Colin Lindsay

Cases are easy to find, Paul; it's the internals that everyone wants. You should be able to pick up a 6-stud case easily enough, although carriage may be costly; in fact most of the diffs on eBay, and there are at least two six-stud versions, are collection only. There's also a four-stud case only, £25, which may be handy if you want to try drilling and tapping one but need a spare just in case.

I'd like to think that it's the same three-screw fitting as on the Herald, so it will simply unscrew and lift out. Be careful with the sealing gasket; I'm not sure if they're available any more.

And the Herald. Not so easy to get at on the Micra; it's under the dash, which surprised me when I went looking for some - they weren't in the engine bay! The motor looks the same - between Spitfire and Herald / Vitesse - but the Spitfire fan blades are shallower, so they'll need swapped over.

Adjusting the hinges will be via the three bolts on each hinge on the bulkhead, not the bolts and screw on the door. It helps if you support the door on a jack; put a long piece of wood across the bottom of the door to protect the paint, and you'll find it will lift surprisingly easily - forward or backward movement can then be achieved by sliding it along the wood. You'll need to have it open slightly for this to work (unless you have no sills fitted) but if you gap it by the bulkhead gaps, the tub end seems to sort itself.

But burns off very easily...

It's a curse - or a blessing? - that Triumph also make motorcycles and underwear, so you have to really narrow down any search. We have more breakaway branches over here than the Presbyterians. Remember that bit in Monty Python about the People's Front of Judea, and the Popular Front of Judea etc? Same thing. Someone orders the wrong menu at a Christmas dinner and half the club leaves and starts up somewhere else. Splitters. Actually their Christmas dinner was December 2019 and they've got a list of events on their homepage, about one a fortnight, so seemingly very active.

How are the door gaps? If they're okay just lightly loosen the catch plate on the b-post, there are three screws, and gently close the door a few times; this will adjust the plate into a better position. Don't loosen it so much that it flops about as it will only drop once you open the door again. Check that the hinges aren't worn and allowing the door to drop when opened as this means the catch will pull the door back up when closed, and wear it away. If the hinges and door gaps are fine then as I've said just drop the catch-plate slightly.

'Introductory offers' they're called, John. Freeloading for years is something I don't do. I use other Triumph forums and they all have members areas; I don't pay, so it's only fair I don't get access to everything - I'm grateful for other members giving of their time and expertise to help people like me who aren't fully-paid members, but Clubs have overheads and expenses and I'll pay my share.

Come on, John - didn't you perform the most basic of Internet searches? https://triumph-owners-club.co.uk I've no idea who they are, I might know some of the members but I suspect they've been to Mathewsons recently as there was a local (to me) Spitfire sold there a short while ago. It's got a very recent Fermanagh registration so I suspect the original has been swapped. We tend to end up with some very rare cars over here, but also some great local stories and theories, so things can get a bit anecdotal at times.

"Members of the Triumph owners club believe this to be the last off the production line. To verify this, we were asked by the club members to remove the drivers door card. On removal the reverse card revealed a large number of signatures with the words 'The Last Bomb' (well known nickname for the Spitfire). We were also asked to remove the petrol tank guard which revealed more signatures. Finally we were asked to put a camera into the fuel tank which revealed a silver St Christopher, confirming what the club members told us we would find. On checking the build number it confirmed it was a later model than the one in the Gaydon Museum. **Please make your own enquiries** The mileage of 21,310 is believed to be correct - please make your own enquiries."

First thought that came into my head was to blow air into them, maybe from an air gun and a compressor, if you can get access, maybe one of those long-nozzled air guns?

Always detested that term... I think it was invented by the same guy who wrote the instruction manuals for some Far Eastern cars. My fault, my mistake, my error, yes. My bad? Where does that come from? 'My goodness', ok, but 'my badness'? Which is the same as letting people stand and read Practical Classics off the shelves in Tescos. They'll get to like it, get great help from it, and maybe, one day, actually pay for a copy...

