First, where is a reliable place to find parts for a daily driver? I've seen some parts when restoring a vintage Mustang that were terrible when the Ford part was incredibly expensive. I am also seeing a wide range of pricing. I will not name vendors and if you want to reply privately, then I am fine with that as well.

Second, is there any downside to the spin-on oil filter conversion? Are there any preferred vendors? (I am seeing price differences that are significant).

Third, I've seen things about the starter motor being weak, and mine barely turns the engine, but it fires. Is there any sense to converting to a GM unit, like I am seeing on the internet, or just leave well enough alone?

Fourth, electronic ignition? Not for HP or TQ, but just steady, set it and forget it tune.

Fifth, any sense in looking at converting to a tri-carp set-up? Mine is, and always will be a "... road" car that will not be used on DE or track days and will usually run on vintage style rubber. Still, a little more snap never hurt, but not looking to open Pandora's box of chasing the perfect state of tune.

Finally, my dash is an electrical nightmare. I am going to do most of the mechanical work myself, but rather than start a fire in my garage, can anyone recommend a specialist in the Atlanta area to take the car to and have them de-louse the dash and instruments?

Good news. The car starts reliably and runs out well. I was scared of them but hedging a bet on the fact that a buddy of mine drove an MG B in high school that was pretty robust when you get down to it. To each, his/her own and it depends on the particular car, but I truly think the cars just need to be regularly driven.

I also saw the post about reference manuals and the responses were very helpful. So, thanks to all that contributed. Someday, I hope I can chime in some nugget of wisdom.

JKC

 

Some answers below

First, where is a reliable place to find parts for a daily driver? I've seen some parts when restoring a vintage Mustang that were terrible when the Ford part was incredibly expensive. I am also seeing a wide range of pricing. I will not name vendors and if you want to reply privately, then I am fine with that as well.

Second, is there any downside to the spin-on oil filter conversion? Are there any preferred vendors? (I am seeing price differences that are significant).

Third, I've seen things about the starter motor being weak, and mine barely turns the engine, but it fires. Is there any sense to converting to a GM unit, like I am seeing on the internet, or just leave well enough alone?

I bought a geared starter motor but reverted to the original when it was unsatisfactory. The rebuilt original works just fine. If yours is problematic, you can just fix it. This is generally true about the car over-all.

Fourth, electronic ignition? Not for HP or TQ, but just steady, set it and forget it tune.

There are a few possibilities. I went with the 123 bluetooth ignition because I can have multiple curves and use them, for example, based on the availability (or not) of high grade fuel. Someone will probably feel moved to say they don’t take kindly to these new-fangled things and love that they can keep a spare set of points in the car for use when the ones on the engine weld themselves shut.


Fifth, any sense in looking at converting to a tri-carp set-up? Mine is, and always will be a "... road" car that will not be used on DE or track days and will usually run on vintage style rubber. Still, a little more snap never hurt, but not looking to open Pandora's box of chasing the perfect state of tune.

probably not. I have the 3 SUs only because someone, long ago, wanted my Strombergs for a car they planned to show that had been converted. We traded even. Mine have the old-style manifolds which require plugs in some of the coolant holes. I like them for their visual appeal more than anything else. They strike me as part of the iconicity of the E-Type

Finally, my dash is an electrical nightmare. I am going to do most of the mechanical work myself, but rather than start a fire in my garage, can anyone recommend a specialist in the Atlanta area to take the car to and have them de-louse the dash and instruments?

Good news. The car starts reliably and runs out well. I was scared of them but hedging a bet on the fact that a buddy of mine drove an MG B in high school that was pretty robust when you get down to it. To each, his/her own and it depends on the particular car, but I truly think the cars just need to be regularly driven.

Get it in good shape, maintain it, drive it and both you and the car will be happy.

I also saw the post about reference manuals and the responses were very helpful. So, thanks to all that contributed. Someday, I hope I can chime in some nugget of wisdom.

 

A few comments:

Starter motor - It shouldn't just barely turn the engine. Mine is original and turns it over fine. Is your battery ok? Pretty obvious I know, but check it's ok. Also, are all your earths and connections ok. Some people change to high torque starters and swear by them (you can buy them from SNG Barratts UK for about £230) but if everything else is fine, you shouldn't need it. I don't.
Electronic Ignition - I've switched to a 123 ignition system, again you can buy from SNG. The timing curves aren't perfect, I use setting 2 which is closest i think to the right curve, it runs well and is very reliable. You can get the 123 "Tune" version where you set the curve up yourself, but I believe it's a bit complex. I like simple. The basic 123 on curve 2 is fine, and dead easy to set up, for a daily driver.
Triple Carbs - mine being a UK one, it is already. Some do convert to triple if it's a USA spec, but probably no point unless you rectify the other differences; the UK triple carb spec had higher compression (9:1 instead of USA 8:1), no emission controls, etc. If you are leaving all the USDA spec stuff as is, stick with the Strombergs.
Robustness - The XK engine is a tough old unit. It takes quite a lot of abuse. Mine is on 115,000 miles and runs sweetly. Just make sure you change the oil yearly even if you don't use it much, and the oil filter.

