Colin Lindsay

Thanks Peter T; it looks like the front outriggers are correct but possibly as Pete L says the side rails might not be. I might be able to fit another crush tube along the side to avoid messing with the mountings, once I get the rear tub on and see how the rears (and indeed all of the other body panels) line up.

Excellent! Thanks Pete. I've decided I'm going to fit the entire body; tub, doors etc and see how they line up before deciding what to fettle. There's always a little bit of room to play with so that will help me make a decision, but all photos are welcome.

I have a few differing types; those with a number cast into the side of the cylinder end appear to be better quality: The others have a large 'L' or other logo on the side of the cylinder body, but are more deeply moulded than that B&B version: I know B&B aren't the quality they used to be any more, for most of their products. The problem is that most retailers have a standard photo they use which often bears no resemblance to what you actually receive, so it's hard to know who to purchase from.

£600 - £700 if you buy the kit, maybe cheaper if you source alternative parts yourself. From the Pistonheads website: To do this you need1. An adaptor plate from diff output flange2. Volvo 340, 94mm Lobro type inner CV joint3. Metro/Rover 100 short (LH) driveshafts and outer joint4. MGF/Elise/Maestro bearing pack6. MGF rear hub7. A modified rotoflex upright https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1428943 Some essential reading: http://www.shadetreegarage.co.uk/Vitds1.htm

You left out the one to record it on his phone and post it on social media...

Must go look at that option... but as it's all been freshly painted, and the bulkhead has not, it seemed easier.

Been out this morning measuring what I can and comparing with known data. When I move the bulkhead to the two front mounts only, it looks closer to what I would call normal: This however puts the side mounts out by slightly over 1/2 an inch. Everything else about the bulkhead seems to align up with the one already fitted on the Estate. I would guess then that either the repair sections at the base of both A posts are wrong, or the side rails have been welded incorrectly; however as the side rail aligns with the end of the front outrigger I'd yet again guess that the body mount repair sections on the bulkhead are wrong. It should be simple enough to cut the mounts off, or replace with new if necessary, and reweld 1/2 inch back.

Handy for anything you want to increase the size of, really....

I checked out the digital calipers during the week; same as the ones I binned only with their logo on them. Mine went haywire and were telling me that a 3/8 bolt was over a foot wide.

Bit serious for speeding? "You were clocked moving faster than a speeding bullet...." But if that was me Paul I'd be writing straight to DVLA, enclose an explanatory letter and the V5 you've received, to distance yourself from the vehicle. Just putting it back in the post is a bit of pot luck.

Agree with Peter on the dust cover for inside the garage, but I bought some of the LIDL 'Stormproof' covers a while back and they lasted less than an hour in light rain. I moved the GT6 out to move a few other things about in the garage, on came a light shower, and the water just went straight through the fabric. For any kind of cover I'd make up a tubular frame to keep the material up off the paintwork; on my 1200 convertible which lay outdoors for a year or two, the rear fins ate through the cover very quickly, and the material around the bonnet blew about in the wind and ate through the paint amazingly easily. These days I'd buy an old gazebo and shorten the legs - Tesco were clearing them last autumn at under £30.

That leaf spring looks a tad... inflexible...

The estate was originally built with a solid mount at the front; this was later believed to be incorrect and the only solid mount is on top of the diff supports. Putting a solid mounting at the front actually pulled the bulkhead inwards as the rubber mounts on the side mounts compressed leaving a backward slope on the bulkhead, and the roof wouldn't fit. I've measured from suspension mounts to outrigger and it's the same on both cars; but there are different versions of outrigger available so it's no longer 100% set in stone. With a restored chassis and an original bulkhead, no problem working out which needs altered, or vice versa, but with both restored, and separately, I need to work out which to tweak. I've got new front outriggers salted away but only as a last resort. The main worry is that I fit the bulkhead, gap the doors, fit the rear tub and only then find that the bonnet fouls the front grille, or something simple like that that will ruin the entire thing. I know I've got room to manoeuvre with any of the sections - up to a point - but want to arrive at the best possible, so that other owners won't look at the car in years to come and ask: what's wrong with your bonnet / gaps / bulkhead? Someone always does... I reckon this afternoon is going to be another round of measuring and calculating...

