Colin Lindsay

I planted some of that, it never grew. We finally got snow today, wind is bitter and quite high. Was out cleaning up an early white Herald speedo, but the glue has solidified in the garage so won't stick the new rubber seals for me. I'm debating using it in the Herald, but think it's non-stabilised so need to see if my fuel tank sender is a match; other than that it should read the same speed as any other Herald. If I go over the indicated 80mph I'll be amazed.

6p is all I can scrape together these days... I'm even using a token for Tesco trolleys, the shops won't accept it even though I tell them it's worth a pound at Tesco.

Heralds should be 3.5, a 5p piece laid on the rim should touch edge to edge. If it looks too small and a bigger penny fits without hanging over the edge, then they're 4.5.

I've been grinding in the garage and it sets the smoke alarms off every time... but if I open the door I get masses of leaves blowing in.

Didn't want to disturb that bit in case in end up with two leaks instead of one... or else like the Herald fuel tanks ring the entire neck off; but it's something I had not thought of.

Regular enough to be fuel pump itself.

This is a problematic one because it's a non-tapered brass thread into a metal housing, but it has to align with a solid pipe, and when you align it to the pipe it's not fully tightened. I can tighten it up fully airtight, but then it's half an inch out from the pipe and has to be loosened again to meet. If I bend the pipe, it's quite a large bore and flared at both ends, and so if bent further might become too short to seal - I'd try that as a last resort. If I use a flexible sealant it has to be able to withstand the air pressure inside the tank. PTFE is no good; tried and failed. What you can see round the base of the brass fitting in the photo further up is a rubber seal I fitted, but it made no difference. I might just end up using a good solid sealer and if it's permanent, then I suppose I have to ask: when am I intending to remove that valve ever again?

They didn't, but what I meant was to attach the fan alone to a GT6 pump with a fabricated mounting, not the whole viscous setup. The original GT6 fan was a 6-bladed metal construction that would definitely chew fingers off, so the plastic version on later models is an improvement on that. I think there's a cooling limit, so more blades don't mean more cooling, just - possibly - more air forced through at lower revs. My Herald has a twin-blade fan on a wide radiator, but later cars had the four-bladed fan on a narrow radiator, which seemed to do the job just as well. Best option is to keep the radiator clean and running well, maybe even uprate the original core to a modern version, then the number of fan blades isn't really as critical.

I have the replacement panels, salted away for some years now, and I've just bought an air nibbler to help remove the unwanted metal. I'm hoping I won't have to remove the rear wing entirely, and that it's just the wheelarch / side panel area that has been badly repaired in the past and is preventing the wing from sitting as it should. If I match the side valence to the profile of the wing it has a huge gap against the rear valence; if I match it to the rear valence it has a huge gap along the side of the car, almost 3/4 inch right along the side below the wing. I need to remove the outer wheelarch, and the boot floor side closing panel, profile the wing correctly, then replace the missing metal.

That one looks very like this viscous Spitfire version: If it's not a straight fit to the GT6 pulley a suitable centre mounting would be relatively easy to make.

What do you use to reseal them afterwards, Peter? Mine is hissing from one of the top pipes, I've tried PTFE but no good. I need some kind of stronger / thicker seal. It's the bit in the photo to the bottom of the large brass connector, where it screws into the orange adaptor which then screws into the spigot on the tank. I don't want to seal it too permanently, unless doing that won't cause me any additional bother in years to come.

Centre ones have the hole for brake and fuel pipes so a cable should fit through; just pad the edges of the metal to prevent chafing and ultimately shorting. Front and rear outriggers should have a gap under the body that the cables can be fed through and will help support it.

Here comes the thread drift - sorry, Brian, it happens here! - but I've seen some great ones on eBay over the years. I love this one for a NOS Herald speedometer, used once...

Strange ad, that one... says it's chrome with no key, then has a pic of a black one with key and the description says black in the small print. So: it's black. There's another almost identical item on ebay but it's a two-pin.

