Mjit

Sorry for slow reply - time flies... No pics handy but just had a quick measure and with a 3/4" lowering block the bottom edge of the rear wheel arch in line with the axle on my car sits 595mm from the floor.

Depends on where your time/skill/budget circles overlap. While you COULD save them (with enough time and skill) I have a feeling you're going to find a lot of body filler when you start attaching the existing wings so would probably just go straight to new wing pressings. It's harder/due to lazyness people are less likely to bodge the wheel arch tubs so other than fabricating some new outer lips, which aren't the most complicated shape/a visible area, I think you'll get away with those.

Certainly there are 2 wires that plug in to the blower motor, one each side and black/green sound about right - but without ripping the centre dash section out to check I wouldn't bet my life on the colours.

Anyone else have that slight OCD twitch about the gear knob not being straight?

And the last one needing you to live in a flat area of Norfolk, unless you enjoy the sound of your car bottoming out every time you hit a bump (in a Spitfire at least). A 0.5" should fit fine, and under an unmodified cover with standard studs and nuts. A 0.75" will need longer studs but if you trim them flush with the top of the nylocks once fitted will also fit under an unmodified cover - you'll just need a pair of 3/8UNF half nutsto be able to remove the studs next time around. A 1" will need longer studs and some 'customization'/replacement of the cover. I found the 1" too much, due to grounding and now happily run a 0.75" - but with hindsight would probably have been just as happy had I just gone for the 0.5".

So, after 40 odd years of good service my indicator switch gave up a year or so ago - was just so worn it wouldn't stay on amd hand to be held down to get it to flash right and replaced as a Covid lockdown job. Now, after next to no usage thanks to Covid the replacement from my usual go-to Triumph specialist also stopped flashing right (though would stay on). Clearly a bad earth, right...? Well having traced it all the way back taking the switch cowel off dropped a collection of switch parts in my lap and inspection shows the right turn track has burnt out and fallen off. The new one never cancelled either - the old one did and the 'clip' is there/aligned/at the right height, the 'tangs' on the new switch were just nowhere near long enough to reach it/be tripped by it. So... Anyone bought a new switch in the last couple of years and recommend a supplier?

Well had to pop out to the garage anyway and can confirm, just grommets that aren't anywhere near anything to bump against. I can also confirm that the 2 most rearward are in (give or take) 10mm holes, while the pair that are more forward and inside the boot when closed are 14mm. And that all 4 of mine are missing!

For the flaps: Fold the hood down. Open the doors. Put the hood back up. Close the doors. And all will become clear For general fit the big question is, hood up/windows up, does the door glass get anywhere near the 'rain flap'? There should be a long strip of hood inside the glass, then a shorted strip that sits outside the glass on it's bottom edge/forming a gutter above, with the door glass nestling between inner and outter strips. Like I think ever Spitfire I've ever seen you'll probably have a big strip inside, then a thin strip outside...and about 1" above the top of the glass, so all that lovelly road spray can still get in

John Tomason's "Guide to originality" (which is getting a good workout on a very boring conference call) has a GT6 "Accessories" entry for "Radio installation with parcel shelf speaker". That would be the single, mono speaker on the passenger parcel shelf as on Spitfires. I think extras like radios also tended to be fitted by the dealer between delivery and hand over to the customer so would have varied based on what they had on the shelf/could get hold of at the time.

I'm reasonably sure it IS just a grommet and NOT a bump stop. Without popping out to the garage I can't be 100% but I'm sure whole rear bootlid lip hangs out beyond the read bodywork and the only 'bump stop' is the sealing rubber/slam catch. The only photo that shows this area in the closed position in John Thomason's "A guide to originality" seems to show it out clear of the body, with an earlier pic highlighting them with the caption "Early complaints of boot lid corrosion were attributed to water entering the boot lid via two paint drainage holes which were outside the boot lid seal. Consiquently, at FH 62,271 a rubber grommet was located on each corner of the boot lid. Unfortunetly boot lids continued to corrode!".

Double-check the butterflys are actually closing fully and properly. If they aren't you'll effectivly be at part throttle even with your foot off the gas. Give the whole carb/inlet manifold/breather pipework (but NOT into the carb mouths) a spray with Easystart. Nothing should happen but if you hear the RPM change you've got an air leak there somewhere.

You say "drip try works", while I wonder if that brake fluid isn't getting under the washer and spreading unseen beneath the drip tray...?

From memory there's a semi-circle of hardboard at the bottom of the seat back side, with a metal clip rivited to it that clips on to a seat frame bracket to stop it riding up. At a guess it's the top corner of that catching on the belt. Is it possible to 'manhandle' the edge of the seat slightly, rolling out and around towards the rear of the car, so the plastic joint piping is 'on the outside' of the hardboard piece? That way the belt would be rubbing on the hard plastic, not the soft vinyl.

