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Mjit

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Everything posted by Mjit

  1. Ideally the live would be braided too but braised and insulated is tricky - for a start the flexing braiding the cable permits would mean wear between cable and insulation and when the insulation wears through on your unfused, direct batter positive cable and it earths out on, well anything metal... Not going to end well. There's a few differences between the starter live and battery earth cables. Over life the 'normal' live cable will degrade due to vibration - but if correctly routed/clipped that will be to the copper conductors and not the insulation. As a result you're unlikely to run out of insulation and short out, just run out of enough copper to power the starter. At that point the worst case is you can't start your stationary car. On the other hand if that was your earth cable as the copper strands break internally you have less copper to carry power back to the battery that way. As the whole body is part of the negative circuit that just means the electrons will find another route, through the choke/throttle cables for example. None of those are meand for that load so will get hot and you have the risk of a fire. Also while the starter live failing's only really an issue when you're stationary with the engine off the earth could fail while you're doing 70MPH on the motorway with an Audi right up your arse. Lose the earth and would could lose the ignition circuit and have the engine just cut out (or find another earth and start a fire). Neither great at 70MPH.
  2. OK, so working on the theory "Triumph didn't like to invest any money" I took a look at some 'roundtail' cockpit photos and: The roundtail Spitfires have a grab handle on the p/s, secured to the dash facia by 3 bolts - which probably explains the near left/almost in the clock hole/bottom right holes. The roundtail GT6 Mk1 had it's two speed wiper switch on more or less the same position as the 'odd hole' - which while a dainty toggle on the cabin side Canley's show as being a chunky rectangular box behind the dash. If I had to guess I'd say Triumph just kept the same pressing, adding extra holes over the life of the car but not removing them so they could still just have a single part to stock in the spares store (and keep using the same old press tool rather than splashing out on a new one). Maybe that early GT6 wiper switch mounted to the dash facia rather than metal panel so needed a hole big enough to pass through (and rounded corners are 'better' than square ones from the engineering PoV).
  3. I can tell you GT6 ones are the same size an Mk2 2000 ones. I say that as the owners of a 2000 parts car and a Mk IV Spitfire that now has eyeball vents in the dash
  4. The very bottom right hold looks to be about the right location and from memory isn't a mounting hole (that's just the far top left one and the one in the rectangular recess). It's too small but that could just be down to the age of your car and Triumph just enlarged it on the pressing when they started using it for the cigar lighter mount? Need a 'naked' late 1500 photo for comparison.
  5. Based on John Thomason's "Guide to Originality" book the lower position is the only 'correct' one for the cigar lighter. 'Early switchgear' cars didn't have one at all and 'TR7 switchgear' had one in that lower position. As for the clock there should already be a hole in the metal panel in that position - it's where the GT6 has one of its eyeball vents and they used the same pressing for both cars.
  6. Braided rather than insulated cable's used for sound engineering reasons, rather than financial ones. Braiding gives you a cable that can hold itself together and give a large cross sectional area of conductor but without putting any single strand under 'stress'. This means it can wind its way around the back of the battery tray without actually bending any of the wire strands and also handle relative movement between the engine and car body without any of those strands being loaded. With a more solid insulated cable you're going to have to kink the wire (and so copper strands inside it) to get around tighter corners and could get fatigue fractures over time between engine and body.
  7. Any GL4 oil won't have additives that attack phospher bronze. A GL5 oil might or might not have additives that attack phopser bronze. Any reason to use EP140 rather than EP90 though?
  8. I'm not sure the 2000/Stag set-up is the same as the GT6 (I have a Spitfire and Spit/Herald/Vitesse/GT6 ARE the same). The Triumph WSM I have for my Spitfire has 'Put it all together with grease and set end float to 0.002" to 0.008" but the Triumph WSM for new bearings the 2000 has 'Dry assemble WITHOUT inner garter seal/tighten to remove slackness/back off to nearest split pin hole/mark nut position/remove hub, grease bearings and fit inner garter seal/refit hub/screw nut back in to position identified dry. For adjusting bearings in service it's 'Tighten nut to max 5 lbf ft while turning hub in same direction/back iff to nearest split pin hole'. Haynes WSM for the Stag is unclear, saying in step 9 'During initial assembly the bearings mist be assembled dry'...then just says 'Fit the bearings' for 10 and 'Pack hub and bearings with grease, then section 2' for 11 (section 2 is "In service" 5 lbf ft set-up). No reason/instructions for the dry fit or mention if the garter seal! Just looked through and, unlike the Spitfire one can't see anything in the 2000 Triumph WSM specifying an end float measurement, just the 5lbf ft adjustment.