Hope some of this helps a bit.

 

My post clashed with Mike's, but glad to see we said the same things!

 

Thanks for replying. You are both pretty spot on to what I am asking about.

The starter, stumbles, like low on power and hard to turn the motor, but then spools it up. It is a little hard to start (even with choke) but I am guessing the carbs need cleaning and readjustment. I think I'm with you on leaving well enough alone. Battery is fine but when I get the electrics looked at, I'll make sure the charging system is in shape. Will probably upgrade to a better battery. (We don't freeze much here).

I think I agree with you on ignition just to keep things level, not for any power gain. For same reason, I think I agree with you on triple carb conversion. Mine is USA spec and hadn't run down the compression ratio, but betting it is the lower spec.

Vendors? And spin on filter conversion?

Also, for what it is worth, I've put about 700 street miles on the car and run it up to about 65. The "sticky" power steering has loosened up and the gearbox has as well. I truly am hoping this will be like my friend's MG B and reasonably reliable if you look after them and drive them. (I don't think his car broke down once, but the dash lights went out when crossing a railway line one time). I really do not want to park this in a garage and polish it for the rest of my life.

Again, thanks for the replies and hope everyone in the US had a nice holiday.

JKC

 

Don't assume your starter motor is good; remember it is as old as the car. I had a 1980 XJ6 that was getting hard to start, and a replacement starter motor cured the problem. They do wear out eventually, so it sounds like yours is on the way out.

 

I agree with the others, though I have kept my OE Stromberg 175s. Some like to swap them out for Webers, but that car was engineered and designed for what was put in them at the factory. IMO.

I had trouble finding quality ignition parts and against my better judgement (and research) went along with shop's recommendation for Pertronix. It was OK, but didn't last. You can't leave the ignition on to test components, as you risk frying the unit. My E did not like the Pertronix and gently let me know by dying about 2 miles from home, in a safe spot. After reading the many posts here on ignition systems, I decided to pursue the 123 electronic distributor, just the regular/base unit. 91 no ethanol is widely available here in Wisconsin, so I'm ok with that standard distributor. I also bought the companion coil and new wires.

Several years ago I did go to the spin on oil filter. I kept all the original bits and pieces and that is easily retrofitted if need be. Though it was "fun" changing out the cannister style, it goes much easier with the spin-on. WIX is a good filter, and I think our NAPA sells a gold that is made by WIX, you may find them where you are.

Disconnect the battery and explore behind the drop down instrument cluster. There is a Wiring color code chart here on the forum somewhere. If you can't find it I think I saved it somewhere and can repost it. I've found that a bit of cleaning with a synthetic steel wool (green or red pad) with a denatured alcohol wipedown on the connectors helps. Also do be aware that the glass tube fuses that Es use are originally Lucas as opposed to US. From what I understand, the original Lucas fuses blew at their stated amperage, US glass fuses blew at a higher amperage.. Again, the electrical system in these Es was designed to use those Lucas fuses and running a fuse that is not, is taking a big risk, again IMO, and here is some info:

https://triumphtr6.info/Manuali/fuses.pdf

Check out the fuse panel that is also behind that drop down door... cleaning the fuse contacts may help as well. In some of my other BCs (mgs, triumphs) it was easy to replace the whole (and small) fuse/circuit box. Amazing how much better the whole car's electrical was after that. Not an easy project on an E.

I upgraded my SU points fuel pump with an SU electronic version.

Replaced the original (and recored once) radiator with an aluminum unit, including new fans (CoolCat).

In 2018 at age 49 and 97,000 miles, had the trans and engine rebuilt. The synchronizers were shot and since the eng. and trans come out together, an internal engine inspection revealed much wear. Successful and good to go for many more years.

IF you can get the Bentley owners/workshop manual, that is a great resource.. much info to help you understand 'the breed'.

 

Before you get deep in starter rebuild/replacement try just thoroughly cleaning all the contacts at the stater and related ground wires. It's surprising how a little corrosion can cause a big voltage drop in a wire when under load.