Setup

[that_sustain]

The bass is fine.  
 
Much of the pressure applied to the neck had been lightened prior to it's purchase.  The seller changed to light gauge strings just before I bought it.  He had heavies on it beforehand.  Plus, the bow wouldn't have been considered a problem, just changed for preference. Both truss nuts were completely loosened, and then I did about 45 minutes of tightening.  The strings were detuned a whole step(or a little more) while doing so.  
 
I did slowly add just a hair of relief a couple days after the neck settled.
 
Thanks to Dan Erlewine's published advice...

[terryc]

Lucas refrigerators??...Lucas make car parts in the UK..Hotpoint, Indesit, Zanussi yes but Lucas..never heard of 'em!
Ale...at room temperature
Lager..as cold as you can get without freezing!

[cozmik_cowboy]

That, Terry, is a joke common among Americans who have owned British vehicles, and are thus well acquainted with the actual products of Joe Lucas, The Prince of Darkness (We're not moving; what the @#$% is wrong with the electronics now?!?!?).
 
Peter (who had - and loved - a Triumph Spitfire, but is now too damn old to be standing by the side of the road at 03:00 cursing)

[lbpesq]

Great explanation, Peter!
 
Bill, wiatpatt  (who is about to purchase a Triumph TR3)

[terryc]

Cozmik..okay I get it but all the Lucas stuff I installed on cars worked perfectly because we get a lot more rain than usual..our standing joke was italian electrics..especially on their motorcycles..Laverda, Moto Guzzi, Ducati, Benelli etc

[cozmik_cowboy]

Ooooo....I loves me some TR3!!!!!!
 
Peter

[jacko]

Bill
Of all the misconceptions you Americans have about us british, drinking warm beer is the one I've never understood. I've been drinking beer (ale if you like) since about 1977 and I've never had a warm pint. I'm also pretty certain they've all been marginally less than room temperature. (p.s. it's very rare that I'll drink lager these days but when I do it's almost freezing).
We also don't still all drive around in 70's british leyland vehicles even though most US movies showing the Uk suggest there are a lot more classic minis and morris minors on the road than is really the case.
 
graeme. Finished repainting the 1971 MG and starting to rebuild the suspension :-)

[lbpesq]

Confession:  I don't drink a lot of beer - and when I do I tend to drink slowly, so that by the time I'm down to the second half, it's usually warmed up quite a bit.  Admittedly, my perception is that the British are sitting around drinking a very dark, thick, room temperature liquid that has an appellation somewhat synonymous with beer.  It may not be accurate, but it looks good in the movies and on TV!  
 
Graeme:  What color are you painting the MG?  The TR3 I'm getting needs a paint job.  Currently, it is a non-original light green, sort of like a Pippin apple.  I leaning towards painting it BRG.  As for vehicles in Great Britain, aren't you all driving E-Type Jags with the Union Jack painted on?  Isn't it just like the Austin Powers movies over there?  lol
 
Bill, tic  (tongue in cheek)

[keith_h]

My guess is the whole warm beer thing developed during WWII. At that time, and still today, Americans were drinking Light Lagers and Pilsners which were served ice cold.  Think Pabst and  
Budweiser. Comparing this to the typical cellar temperature of 50 degrees for an English Ale the ale would seem warm.  
 
If you had asked this question prior to electric refrigeration you probably wouldn't have received a response about English beer being warm as most American beers were also served at cellar temperature. Likewise with today's resurgence of craft brewing in the USA beers that are best served at temperatures above 45 degrees are more common.    
 
Keith

[keith_h]

And since Graeme brought up the subject of British Leyland. I drove a 1971 Austin America throughout high school. It wasn't fast but it was the easiest car I have ever owned to set the timing on. The electric heater was also great living in the Chicago area. While others were still waiting for heat I was nice and toasty.  
 
Keith

[hammer]

My brother's first car in high school was a used TR3 that has a somewhat funny story attached to it (at least from my perspective though not necessarily his).
 
He saved for 3-years to scrape up enough $$$ to make the purchase. The car arrived in December and when it snowed the next day he decided it needed a garage to keep it warm. He rented one from the neighbor next door that had an overhead, sectional door type with no garage door opener attached.  
 
After driving it over to the garage he had a hard time pulling the door down since it had no handle and so he reached up and grabbed the top of one of the panels and pulled. Well the door closed all too quickly and the tips of four fingers on each hand got caught between the panels and were broken. From his reports he was trapped for about 15 minutes with his fingers in the door unable to do anything.  
 
That meant no driving the car for several weeks while his hands healed which was tough enough in and of itself. What made things even tougher for the poor guy is that approximately 4-weeks after his accident, while the car was still sitting in the garage, the neighbor had a fire and the entire garage, cars and all burned down.  
 
It became known as the cursed TR3.

[jacko]

Bill.
It's Candy apple red. I posted photos a year ago but the clear coat went funny so I've had to strip pthe thing and start again. I'm a lot happier with the paint now so I've started the laborious task of wet sanding, compounding and polishing. It's given me some idea of how much effort alembic put into achieving the finish on our instruments. This is the main shell after sanding and buffing. I still have another grade of compounding and a final glaze before it's done...

 
Unfortunately I still have the bonnet(hood), bootlid(trunk), doors and front wings(fenders) to do so I'm not even halfway :-(
As for union Jacks, I'd like to paint flames but Sandra won't let me :-(
 
Graeme (only 19 days to San Fransisco).

[lbpesq]

Graeme:
 
Sweet!  It looks like you're doing a frame-up restoration.  Is that a B or a Midget?  Want to paint mine while you're in town? lol.  Seriously though, I'd  love to buy you a beer or something if you have time to get together.  Maybe have Wolf, Harry, and some of the other locals over to my studio for a mini-gathering and break out some Alembics.  Room temperature, I promise!
 
Bill, tgo

[sonicus]

That sounds like it would sound like fun !

[edwin]

Bill, you always make me regret I never moved to the Bay Area. Too much fun to be had there!