  9. Replacing the front wheel bearings on my 2000 and according to the workshop manual first step is to dry assemble and tighten the nut "...only sufficiently to remove slackness. Slacken the nut back to the nearest split pin hole..." - but what does that actually mean? Tightening the nut with fingers I can get to one hole and still hear/feel movement of the hub pushing/pulling it along the stub axle. Tighten to the next hole and can't hear/feel movement...but then backing of puts me in the hole with movement. Is that the correct hole to be targeting or does "remove slackness" mean something else? Why can't it be nice and simple like the adjustment "Apply a torque not exceeding 5 lbf ft to the hub nut, whilst rotating hub..."!
  10. Slightly confused why Piglet is so outraged that Halfords wanted a receipt, a receipt that the guarantee has for as long as I can remember been a stated requirement for their guarantee and sonething I think I've always been told "Make sure you keep your receipt for the guarantee." when I've made a purchase. Bought a new battery a couple of months back and when I said "No" to their email address requet it was stated "You'll have to keep hold of the paper receipt then, in case you need to claim on the guarantee.". And after 18 years... Think I'd have said I'd had more than my money's worth out of a ratchet!
  11. The 'double-toothed' keys you get on Triumphs are actually just 'double-sided' keys and mean it doesn't matter which way around you put the key in. It's still only the teeth on the top side moving the fingers so they are flush with the barrel and the barrel can turn, rather than the more advanced/expensive type where the pattern is different top/bottom and each acts on an independent set of fingers - or even the X keys for my garage bolts where each edge has a separate pattern and the key only works in 1 out of the 4 possible orientations.
  12. Ah, mystery sockets... Got a box with a few of those in that I know I'd have had to buy for some specific job or other - but can no longer work out what or find bolts that need them!
  13. Having 'juggled the tumblers' in the past there's a really limited number of gate options and from 4 door barrels I was able to get 2 that matched my cars ignition barrel. Really easy to pop the individual gates in and out with the barrel on the bench too.
  14. Similar to that I think I ended up using jubilee clips (and lube) to squash the leading edge of the buttons to get them going inside the tube. Oh, try your best to get the buttons lined up with the holes as the bush goes in as it will be a bugger to try and rotate once it's inside!
  15. The first question is do you need anything at all? The Triumph engines don't seem to have especially soft valve seats anyway so don't seem to get major issues with valve regression even when run on straight unleaded - to the point you're probably better off putting £10 in your piggy bank every X fill-ups and by the time you need to worry about the valves you'll have more than enough saved up to pay to have the head reconditioned and hardened value seats fitted. I'm not sure what the big saloons were designed for but I'd guess just 4* - and that seems perfectly happy running on 95 (half the time straight/half the time with addative, based on me remembering/forgetting to put it in when I fill up). And for timing for 100/97/95 octane - time it somewhere, run it on 95 and see if it makes any odd noises. Pinking's quite easy to hear (someone shaking a washer in a jam jar) and if you get some, advance the timing a degree, repeating until you no longer get pinking.
  16. One to extend on this if necessary is to loop some strong rope around the spanners, then the ends around a pry bar or similar and twist. Basically applying a tourniquet where the more twists you put in the rope the tighter it pinches the 2 spanners together. Doesn't take much to exceed 'hand squeeze' force, and without the palm bruises!
