Colin Lindsay

The 'more desirable' dimension is the doors fitting flush at the bottom, so you can adjust the tub until you reach that point; it may not be the same for every Herald. The first two photos below are the passenger side before adjustment, and after... I may have overdone it slightly as the door is very slightly 'in' at the bottom but the striker still needs to be adjusted. The third photo is the driver's side, currently still in that position and reluctant to reach a point where it will stay put; however it may be the door itself that is a large part of the problem. Edit: it's not the door! I fitted one from the convertible as a test, and it sits out exactly the same amount at the bottom. so: doors are good, tub is spread.

Moderns would have an electric motor and a sensor, which would link to a controller, so that when the switch is moved it sends a signal to yet another sensor, which powers a motor at the fan end to move yet another lever there and so operate the fan.

Mine is currently sitting about 48 and I'm still trying to get it back to 46.5 with the aid of huge ratchet straps. The passenger side is more or less fine now but the driver's side won't play ball. If the tub pulls in - and the top measurement, B-post flange to B-post flange reaches 46.5 - the bottom of the door comes into line but now sits in too far at the top. I had thought about shimming the top door hinges out but this affects the line of the quarterlight to the screen pillar, plus the fit of the bonnet to the doors. The biggest problem is pulling one side only; I've tried a ratchet at a diagonal from the bottom of the B post on the passenger side to the top at the driver's side but this still puts strain on the passenger side, which I want to keep as it is. Once I release the ratchet strap, the driver's side jumps back out again to where it was. The photo shows the passenger side under tension; when released it sprang out slightly and is at present quite good. The other side is still a problem and work is on-going.

I always believed it was two per seat on the rear runners to lift them off the carpet given the tilt of the floorpan, to enable the seats to slide more easily. Three is possible, as I was pondering earlier, as if the seat is bolted higher on one side than the other - to give it a tilt - then would it look as though it was down at the other side, and sitting at an angle, hence the third spacer? When I get to the stage of fitting my seats I'll maybe experiment.

The screws appear original from what I can make out; the should be four, two per side. My mother has a great saying: "the hungry eye sees far..." Therefore I can look very closely and carefully at cars I like, and try to persuade myself that I don't really need them by finding little niggles...

I know... I've been looking! I can be choosy and find faults as I'm not buying! Actually that yellow / white one does have a heater valve, it's a Delaney Gallay so that top pipe is correct - you can just make out the valve below, but it's quite dark. The blue and white one is interesting; looks clean but I don't really like the colour scheme, and I wish they hadn't lifted it by the outriggers. Ouch! The one I do like, the 1963 saloon, came from Northern Ireland so I'd only be bringing it back again.

I was looking at that listing a few days ago; a very nice-looking clean and original Herald. I don't think I've ever seen it in the flesh but it looks okay from the photos. A few small niggles; no heater valve, and the flasher unit in behind the battery, and what brake pipe I can see at the front is not original where it goes to the caliper - what looks like a solid pipe where there should be a hose? Pricey, but maybe worth it.

Don't damage the thread! The nut's a lot cheaper and will probably have to be cut off, if it won't unwind by itself. Try a screwdriver between those two washers as you unwind the nut, and lever the nut outwards as you do so, it may just force it off as it rotates or help it bite cleaner thread.

Silly question but you did refill the master cylinder as you went along? Bleeding can use a lot of fluid and it needs constantly topped up as you go. Sometimes a large airbubble in the system can rise to the cylinder even after they've been bled, if the air was not all removed - for that reason I never liked the Eezibleed and always just used pedal pressure. Refill the master cylinder and monitor for a while; it may not drop any further but if it's completely empty you'll have to rebleed the system anyway. The fluid doesn't evaporate. If you press the pedal hard whilst stationary see if it sinks to the floor; if it does you'll have a considerable leak that should be easily spotted. Leaks from wheel cylinders will unfortunately be behind the drums and in around the shoes so not so easily spotted.

FH is a Spitfire 1300 number, from a Spitfire Mkiv, so I presume yours has been swapped at some stage, or at least received a replacement block. 'Stop Leak' and the like used to be more successful when seals were made from leather, so it swelled them to make them more efficient. I don't think it really works as well these days; maybe it does some good on paper gaskets, but it's really only a waste of money as it doesn't actually seal leaks in the same way as a radiator sealer stops water leaks. Check the oil drips; a sweetish vegetable-like smell will be gearbox oil and usually stays green or greenish-yellow; engine oil goes darker, usually black if it's been in the engine for a time.

