Colin Lindsay

I think those are bits of ground-up William Wall-ass in it... I can see teeth and bones...

I had breakfast out yesterday morning, this was the only part I left... the owner asked if I didn't fancy it and all I could reply was: "you're feeding that horse too much grain..."

Went out house hunting yesterday... nice house, interesting architecture, but decided the garage wasn't big enough.

I'd love / need a second opinion! The bodyworker who repaired my GT6 looked at the original tub, claimed it was no problem... and then never came back... My problem is biting the bullet and starting the work. Measure twice or multiple times, check, discuss, ask for advice, check again, measure again, and then cut - and that's the worrying bit. Once it's cut it's done! I should really start by cutting the rear deck off the saloon tub which will give me extra access 'behind the scenes' as to where I need to cut the convertible parts. I don't want to start prematurely only to have someone look at it in horror and go: what on earth did you do that for?

Flippin' Bangers were on TV this morning restoring a white L-reg Spitfire 1300. I was quite amazed at their expertise - they replaced the engine mountings (trolley jack under the sump, no wooden load-spreader), replaced the exhaust manifold and the diff oil seal (no mention of how they tightened the nut up afterwards) then went for a run and claimed the car's driving and handling was 'transformed'... if only it was that easy! They paid £700, put £200 into it - rattle-can respray of rear wings and steel wheels and adjusted the hood - and sold it for £1750 to a guy who had a mate looking for a restoration project... so presumably he'll undo all their good work later on as it still needs bodywork - you can see the holes in the bonnet just behind the headlamp. It's a good show, but I found this episode a bit simplistic and it left me wondering what they actually did that won't need undone if the car is restored. Still, nice to see the Spitfire featured.

The covers referred to are the cowls on the steering column; the overdrive setup in early cars has an additional stalk on the indicator side for the overdrive; later cars have the switch on the gearknob so just one stalk on the right side of the column.

Why put the on/off switch on the underneath? The moles will just reach up and turn it off.

A very short time ago we had one buttercup... I put down weedkiller, you know the stuff that 'kills weeds not the grass'? Killed the nettles, dandelions and docken, but the buttercups just got stronger.

It's the glass seal, not the hatch seal, Pete.

I've found a few holes, but only small ones and as yet unmolested, so nothing to undo. I have a spot weld drill bit that an optimistic relative bought me, over ten years ago from the Club Shop... still in the packet in the drawer. I'll practice on the saloon tub, removing the panels I know to be unnecessary first; I've also cheated and sent photos to Chic Doig in the hope that he can make or obtain two good B-post panels for the convertible - just in case. The welds on all those horrible patches at the bottom will have to be ground off and I'm not sure what's in behind. I've lost my Dremel cutting attachment somewhere in the garage chaos so can't grind the welds back until it's located.

Difficult to do on my cars without removing the whole brake disc shield too, four bolts and tab washers on the early ones and three nylocs on the later, so a lot more work on some cars. If the trunnion has been greased and it's possibly dried out, and you can't easily remove it for a full clean, then just give it whatever oil it will take, drive for a day or two, and repeat. The oil softens the grease so that it will eventually all be driven out by fresh oil.

The perils of beer affects both animals and humans. You drink some, you end up pulling something and wanting to pee in the street.

James Paddocks are £31.50, but no idea of fit or quality - I do like Paddocks tho, usually good stuff. Rimmers are £40 once VAT is added. MevSpares are selling it with the silver trim insert as a kit: http://www.mevspares.co.uk/REAR-WINDOW-RUBBER-SCREEN-SEAL-Triumph-GT6-Includes-Trim.html

I always fitted the rear spring so that the nuts on the clamps were to the rear, and bolt heads to front; no idea if it saved anything from corrosion or damage but it suits my idea of neatness.

I had toyed with the idea - and maybe still do - of swapping my GT6 for a good Vitesse convertible, but there weren't any near me and the logistics of travelling and viewing just seemed like too much bother. It would be a long drawn out process!

Two of the studs (the ones I can see) do protrude down inside the housing by at least 1/4 inch, maybe more, but not right to the back. You could slide a thick washer in behind, or angled metal strip, whatever fills the gap, and break the helicoil off against that if you want to.

Ok, here's a suggestion: let's have a discussion on fish and chips. Sorted!

I agree you need a slight - very slight - degree of pressure when putting oil in, but even a cheap pump oil can pressed into the grease nipple aperture will provide sufficient pressure to blow the oil out under the rubber seal, and I've seen it press grease out too. Some people spend pounds on Wanner grease guns, some £1 on a plastic oil can, but at the end of the day they seem to work well enough. I don't use a grease nipple as they cause more problems than they're worth if dry or rusty; just pump oil into the hole and seal it with a blanking plug after.

That part on the lower left looks like a bit of a lemon...

I'm going to attempt a saloon rear tub to convertible conversion very shortly; when I say 'I' I mean myself in the initial stages then a professional welder coming in to weld together the bits I've altered. I'd love to hear from anyone who has done this already; what to remove, what to keep and any pitfalls. It's my equivalent of ask twice, study lots and cut once. I've studied both tubs and from the outside to the door seal seam is identical on both. The saloon has a double seam, and the convertible a triple, as it has the extra curved panel around the b-post to cover the hood frame. I'm assuming that in behind this extra panel, it's all the same for both? (Bar the bracket for the hood frame of course) I've felt round it (car restoration in braille?) and there appear to be corresponding holes in both visible convertible and invisible saloon brackets. On top, the outer wings look the same but the inner is missing from the convertible and in place it has the curved hood rail which attaches to the rear spring tunnel and both b-posts. Interestingly the saloon b-posts have the captive nuts in place for the anti-burst catches so the same assembly must have been used for both models. So: where to start? Should I remove the inner wing top from saloon b-post backwards? What's easiest - drilling out the spot welds or chiselling along the line? All I need to confirm is how much I need to remove before getting back to the basic homologous tub to which I can then add the convertible extras. If you know, let me know!

You could always shorten the entire gearbox....

It's not abrasive, it's a naptha / distillate based substance from what I've read of the attached: https://www.meguiars.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/26-8067-6_UK.pdf Overdrive column shrouds are only available in plastic but still available easily enough: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373454715855?epid=1723946311&hash=item56f3a2bbcf:g:~Q0AAOSwvwRgIvyH I like the ability to keep both hands on the wheel and flick in and out of O/d as necessary. I'm trying to remember which cleaning substance I used on one of the shrouds that actually melted the plastic, so a definite non-starter.

I've checked through old photos and realised I had better success than I remembered! This was one of the first 'find things to do' lockdown jobs. Meguiar's Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner worked on this one.

I said to the wife the other night: "Knock knock." "Who's there?" "Colin" "Colin who?" She's getting worse daily...

As I've now decided the best way to save my Herald is to combine the best parts of a saloon rear tub with the convertible tub - you're going to hear a lot about this! - one part I'm trying to source is the large curved piece that sits on the inner edge of the B-post. You know, the one with the dimple that makes it impossible to move the seats back? They're spot welded round the top curve and down the door seal seam, then to the floorpans at the bottom. I've been in contact with a supplier in case he can make some but if anyone has a really terminal convertible tub and could cut these bits out, I'd like two to practice on, trial fitting etc before committing. I could cut mine off my own tub and graft them across, but I'm not sure how frilly they are at the bottom so just in case anyone has two attached to a tub that will never see a car again, I could use them to modify my own. All assistance welcome!