Colin Lindsay

I assume Andrew Stone of Belper is long gone too, if that's roughly in your area? I remember buying parts from him in pre-Internet days.

Thanks Paul; I know I've bought them before and within the last three years or so, and of course bought more than just two, (can't remember who from!) but the lovely new golden-coloured one I found recently has vanished into thin air. I'll get some of those asap.

Looks like a part off the hood frame, 624586 below? Also looks like the manifold bracket for a 13/60 accelerator rod and spring (but it's not angled)... or even a spotlamp bracket...

Well, as Didier Bezace said: "Cherche on va trouve" which I think is a colloquial version of "Cherchez et vous trouveras" but I may be seriously mis-quoting him. French these days seems to bear absolutely no relation to what I was taught at school. In any case he was almost correct; I did search and found not the shiny cadmium clip I was looking for but a good original replacement, which probably fits better too. Next step, door trim. Anyway now I'm on a roll it was churlish not to go ahead and finish it. Sort of a 'closed door' kind of thing for a full stop to this side. It's been there on the 'to-do' list for so long that it's almost an anti-climax to actually have it finished; that said I'm waiting on the clips that Gary mentions popping off inside the door and going awol, so everything has to come off again. The trim responded very well to upholstery cleaner, so the decades of storage have not caused any lasting harm, and went on almost first time, just a few clips to be repositioned. Winder and door handle too, although with the door handle there are two possible positions, and the window winder only one. I would have thought it should be the other way round as the window can be adjusted, but not the door catch? I only dropped the securing pin once, too, but spent half an hour looking for it. Incidentally what I thought was fading across the front of that seat is white paint overspray, and comes off with petrol; indeed a lot of dirt also comes off but it does soften the vynide a bit much for safety's sake. I'll try white spirit later. All that remains now is the (hopefully) final touch for this door - the small steel trim piece under the quarterlight. These are absolute hen's teeth, and many owners just use a piece of plain metal dowel, or else cut the fur trim so that the furry bit stops with the glass but the shiny metal bit continues on right along the door. That does work, but a few years back three of these trims came up on eBay and cost me £12. It's interesting to note they are Unipart, not Stanpart, part number 613343, and dated 1985, long after Herald production had ended. I wonder if they were used on any other model or car of the period? A few years back when restoring the TR7 I found that some parts were used on Rovers and so still available, but these don't seem to be anywhere that I've found so far. However: they may as well be on a Herald as on the shelf, so here they go. I think a few dots of sealer will keep that in place, no need for paint-eating clips of anything more drastic. I think that quarterlight catch is due for a change, too; it's sixty years old after all. I know there are still NOS ones out there, must go search. Coffee time!

Well, I've just checked... all my vertical links have that circular extension on the insides, and any I've found online are the same. Now I'm wondering: does this mean that all of mine are fitted incorrectly, or what's the reason for the seeming change of fitment? What happens if I fit them as per photo? I'm going to have to experiment, just for sanity's sake...

Try living in Northern Ireland - not only do UK suppliers either refuse to deliver at all, or else try to charge International rates, but we have firms who work on 'local' time. 'No hurry' is a dangerous phrase to use. My radiator recore took nine months - yes, only an untried spare, and I told them there was no hurry, and every time I called in to see if it was finished they reminded me of that... and the man cutting me a perspex wind deflector for the Herald for the last three months "hasn't got round to it yet, as it's still raining and sure you won't be taking the car out in that weather". I love it. You can see why it confuses me - and often galls me - when I try the same informal approach with UK firms and they just don't get it, sometimes to the point of rudeness.

I haven't managed to get to the spares store this morning, but do all rear uprights have those thick 'washers' on the inside faces, or is it just early versions that may have used one inner outward-facing cup and thick sealing ring as per the photograph? It's one of those things I've just taken for granted and now the question's been raised, I have to find out.

Come the big day they'll remotely immobilise your car on the road and lock you inside.