You can swap the dash repeater bulb to LED with a little wire swapping. I forget exactly what I did, but then I swapped it/the bulb back after about 2 drives - the LED bulb was so bloody bright it turned the whole cockpit green, and at night made it hard to see where you were going!

Not sure but you could easilly pick and item from the catalogue and check it against the website shop, first off logged-out then logged-in. Logged out vs in should give you the 2 different prices on the wbesite, then you can just compare those against the catalogue and see which is printed.

For the alternator is the plug not of the two part type? You have a 'body' plastic block that the wires/connectors clip into and plugs into the alternator, then a separate plastic 'cap' that snaps over the back of the 'body' piece, then finally a wire retaining clip attached to the alternator flips up over both and into a groove in the 'cap' to stop anything falling out. Given that you should be able to unclip the wire retaining clip and pop off the cover, leaving the 'body' block in situ/wires connected and access the connectors with your multimeter probes - remembering that it could be chucking out quite a big current.

I'd ask if you actually need one. I've not had a spare in my Spitfire for over 10 years, just going with a can of puncture spray and breakdown cover - neither of which I've had to use (at least not for punctures in the latter case). Started off taking it out for the extra luggage space to get everything in for the annual trip to Le Mans but never got around to putting it back in again.

I've got a Jigsaw fast road cam in my Spitfire and the settings for that are 22 inlet/24 exhaust.

Poking a big screwdriver in the plug hole is easier. Put the engine before TDC/pop in screwdriver and see how far it goes (keeping it as veritcal as possible through the hole)/remove. Roll engine closer to TDC and repeat and it won't go in as far. Roll past TDC and it will go in further again. You'll get a little plateau around TDC with actualy TDC in the middle. Not as accurate as the piston stop but a good way to confirm (and I can't say I've ever seen anything down a spark plug hole! Or check if Lidl/Aldi are selling their little endoscopes at the moment?

If the engine needs choke then, as jonny said it means the mixture is weak. My first stop would be to remove the carb/rocker breather hoses and give them a very good inspection off the car. Had a time when my Spitfire would drive fine for miles then, usually after being given some beans, need choke to run. Turns out the extra RPM would open up a (while fitted) invisible split in one of the breather hoses, so dumping extra fresh air in to the mix. Was right on the jubliee clip so impossible to see till I remove the pipes from the car. At least a cheap fix if it's that!

Anyone else intrigued what the after market rocker switch below the gearstick's for? Original rear window heater pull switch died/fitted as a replacement? Electric fan over-ride?

I just popped on to the Classic Car LEDs' website, as they sell conversion bulbs so would need to have the appropreate disclaimers and looking at a random LED headlight bulb(https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/collections/headlight-led-bulbs/products/latest-led-headlights-h4-philips-z-es-hi-lo-beam-conversion-9-32v) they say: So looks like, after the March 22nd update to the Jan 11th MOT rule amendements LED bulbs are OK in 'filament' headlight bowls in pre-April '86 cars - provided they pass the beam pattern test (something I'm guessing you'd need one of the MOT headlight testing machine to test).

The "equal lift on overlap" method's the best (and more often than not, easiest) to use. http://sideways-technologies.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/7770-equal-lift-on-overlap-the-other-cam-timing-method/ That method makes it sound a lot more complicated that it is but I can't find a good, simple guide right now.

Yes and no. You don't specifically need to remove it to do the job but it's held on by 2 of the engine/gearbox bolts and you need to remove those bolts so ends up loose. Only thing to watch Matthew is that it's a bugger to try and guess the gearbox fore/aft balance point (think it turned out to be just ahead of the drain plug) and seems to contain an inverted Weeble, because while a Weeble wobbles but won't fall over the bloody gearbox seems to want to do anything except stay upright on the jack. Next time I need to do this I'll be knocking up a rough cradle, probably a box frame with some adjustable lengths of stud at each corner so when (not if, when) it tries to roll off the jack it can only go so far before some of the studs 'touch down' and balance it.

I think the only thing you're missing are: Angle grinder. Sure, just for 'shits and giggles' try undoing the dowel bolt - I mean one day one will have to come out simply and easilly for someone! But when it snaps (just compare the bit that comes out to the new one) you have a new shaft so don't waste time messing around, just take the cutting disk to the old one so you can get the fork on the bench to drill a small 'drift it out from the other side' hole. Or is that the angle grinder plug in the photo? The haunted, pained look of anyone who's ever removed/refitted a 2000 gearbox (unless you're really posh and have a ramp)... Partly it's so heavy, and you'll spend a lot of time cursing you're life as you try to get to those upper gearbox/engine bolts.