Colin Lindsay

It needs more pressure then! Seriously - that's why the TR7 blue versions needed a press (I broke a vice once trying that); they distorted considerably but in the end there was nowhere else for them to go. Orange bushes - are they from eBay? I'm using orange in anti-roll bars, steering rack and diff mounts and like them well enough - bought from a supplier on eBay.

Please!! It's always nice to have alternative options and that one looks a lot more streamlined than the big chunky versions.

How on earth did you manage that??? Looks like you'll have to familiarise yourself with the vagaries of Triumph gauges...

Glad to see you made it back safely - now you can really start to enjoy the GT6. Firstly what details / originality do you need? Let us know and we'll help source parts or advise. Secondly don't forget the suspension and steering are non-power-assisted so more direct than a modern, and your car does appear slightly lowered which may affect the original ride; but, as the guys have said, check bushes and balljoints. You may find, as you get used to the car, that it's actually not that bad. Thirdly: brakes - avoid the cheapie pads, definitely avoid EBC Greenstuff, I've never tried Mintex but the GT6 brakes do need to be properly set up and adjusted to the optimum. You should have got a Northern Ireland MOT printout with the car which will tell you the percentage braking when it was tested. If they are really poor it can be anything from pads not bedded in, shoes badly adjusted (this really transformed my own Mk1 once I got them from 'adequate' to 'good'), possibly even the wrong bore of master cylinder or wrong size of rear wheel cylinders. You do have to get to used to giving a good solid push to the pedal, but it shouldn't be teeth-gritting pull-the-steering-wheel-off sort of effort.

Does that one fit the Triumph engine? I was able to get modern starters from 4x4 vehicles for free a few years ago, but they had to have an adaptor machined up. Cambridge Motorsports sell this one at a good price, but then add VAT and delivery: http://www.cambridgemotorsport.com/node/8968 SVC also have a good selection. https://www.s-v-c.co.uk/category/starter-motors/

Do you know anyone with a hydraulic press? Blue polybushes are easier than red; when I fitted red to the GT6 I had to have them pressed in. Not a chance otherwise. Having said that, I had to have the blue ones pressed into the TR7 suspension arms too.

I just ran the cabling in behind the horn bracket under the radiator. (Herald)

As Pete says, water getting in through the screw holes. Mine was ok but the bootlid suffered. Easy enough I suppose to make a new one, or else try some of the usual breakers if you want an original look. This is the only one I have so I need to look after it, but it will give you an idea of the profile if you want to try to match it. Incidentally I've just bought replacement screws in stainless, 3/16 (no 10) UNF, 80 degree countersunk head; the originals are 1/2 inch but I've found that 3/4 is actually a better length.

I've done that run a few times, in the opposite direction, from the south up to Stranraer. The M25 was entertaining in a 948 Herald... If you don't mind a bit of teaching Granny to do things: first thing to do when off the boat is find a good Petrol Station / Service area with a newspaper and good coffee shop. (Difficult in these times, I know) Once the GT6 has cooled a bit check oil, water and tyre pressures. I brought my Mk1 up the M6 from Coventry to Lancaster Services (Forton?) with one of the tyres at 15 psi, which I never noticed as the whole car was new to me. After that, tootle gently along in the inside lane of the motorway and don't go mad on the third-lane overtakes until you're sure the car handles well at speed - it may not have undertaken any long, fast journeys in a while and speed will uncover any faults very quickly. Some upgrades to our cars can actually make the car worse on long, steady drives. Once you get it home park it outside a window where you can sit indoors with a coffee and admire it.

Bottom hose being longer means the unit is easier to fit - there's not really enough room in that short top hose - but requires a different, or at least adjustable, sensor to allow for the cooler water coming from the rad. I always adjusted mine judging by the temp gauge.

You could always try to adapt a thermostat housing, in the same way as early Heralds did. I've tried three options in the past: thermostat housing drilled and tapped for sensor, waterpump housing drilled and tapped for two sensors, and a sensor in the bottom hose using a rally-car-style adaptor.

That's a LOT of oil! As long as it's not starving anywhere else, those should be well oiled for years to come.

I come from the Ulster-Scots tradition, but even their dialect / language, referred to as 'Ullans' makes no sense to read, unless you either read it out loud, or are very drunk. Here's an excerpt from Alice in Wonderland or as they call it, 'Alices Carrants in Wunnerlan': The Caterpillar an Alice lukt at ither fur a quare while wi’oot taakin: finally the Caterpillar tuk the hookah oot o its mooth, an spoke tae hir in a languid, dozy voice. “Wha ir yae?” said the Caterpillar. This wusnae a pooerfu guid openin fur a yarn. Alice answert brev an baakwardly, “A—A harly know, Sir, jest at this minute—at least A know wha A wus this moarnin, but heth, A hae bin changed a wheen o times since thin.” “What dae yae mean bae that?” said the Caterpillar sternly. “Explain yersel!” “A cannae explain maesel, A’m feart, Sir,” said Alice, “baecaas A’m naw maesel, yae see.” “A dinnae see,” said the Caterpillar. “A cannae mak it onie mair clear,” Alice answer, while polite, “fur A cannae unnerstan it maesel tae stairt wi; an baein sae monie different sizes in yin dae haes turnt mae heid.” Sometimes it can make a washing machine instruction booklet appear very simple in comparison.