Long long time (1988?) since I did that, in a Landrover that had run out of fuel. Re fuses: after the GT6 took the head staggers and blew one fuse every left turn leaving me with no wipers, indicators, stop lights, heater etc in pouring rain I fitted a six-fuse box in both Heralds during rebuild so that if something goes, they all don't follow suit. Easy to do and hopefully not needed, but there if it is, and better than the standard Herald system of no fuses at all.

That's an interesting photo of Jon J's above, it seems to show the rubber seal being put around the 'washer' on the inside of the vertical link, which presumably then uses only one metal cup to seal against? Consequently if you use both metal cups, this moves the rubber ring inwards, and does it put more pressure on the joint? I'll have to dig one out and experiment, now! This one is from Peter Russek's excellent book and shows both cups being used, facing in and out, around the rubber ring with a shaded area to either side of the outer cup that may be those welded washers:

How far does the stub axle fit into the upright without any tightening? The method I've always used before was that either the upright gripped the stub axle (including the time where it gripped it too tightly, too soon), and the nut turned, or else I just held the stub axle hand tight whilst turning the nut on the other end until it was able to draw the axle in. The nut shouldn't be so tight that it breaks screwdrivers before turning... that's a good indication of something wrong.

Chic Doig certainly had the entire cross-bar available for a long time, remanufactured but I don't know if he makes the extension legs - however it wouldn't surprise me given some of the intricate parts he's had remade over the years. He's currently selling the entire front second, used: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/355547876597?itmmeta=01HV6ZW8EY17PH6ZG2SBKWC0S7&hash=item52c84e0cf5:g:Me0AAOSwU3Nl9Ips&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABAMzZDFU%2BsY4ZZh5NunTF5vX0SMHHkm3gNh4L%2BMqe%2Bx94TRXQSC6jrYgWhUh38Gt7J76YrT2%2BA2zvAoQRsvYGM5Vem45%2F1nG%2FBx0K9J5kMl1OPomepoSrmS3bG6GdBqk3C5kp6Rk%2Fr6gMmjWK%2BufaT9EeFNLqqpPHhoWFWCiUBEHqZSvxMRSH7cXCiomRV%2B7JrpOQuA%2BToGZ%2BbJEse9LqNPrXHole8M9i0Bddf0VxmOyJ0j8bxoDj2dcoA09VHoC%2BfruXMtqvkgEiEgXVygyXIttd0fgoFV5yfAh5oOFKwva%2BtRvqNp2VsVc1JliarsITQ3PeXTTluQNic5rEdKz2214%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR8iH8d_ZYw

Water slide transfers currently available, I think Paddocks have them. I never saw stick-on versions, but they would be handy. I cleaned a few horribly faded cowlings with everything from toothpaste to T-Cut a while back, some of them responded amazingly well even to just body polish but most faded back again within a few weeks. I ended up blasting and repainting the early metal cowls, which at least keep a good shiny black finish. I think out of all the cowlings used, the overdrive version is the only one still available new.

