Nick Jones

1500 and 1850 internals are not the same. While casing, shafts and change mechanism are the same, the gearsets are different with different ratios. The 1850 being the same close ratio gearing as the GT6 and Vitesse and also TR7 4 speed. There are other variations within the extended BL family, especially Marina and Ital which I'm not familiar with. Nick

Looks good. Which ECU are you using? Nick

Canleys used to do them...... then one side only....... now no-one as far as I know. I don't have any spares. I have made several from scratch in the past. It's a bitch as they are stupidly complicated. Nick

I've had two lots (slow learner) of AFS alleged R9. It's rubbish - lasted about 9 months. Now using Cohline 2240 from Merline MS. That's done a year so far and still seems fine. The rubber slivers seem to be caused by sharp edges on the Stromberg pipe stubs. Nick

Could be 1850 (or TR7 4 speed) if it's got a 1" x 23 spline (does look that big in the pic but....). They are also longer. But will have a different tooth count due to different ratios (same as Vitesse/GT6). May have come to the seller with a 1500 Spit, but not I think fitted to it! Nick

Not a Triumph box originally I'd say. Marina/Ital 1300 or maybe 1700 (though I think the latter would have had the bigger 23 spline shaft like 1850 Dolly. Did it come with a bell housing? Is the tooth count the same as the 3 rail? PITA what ever! Nick

The cheapo ebay leakdown testers seem to be utter shite and you should probably disbelieve that 30 - 40% result. An engine with that level of leakage would not produce decent compression test readings. As Clive says, you cannot connect directly to the inlet manifold (not on the engine side of the throttle anyway) without some sort of control valve (PCV). Any chance of a pic so we can see what you have? Nick

Yes, that's 30,000 that I know of. I hadn't properly measured it before, just noted that it had a "small amount of clonk". So the figure could have been fairly constant for a lot longer. It did just under 70k with me but had been in 3 cars before mine so the total will be considerably more. It's an original Triumph build and still hanging on my engine stand awaiting post-mortem , though was actually still running well apart from it's oil habit. I never start with the clutch down, and don't do much town driving in that car. Nick

Cold start thrust will be largely unlubricated though.......... most moderns have full circle thrust washers though - and formed as part of a main bearing shell too so they can't fall out. Nick

Normally 3 - 4 bhp quoted between fan/no fan, but only at high rpm. Doubt there is memory than 1 or 2 bhp between metal and plastic. Nick

The Superflex poly bushes I've seen have been pretty much the same hardness as the OE ones. The crush tube is stainless though, which is presumably why the sealing arrangement is considered unnecessary. Don't agree unless a stainless bolt is used too - but I wouldn't use a stainless bolt on such a critical duty in double shear. Nick

I met him by chance at Tipton Garage a number of years back when I was putting my PI through its paces on their RR. We talked about his various Triumphs including the Herald. Could have talked all day probably, but both had other places to be. Nick

I know it's not as romantic or period in any way but zetec SE superior in every way and very much cheaper!

I understand that there is one in the South West belonging to Adam Egeland, though I think it is a replica. He probably knows as much about them as anyone. Nick

Brabham Heralds did use a version of the Coventry Climax...….. pretty sure it was bigger than 741cc though (1200 ish?) That one looks a bit used to be "new" and for £1500 I'd want all the nuts holding the manifold on and the carb linkage. Slightly relevant link https://forums.autosport.com/topic/31085-brabham-road-cars/ Nick

Is the pricey one (MGD...D) Craig Gingells old car? Nick

It's not the wheel diameter that matters but the rolling radius of the wheel/tyre combination. Dependent on tyre choice the actual difference between wheel sizes could be negligible. Even if the 15" wheel combo had a slightly larger rolling radius, the effect on braking effort will be negligible. As regards tyre contact patch, when comparing narrow tyre and wide tyre, for a given tyre pressure and vehicle weight, the area of the contact will be the same, but different shapes. The narrow tyre will have a narrower but longer contact and the wide tyre a wider, but shorter contact. This assumes that the tyre is meeting the ground squarely. If this is not the case (rather likely with Herald suspension, especially at the rear), then the wide tyre may do less well, especially if it is lower profile, as it's sidewalls would need to flex more to keep the wider contact patch on the road. Bottom line - a narrow, taller profile tyre is likely to give more consistent grip with a suspension that gives a wide range of camber angles. That said, it's possible to get decent results from a 15" wheel tyre combo (even TRR hillclimb champion class-winning results) albeit on a car with modified suspension including a camber compensator at the rear. Nick

Pirelli rubber webbing? You can buy these and end clips in various places at reasonable cost. Nick

That was me. I linked to that thread earlier too. The comment on the groove shape was not so much a claim as a speculation as to the cause as we could find no other reason for a long pedal. New braided hoses, no play in wheel bearings, no disc run-out, back brakes fully adjusted up, yet "forced" piston adjustment would solve the problem for a while - until the pads wore down and calipers appear incapable of self-adjusting properly, to the extent that the pedal would go most of the way to the floor if intervals between our forced adjustments were left long enough. This is a caliper issue, but whether root cause is the shape of the groove, the seal dimensions, the seal hardness or piston finish I'm not completely sure. I've rebuilt the original Girling units (M16) for my GT6 and will rebuild the original 16Ps on my Vitesse. Now have an eye out for a used genuine pair to rebuild for the Spit (with GT6 brakes!) to replace the repro ones. Note that poorly adjusted back brakes (or non-working "self"-adjusters) can give a longish pedal that feels much better after a double-pump. Nick

Different thickness sealing washers used. Though not normally required. N

Wise decision IMO Nick

Champion bodge technical work-around..... probably still saved some effort! I echo Pete's question above (though suspect you were ahead of us on this) and add the delicate question of sealing method to the mix...... Incidentally, while rummaging in one of my bolt buckets at the weekend I happened across the very bolt which I butchered almost to the point of un-usability in the attempt to swap the lever without dismantling the box. I did that in 1989/90 ish and have moved house twice since then....... hoarding disorder..... moi? Surely not..... It may come in handy one day! Nick

Unless looking specifically for a project I would be very wary of cars that claim to be ok (and may even have had recent bodywork and new paint), but have been off the road for many years. They will invariably need more mechanical work than anticipated and may need quite a bit of work to get to to the point where the car can be driven properly and the reason for the original lay-up discovered. Nick

IIRC all SU needles have the same diameter at the idle "station". Constantly rich at idle usually means that there is a problem with the float level setting or that the needle valves are leaking slightly, both causing the fuel level to be too high. The latter can in turn be the result of a repro fuel pump producing excessive pressure. Nick

Shouldn't affect the flexi-hose as there ought to be a short length of hard-line between the end of the hose and the calliper. Only the fitting on the end of the short hard-line will be different. In fact, one way round (3/8" UNF into M10 fine) the threads go together quite convincingly as the metric fine thread has virtually the same pitch and is a little bigger in diameter than the UNF. Not good practice as doesn't give sufficient engagement for full strength. Going the other way it's usually too tight to work, though it might go if "gorilla'd". When considering new "repro" callipers, read this I don't know if all repro callipers come from the same basic manufacturer (ours came via ebay seller) but beware. If you do buy new and have troubles with long pedal travel, complain early and vigorously to the supplier! Nick