Mjit

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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!

Yea, open and close the doors and it will all make sense.

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.

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).

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

The disc need replacing anyway - given the lip on them I wonder if they might not be original!

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.

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

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

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)?

Out of interest where did you get the TRW m/c from/what model?

I've often wondered if one of the Wilwood 5/8" master cylinders, either with integrated or remote resevoir would fit - though mainly for quality reasons as unlikely to be cheap and thankfully not had any issues with mine for years (frantically touching every bit of wood in the house).

The new master cylinder bore could be smaller than the old one. You should be able to check that without making a mess - you can measure the old one on the bench and should be able to pop off the dust caps and measute the open end of the new on on the car. I think if it was that the clutch bite point would also move...down(?) Actually trying to get my head doing maths, pressure = force/area so if the new master cylinder was a SMALLER bore the force required on the pedal would be LESS to get the same pressure - but the pedal travel would be GREATER to push the slave cylinder piston far enough to disengage the clutch (lower bite point). And conversly if the new master cylinder was a LARGER bore you'd require MORE force but the pedal travel would be LESS (higher bite point). Was the clutch weight the same before/after changing the slave cylinder? If it was it's probably just the master you need to look at but possible the new slave has a smaller bore - which I think would have the same effect as a larger master cylinder (as it's the ratio of master/slave cylinder bores rather than their absolute sizes).

I only ever use resistive spark plugs in my car...but then I've converted to MegaJolt so have to

And sometimes a friendly MOT tester will tell you "There was too much play in the front wheels so I tightened them up for you". I though that was great service...till the d/s outer race friction welded itself to the stub axel a couple of days later, on the motorway (thankfully only at ~40mph), snapping the axel. Thankfully the brake disk/caliper were strong-enough to keep the wheel on and the weight on the inner race...

On a Spitfire MkIV/1500 - not easilly. Last time I looked there wasn't either a single oval or pair of round filters in their range that were both shallow enough and small enough to fit inside the Triumph airbox. You can do it but it means banding the airbox out to a suitible filter depth - and life's too short for the extra little bit of performance you get.

All of the DOT3, DOT4 (mineral) and DOT5 (silicon) standards are specifically written to be interchangable and so mixable¹. The only downside of mixing mineral and silicon is the potential to get the worst properties of each - though this is of course down to the ratio of the mix. In practice draining all the old fluid/blowing through with a bit of air/pumping silicon through till it looks clean and purple out of each nipple will probably put you in the realms of 1 part in a million of mineral, so make no practical difference. Also from this you don't NEED to change any rubbers BUT unless you only changed the rear wheel cylinders last year or something I'd say it's afalse ecconomy NOT to change them as part of the switch. They aren't exactly expensive (~£4 for a seal kit/£9 for a brand new cylinder) while a bottle of silicon fluid will set you back more like £22/£38. The seals are a service part that are expected to wear out and need replacing...something that always involves some loss of brake fluid (especially if you knock over your bleading jar for example). How would you feel having gone to all the effort of swapping to silicon only to find one of the rear cylinders has started leaking in 12/18/24 months time and need replacing, and watching some of that expensive purple juice slipping away...? ¹ Worth noting that DOT5.1 is NOT compatible with any of DOT3/DOT4/DOT5, and probably the eason it's "DOT5.1" and not "DOT6".

Been a long time since it got down to the o/d complaining as I just check it/top it up at the start of the year and before/after any longer trips - like the 1,000 mile trip to Le Mans 12 days time, for the 24hrs 😃

Odd, I can't say I've ever either found traces of it from previous owners or any signs of oil leaks coming from the solenoid connection. I do though have a constant leak from the o/d sump on my Spitfire, from where it's clearly been dropped at some point so no longer perfectly flat surfaces. Lots of surface cleaning and a new gasket with gunk all over both faces has it down to a managable drip rate though, and thankfully the o/d's built in low oil level warning reminds me to top up if I haven't (gets slow/reluctant to engage). One day I'm sure I'll have to take the gearbox off to fix something (and not need the car back on the road ASAP) and will address it properly then - but it's been like it for over 20 years so far...

I assume a reference to dowty washers...but none of the J-Type overdrive's I've ever taking the solenoids off of have had dowty washers, just plain copper ones, as listed in the parts book (NKC108).