Colin Lindsay

I love late Spitfires in Inca Yellow, but the GT6 suits period colours; the MK2 in damson was always nice.

Got ya now! I suspected it may be 'springier' ie less worn but thanks for the confirmation.

Sorry Nigel, it's my own opinion but based on memories of a magazine I haven't bought in years, the reason being I was tired of hot hatches and boy racer stuff which seemed to be the majority of cars featured. The Peugeot 205 was always the GTi, the Escort was the XR3i, it always seemed to be the sporty versions and even older more 'sedate' British cars such as the Maestro or Montego had to be the MG version. Would it be cynical to say that family saloons are now coming back in vogue since the hot hatches are way beyond the buying power of many?

That's not a rant, that's a discussion. I don't mind paying for the seller's time, expense, hassle and packaging materials, but, as with Triumph suppliers, some seem to have massively more overheads than others, and that's what hits me. If you're not making enough profit from the items, don't add it to the postage, and if it's a lot of hassle to post something, then don't post it. Don't expect the buyer to compensate. Especially those large suppliers who charge VAT on the carriage costs... where does THAT 'little bit that adds up' go?

Mine is by Smith and Deakin, (S+D - the two to extreme left and right below with the little silver badge at the b-post) but as with Honeybourne, a while ago you could get both either with quarterlights or without. The one I really want has two rooflights, like Le Mans-style panels, in the actual roof. Haven't found any yet in my area / price range but could yet get my own modified...

The fault lying squarely with Practical Classics, Wheeler Dealers and the like. "We don't want boring old family saloons so let's convert ours to look like sporty versions." It's refreshing to go to local shows and actually see original unmolested family saloon cars that we all remember.

I don't like the idea that you have to polish the stubs or otherwise heat / expand the bearings to make them fit on the new stubs, as that other forum suggests. I've never yet had a hub that didn't seat first time bar one where I replaced the stub axle on a Herald, but not fully, and had to redo it. The TR7 I had demolished the bearings when I went to fit them, as per manual guidelines - fit first with no felt seal, torque up and mark where the nut goes to, then refit with the felt seal fitted and tighten to the same spot before inserting the split pin. When I went to pull the hub off again the bearing came apart and had to be very carefully forced off the stub axle. It's difficult to get an accurate fit / torque with the bearings so tight on the axle, and if you overtighten, how do you release again? Something isn't machined to the correct spec. It seems on first read that Rimmers are just replacing customer's returns rather than addressing the cause; possibly they're not aware of the frequency of the problem?

...and works out a lot cheaper; I just bought gearbox parts for the Herald, £12 total, the seller told me he'd invoice me for postage. £23.50 for postage, take it or leave it and you're taking it as you won the auction... the entire gearbox these parts are needed for was delivered for £7.95. I took a spare Herald box to DHL 100 yards from me and they priced it at £12 to pick up and deliver to my door. My fault for leaving it to the seller...

Not much point having a car that will do 150 mph these days... I always remember being amazed at the variation in prices; we have Club cars selling for £3000 - £5000, we had dealer cars selling for £8000 - £10000 and then we have Classic and Sportscar prices of £20000 - £25000. Just because they're more expensive doesn't mean they're better; in many cases you're paying for the dealer's overheads and his so-called aftercare and warranty. I know some people like originality and will pay a premium for it but when you get cars for sale and the seller has, at great pains, sourced the original Metalastik suspension bushes and original Stanpart brake pads and is charging accordingly then you have to wonder firstly if anyone really knows the difference and secondly if the new owner is going to replace them with upgrades to help with the driving experience... especially if they're the original rubber fuel lines and a fifty year old wiring loom...

Probably from Owen Springs then. What does she mean that it's harder than what's fitted, I wonder, especially since you haven't removed the old spring to see what it is? If she means that it's springier because it's new, that should be fine, but it should still be no harder than original. It should not require a lowering block as standard. Can you take a few photos of the spring when it arrives, before fitting? Also your old one when removed?

If you can find a good heavy cardboard box open it out so that it lies flat over your floors; this will prevent the heavy box and bellhousing taking paint off your floorpans or sills as you drag it out. Be very careful of your fingers against the sharp edges of floorpan and centre tunnel, this is a heavy item and if you get your hands under it you can lose skin if not worse.

If you've got an hour just search online for Greenstuff Vs Mintex... there are dozens of owners clubs debating both. In the last ten minutes I've read half a dozen debates and they mostly seem to reckon Greenstuff are no better than standard pads, but are very dusty, and Mintex are good but eat discs.