I've trial fitted the refurbished Herald bulkhead to the refurbished Herald chassis and things are not lining up as I'd like, so I need a few second / third etc opinions. If I mount the bulkhead using the two front bolts on the chassis front outriggers, the side mountings are too far forward so the mounting bolt will not go up through. If I slide the bulkhead back until the side mountings will take the bolts, the front holes are out by 1/2 inch. Now: I know there's a lot of movement allowed between all the components and I can elongate some of the mounting holes (I suspect the side mounts are wrong), or even fabricate some new mounting brackets to give a good grip in the shorter width that movement will permit, but the main issue is: when do I decide the gaps are correct? I suspect some 'fettling' is required but I need to know how much. If anyone can have a look at the photos of my white Estate and the primer Convertible and give an opinion on the correct position? The white Estate seems very far forward so that there is no gap at all between the bulkhead and the chassis outrigger; on the convertible, when I line up the side mountings, there's a huge gap, (photos show it pushed back to suit the side mounts) but if I push it forward to use the front holes as the datum point it closes but not as much as the Estate. What does everyone else's look like? No shows to go to to compare, no club meets, no reference photos online... so any photos or comments welcome.

I wonder if those will fit a Mk1? They should, it's been converted to swing spring, but just checking.

Black boot polish. Any of the proprietary rubber cleaners will make them look wet and shiny, only until they dry, when they go grey or white again. As long as they're supple and not cracked, boot polish gives a nice black colour. You can also use it on tyre sidewalls to freshen up the tyres.

Black sludge was always a sign of old fluid, I've no idea of what exactly it's caused by - possibly grease? - but anytime I see it I give the system a good refill. The push rod looks to be 90, and yes the centre of the hole looks to be about 80.

There are another two currently, one marked as GT6 Mk1 but not correct for that model; even damaged with a cracked lens it's advertised for £36. I think the other one is asking £44.

The engine number refers only to the block; so in the past the original may have been exchanged for a reconditioned or better replacement. MG, MM and MN are all 2500 blocks, but do you know if any work has been done to yours? I know that some owners found the injection system troublesome so went back to carbs, so your may well have been rebuilt back to twin carbs with a replacement head and manifold, plus other required parts whilst retaining the original PI block; alternatively it could be originally a twin-carb system that has been built onto a replacement block that has the MG number.

Mid point was always good on my GT6; means you can spot any movement off the vertical as soon as it happens.

Well, it's two steps forward and three back on this car. We had a slight setback in the form of a missing radius arm bracket, which I had obviously either misled or more likely given away as being plentiful - there's always one in a box somewhere until you need it; so I put out an online SOS and the correct bracket was soon very gratefully received from Steve P on this very forum. Blasted, repainted and fitted, it's looking very well. I must add the driver's side / right hand bracket to my list of essential purchases next autojumble I get to, and salt any away that I find. Someone's bound to need one and I can return the favour. That was the final part of the jigsaw so without further ado, on went the wheels, and the car was back on all four for the first time since 2008. I've tightened most of the suspension bolts to a loose torque; they'll get the final torque once I can get the car laden but as usual without the weight the top ball joint nut just goes round and round, as does one of the steering track rod end nuts. They need the downward pressure to give grip, in order to overcome the grip of the nyloc locknut and not just spin in place without tightening. I'll rig up some kind of solution later in the week. With the chassis now rolling, it was the obvious next step to trial fit the body, especially since the welder wants it mounted to the chassis to preserve the rigidity before he cuts large bits off the rear tub. I started with the bulkhead, which has already been professionally restored; easily dropped onto the mounting pads that I'd glued in place earlier. All of a sudden it starts to look like a car again. Must go tighten up the body mountings, thinks I... only to find that two out of the four do not line up with the holes in the chassis and I can't even get the bolts up through. I sent this bulkhead off to Scotland to have it rebuilt a few years back, but it appears the replacement panels at the base of the A-post don't match the chassis. Way out, in some cases by almost an inch. I've compared the chassis with the estate version beside it and the side rail holes are exact to the 1/8 inch, so it's not the fault of the chassis. Looks like the welder has another job on his hands when he gets the car. I can overcome the front corners, which are maybe 1/2 an inch out, by elongating the mounting holes which the body clamp / bracket should overcome, but the rears are too far out of place and the entire mount will need moved. It's not a great deal in the scheme of things, but it's still extra expense on top of the rear tub welding, and bother I could well do without. Ho hum, 'it's always sumfin', innit?' as Velvet would say. And there we were, doing so well...

When you go to reassemble it all again, check the pedal travel against the cylinder; I suspect that's a replacement master cylinder (if not just an incorrect push rod)which has had a push rod that it soo short; hence the extension. I think you may be able to get longer push rods, in varying lengths, to suit the travel you need. I'll go off for a quick search and report back.

I find my GT6 pedal very light, so added a heavier spring - it feels better on the foot but I then found out the downward pull of the rod was eating the bushes and ovalling the hole through the bulkhead. Had to bin that idea!

It's not a Securon but then there may have been different manufacturers making them at the same time.

I had one on my GT6 for too long that was hard to fit and harder to remove; it was a 13lbs version too and I used to have to tap it round with a hammer to get it to release. Eventually I replaced it last year and the new one slides on and off far more easily.