Colin Lindsay

That's because for many, the lower the car, or the harder the suspension, the better it drives; or to be honest: the better it looks, and sod the handling. A lot of owners have no idea of why they do it, only that others are doing it, so therefore they've no idea of what exactly they're trying to achieve.

That's why God made sandblasters... I'm actually running out of rusty bits, nearly everything that was rusty or decrepit has got a new lease of life during lockdown. Except me, of course. In line with David's original post I've just found yet another Herald fuel pump so must refurbish that one too. Sad thing is that no-one wants them, they'd rather buy a repro item at £18.

I remember doing this way back on the GT6 and taking photographs of where it was meant to align when it dropped into place; on the 6-cylinder it has to point to no 9 pushrod, but it's easier on the Heralds / four cylinders as it only has to line up with the two studs on the distributor housing at TDC, so you're fitting it at right angles to the block - in the pic below the dotted line would be straight up / down for the Herald. Just make sure it's the correct orientation of the D-slot in the drive so that you're pointing to the correct lead on the cap.

I definitely saw one earlier when searching; will go off looking again.

I was going by the 'one seized caliper and one seized cylinder' post. The MOT readout should give the percentage braking when the vehicle was tested. Warped discs on the other hand might even make the car brake even better...

That one's from Robsport.

Are you reading the post correctly? Jumps up and down in exasperation! THE CENTRE PHOTO IS LUCAS. None of the rest are. The photo to the right is a modern version of the wheelbox, as it says - NOT a version of Lucas. Sorry if it was confusing.

Centre photo is genuine NOS Lucas, it's currently available as NOS from Holden as a 22-teeth 77m length wheelbox (but no photo); version to the right is a modern version with upgraded splines from Somerford Mini, costing £51.66, but also available from AutoElectricalSpares. You can almost tell from looking at the splines on some of the cheaper versions that they won't grip. https://www.holden.co.uk/p/wheel-box-1 https://www.somerfordmini.co.uk/wheelbox-wipers-pre-1970-22-teeth https://www.autoelectricalspares.co.uk/wiper-wheel-box-replaces-72851-37h6100-3723-p.asp

I'll just look at the Stag ones, then. You can buy those new, if this is the correct pattern - can't even see one in that photo! I'll assume it's the one to bottom left. Can they be easily fitted to a replacement cable?

I'll agree with that: buy NOS if you can, or a good modern version; like any part for our cars, don't buy the cheap foreign-made versions, they're poorly made even though they are an approximate match for the originals. I think the part number is 37H6100, 22-tooth, which is what I bought in 2018 for my early 1200; a straight fit and used on many British cars between 1968 and 1970. If you look at the photos below you'll see a marked difference in the splines, some of which seem to have used a badly worn unit as a template. I wouldn't expect the first one to grip a wiper, the centre is NOS Lucas with fine splines, and the one on the right is an improved modern version currently available, but at a fairly high price.

Okay... at least meet me halfway. Photograph? I've found half a dozen different varieties this morning but have nothing to match them to.

I've to replace warped rear discs on a modern Mondeo, but that's probably due to misuse of handbrake: putting the handbrake on after heavy braking and leaving it on for a prolonged period. I've got to the stage now of parking the car overnight in gear only with no handbrake. Front brakes go due to heavy braking, say on coming up to traffic lights, then holding the car on the footbrake until the lights change.

Any pointers as to what it looks like or why it's individual to the 2000? I can help search but need to know what to look for. Any idea of part number?

I thought it had a full MOT? The system is very tight over here, it wouldn't have got through with anything less than fully working brakes. For normal road use go for standard discs, which you'll find at a variety of prices, and standard pads work well enough for me.

I'm assuming it's the brake discs unless we're talking about the alternator windings... if I'm right, this is one of my fav online sellers: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ONE-PAIR-OF-BRAND-NEW-TRIUMPH-VITESSE-2-LITRE-GT6-BRAKE-DISCS-213227/370261188384?fits=Model%3AGT6&hash=item5635495f20:g:wbMAAOSwT5tWJMPG

You always know when you've passed an elephant... you can't get the toilet seat down...

Still plenty about, maybe not as many NOS spares but bits of cars are still available, at least going by online sales. It's always nice to see sellers making the effort at Stoneleigh or the International and setting up shop. I do my best, as far as pocketmoney allows...

You really want to smell like Africa? Re the rad; if I can see the tops of the core pipes when looking down through the filler neck, I refill.

In the Herald, it expands until the excess comes out of the overflow; then when it cools it's obviously down slightly on the previous level, but everytime the engine warms up it's back to full again. It should need slight topping up every so often, but not huge amounts.

Have a look at this site: http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/ignition/pdf/tuning_lucas_dist.pdf

I used to have a huge shopping list for the International, or shows like the NEC. There was nowhere else to get the parts. Nowadays the autojumbles have suffered as everybody sells online, so parts for sale are well down, and some of the traders don't even bother to turn up at shows. I just miss the excitement of stalls, and parts bins, and huge piles of rusty bits to sort through.

Heralds, yes.... but in a BMW? You'd just feel like a salesman on a normal working day up the M6...

Quite thick heavy wire; loops round the channel at the B-post end and screws to a bracket close to the front, low down on the inner frame, which allows it to be tensioned. As Pete says it keeps the window channels tight so that the glass doesn't rattle. You can see it halfway along the door, where it's fixed to the door frame with a clip.

Very very sooty but that's probably from all the idling; it takes a good run to clean the chambers properly. You've a lot of debris in the water pipes; I'd clean all of that out as a matter of urgency before a piece of scale drops off and blocks something important.