The build of the PC one was February 1981; tax is due August 2020 but there has just been an application for a log book this month too, so it may be on the move. Here's a link to one of the other last Spitfires... http://www.triumphworks.co.uk/the-last-triumph-spitfire/ http://www.triumphworks.co.uk/the-last-car-at-canley/ One thing I've noticed is that some sites list the 1500 as 'the last Spitfire' meaning the last variation of the model, but there's nothing listed at Mathewsons for their next auction.

According to his eBay details he's John Leech of Biggleswade or as Pete would call it, Biggleswick. He has a nice-looking possibly NOS early Vitesse radiator for only £45.

We're getting into the realms - yet again - of "why bother to join at all?" if everything is free to non-members.

Can you access the fan blades and spin them with something, just to make sure they're not stuck in place, and the motor can't overcome the obstruction?

Maybe Yoda can get you discount...

Assuming it's got the same three fuse unit as the GT6 of the same era and everything else on that fuse - the top fuse with the green wire - works then it's not the fuse. It's a simple power-to-earth system; power goes from the green wire at the fuse box (via the stabiliser) to the switch; the switch then permits power to the blower and then on to earth. You can try putting direct power to the blower motor; there are only two wires, I think green and black, so black is earth and putting 12v power to the green wire will tell you if the motor spins or is dead. Bypassing the switch by connecting the two cables together from the switch terminals will tell you if the switch is dead, but only after you've confirmed that the blower spins when powered up. Access will be through the passenger side glovebox so remove the glovebox and the padded front rail if you need to, to give more room, then try to identify the blower motor and the green wire to it. There'll be a bullet connector close to the motor to which you can put direct power from a battery - just be very careful with anything electrical not to short anything out; you can also put power to the same wire at the switch which may be easier to access. The black earth wire will be screwed to something metal close by; often it's just a poor earth that stops things from working so unscrew, clean up, and replace, and if in any doubt try a different earth point. The switch can be removed by unscrewing the silver bezel and pushing through. If the motor is dead then sadly it's a more complicated job to remove and replace, so here's hoping...

Do they have a furry version, Dan? Makes my car look very luxurious on the inside so I want to keep that look.

I always thought the door frames were the same (size and shape) and only the skins were altered for the different handles, but it's safe to assume they also altered some of the apertures to access the different items. Dan's correct about the door seals; I was wrestling with mine the other day - Furflex furred seals but quite heavy bubble tubing - as they're holding the driver's door out by a mm or two. I may go for something thinner if I can identify it.

We're blinkered when it comes to 'our' cars, love them, look after them, and get a real feel for their worth. Others... don't. Go to any large show and listen to the comments about Triumphs - most often the ones I like, Gt6, Herald etc: poor panel fit, unreliable, rusty, noisy, cramped, cheap... so whilst our values reflect what we feel, other values tend to reflect what others feel, or believe the market wants, so are more likely to be lower. It's a funny thing but I've often found, particularly at local shows, that the most prized cars, and therefore the more expensive models, are the standard family saloons that have been owned for generations, or which are the cars that people remember from their childhood; not the convertibles, or sportscars.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-NOS-Layshaft-Retaining-Rings-Triumph-Spitfire-TR7-GT6-Vitesse-MG-Midget-1500/293472986563?hash=item44545a65c3:g:YHwAAOSw3mReObOF Over the pond and the postage is as much as the purchase cost, but if anyone really needs a set...

That's quite a view; how I wish I had so much room when working on the GT6. Very interesting accelerator mechanism; almost like mine but mine is straight and goes behind the pedals.

Outer edge should have been fine; the problem with a lot of sills these days is that they're too short to reach the floor pan and stay in a straight line, so when bent in to meet the edge of the floor the panel line has dipped inwards and so the door sits proud at the back.

Wish I'd know what they were called when I had the TR7; I had to tighten the gland nuts on top of the front suspension struts with a combination of plumber's spanners and an angle grinder tool.