Colin Lindsay

Happened to me when the BBC were filming our GT6s out on a club run for a local programme, my Mk3 disgraced itself by breaking down repeatedly and it turned out to be a poor copy of a rotor arm that kept jumping off the spindle. Some of the red ones were just poor copies of the proper red versions, and even worse than the black copies.

First two words don't apply to me... but: The handbrake should work, regardless of the self adjuster assembly, so I'd reckon something else isn't right. On my late Mk3 the lever used to undo the brakes rather than tighten them, this was due to wear, but they slackened off very quickly in use. You need to treat the self-adjuster the same as you would treat the bottom adjuster on earlier cars; adjust it right out until the drums just about fit over the shoes, then adjust the handbrake to suit. If you try to adjust the shoes by repeated pulling on and off of the handbrake, it may actually undo them rather than expand them. Pete's idea of drilling holes to manually adjust the adjusters is good, but along with that I'd remove the levers altogether so that they can't undo the shoes, or revert to the earlier system with a bottom-shoe adjuster. The shoes will still have to be adjusted as they wear, but at least you know every pull of the handbrake is not loosening them, like mine did. I've found a video illustrating how they work, but not giving any help...

I had three tins of Code 19, bought quite a few years ago from the Club stand at some show or other - maybe even from the shop itself? - two that I used in the wheelarches aren't bad but the third is woeful... almost a brilliant washing machine white, closer to Sebring, and nowhere near the creamy colour of proper Triumph White. Thankfully this last tin is just the underside of the floorpan, to touch in rubbed-down surface rust. The photo has not done it justice but the bulkhead is the original Triumph White code 19 and the floor is three or four coats of the aerosol, a very arctic cold white.

I think he's hit the nail on the head. "Too nice a car to use"... so no good to anyone unless you have a showroom / garage / museum, and the money to spare so that you may go out and sit in it, but never actually drive anywhere? It's the old quandary of keeping mileage low against getting it out and driving it... and you'll need to replace the original tyres as a matter of urgency!

Not perfect but seems quite honest; a bit of work and tidying to do, but it seems solid enough. 45 miles from Central London so worth a sneaky non-essential trip..

They're all mostly interchangeable so you'll have no problems fitting one Vitesse tank into another Vitesse. Just for interest' sake, I found this selection of senders for sale a while back from a Kit Car suppliers, it appears you just buy the length you need and bend to shape of the original. They'll have more modern internals so probably stabilised only but I must try to find them again and confirm the size of the mounting plate, in case they're too far out for our cars. The one in the link at the bottom is 6-hole for a 43mm hole and a 75mm flange, with an extra connection for a low fuel warning light. Might be of interest to somebody! https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/fuel-tank-sender-6-hole-flange

Couple of nice cars on eBay at present: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-Vitesse-1600-Convertible-1965-Matching-Numbers-Factory-Convertible/274292974217?hash=item3fdd22a289:g:0wsAAOSw0PBdDk-D https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-Herald-13-60-Superb-Utterly-Original/303591882464?hash=item46af7c7ee0:g:zYkAAOSw~~Re3~Cj

I was going to ask if the shafts are the correct length, but then it's roto? Photos will certainly help; 6 leaf is GT6, as it's roto the halfshaft length won't be the factor and removing leaves will only weaken the spring and it may sit better but it will drive terribly. Easiest solution is to try another spring, if you could lay your hands on one, to see what difference that makes before you start to change everything else to suit an incorrect spring.

Had. Sold it on eBay, and got nowhere near the amount I wanted. Was listening to the radio this morning, John Major has just been re-elected and some strange thing called the Internet has just appeared for public use...

Canleys list it as a simple 5/16 washer. In the good old days it was probably thicker than one single washer and possibly even made of brass to prevent it being deformed when tightening; I've found a few of these on Heralds and whilst the original is no longer available there is a modern equivalent, sometimes not exact, but all that is available. All you need is as you've rightly said, a washer that is big enough to allow the nut to tighten sufficiently and that will fit in place without pulling through; you could use two for additional strength, or make up a metal reinforcing plate to assist. It's out of sight so originality is second-place to strength. Many of the parts listed as NLA are no longer made as it's just not worth while, given modern equivalents or alternatives.

I don't think so; I'm not familiar with the Mk3 Spitfire so apologies if I'm wrong, but on my cars - Herald and GT6 - the steering column has a collapsable feature (in the event of accidents) and this only allows the upper column and the lower column to join together in one specific direction. You'll need to undo the lower steering coupling and revolve the column there, as Dan says, until it's in the correct orientation with the indicator clip correctly against the switch, then replace the steering wheel at the correct setting and have the tracking checked.

Yeah but it's fun.

Pimento is a more... I suppose peppery red... than Signal, but Japlac used to have an exact match for Signal in their brush-on paint, now marketed as International Japlac. Possibly Jenolite do too, these days - their Re-Paint is allegedly Rosso Red? It may be close enough for you to get away with it on undercarpet panels.

An example of a sensible price: An example of a non-sensible price: Same probably applies to Vitesse grilles!

Fluids maybe; I remember them being advertised (through the Club Shop? must check later...) as removing rainwater from the disc surface more quickly therefore preventing poor braking due to water on the disc. If you want bling on your brakes... try the other end?

No idea, they were there when I bought it... that photo was taken in 2010 and it hasn't dropped off yet! (It does get adjusted regularly at fanbelt changes etc.. maybe next time I'll remove them...)

Not a Vitesse, but along the same lines?

No problem Bob, I went off on a search for a good clear wiring diagram and got sidetracked.. apologies!

Awkward at the pumphousing end, it will put quite an angle on the tensioner.

If they're in that general area, yes purple is for the cigar lighter and black for the earth. (Purple was also used for the horns and possibly the seatbelt warning light? So there are a number of purple wires but obviously if they're in that behind-dash region they're for the 12v outlet)

Yep; measure the length so as to order the correct size of the one you want, then one of the end clips requires trimmed at one side. This kind gent has saved me a lot of typing: https://myquickfix.co.uk/2016/07/10/gt6-spitfire-diy-alternator-bracket-improvement/ This one is only £4.99 and in the right length: https://www.gsproducts.co.uk/8mm-stainless-steel-rigging-screw-jaw-jaw/

Just got mine revalued two days ago; technically it's now worth ten times what I paid for it... but that's the first valuation I've had in many years, and three times what it's insured for currently with my own Insurer.

I always saw the thermostat as the average point in the middle of a range - when the engine is too hot it tries to keep it cool and when it's too cool it tries to keep it hot; the rad is just there to provide the means of cooling and of course the engine provides the heat. It has a limited range of temperatures that it can control hence the 88 for when it's cooler (or a 76 for when it's really hot). Technically you could have an entire range of in-betweens, but it's just two points that were chosen for more or less optimal running temperatures and they will fluctuate to an amount either side, which will be dependant on the outside ambience and the airflow.

Yes, those damned plebs do block the waterways, don't they? The people who sail the kind of boat I like have plenty of money, though...

Join the Club, John mate... 'twas the shine that caught me, too... plus the ease of adjustment. No more loosening the bolt that goes through the waterpump housing and getting water leaks...