Colin Lindsay

Now we'll have to see if it's short or long shaft... Less worry than the roto, tho, no need to source good replacement doughnuts unless, as in mine, the shaft shears. Just need to identify the spring and we're on a winner.

Ok so definitely non-roto. Check the rear spring; is it fixed on top with six studs or four? Six studs is fixed spring and should be eight leaves; swing spring should be five leaves. The 'eyes' on the ends of the spring look quite compact, Spitfire springs which are a common replacement have huge loops. Replacement springs can be hard to source or very pricey, as I recently found.

I think you have four there including the bolt? All of mine have only two and the unfitted sills I have confirm. Those centre two have been added later. The screw heads are the only visible part that you'll see from outside so they're the bit you worry about; everything else is hidden underneath. Most important thing is getting the sill aligned with the edges of the bodywork front and rear so hopefully the two holes will line up with the sill and you can fill in the other two. Yours are slotted, not an original feature but it does allow some adjustment. Just use self tappers and a spire nut to allow it to slide into place at the front; at the rear they screw up into the underside of the wings so no capacity for adjustment there. The straps to the chassis rails are a great stiffener and should be drilled at the very end when all else is adjusted.

You can lift it in a single garage, you just can't slide it out...

Brill! You'll have great fun with that one. Half of the enjoyment is working on it, getting it the way you want it... then the first coffee at the seaside makes it all worth while. Re the wiring: some of those two-wire systems just connect to both coil terminals, one to -ve and one to +ve. I can't find anything on the Net specific to the Hiace (other than the dreadful Fixya site which should come with a health warning.)

Very easy; I did it last week with a small vice and a socket. You'll probably end up pushing the rubber centre and tube out, then go back with a hacksaw and cut the outer metal tube off. Grease the new ones and they'll slide straight in with a vice. As Cliff says test the shocker; I removed the lower bolt and levered the shock off the upright then extended it fully and recompressed three or four times to get the fluid moving before refitting. Check the spring too, if you can see it - I bought a 'NOS very rare late GT6 MK3 rear spring' a few years back and it gave up last month; on removal it wasn't the correct spring at all, having six thin leaves instead of five heavy ones. I never thought to count them having taken the supplier's word that it was the proper and 'very rare' (according to him) item. GT6 rotoflex will have 6 leaves and a free arc height of 116mm.

If this is for the poppers for the tonneau / hood use small brass setscrews and bolts; you can buy the entire thing as a kit, or used to be able to (I think it was Chic Doig sold them on eBay but I've just looked, nothing there). Any good hardware shop will sell you the screws and bolts if you take a popper with you to confirm the size.

Nope! The rest are all in behind the clutch release lever so it'll need to be moved out of the way, and impossible to do in situ without taking the entire bellhousing and gearbox off. Sorry, Dave!

That means they may never arrive at all...

Thanks David, I was too lazy yesterday to go out and measure... now I can have an online search and see what comes up. It's whichever fits the backplate, which is original, it just needs to go through the red lens and screw into the metal bit behind. Possibly these guys in 1/2 inch: https://www.spaldingfasteners.co.uk/2ba-a2-stainless-steel-cheese-slotted-head-machine-screws/ I wonder which postage option I should go for, when the screws total about £1...

https://www.triumphexp.com/forum/spitfire-and-gt6-forum.8/gt6-od-tunnel-extension-cover-variants-per.1645506/ Some interesting info on the two types of cover.

Mine have gone very rusty and stained the red lens on the back of my GT6, so I want to replace them in stainless. It's the little screw at the top. I can't find the size, only the part number 511801 which is 'screw, lens fixing, 2 required'. Does anyone have the exact spec off-hand so that I can order same in stainless? Thanks in advance.

For that sort of money I'd expect the ceiling in that last pic to be straight... Haven't you ever seen anyone perform in the bath? 😮

If it's held in by three(?) bolts through the front engine plate can it not be removed with the sump off, by just undoing those three bolts and letting it drop out? Never did one that way but was just wondering... I can't think off-hand of what else holds it in place.

If it's handling well, why tinker? The only other option is to inflate / deflate the tyres and then it's too late...

Measurements for the standard O/D gearbox (or have I read it wrong and you're fitting an MX5 box? In which case disregard.) The Spitfire tunnel cover plate is 5" high, 5" deep and 5.5 inches across the inside, but a total width of 7.5 inches to the outer edge of each horizontal side flange. The flange on each outer side lower edge measures approx 1 inch - hard to be exact with the curvature but I reckon it's exactly an inch after comparing both. From the side profile the plate is vertical at the rear but slopes at the front from 5" at the base to 4" at the top. There is a beaded flange towards the front, 1 3/8" in from the sloped front edge at the very top and parallel to the rear edge. The rear edge overlaps the rest of the tunnel by approximately 1" when fitted by three self-tappers, one on top and one each side.

Done... well it will be later this evening. The cutout will be (obviously!) slightly smaller than the plate but on my only O/D car it's hidden under the carpet and the centre trim. I'll update asap. One of the GT6 plates in the USA: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/193767607411?hash=item2d1d730c73:g:1~kAAOSweAlfvy~d I'd prefer the Spitfire version as they make the end of the prop easier to get at.

NOW he tells me... My fault, never checked the lot number. Is that the blue one with the hard top? Seems genuine enough, crusty arches so I'd need the bodywork well checked but panel fit is good. No reserve so could be a real bargain. That ding on the bonnet would annoy me more than anything else, tho! (That's what was puzzling me about the white one, too - the silver side strips have been overpainted in white)

They will jump due to the live rear axle; mine yesterday was jumping sideways on bad bumps - always the driver's side, too - so it's normal up to a point. Excessive jumping about means something's not right, but you can't really tell until you drive the car in question.

There are actually two different covers depending on GT6 or Spitfire - I only found that out recently. The Spitfire version (the most common S/H these days) is an entire section of tunnel from top to floor; the Gt6 version is only really a flap that goes over the top. If you need measurements I have some in the garage I can measure, Roger, so you'll know where to cut the existing tunnel back to. Spitfire left below, GT6 right.

That is big. I ran a 13/60-sourced 150 on the 1200 for a time, never really messed with needles but always wondered if a 125 might not have been enough. The Alexander manifold used twin CD125s but really needed a hotter cam for best performance.

I thought that was some kind of super-duper stainless-steel suspension mod you had on the top wishbone then realised it was only the socket and wrench...

That's why the original and quite large steering wheel is best; it spreads the load so when the column collapses it pushes against your entire chest and you go backwards over the seat and out of the rear window.

Certainly looks clean and shiny. I've no real in-depth experience of Stags, nice to see what appears to be the original engine but only three things I've noticed from the photos: The bottom of the front P/S wing and sill seems to sit inwards slightly compared to the driver's side; the bootlid is sitting up but maybe just not closed fully, and there's a strange gap to the rear of the driver's door. As I've said I'm no expert on Stags at all but just as an interested viewer and maybe nit-picking over small things I'd check those out in person. They could be easy fixes and nothing of concern at all.

That was a joke I remember reading some years back; the neo-natal ward of a hospital had a photo of a premature baby on a poster requesting donations with the words: "the first three minutes of life can be the most dangerous." Someone had written underneath: "the last three can be pretty hairy as well..." BTW welcome Jim, sorry for hi-jacking your thread already! Do you remember the VRM of your MK1 GT6?