Back in the saddle - or seat!

[Willum]

Hi Folks
Re-joined after a break of a couple of years sorting out life, the universe and everything. I've retired now and should have (allegedly) more time to finish restoring (welding) my P3. There's lots to do, the frame/chassis junction area being the main focus of attention, the rest of the car being quite good and it drives (drove) well the last time it was out.
A new wiring loom with lots of nice odd-ons (indicators, rear fog, etc) has been procured and I'm in the market for a couple of SUs and a manifold, etc, to convert the engine to P4 standard. The old, original carb is OK but a bit worn - and thirsty.
The other thing I'm hoping to improve is the brakes with a mod to all-round hydraulics and perhaps a servo
All in all there's going to be quite a few questions.
Will

[Paul Gregory]

Hello Will,
Welcome along, good to see another P3 owner surfacing. On the assumption that your P3 is a 75 and you are wanting to convert to twin carbs you are likely to need to get a head from a pre '53 P4 75 as the head and manifold are all cast as one. You cannot just change an inlet manifold. You could probably also use a P4 105 head but that had larger carbs as it was designed for a 2.6 litre rather than 2.1.

I have to admit that I am curious why you are looking to make such a radical change to the braking system, because it is likely to be quite a considerable amount of work and I am not sure that there will be sufficient benefit. I have always found my standard hydro-mechanical set up to be perfectly OK, as long as it is kept in good condition.

Post away with your questions, there are a good few knowledgeable people around.

Regards
Paul

[Willum]

Aaaaahhh. What a pity. Yes, it is a 75 - a 4 light (Sports?) to be precise and I wasn't aware of the head change necessity. Might have to put that one on hold. Too much expense with the bodywork at the moment.
The brakes mod comes from me never being entirely happy with the efficiency of the system. It was iffy on it's last test (the one where it failed for it's bodywork corrosion ) and always seemed to need too much effort. Perhaps I'm just too used to modern cars and servos. Leg muscle building exercises, perhaps?
Will

[Dirkco]

Hi Willum,

I added a single circut servo booster to my P3 and left the mech rear brakes alone. The upgrade made a profound effect and it now does not require leg breaking force to stop a car in fact it brakes much like my later P4 with a servo.

Good luck
Dirk in the states