JohnD

What has not been mentioned above is why Triumph used domed pistons. They used cylinder heads from the same castings for both 2L and 2.5L engines. Both engines had similar compression ratios, +/-1, and at TDC their pistons rose to lie flat on the top of the block (more or less!). But each piston sweeps 333cc and 417cc respectively, so the combustion chamber of the 2L had to be 84cc smaller, or else the CR would be much less. So much more metal had to be removed from the face of the casting to achieve the CR for 2L Some unknown person in production engineering realised that a dome on the piston would make no difference at all to the swept volume but would occupy that extra space in the chamber. The volume of the chamber in the head could be the same for both capacities and Triumph could use the same machined castings for both 2L and 2,5L engines! This saved time and money, for the small expediture of a changed piston design. Brilliant! So, your domed-piston 2000 head has the same thickness as a 2.5l engine, much more than previous models, and has plenty of 'meat' to skim to achieve a higher CR. 10:1 would be a good target, and Clive has already pointed you to the best article on the 'Net about this (IMHO, of course!) John PS I will be most grateful if someone will tell me the figure they get for the dome volume, by measurement. I have arrogantly used that value ever since I calculated it. J

Suspension tuning is indeed an art, but not dark! It's a continual compromise, because you change something for the better and something else gets worse. But be assured that Triumph suspension, the front at least, is the best there is, as it offers so much in adjustment! The back is a different story! John

Yes, if you could wait a bit, or else treat your trip as a rehearsal, the next 10CR is in September: http://club.triumph.org.uk/cgi-bin/comps/mxcontent.cgi?pid=17 See also the Handy Hints issued by CT for the event, issued from the long experience they have with it: http://club.triumph.org.uk/cgi-bin/comps/mxcontent.cgi?pid=47 Some are general, some unexpected and purely national, eg carry a fire extinguisher in Belgium! Do you want to discuss route? Passing through Southern Germany? - visit the Nurburgring and take a lap or two, if only to be able to say you have! Italy- France- Switzerland; The A10(I)/A8(Fr)/E80 autoroute from Genova to Montecarlo is spectacular, diving into tunnels and out onto bridges all along the coast. But then in France take a right onto the D2566 to Sospel - another dramatic road that continues as le Grand Route des Alpes that crosses all the highest French Alpine passes, including the highest, the Col d'Iseran ( 2764 m, 9068ft) and takes you all the way to Thonon-les-bains on Lake Geneva.. See http://www.losapos.com/great_alpine_road John

Marcus - you are a harder man than me! 650Lb springs make for a harsh ride in SofS! Henry - Don't be diverted by the talk of camber. Camber is important, and adding more wishbone bracket spacers will produce more negative camber but not lower the car significantly. Don't rely either on the original camber settings, which were for crossply tyres. Modern radials with more flexible side walls benefit from some negative - one degree minimum, IMHO. John

Henry, There must be hundreds, no thousands of places that sell coil springs for performance cars. For instance, Demon Tweeks, sell nearly 500 different springs of different lengths and stiffnesses, and that's just in one diameter from one manufacturer! Don't go to DT - expensive - find a shop near you that sells them. But you have adjustable shocks - is that stiffness adjustable, or height adjustable? Is the a thread around the body of the shocker, with a ring on which the spring sits, so that you can turn the ring, lowering or raising the car? You would need two "C-spanners" to do that adjustment. They engage in notches in the ring. If you don't have adjustable spring seats, then you need a shorter spring, BUT that spring must be stiffer too, or else a bump that would have done no harm, will let the car 'bottom' on the road. The original GT6 springs were 220 "pounds/inch" in stiffness. This means that a weight of 220lbs will compress the spring one inch. To lower, typical values would be: "Road Lowered" 330 lbs.in "Sprint" 480 "Race" 650 The last will give a very hard ride indeed! And do check that a fixed lower spring seat is at the correct height. Many people in the past have been misled by dampers with too high a seat, sold as for Triumphs. Seems unlikely that TRGB would sell such things. John

Rubber hose doesn't need to leak to cause 'petrol smells' in the boot. Rubber, or whatever is called rubber these days, is permeable to vapours from the fuel. Fitting new rubber will limit it for a while, perhaps long enough for a holiday. John

OP, your picture clearly shows a Mk1 head, with the ports all in line. Unless it's a 1600 head. John

Alloy rad? For £500? You are danger of being had! Alloy rads from moderns can fit fairly easily. If searching here doesn't find advice, the look on CT. SofS has a Honda Civic rad, that needed a bit of fettling - there are easier options, but mine was £80. John

New Year, new idea. It's a given truth that stainless steel bolts are not suitable for 'safety-critical' applications, such as the suspension. But that isn't true. A stainless bolt certified as "8-8" or any other high tensile classification is as strong as an ordinary steel bolt. See: http://www.bssa.org.uk/cms/File/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20SSAS2.31-Fastener%20Grades%20A1,A2_A3_%20&%20A4_A5_%20to%20BS%20EN%20ISO%203506.pdf But I'm not competent to say which bolts are safe. So many people who wish to restore their Triumph want to use stainless. Is this an opportunity for the TSSC Shop, to research and market kits of stainless nuts and bolts that ARE safe to use? John

Yes. But make sure to dress the flange before you fit it. My previous on this task, that makes oil leaks a thing of memory. http://forum.tssc.org.uk/index.php?/topic/108-correcting-the-sump-flange-to-prevent-leaks/?hl=%2Bsump+%2Bflange John,

Why, dave? A moulded connector can make it difficult/impossible to get at the wires when it's plugged in, but there are 'needle' probes for multimeters: Less than £2: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/262744702549?lpid=122&chn=ps&adgroupid=33676502101&rlsatarget=pla-270397411323&adtype=pla&poi=&googleloc=1006854&device=c&campaignid=707291931&crdt=0 and you can pierce the insulation of the smallest wire to access the conductor. Anyway, the non-moulded multiways I was advocating are very easy to get inside with an ordinary pointed probe. And KISS is the essence of my case, in that once made up, disconnecting an item is merely unplugging, not consulting the manual for every wire. Originality has its advocates, who must be respected, but not followed! John

EH!!! CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!!