Find me one on 'How to speak Markus', it might come in handy on this forum.

I'm now on the little jobs, given that the larger jobs such as welding and respraying have stalled due to a mixture of lockdown, and other things getting in the way. Most of what I'm doing is for the fun of it, the challenge, as a result of too much time stuck at home with nowt else to do. A few years back I dismantled a seized Delaney Gallay heater blower motor and ended up pulling the bronze bush out of the housing, which is a fiddly job to replace if it can even be done. Fresh eyes a few years later told me that if the bush won't go into the housing, then try a different housing, and as the old one had to be prised out, it was beyond reuse. An old - possibly MG - blower motor yielded up a new and more modern bush housing, so once this was removed - by sawing off the end of the motor casing - it was a simple press fit into the DG motor case, and away we went. Literally. One more saved from the bin. Whilst I'm not stuck on total originality for the 1200 convertible I do want to keep certain features, one of which is the original ignition key and lock mechanism; when the car was purchased, a note in the handbook stated: "your spare keys are under the washer bottle" and they were, rusted to the bulkhead, forty-three years on. If they've lasted that long, they deserve saving. The problem is that the original wiring loom is past use, and maybe even past repair. Whilst I can get a replacement loom - in fact I have a new one in the drawer - it differs from early looms in that the connections at the ignition switch are spade connectors. Early ones were a small metal hook, which screwed into the terminals. I can't get them anywhere these days, but they're not hard to adapt from other similar clips, which I did manage to source. A little bit of judicious grinding and voila - new clips. The one to the left was my first attempt and was marked by the vice; the other two are more pristine once I'd realised I needed to mask the jaws to prevent damage. The final stage was to confirm the keys are correct; the number is on the end of the barrel, and matches both keys, as does the bootlid lock and so hopefully doorhandles. Brill! All I need now is a car to actually fit them all to. Must phone the sprayer... again...

Didn't have any real interest, Doug... wasn't buying, wasn't selling. Just motoring along in happy mode and only after some considerable time realised that while my Insurance value was pretty much the same as from 2010 or so, others were skyrocketting. Bernard valued mine at £20k. Hopefully I never see that as it's write-off value only. As for sale values.. I'm still buying Heralds for between £50 and £300. The club doesn't give values as low as that...

I'd say you're right, Doug, but at least the value is now doubled from what it was - I offered it to someone two years ago for £7500, being completely put of touch with values... It's funny too that when I bought the Mk1, which was a model I always admired (even though at that stage I had a Mk3) no-one wanted them. I think it was the fact that so many 'enthusiasts' put them down in favour of other models, and the period - the 1960s -that appealed to me more than the later cars. There are a lot more of them these days, and they're being maintained and looked-after much more than they used to be.

I've told my wee mate and he's happy to accept the challenge. Bring them on.

Yikes!! I renewed mine two weeks ago, and doubled the agreed value on the GT6 - when I saw this Mk2 I realised mine was way undervalued! - and with unlimited mileage and £100 excess it still only cost me £95. I felt flush enough to add breakdown and key cover. PJ and in earlier years FJ were hugely expensive for me.

Rob has it all covered; it's also one of the ways in which drivers are forced to have their cars registered to them / Insured / MOTd - if a vehicle is detected as 'No Tax' then there has to be a reason, usually no insurance or no MOT but sometimes being used by a driver who has something to hide and is using an anonymous vehicle. It makes it harder for criminals to use unregistered vehicles, especially if the previous owner is legally obliged to immediately notify the authorities about the sale and that he no longer owns the vehicle.

I've seen some go for that too, but they worked. For reconditioning, or as an unknown quantity which appears to have lain outdoors for quite some time, I'd be bidding much less, and expecting to pay out a bit on having it refurbished if I did get it. I suppose that's the price they go for these days, but it seems a lot to me unless it's fully working and just needs a brush-up. Phone a supplier such as Chic Doig and ask him what he'd charge for similar, as a comparison price. You might need these, by the way... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-Vitesse-1600-Mk-1-overdrive-gearbox-parts/154188201631?hash=item23e6553e9f:g:hVYAAOSwe7pekEpd

Yes, I recognise it. It appeared at a TSSC run in Carrickfergus about four / five months ago - unfortunately if I took photos I can't find any, and it didn't take part in the run, just parked with our cars in the car park - I was under the impression the owner had just bought it and the figure mentioned was the reason I upgraded the Insurance Valuation on my own! I've got the MOT / Tax details if you need them - are you travelling Belfast-Liverpool?

I thought when I saw that at first that it was like some of the people in my mother's Care Home - missing a few teeth (on that hub), but it may be just the light however judging by the rust it has been sitting unloved for a time... wonder what state the O/D is in? HB is correct for a Vitesse 1600 box but it may need some work before it's useable. Lots of good oil for starters!

Make two and I'll bring the choccy biscuits.