The 1200 Estate has been getting all the attention this week, although the 13/60 petrol cap did decide to stay locked on and wouldn't budge earlier. Yes, it's that time of year again, the grass needs cut, the rain stopped for a morning, and the lawnmower had no fuel. Let's steal some from the Herald. Herald of course wasn't having any of it - or giving any of it - so the cap refused to budge. I tried a few manoeuvres and contortions to no avail, eventually having to overtighten the cap so that it popped off in the wrong direction. Nothing appears damaged, it went back on again and locks as it should. Just one of those days when it doesn't want to play. I'm getting to that dramatic moment where the interior of the 1200 Estate is finished - not to a high standard in places, I must admit, as the wheelarch covers are woefully full of wrinkles and the seats really need recovering, but I did fix the front seat problem by swapping the seats over on the bases and they now seat almost perfectly on the rails. I had forgotten the amount of legroom there is in anything other than the convertible, and can actually get my legs under the steering wheel. I finished the carpet fitting and attached the long trim under the dashboard, which really does make a difference. I'm waiting on gasket material for the C-posts; I got a pad of 1.25mm rubber but despite being perfect in all other respects it's too thin, so am waiting for two more of 2mm and 3mm to see which is best. One major outstanding job was the finishing of the passenger door. It was stripped out completely for reskinning and painting many years ago, and never properly rebuilt. I don't like working on door interiors, it's painful and at the time of typing am wearing a latex glove on one hand to keep the plasters on and the blood off the keys while my wrist looks like a failed suicide attempt. I removed everything from the door - it's much easier to fit the two top trims with no glass at all. I was pleasantly surprised that I got the clips in place and the trims fitted as well as I've ever done it, first time. The glass went back in - had to remove the door stiffener which I had left in place - then the quarterlight assembly which was loosely tightened. One big problem which became apparent soon after was that I had rebuilt the glass with restored runners, new rubber seal, and a new plastic water shield in heavy plastic. Unfortunately I had attached the plastic sheeting to the inside, not the outside, so the winding mechanism couldn't reach the runners. I had to cut two horizontal slots with a scalpel and hope that it wouldn't foul the mechanism, but happily it doesn't. Next job was finding a rear glass channel; I had two in a dark corner of the garage but both badly worn. Many years ago I bought channel rubber material, and have enough left for about four doors, just in case. First step is to clean all of the old material plus sealant out of the channel, then position the new channel in the metal outer. It needs to be fed into place, carefully and with loads of patience as it will fight the whole time and try to spring out again. Once actually squeezed into place it does stay put, though. Working down the entire length, it does eventually all squeeze in and stay in place. I then left it overnight to conform to shape before removing again and this time using glue. Leaving it to settle means it doesn't fight as hard when glued down so is less messy. Once the glue has gone off slightly the rubber can be finally positioned, I have tried a suitably sized Allen key before now but then found that the rectangular bar from a house door handle is the perfect width and profile to fit into the channel and be pressed fully inwards with a vice. Left to dry, it fitted first time and the glass was tensioned with the wire strip around the two channels before all was tightened up. The wire strip clips to the door frame with a metal clip and this has very sharp edges, which I found out soon enough right across the side of my hand and quite deep. After suitable bandaging, the door was more or less finished bar the remote door lock lever, which has lost its' circlip and which said circlip is currently NLA. I know I have at least one, but where... but that's the door complete otherwise. I even refitted new grommets to cover the screw heads. Last job on the interior, bar the door seals and carpet edge strips, will be to fit this nice period radio console and radio. It's been in my garage many years, so I'll mess about with it over the next few days and get it fitted before the roof goes on and I lose the freedom of standing up in the interior. I actually have both fitting instructions and fitting kit, which is rare for me, so all being well it will be a simple job. After that roof, glass, rear hatch, chrome trims... and startup. Which I'm dreading. I think if I attach the battery and it goes bang, I'll happily sigh:" Told you so!" and leave it for another ten years.

Hi Roger; I haven't yet experimented with circlips, that's for the future... I'll take it to my local Hardware emporium later in the week, they're used to me trial-fitting odd bits but I'm wary of fitting something metric that may spring off due to being too tight or fall off due to being to loose, and of course once the door trim card is back on. If you wish to part with two originals I'll also be very happy!

I know I have at least one of these in the garage, found it the other day and put it away safely. And have forgotten where. I also know I stole one from the red 1200 for the white 13/60, so need at least two. All the major suppliers are listing it as NCA or NLA but before I head off to the local Hardware tomorrow for the modern metric equivalent is anyone selling them at all?

No, it's an interference fit (If that's the correct term) as the cone of the axle progressively widens into the vertical link, and when fitted there's a slight gap visible round the rear edge - see photos - so the torque tells you it's seated, but the first one I ever did back in the 1990s seemed to be seated until a good friend spotted that there was room to go still, and told me to redo it, and I promptly stripped the threads on the nut trying to torque it to the correct place by force alone. After that I always gave it a bit of assistance before tightening. I also have a 'new' one on my shelf since the 1990s that drops out if no nut is used. I wonder are there manufacturing 'tolerances' too for new axles, which may not be an absolute perfect fit and require fettling? In any case I just dislike drawing it fully home on the threads alone, me being me I'll break it.

