Mjit

This comes down to 3 main factors - temperature range, application and safety. Temperature Range A ceramic exhaust coating applied to a steel exhaust manifold has to deal with a temperature range of what, 303k to 922k (-30C to 650C) between a cold morning and hot running in most parts of the world. A Space Shuttle had to deal with a temperature range more like 30k to 1920K (-240C to 1650C) between being in the shadow of the earth and reentry. That's a much bigger temerature range at which the material must remain stable and not crack or flake off of the surface it's bonded too. Application With an exhaust manifold you have hot exhaust gasses, then a good thermal conductor (steel), then a reasonable conductor (air). The thermal coating just has to keep the heat in the best conductor and prevent it going to a less-good conductor. This is just 'encorraging' the heat to stay in the best conductor. With the Space Shuttle you have the air molecules creating the heat via friction and a good conductor (aluminium Space Shuttle airframe). The thermal layer's job here is to stop heat going the other way to the exhaust manifold, from less-good to better conductor. If it fails the aluminium will quickly absorb heat to and past it's melting point. This is trying to stop the heat transferring to the best conductor. Safety What happens if the ceramic coating on an exhaust manifold isn't perfectly even and you have thick spots and thin spots? What happens if there's a missed but? What happens if it gets chipped or starts flaking off? In general you get some areas that are slightly hotter than others and a pissed off owner who's spent loads of money only for the coating to start falling off. Unlike the exhaust coating the Space Shuttle tiles are critical to the safety of the craft and crew and tragically we've seen what happens when they fail.

Seen all sorts in the market. Some mesh, some clear plastic. Most seem to attach at the rear of the doors using the factory hardtop mounting points.

Buy a new fuse box/foam gasket now, as in my experience something will break or you'll find something that means you want to replace the current one anyway. There should be enough slack in the wire loom to let you 'pop' the fusebox out of the bulkhead and in to the engine bay, which makes access a lot easier. The box is held to the bulkhead by, from memory 4 plastic tabs on the back/inside car side of the box. In theory you squeeze these together and it just pops out. In my experience this sort of works but at least 1 of the tab will have gone brittle and just snap (new fuse box required #1). The wires terminate in special plugs that slot in to the fuse box, each one forming a single blade and 4 of them (2 each side) forming the contacts that grip the metal ends of the fuse. With the box in the engine bay you can see what you're doing and find the little 'tang' that holds each blade/plug in to the box and release them. Now if nothing broke releasing the fuse box from the bulkhead sod's law states one of the tangs will break at this point (new fuse box required #2). With the contacts out you can clean them up and inspect them and either re-insert in to the box (making sure they all go back to the same places) and re-insert the box in to the bulkhead. If nothing's broken you'll probably find some overheating damage from some point in your car's past. There was some melting of the plastic around one of the plug/blades in my box for example (new fuse box required #3). If you do decide/need to go to a new fuse box but your plug/blades are in good condition you just need to feed the loom out of the old box and in to the new one, then plug all the blades in to the new box. Mine hadn't weathered the years so well but there was plenty of slack in the loom to snip them off and fit the new ones (included with the new fuse box) in their place, then slot in as before.

You can get no advisories? I assumed "Oil leak" was pre-printed in the advisoties box on the form!

Cheap concentrated anti freeze, diluted 50/50 is the way forward - especially if you seem to take your radiator out as often as I do!

I've got Polybush on my Spit. (c. 10 years) and Superflex on my 2000 (c. 5 years). Can't say I can tell much difference (happy with both and both looking like they did the day they were fitted - unlike a set of rubber bushes would)

For bearings has anyone tried the new tri-metal bearings that have come on to the market, meant to be made from the same material as the new hen's teeth Vandervell VP2 bearings? A few of the US parts suppliers list them but not seen them at any UK ones, other than Revington TR in 6-packs. In the US Moss list them, though for a good bit more than British Parts Northwest. The things you find AFTER you've just fought to replace the bearing with County ones laying under the car in the garage.

Never used them but for spannering there's also MW Restorations in Saffron Walden, just up the M11.

I think most Triumph owners in London have used Quillers...once each. Triumph owners aren't as well served in London as MG with parcels being the order of the day. There are a few suppliers around the M25 though, with JY for spannering to the NW and Wins (www.winsintltd.co.uk) to the South for recycled parts.

Hi, Was away in my Spitfire over the bank holiday and had an intermittet missfire at low (sub 3k) RPM for the first part of the journey. This continued until I stopped for fuel and filled the tank. After that it ran perfectly, as it did at the start of the return journey. After a while the intermitten missfire came back...until I refilled again. My current thinking is the fuel pump's getting past it's best. Full tank it's fine as there's a head of fuel forcing its way to the carbs and at higher RPM the pumps making enough pressure to keep up with demand. At low RPM and a lower tank it's struggling to cope though. Not had a chance to check things out yet but does that sound plausable?

Humm, can't say I've had one and my Courier has been coming through fine. Did those come through as part of your renewal, with a specific Courier or just 'out of the blue'?

With the demise of the paper tax disc how about selling either one-off or annual TSSC 'tax discs' to fill that other-wise empty space on the windscreen that just doesn't look right being empty? Could be just an alternative to the woven badges or something a little flasher like these guys do - http://www.creativetaxdiscs.co.uk/page46.html