They didn't have warranties in the good old days. Whoever made a defective item got a clip round the ear, and had to make a replacement as a punishment.

The plastic extension fits down into the alloy cylinder by half an inch or so, then there's a lip which the metal cap tightens against to crush the rubber seal against the outer rim of the master cylinder. I suppose the way that it fits inside the master cylinder, and the shape in which it's moulded especially with the o-ring properly fitted provides enough of a seal by itself, and so the fluid shouldn't reach the metal cap at all. In all probability it doesn't require anything further. Now that I've typed that down it makes sense that nothing else is required; similarly I was wondering last night if I should use any kind of grease on the alloy threads to prevent the metal cap from seizing to the alloy of the cylinder, and now I'm thinking: why? It doesn't need to be removed as any filling is through the top plastic cap. Thinking too deeply, as usual...

Heralds too; the body plate is screwed with small brass screws, but the commission number is rivetted.

It may be - just thinking - that with the seat off-set on the front mountings so as to tilt at an angle, it actually levels it up when sitting flat...

I've just realised I was talking about the wrong (roof) end earlier rather than the mirror end... sorry! I suspect those may be built from the back to the front and the glass glued in place after everything else has been assembled, from the inside rather than the rear. Earlier cars are certainly easier! Freeze the ball in the freezer for half an hour; it may shrink it, and leaving the mirror in the sun for a while may also expand that part, in the hope that one or the other will give!

My sister-in-law had the exact same car, same colour and all, and to my shame in 1986 I wired a radio into it for her; so well that every time she turned it on, the car stopped. That photo brings back memories that I'd rather forget...

As long as it's displayed on the car, unless you're a stickler for originality and want it in the preferred factory position, it should be okay. If you do want to move it, just drill and rivet it to the other side of the bulkhead, and close the holes in the driver's side with a couple of rivets too.

Hi Roger - can you link to the item? I've had a good look at the site - some great stuff there - but can't find the one you refer to. On a different site I've found this one from a Kia Picanto; although that one won't fit the Herald spindle it might still be worth a trip to the local scrappie tomorrow. I know Nissan Micra motors will fit - that's the plan for the 1200 convertible - but I want to try to identify a fan blade unit that will fit the Herald motor, either from an existing model or as an aftermarket item. Some detective work needed! Incidentally if anyone has a broken motor, I could use half of the case - the end where the spindle emerges. On mine the brash bush has come out and won't go back easily...

Today's episode of 'repair to destruction' comes courtesy of a Delaney Gallay blower fan , which was removed from a heater some years back, and not by me, either. It was retightened back onto the spindle with the result that it would not come off again, and of course won't fit into the heater body as it's too big for the hole so has to be fitted from the other side to the motor spindle. After a lot of penetrating oil and light pressure we moved to a lot of penetrating oil and more pressure, with the end result that the centre pulled out of the fan. As you can see it's an older version with quite a large fan, not the smaller type of the later plastic versions. Anyone have one going spare, or a suitable alternative? 3 inches in depth; I'll happily fit a modern alternative for better efficiency but want to keep the original motor - is there anyone selling replacement fans for kit cars or the like?

I bought one of these NOS from Mick Dolphin back in the early 1990s but have never used it, but on checking it for this car it has no seals at all bar the one under the plastic cap. As luck would have it, my nephew called over yesterday and has taken one of the extensions off to the Engineering Works to find suitable o-rings. One for under the lip is a necessity, but I'm wondering if a flat seal under the metal cap, and on top of the lower plastic lip, might assist in sealing as well as preventing wear?

Excellent! With none you'd have trouble sliding the seats over the carpet, but I always believed it took two to keep the rear ends of the runners up off the floorpan to help with adjustment. Three it is, then.

My GT6 went off road in August 2018 and restarted in February 2019 using the same petrol that I had drained and was intending to use for the lawnmower; when it came to restarting I had nothing else at hand. It seems to run perfectly well and if there's any drop in performance I can't tell at present.

No reply so far, but it was a while ago; same with QuickfitSBS for seatbelts - no reply and no answer to e-mails. Having said that I can use an alternative solution for seat bases but never yet found one for seatbelts, so must try Quickfit again now that I've remembered.

So that's THREE per seat? Two to the front and one to the rear outer mounting, none to the rear inner?

Gosh durn it! Now mine has to come off again... so I can move the seal UNDER the lip and not on top... I jumped the gun slightly. Are the seals available new? Mine aren't bad but I'd like to replace it for peace of mind.