Bullet connectors are so last century! Look at any modern, and every single connection is by some sort of 'multiway'. This means that disconnecting and reconnecting needs no thought at all, and can be done in the dark, with the eyes closed and while listening to Deep Purple with the volume up to Eleven. No need to work put which wire goes where, or even which way round the connector goes as it is always keyed. Harvesting these from a scrappers isn't a good idea, as they are mostly moulded and cannot be rewired - you have to do multiple splices. But multiways that can be simply inserted into looms are available from the usual sources. A box of assorted, unless you wnat to analyse where you need them and how many 'ways' each, before ordering. Then insert a 'multi' between the loom and any electrical component, and make any future maintenance easier. Order a crimping tool to go with it, plus a wire stripper if you wish, and this job can be done very quickly indeed! EG (others are available): http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/search.php John

SofS has a 1 1/2" block, and bolts. Not my work, but a previous owner has beaten a bulge in the cover, without distorting the edges. I've done it for other panels, and the best way is with a 'ball peen' hammer on a sand bag. A pro will use a leather bag, but I have one made of denim! It's the end of the leg of a pair of jeans. Cut off about a foot, sew up one end, fill the bag with sand and sew up the other - put the sand in a plastic bag, in the denim one while you do this! The plastic will disintegrate when you start hammering, but the denim is close weaved enough to confine the sand, as long as your sewing is close-stitched! Good luck! John

Those 'bendy bar" ("Beam") torque wrenches - are they impervious to going out of calibaration? The beam could 'take a set', but the scale can be moved around the beam to take small outs. And opinions on the digital adaptor gadgets? They can make any wrench/wrecker bar into a torque wrench, and take up very little space. My Xmas pressy was a small, upright tool chest, with wheels and an extending handle, because i can barely lift the top box into the car to go racing. This will need the tools transferring each time, but I can wheel it up a ramp into the car. The drawers are too narrow to take my torque wrench, s this would do the job - it's mainly for wheel nuts anyway. John

Yes, that is what the cams should be doing. No.1 both closed as piston is TDC while No.4. also approaches TDC and the valves are both slightly open. This is so reliable that is you have the means to measure their opening (dial gauges) it is s simple method of setting the cam timing, called Equal Lift On Overlap. (The overlap is of the two valves being slightly open at the same time) As you are using it, it is also a useful way to check that the cam timing is correct. You mention that you get consistent blow back when you use some 'Easy Start'. This make me wonder about your ignition timing, given that the cam timing is OK. Look under the Dizzie cap, with No.1 at TDC and both valves closed. This is the start of the ignition/power stroke, when the spark plug should fire. Is the rotor arm pointing at No.1 terminal? Then, have you installed the plug leads in the right order 1-3-4-2, going ANTI-clockwise? If all these are true, then try starting the engine with the dizzie slightly loose, so that you can turn it by hand, a few degrees either way, until it catches. Mark the dizzie in some way so that you can return it to the original position easily, and not get lost! John

David, Fully agree with Mjit, good explanation. I'd add: No suck at the carbs, "when you put your hand over the air intake of the carbs"? There are, as you know, two carbs! And a 'balance pipe' between them, so you need to block both at the same time. Difficult to do that, and turn the engine, unless you have recruited an assistant. It's difficult too, to feel the compression strokes as you turn the engine by hand, as there is always one cylinder doing it, but take out a spark plug and block the hole with your finger. You may be able to feel it, or hear the gas escape when you take it out. Or, take them all out bar one and feel that as you turn it. If your cam timing (not to be confused with ignition timing) is out, then there may be no compression. If you have a compression gauge, that will read very low across the block. Of course you may need some of this: John

Today, the Police run unmarked Lorries! http://www.freeradio.co.uk/news/uncategorized/police-lorry-catching-dangerous-drivers/

Did the Boys in Blue see the GT6 as a girly car, or was it that they couldn't get in? JOhn

Old issues of Courier talk about fitting a Borg-Warner autobox to Vitesses. If you have the Archive CDs... Or, ask the Club HQ. John

Nah, thanks, mate. I'm more this sort of police car: John

I imagine that the problem for Police vehicle enthusiasts is that it is surely illegal to drive about in Police livery, let alone wear the Blues. So unless you are recreating a Q-car, the Battenburg or Jam Sandwich can only go on once you get to the show. Which must make it a bit - er- imprisoning? John

Paddy had some pics, of WPCs using them! John

At the NEC last month, at the Classics show, I met the archivist of the Police Vehicle Enthusiasts Club, Paddy Carpenter. He was enormously knowledgeable, as an archivist should be, and has a book out called "Police-Stop!" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Police-STOP-Response-Vehicles-England/dp/1445658313 (Only £14, an arresting read!) He can be contacted via the PVEC website: http://www.pvec.org.uk/contacts/ JOhn

What he said! JOhn