cwillst

Thanks Colin. I did look at Rimmers but missed the pictures somehow. I will check but the 1500 set looks closest from memory. Many thanks.

Following on from renovating the water pump, I now have a slight leak from the hose I removed. It makes sense to replace all with a Silicone set from the club shop as from what I read they will all fail soonish. My car in name is a MKIV Spitfire from 1972. However the renovations by PO's has left it a bit of a hybrid. At sometime it had a 1500 engine in it, the current engine is an ex-Dolomite 1300cc. The club shop offers 2 sets of hose for the Spitfire. Early MKIV and later MKIV/1500 sets. Handily the picture of both sets looks exactly the same. So does any of the experts on the forum know what the difference is between the 2 sets so I can hopefully get the right one for my car. As per my last post the water pump itself is from an earlier model of Spitfire with the grease nipple. Any advice gratefully received!

Just an update. It was the water pump. I got it off, sent to EP Services who refurbished it within a week. Their service was excellent and they guarantee it for the life of the product. All is quiet again, well quieter! Thanks for the advice from all.

It is the water pump. We used a large screwdriver to listen with. It became noisy enroute to the Shalbourne classic car show. A friend who was a professional mechanic also listened and was sure of the problem. Didn't even have to put an ear close to the screwdriver. There is a bigger movement in the bearing than normal. I was surprised that the car made it home without a leak. I will try your suggestion anyway, it is all good experience. Again thanks for the help

Thank you all for the feedback. I will call EP Services who I see recommended on these pages. Any other pump supplier recommended? I will now try to remove the pump. I was due to replace the antifreeze so the timing is OK.

I have what is claimed to be a MKIV Spitfire 1972. I have learnt over 5 years of ownership that the parts used range wildly across most of the Spitfire models. Mainly MKIV and 1500 models. The engine is a 1300cc dolomite block. The water pump bearing has started to rattle so it will soon fail. Looking at part diagrams on Rimmers the pump looks suspiciously like a mk3 part no GWP200. It has the metal fixed fan and a grease nipple that I have seen mentioned on a prior post. Could you experts please confirm just what is installed? Any advice on replacement? The wider diameter pulley version GWP128 is what should be in place. Will fan holes line up if I get that pump and would the pulley still line up? It looks like the GWP128 part is easier to obtain but that might give me a problem with parts being exchanged. Thanks for any advice

This is a video of the slack. You can see the diff oil leaking ready to drip. 00001.MTS

I get what you say about the backlash. I did get someone who only works on and restores triumphs to check it for me and I took his advice. He did say it was the worst case of backlash he had come across. The diff also had a bad leek but that alone doesn't justify the swapp. The gear change feels a lot better now that the slack has gone as. But from whatyou say, it may have been a costly exercise that was not really needed.

We finally traced and fixed the problem. It was warn uj on the drivers side plus leaky wheel bearing. The cups were rotating in the yoke so I ended up replacing the whole assembly, and the diff because there was a lot of play . Great to have the car back on the road again but my wallet is lighter too.

Thanks Pete - again. I will discuss with my tame mechanic. Before that I will have a listen from outside. I think it is that noisy that it can be heard bur you know how well sounds travel inside cars. I will confirm back when / if we solve trhis. Tim

I have a 1972 Spitfire, restored by a PO about 10 years ago, the drive shaft UJ's replaced some 8 years ago, some 3000 miles of travel since then. In the last couple of years the car has developed a rear end knocking noise that is relational to road speed. Only noticeable at low speeds and mostly appears once car has run a mile or so. I have not been able to trace it. I have a tame professional mechanic who had his own garage with years of experience with classic cars. He has not been able to trace it, mind you it seems to dissappear for a few miles once he has had his hands on checking the rear end. He tells me not to worry, old cars have rattles and knocks. I still drive it but am concerned that it will reveal itself when something brakes. My question to the forum is whether there is something about the Spitfire rear end drive geometry that could mask worn UJs or UJ float from such a mechanic? He is very experienced with Minis. Has restored cars and at least one GT6 so does know his stuff. I am going to get him to do my pre-season safety check soon, so are there any suggestions the forum could give me to pass on. I have waded through this topic reading all the knocking stories! The one that seems most likely is whether it needs wider gauge clips to stop end float.

