TR question

JohnMH · Nov 15, 2004

I have been looking at TR's and noted two problems on an '86 car, first, the dash leather has shrunk and torn and the brown leather has come unglued around the instrument binnacle. This seems to be common, is this a big fix?

Second, the oil tank has a brown sludge around the filler neck (as if condensation was in the oil). The 512 TR next to it was surgically clean. Anyone notice this problem? The car has about 50,000 km on it.

This is probably not the car for me, but I thought I'd ask.

khayes · Nov 15, 2004

My 86 TR is more like the surgically clean 512TR that you described. I don't have the other issues that you are seeing.

Shrinking dash leather seems to be common on cars left outside in the sun or if the leather got wet at some point. You can have those replaced. Find someone that can replace it without removing the windshield first.

Engine bay grime on the driver's side occurs from the side air intakes on the door when the oil cooler fan activates. A PPI will tell you if you have further issues inside the engine.

Rifledriver · Nov 15, 2004

JohnMH said:

I have been looking at TR's and noted two problems on an '86 car, first, the dash leather has shrunk and torn and the brown leather has come unglued around the instrument binnacle. This seems to be common, is this a big fix?

Second, the oil tank has a brown sludge around the filler neck (as if condensation was in the oil). The 512 TR next to it was surgically clean. Anyone notice this problem? The car has about 50,000 km on it.

This is probably not the car for me, but I thought I'd ask.
Click to expand...

If the leather damage is confined to the instrument hood it is an easy repair.

The condensation you see at the top of the oil tank is common in humid climates. If the car is operated for short trips it will not get the oil hot enough that the moisture boils off through the breather system.

JohnMH · Nov 17, 2004

Thanks to all for the info.

I am on the fence regarding a TR or a Boxer, both have merits and either would be a priviledge to own, but the TR's complexity is daunting. Are the electricals components generally reliable? I have heard about fuse boxes with printed circuit boards developing faults. Anyone experience this? The one with the defects listed above is not the car for me if I go the TR route.

Rifledriver · Nov 17, 2004

JohnMH said:

Thanks to all for the info.

I am on the fence regarding a TR or a Boxer, both have merits and either would be a priviledge to own, but the TR's complexity is daunting. Are the electricals components generally reliable? I have heard about fuse boxes with printed circuit boards developing faults. Anyone experience this? The one with the defects listed above is not the car for me if I go the TR route.
Click to expand...

Both are great cars and both are a lot of fun. Yes I do change fuse boards on TRs occasionally, but the rest of the electrics are quite good. Even the boards are OK if you do a little maintainence on them ( I know, a fuse board should not require maintainence). Both cars are quite simple electrically. Don't be afraid of a TR, they are not that complex and many do it yourselfers who work on them

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