I ain't got a couple of centimetres, maybe one at most when the level has settled after a drive, and the expansion has pushed the excess out. When it looks like this it's due a topup... (that one's due a rebuild but you know what I mean)

I use those on the moderns but find no matter how careful I am they always ruin the paint or powder coating on the springs. I did buy a good reputable set as they're under terrific strain when compressed and I don't want cheap imported metal fracturing on me. This guy is selling a set of the specially-made Triumph compressors on eBay, which he claims is cheaper than TSSC... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIUMPH-HERALD-SPITFIRE-GT6-VITESSE-FRONT-SPRING-STRUT-SHOCK-COMPRESSOR-SAFESHOX/351976077520?hash=item51f368b8d0:g:FOUAAOSw5cNYmdIX

No, Peter, this is the 1200 convertible; it's a donor tub I bought from a major supplier, sight unseen, and to be honest it's caused me more trouble than enough. It would have been a lot less bother to repair the original, even though it was rotten (and in a lot of places for which there are no repair sections), but in one of those moves that you regret later I gave it to a mate for his Herald restoration whilst waiting for what I thought was a solid, good condition tub to be delivered, and to be honest, when it was, the patching - being all underneath - was not visible. I thought this one was going to be a rub down, or maybe light work refit but I'm starting to think that it will never look like anything. I'll do what I can, and let the experts do the rest, and hope.

That's an interesting question - if a car has seatbelts fitted, they must work; if it's never had them, it doesn't need them. If it's originally got three-point belts, does it require the same; okay so rally-types may fit a full harness / four-point / six point or whatever which can be argued as improved, but what about going back a step and fitting two point lap belts?

I always wonder if Zebedee had any period modifications ie uprated springs?

Correct! Just the white led shining through the blue glass jewel. Far, far brighter than the old bulb - as I mentioned earlier, it's the one that has a flat end with all of the diodes facing forwards.

Well, we got there... thanks to Colin 'The Scrapman' Wake I was able to obtain a replacement pair of original steel disc shields so ditched the two poorly-cut 'laser-cut' stainless steel disc shields, and have now blasted, cleaned and, thanks to Rob, reassembled both sides of the front uprights in what looks like the correct order and orientation. I won't fully tighten the bolts, or bend the locking tab, until I'm 100% sure and they're both on the car. One thing to be aware of - if you buy the two smaller top bolts, 1/2 inch, from the illustration in suppliers' catalogues you'll find they are too short as they're sold for shields (or drum brake backplates) only, without the added thickness of the caliper adaptor. Thankfully I had spares so no problem. As I was in the mood I cleaned up a pair of front coil spring plates... I must admit they go from incredibly rusty to very nice quite easily. So: now on to the next stage. If all the bolt-on bits are finished, that means I need to work on the bit that they actually bolt on to. So: I started on the bodywork today. After only two minutes with an angle grinder I'd set off both smoke alarms and singed my pullover with sparks. This bodytub is a nightmare. Patch over patch over patch, seams everywhere, bits missing and the boot side closing panel I tried to remove today turns out to be welded on over the original, which is obviously why the wing never fitted and was bent around the wheelarch. It all has to be undone, before it can be redone.

I originally got mine from a boat parts supplier, a marine grade metal-reinforced fuel pipe that they only sell in metres. It arrived through the post looking like a horse's handbrake, but it was too rigid and wouldn't let the filler cap sit properly so I bought some of the rally stuff, probably from Demon too, which was a lot more flexible.

Well I do, but I'm holding on to them as spares for the GT6, just in case...

First port of call would be Chic Doig; he may have a second-hand one. By the time you get that one welded and sealed it may end up quite pricey anyway, but if you can locate a local branch, look for a company called Fuel Tank Renu - they refurbished my Estate tank (quite a few years ago now, admittedly) by splitting the welds, cleaning the inside and outside, rewelding and then lining the inside. An excellent job, fully guaranteed for twenty years.

Yes. How easy is it? Simple, cheap to do, and peace of mind knowing it's done. So why worry about percentages and figures?