CAT Shop Notes

at the beach

at the beach

Gold forum user
CAT Member
Messages
940
I tell new Tiger owners the first two books they should get are the Tiger Shop Manual (available from Rick at SS) and the CAT Shop Notes (available only to CAT members through the CAT Parts Department).

For those that are not familiar with the Shop Notes, they are a compilation of articles spanning CAT members near 50 years of experience with their Tigers.

CAT is now in the process of completely revising "Shop Notes". Obsolete articles are being deleted and new contributions will be included. Dale A, David Wilson , Mike Michels and myself have already started work on the project.

The scope of the new "Shop Notes" will be greatly expanded in both the stock and modified areas. We hope to introduce a basic guide for newbies. We'd then like to describe current thinking on performance mods like transmissions, engines, brakes and suspension. We also plan to include articles describing the details of a stock Tiger to aid members who are restoring their cars to original condition.

If anyone has an idea for an article they'd like to contribute, feel free to reply to this post or send me a PM.
 
My input -

Horn hole covers with louver doors.

Installing a roll control (line lock)

Installing a gauge panel in the glove box.
 
Newbie Step # 1

Give wallet to wife (pronounced "whiffee") and learn to beg with solid reasons.
 
I'm glad you said something. I was going to order a copy of Shop Notes next week. I guess I'll wait for the new version. Maybe I can contribute an article on "Modern Dual-Circuit Brake Master Cylinders" before you go to print, but I'm still researching it at the moment. Got a rough date for publication?

Oh, and thanks for doing this. I'm sure it will be invaluable information to have.

Regards,
John.
 
I really don't know how long it will take.

We've already done the deleting part and some of the articles are being written. We hope to have the submissions in by early January.

Your idea for an article on dual-circuit Master Cylinders would be exactly the type of material we're looking for.

bt
at the beach
 
Deletions

This is David responding for Buck. He will be away from his computer for a few days over a long Thanksgiving weekend.

Yes, we are trying to eliminate some of the obsolete part numbers and update others. Also, some of the tech tips may no longer apply, if different tools are now available that weren't available 30 years ago, for example. And there were some tips, quite frankly, that do not seem to make much sense. These have been replaced by easier or safer ways to do things.

I look forward to seeing some great articles to be added to the updated Shop Notes.

David
 
It would be nice to see different size wheel and tire charts (15" and 16"), 5 speed trans swaps and maybe bigger brake articles.
 
probably

Like the old lowrider trick of using tire black pt brake fluid in the days before Armor All.
Or maybe the merits of re capped tires.....

Most of us old folks had the benefit of Auto Shop on high school...
Dave I can hep wit anythang butt spellin..

By the way any one know if this forum has a spell check?
 
HolyCat said:
This is David responding for Buck. He will be away from his computer for a few days over a long Thanksgiving weekend.

Yes, we are trying to eliminate some of the obsolete part numbers and update others. Also, some of the tech tips may no longer apply, if different tools are now available that weren't available 30 years ago, for example. And there were some tips, quite frankly, that do not seem to make much sense. These have been replaced by easier or safer ways to do things.

I look forward to seeing some great articles to be added to the updated Shop Notes.

David
Click to expand...

Thanks, David...I know there were some interesting cooling tips in the old Shop Notes! I never did try cutting vanes off my water pump impeller!
 
Life Preserver for Newbies (shop notes)

Thank you ever so much for your work on such a compilation. The learning curve for us newbies is quite steep when Tigers are involved. ie heater cores ends blowing apart due to the higher pressure of the Ford system etc. etc. The larger bore ms clutch cyl was especially useful for me in what was a marginally efficient original design. Any articles to keep the original look with improved performance will be esp. appreciated. Thanks again to our senior Tiger statesmen 4 all u do!
 
Articles

Duke Mk1a said:
What format, font and size? What about pictures?

When is the deadline?
Click to expand...

Most folks write their articles in Microsoft Word. I put together the Tiger Tales using Microsoft Publisher, which is better when you combine text and photos, sketches, and designs. I'll take articles in either format. Or, if your programs can convert your format to a PDF, we can handle that as well. If you have some other format you would like to use, drop me a note so I can figure out how to use it. Since I can easily change font and paragraph information, these are not all that important - I'll take anything. However, I convert everything to Arial font, size 9 or 10. The paragraphs have a 0.25" indent on the first line only. And I eliminate any blank lines between paragraphs.

Photographs are very helpful in telling your story. In the past, the shop notes were published in black and white. The format has not been decided yet, but I am going to push for color. Photos in color have a lot more information than B&W photos. Feel free to use whatever program you have to make notes or draw arrows on your photos. And if you don't have such programs or don't know how to use them, feel free to send me the photos and explain what you wanted on them and we can work together (via e-mails) to get your photos to be what you want.

I am planning to work a lot on this in December and early January. There is no hard and fast deadline, but we would like to wrap this up fairly soon so we can go to print.

