't checked the timing, I need to by a good timing light.  I'll let you know what I find.

On your rev question.   I live in a hilly subdivision and typically the engine revs fine in the lower gears.  I'm guessing it's about 2500 rpm.  The hilly part is about one mile long and I'm generally in lower gears, then it's flat for about 1/2 mile.  Typically I start having problems on the flat road.  It almost seems the engine doesn't like to run at a steady pace for any period of time.  Awhile back a friend of a friend looked at my distributor and thought the   rotor (I think) was loose or worn.  He said it was a part that was not replaceable, or in other words the distributor would need to be replaced.

I don't mind buying tools or reading up on distributors, so let me know if you have any recommendations.
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-----Question-----
My TR3 loses power in higher gears. As I get into 4th gear, the car starts to lose power.  The engine will run fine up to that point, and then start to sputter and backfire.  I've rebuilt the carburetors, checked the dashpot oil etc.  Could it be an electrical issue?
-----Answer-----
Chip,

It's either a timing issue or a fuel supply issue.  When you rebuilt the carbs did you set the float levels correctly?  And have you verified that both float bowls are equally filled?  One way to do it is to carefully remove the dashpots and look for the fuel level in the jet in the carb.  They should be about equal.  If not, that might just be the problem.

Otherwise the timing may be a tad off.  Have you tried to check it with a decent quality timing light?

What kind of revs will the engine pull in lower gears?  And at what point does it start to cough and sputter in 4th?


Cheers,

Jim

Answer
Chip,

The rotor is easily replaceable, it's the shaft that the rotor sits on that's part of the distributor.

It's not a bad idea to at least touch up the rotor and contact points in the distributor with steel wool or fine sandpaper.  Just be careful not to get any filings/grit into the distributor itself.

What's the history on the car?  Something you picked up recently?  Had it in storage for years?  That might help in the diagnosis.


Cheers,

Jim