Thanks for the suggestion of a ratchet strap. I just spent the last couple of hours pondering over how I could set up some sort of pulley arrangement to get enough purchase. I have had to use a long lever even to compress the thing on its own. My weight was not enough. I wonder if the springs are stronger with the latest batch. I also got mine from the club shop back in December. At least now I will sleep tonight !

Thanks Pete. Thanks for an informative and entertaining day. Thanks also to the HQ staff for the BBQ and looking after us. It was my first visit to the HQ complex. Very interesting it made it a full day. Sorry that I chickened out of bringing the Spitfire, I will do next time. Tim

Thanks John and Richard, What you say about Lucas confirms my suspicion on quality. The picture looks just like the one that I have. I do like the gear stick location so will keep it for the time being.

I have a MKIV Spitfire with overdrive operated from a switch on the gear stick. I replaced the switch earlier this year with a replacement from Rimmers. It worked OK for a while but now seems not to engage every time. Years ago I had a Dolomite Sprint and that original switch operated with a click and you could feel it sliding into the in and out positions. The replacement switch and the old one on the Spitfire lacks that feel and I suspect has a cheaper internal structure. Is it possible to find better quality switches these days and is this a common issue to have the switch pack up. (I proved it with a multimeter that the old switch was duff), the current switch now works if I fiddle with it while in the on position . Anyone else met this issue, I searched this forum and club triumph. If no better quality around I better get a spare. I saw some on ebay but doubt they are genuine Lucas parts. Any recommendations.?

Just to close this thread off, one year later! When I looked at the set up, having removed the cowl, nothing matched the description. It turns out that during renovation a 1500 steering column and shroud was fitted by the PO, along with the 1500 indicators stalks. So the original steering wheel does not have the lugs to engage with the self cancelling mechanism. So the fix will be a new steering wheel with the matching 1500 boss. I write this in case someone else hits the same issue. My car will never be concourse but remains a wonderful fun drive and looks great. I am leaning all the time about the car. The body off restoration has been done very well but I suspect with a 1500 donor car for many parts.

Thanks Pete, Life is strange, I waited a while before asking the question in the hope that I saw an example or photo. As soon as I post the question, thirty spitfire doors appear on sale in ebay. In the photo the wear marks from the seals are clear. That's another job lined up for the weekend. Thanks again for the advice. I will try silicone sealer as the glue.

Hi. The oval rubber seals, part no 602821 in Rimmer catalogue were missing from my car when I got it. There's no trace of which side they fit. On door or A post, and I am guessing the orientation. Vertically or horizontal? Could someone please have a look on their car, or does one of the experts know? My guess from looking at the options is door horizontal fixing. Also I prefer to glue than add holes for screws. My thoughts was clear silicone sealer, any better suggestions? Car is 74 MKIV. I assume the seals help keep water out of the doors and A Posts so are worth replacement. Thanks as usual for any advice.

Hi, My mkIV came with mx5 seats and I love the comfort they give, they also look great. Having the head rests also is positive. I have never noticed any height issues but this is my first Spitfire so I have nothing to compare against. They adjust well. The couple of negatives are firstly that they are not the original item so you get the odd comment at shows,but the biggest issue is that with the hood down they tend to rub on the hood mechanism and trap the seat belt. I plan to look for a seat belt guide that would hold them up to stop the belt getting caught. I have no plans to refit original seats.

Thanks Darren,Doug and David, The suggestions I will try out as soon as I get a weekend not ruined by work or family events. The previous owner has mentioned changing the steering column so there is a good chance that it just needs a twist. I will reply again once I have explored what's under the cowl. If that fails I will try the buzzers.

I recently bought a mark 4 Spitfire, realising a long held dream after having failed to own one in my youth. It is proving to be a delight to drive, I had forgotten how much more fun an old car is compared to the modern armchair drive. Also more challenging. Anyway to get to the point. The indicators don't self-cancel and there is no noticeable noise as they repeat. Is this how they would have been originally, or has age and prior maintenance now left it quiet and slightly worn? A bit like it's owner! I am getting better at cancelling them but still sometimes miss the flashing light giving my wife and other road users another chance to abuse me. What solutions have members found? I saw one in this month's magazine had installed 2 buzzers with tape to reduce the volume. Has anyone found a more elegant solution? Or if they should cancel and click, then is there a fix possible?