For the members of CAT, feel free to send me your articles via my e-mail address listed on page 2 of the Tiger Tales. If you are not a CAT member, drop me a private message so we can link up.

I look forward to seeing some great articles. I never stop being amazed at the information that folks divulge on the Forum and the ingenuity of their solutions.

Thanks! David
 
cutting vanes

I did not know it was in shop notes I also cut all but two (12 & 6 oclock position) vanes off impellor to slow flow for cooling works great car runs cool now New note installed freeze plug with 1/4 inch hole drilled (cigarette size) in top radiator hose (secured with hose clamp) car ran ice cold would not reach normal operating tempeture in So. Cal. summer freeway traffic jam had to keep foot on gas pedal to keep from stalling it was running to cold (quick cheap way to slow water flow)
 
Color photos

I'm not sure if this idea would be practical, but you might consider publishing the notes in black and white and providing the pictures on color pages in the middle or back of the book. Captions for the black and white photos would reference the color page. An alternate idea would be to provide the color pictures on line for viewing or download to subscribers.
 
eagleman1022 said:
I'm not sure if this idea would be practical, but you might consider publishing the notes in black and white and providing the pictures on color pages in the middle or back of the book. Captions for the black and white photos would reference the color page. An alternate idea would be to provide the color pictures on line for viewing or download to subscribers.
Click to expand...

John,

Thank you for the suggestions. Your idea of printing the text in B&W and having all of the color photos in a separate section would probably result in a lower cost, but it would require folks using the shop notes to flip back and forth between the B&W pages and the color photos. How would folks feel about that? I am afraid we can't have the color photos on line, since there are some people who are not familiar with or comfortable with the internet. This is one of the reasons that CAT is still publishing its newsletter on paper and not via the internet.

Thanks!
David
 
HolyCat said:
Your idea of printing the text in B&W and having all of the color photos in a separate section would probably result in a lower cost, but it would require folks using the shop notes to flip back and forth between the B&W pages and the color photos. How would folks feel about that?
Click to expand...

I, for one, would hate that. I'd rather pay a little more and have it done properly, or have B&W photos.

HolyCat said:
I am afraid we can't have the color photos on line, since there are some people who are not familiar with or comfortable with the internet. This is one of the reasons that CAT is still publishing its newsletter on paper and not via the internet.
Click to expand...

Why not have both online and print? If you're going to print them anyway, the additional cost of hosting photos online should be negligable.

Regards,
John.
 
GT40 heads and taking a 266/289 to a 302

There are a few good articles in the current manual about upgrading a 260/289 to a 302 but I would think there might some updates to include newer options. Also, I am about to post a thread asking for info on installing GT40 heads on a 289 block; that might be a good topic to provide the pros and cons (fitment and body clearances) of GT40 heads. I've seen posts on GT40 heads but can't seem to find them with a forum search. One more item I'd like to see is a chart of whick aftermarket intakes work without hood rework.
 
Shop Note Articles

eagleman1022 said:
There are a few good articles in the current manual about upgrading a 260/289 to a 302 but I would think there might some updates to include newer options. Also, I am about to post a thread asking for info on installing GT40 heads on a 289 block; that might be a good topic to provide the pros and cons (fitment and body clearances) of GT40 heads. I've seen posts on GT40 heads but can't seem to find them with a forum search. One more item I'd like to see is a chart of whick aftermarket intakes work without hood rework.
Click to expand...

John,

These are very good suggestions. Is there anyone who is interested in putting together the articles for the Shop Notes? I would be happy to include them.

Thanks!
David
 
Some ideas...

David,

How is your effort coming along? Do you have an ETA for the updated version? Unfortunately, my copy of the shop notes has gone AWOL during our move and I am in the middle of doing things to my Tiger where having it would really be helpful.

I am finicky about originality, but at the same time, I want my car to run safely, reliably, and cleanly as possible so I can even use it to get me to the office on time and not smelling like the inside of my headers.

The latest project I have completed on my Tiger was to install EFI. What a difference this has made! I did want to avoid making irreversible modifications, and was successful on this front. This would be a great article to include. As a part of this project, I installed a Pertronix ignition and an MSD ignition box. I ran into an issue of figuring out how to get my tach working again, which is something to write about too.

I am now looking at installing an alternator. I can't find current information on how to do this properly. This is something I would like to be included.

Additionally, being a Porsche guy, mainly, I was unaware of the need for special lug nuts on my LAT-70 wheels. this type of simple note is also the type of thing it would be helpful to capture in your new version.

Finally, the Tiger's electrical system is so simple, yet there are some areas that are counterintuitive. For example, the wiper motor wiring have one female wire socket that is unused. Would it be possible to try to do a good wiring schematic (better than the old, original one in the Rootes workshop manual)?

I would vote to have a PDF version available together with the hard copy. I, for one, would really like to be able to save it into my iBooks library so I could refer to it on my iPad! Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top