  17. Yea, open and close the doors and it will all make sense.
  18. Having redone both my Spitfire and 2500 I'd say it's definitely American Walnut - straight not burr (which is good as it's cheaper and significantly easier to work with!). The colour of a brand new dash generally will be a lot lighter than any 50 year old panels. Partly this will be down to the tree it came from (and why you ideally want to buy multiple sheets from the same cut if you need more than 1 sheet) but also I'm guessing the vaneer/laquer changes colour as it gets exposed to UV sunlight (the "That looks WAY too light" dash in my outdoor 2500 is now much darker than it started while the garaged Spitfire's still very light). Regarding the gloss finish, first off it's your dash in your car so 100% up to you what finish you have but if you decided there's too much reflection and want the original semi-matt finish you just need to 'polish' it using "0000" wire wool lubricated with LOTS of wax wood polish.
  19. Guessing it's the same as the MkIV Spitfire...in which case it just seems to hang there with no hold it will reach that it will fit in! Of course that problem goes away when you just snip the bulb holder off and re-wire the circuit to stick on 12v LED strips stuck to the bottom of the parcel trays (and give you better footwell illumination than a candle in a jam jar in the next village).
  20. I've had one of the UJ types on my Spitfire for years and find the pintch bolts need a good tighten every couple of years or you get some slop, not in the joint itself just the connection (from memory usually rack/UJ side rather than steering column/UJ side). Also found with the mole grips on lower steering column technique
  21. The disc need replacing anyway - given the lip on them I wonder if they might not be original!
  22. I don't think it's the adjusters as that would occure with every brake application I think - at least until the adjuster did click? Mine's just usually that first press that goes just a little but further than you expect causing a minor twitch of the sphincter. The brakes still work and lift off/press again and it's nice and strong/bites where I expect it and where it will generally bite for the rest of the trip. As Triumph seemed to use up all their steering lock on the Herald family getting the saloon out from where it's parked requires a full lock 3 point turn, which is solidly in pad knock-back territory. That said not sure I've taken the rear drums off yet so probably worth checking how much meat are on the shoes and checking the automatic adjusters are working correctly.
  23. Actually to give a fuller answer this all started with an odd brake pedal on my new 2500 - it needs a (single) pump to get confident pressure if the brakes haven't been pressed recently. Fluid all changed/bled/dropped in to garage for professional pressure blead but persists. Given pedal's fine after first pump think it's just pad knock-back. And discs are quite worn. And don't know the history of the hubs so worth replacing the bearings. And if I'm going to replace the discs Witor sells that shiny brake upgrade kit. But the datasheet on the website says "Calipers with large piston area are more susceptible to effects of ‘pad knockout’- a long pedal caused by any play in the hub, especially due to recess wear in stub axle(s), which pushes the pistons back into the caliper(s). This is most noticeable after using a lot of steering lock, therefore normally occurs at low speed after making a manoeuvre like a 3 point turn, after which the brake pedalwill initially travel further than normal. Re-new the stub axle if measuring less than 0.7485” small outer diameter, and 1.061” large Inner diamete". Which could be part of the current knock-back but not something I can measure till everything's already apart and the car's sat on axel stands. And if I find they are worn at that point I'm stuck waiting for another delivery ANd trying to find someone who can press the old ones out. Technically I haven't gotten to the "And if I'm draining the brake fluid to do the fronts I might as well swap to 5.1 fluid. And if I'm doing that I might as well replace the M/C seals and rear brake cylinders. And..." but sure I will
  24. Just an assumption based on my general luck at the moment! Doing a full front hub overhaul/CW brake upgrade and expecting to find the stub axles have excessive wear when everything's apart and spread in pieces all over the driveway. Plus it's a potential excuse to buy a new toy
  25. So I'm looking to replace the stub axles on my 2500 (which normally require pressing out) and have a feeling the track control arm bushes are past their best (which also need pressing in/out). I live in London so there isn't exactly an abundance of 'proper' garages who fix things, just the modern 'replace the unit' types - and all of them have to pass on London rents so am probably looking at £100...and Machine Mart hydraulic presses start from £192 for a 4 tonne/£216 for a 10 tonne. Is a 10 tonne likely to be enough for Triumph press fit parts or are you really looking at a 20 tonne press (where the price jumps to a somewhat less friendly £575)?
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