My current Z3 is my first BMW, and dating from 1998 doesn't suffer from the same problems that more modern versions do eg loads of electronics and sensors. Sadly there's not the same network of parts suppliers that Triumphs have, so spare parts usually involve going straight to BMW and paying over the odds even for small parts such as nuts and bolts - even provided you can identify the spare part required as firstly there are dozens of variations of any model (front springs differ depending on engine configuration and car spec, for example) and secondly there are no exploded diagrams as on some of our more helpful Triumph suppliers' sites, nor any 'home maintenance' manuals, even the Haynes manual applies to many models and not just the Z3. We really are spoiled with our cars for both good suppliers and good home-maintenance manuals by the dozen. The BMW on-line forums are the same as any marque; sneer at the 1.8, slightly less at the 1.9 (who on EARTH wants a four pot??? WHY???) and you're no-one unless you have a replacement body-part of a 6-pot with suitable enhancements. I've already been told that my 1.9 at 1897cc is actually a 1.8 and has the wrong exhaust, but thankfully this has been corrected by those who really know.

Pull up a chair instead. Each to his own... but I've found this to be a more and more recurring view amongst drivers: why buy something old rattly and uncomfortable when you can buy and drive a more modern car which is more relaxing and enjoyable, especially over long journeys? Drive whichever gives you pleasure. I enjoy working on all mine, ranging from 1960 to 2015, but which one I drive on any particular day depends on my mood. And the weather.

They can be a very tight fit in the housing and no amount of tightening the nyloc will pull them right in; you may just end up stripping threads. Use the old-school physics method of freezing the stub axle and heating the upright, contract one and expand the other, and be sure they're fully seated before tightening and certainly before rebuilding and using.

As long as those washers are not necessary spacers, to clear any obstruction at the rear of the gearbox, then I'd trial-fit it first. The rubber mounting should be as vertical as possible with no stress. If you can fit the gearbox and support the rear at a height that will match the fully fitted position, then trial-fit the plate and rear mounting to see how it looks. You'll have some movement with the slots, but the rear mount can be reversed to take up any gap or to fit more vertical as required.

True, I was working from memory and had forgotten that!! Apologies to fungus.

Thread drift here we go... HP are terrible, the printer I have repeatedly refuses to find the wifi despite being four feet from it. When I asked HP why the software they supplied, and the online fault finder, didn't work it was "because my 2017 Mac was too old". The printer is the same age or slightly older. DPD Parcel delivery... we have a depot 200 yards away, but when I called in recently they don't do pickups from there, only their office about 18 miles away. I drove over and staff there told me they don't do pickups manually at reception any more, just order online and the van will pick it up. I drove home, went through the procedure online, and eventually a human who came on to replace the bot told me they don't collect anywhere in Northern Ireland at all. It seems even the local staff don't know that. Some of the online 'bots'.... 'what can we help you with today?', then they go through a dozen questions, then tell me 'expert' advice will cost me money so get ready to pay if I want to go any further. My stock reply is now: "Nothing, at the price you charge" although with DPD it's now: "Can you stop your drivers from dumping their breakfast and coffee containers on the road as they drive out of the depot?" James Paddock score very highly with me, they'll phone up on receipt of an online order just to confirm it's the correct part as sometimes it's 1200, sometimes 13/60 and ofttimes another car for someone else completely. That's good customer service.

Your bottom pic makes sense, spire clips and setscrews on the top two and a bolt through the lower with the stay bracket sandwiched between the body clip and the tank itself.

Neglecting to drain the compressor and turning the bluetooth speaker off every day are my two biggest failings. If a unit on standby uses a few pounds per year this thing has run for about four years without out ever being turned off, just the iPod is stopped and it goes to sleep by itself.