Copied and pasted from an online site just now, and for info of contributing members: The fuse fed by a white cable from the ignition/starter switch protects the following circuits: Windscreen wiper, Stop lamp, Seat belt warning, Fuel indication, Reverse lamp, Temperature indication, Turn Signal, Heater The fuse fed by a red/green cable from the master light switch protects the following circuits: Front parking lamp, Rear marker lamp, Plate illumination lamp, Front marker lamp, Tail lamp, Instrument illumination The fuse fed by a brown cable from the battery protects the following circuits: Headlamp flasher, Courtesy light, Hazard warning, Key warning, Horn When my GT6 top fuse blew repeatedly recently I lost stop lights, horn, wipers, temp and fuel gauges, indicators and heater blower. If your temp and fuel gauges are not working, but you have heater and wipers, these last two may have been connected to a different fuse by a PO, or else wired differently? Do they work when all fuses are removed? Check, just in case, then you'll know if they're wired outside of the fuse box. The fact that you're losing circuits on different fuses points more to a connection problem than fuses, especially if the fuses are not blowing. I suspect one or more of your switches has been reconnected incorrectly so that different circuits are being linked - have you perhaps replaced a spade connector on the wrong terminal when you reconnected things?

If the rubber is ok leave it alone*. If the rubber is split or damaged a quantity of grease inside it may help it last slightly longer, but it'll eventually need replaced. If you need to replace it, as Wimpus says, look for a UJ version unless you specifically want to buy the proper replacement, if it's available - the same joint was used on the TR7 and you can still buy those new, so the Spitfire version may be available from suppliers. (*having said that, greasing the rubber may stop it drying out and splitting, if it hasn't already)

Easy to do; just remove the output shafts - four allen bolts per side, no gasket - and take off the rear case which won't upset anything. On rebuild you'll need a gasket for the casing.

Quite pricey, but a lot of them do come up second-hand so keep an eye out. Nice to see that the fittings and seals are available; I was able to source mine through a mate who repairs accident-damaged buses and so has an entire range of glass and other panel or door seals. The plan is to use it for a trial period until I get the hood fitted - which may even come first, the way things go in my garage - and then see how it compares against the hood itself for bad-weather use.

Astronomical, but someone with money to burn will buy it. I don't see where the value is in that price. I was watching this one, for sale locally, and I see the price has dropped from £14000 to £11000. If I was buying one I wouldn't pay much more. https://www.gumtree.com/p/other-cars/1972-triumph-gt6-mk3-/1388715380

You're not a Scooby-doo fan then? Remember Velma?

Postage is hefty, though... £60? I almost gave this one away, as it only cost me £50; I changed my mind - thankfully, going by those prices! - it's now fully restored and hanging on the wall out of the way, or will be when I can reach the hooks - very high up and impossible for one person to lift on a ladder.... I think I'll revise the price if I ever go to sell. I'll watch for the final price on that eBay one.

The snooker bit gives it away, 147 - it's Ronnie O'Sullivan!

Just to revive an old thread, there's a pair of GM couplings quite cheap on eBay at present: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/triumph-herald-vitesse-car-parts/124482409827?hash=item1cfbbad563:g:Z9oAAOSw6K1f04N-

I nipped out to the garage to check on spares I have, although I suspect they're Herald rather than Spitfire 1500 - I had both but the new ones have gone, which now makes me wonder if I rebuilt the early Herald uprights with Spitfire axles. Will have to go check... again. In any case when I trial-tightened the castellated nut over a D-washer, it went right to the end of the threads leaving one split-pin hole half out of the threads and the other almost completely. I'd still be able to bend the end of the split pin down to secure the nut if that happened on the car. I'm surprised that if Nevros' hub is being held away from the upright, too far out, then the other side is so far inwards that the split pin can't be used. Have a look at the depth of the castellated nut on mine; I know you can get thinner versions, which would wind too far in when fully tight.

There look to be very slight differences in your two stub axles, but not enough in the important bits to make a dramatic difference to the fitting. Are you sure it's fully seated in the upright? It's strange that the hub appears to sit too far out, yet the nut is too far in... have you tried it without the felt hub seal? See how it fits with that removed - as per the manual - then retighten to the same place with the felt seal refitted. Did you replace the bearings at the same time?

One hand holding the trim down into the door and one hand pushing the clips up from below. If you fit the clips you can reach, the others will be easier as the trim will be held in place already. Obviously this is with the glass out; it may make the glass harder to fit into the door, but with the glass already in place fitting the trims becomes more difficult. You may find that a few small dabs of sealer will also help keep the trims in place, if you let it set for a good period before trying the more difficult clips.

Over here it seems to have gone by-the-by, every kind of plate is displayed these days and I think a lot of the current younger Police Officers have given up on enforcing it, although it's probably still ticket-able. We have plates reading as single words or names that bear absolutely no resemblance to what they're meant to be, and there's no way those go through MOT every year. They're taken off and replaced for the test. We also have a lot of modern cars on black and silver plates. Technically they're meant to be reported to DVA and if reported three times the number can be withdrawn - pricey if it's a personalised plate - but it rarely happens. The person making the plate is also liable for prosecution but again they don't put their name or business on the plate, as required by law, so they're never identified.