Colin Lindsay

I know what you're thinking, punk - did it fire on all six cylinders, or only five?

IF YOU CAN READ THIS THEN YOUR NAME IS NOT DOMINIC CUMMINGS

Sorry for the confusion, Chris! I would call the old stuff - the wooly bitumen-backed stuff - felt; the modern alternative, that multi-coloured stuff you get under modern car carpets, is foam to me. There's also sound deadening sheets, like the anti-drum panels, the self adhesive squares that are stuck on without cutting to shape, usually just in the centre of a flat panel to stop resonance and of course the heat-proof stuff. If you want a good, modern sound-proofing material that won't hold moisture, I recommended modern foam undercarpet sheets taken from a scrapped modern as a very cost-effective way of bulking out carpets and deadening road noise. And of course to further confuse things, I'm currently using rolls of the old bitumen-backed felt on my Heralds, as I bought it years ago at a show...

Free collection in person may be a slight obstacle during lockdown..

Therre seems to be no hard and fast shade that I've been able to find this morning; ICI Metallichrome Silver PO2358 is the only code I've been able to find as a UK (actually BMC) colour, and it dates from the 1960s. Suggested colours that I've found just now are: Detail Silver - Eastwood Ditzler 2593 (Argent Silver) " DAR-2593 (acrylic enamel) " DDL-2593 (acrylic lacquer) Ford Silver - DAR-2593 (Ditzler Argent Silver) Ford Silver - PPG - DCC2593 polyurethane (PPG Argent Silver) Ford 1G - "Silver Poly" (1975-1976) Ford 1G - "Silver Metallic" (1977-1980) Hammered Silver - Ditzler DAR 2593 Hammered Silver - Dupli-Color® FM-149 High Performance Wheel Coating - Dupli-Color® - WP101 (silver) Jewel Silver - Subaru code 9985 Metallichrome Aluminium - ICI no: P0-2358 (original paint, see note below) Moss Silver wheel paint - 220-560 (Moss Motors Ltd) Silver - Ditzler Delstar® - Code #16 Wheel Paint - VHT - SP188 polyurethane (Argent Silver) I've no idea how close any of those are to the original and there is a definite variance in some of the finished results. Duplicolour Cast Coat Aluminium is mentioned on various TR6 forums, as is Moss light grey - some owners who have repainted wheels state that it's more of a lacquered dull grey than silver so that really confuses things. I've been told that a modern equivalent is Ford Sebring Silver or Ford Moondust Silver, which may be easier to get these days, but I've not seen how that colour looks on a finished wheel. The Club Shop sells 'wheel silver' and it might be worthwhile asking what code or supplier they use.

...and the best place to get it is a scrapyard. They usually throw it away so will sell it very cheaply. People Carriers are a good source, if you find one with a large flat rear area you can get quite a large sheet from it. It's both fire retardent and waterproof. Any yard with relatively new vehicles should have some that hasn't been sitting for years, so will still be quite fresh.

Owners used to roll carpet strips through the front edge and double back over to form a double layer, so that when the car drove onto the carpet the ramp couldn't slide away.

When you had to grind the pads, did you grind a lot or a little? I suspect you ground off too little so that they fitted, but were a tight fit and not able to move easily in the caliper. When you applied the brakes, pressure put them on, but they couldn't release afterwards, so they were rubbing off the disc and burning. The disc was probably expanding too, but when you got home, the parts cooled so they were no longer binding on the disc and therefore the hub spun freely. The pads are probably glazed beyond reuse, so bin them, and check your discs for warping due to heat too; just spin them by hand and see if they move in or out. You may be lucky in that they're not beyond use too. I used EBC Greenstuff once, and they went in the bin after two weeks. since then I've used standard pads with no problems.

Front valence would be the issue; not much clearance there at the best of times. You could always cheat - like I used to - and jack each front wheel sufficiently to set a ramp in under it... keeps the car supported but avoids having to drive up onto it, or off it again...

You got your amp a LOT cheaper than this one, then: 17 sold.... wonder who to? Nice idea though! Some of the converted period radios sell for huge amounts, so it's an inexpensive workaround.

Could still possibly be a dud switch... I'm so used to my earlier cars having the switch on the dashboard but then the functions are controlled through the column stalk, so can't remember how the later cars work - three position switch, first off, middle for sidelights then fully down for headlights? Disconnect the headlights from the switch and connect the sidelights to the headlight terminal to see if they come on. It could be an earthing problem at the sidelights, run a separate earth and see if anything lights up. Long time since I had a Spitfire (mine was a 1977 model) but I remember problems with the hazards that turned out to be incorrect wiring; with the left hand indicator on I had three that flashed, and with the right hand indicator on it was a different three.

Pre-greased, that is. I wonder how many buyers have fitted these, dry, and never realised that they have to be greased on fitting? I assumed myself that they were already greased and the nipple was there for regular service when the time came, and not for an initial greasing. These are bone dry, and would have worn out in record time if I hadn't disliked the fit of the red fibre washer (metric of course!) and replaced it with a better fit, then noticed the lack of grease. If you've bought or fitted these recently, make sure you did grease them, and if in doubt, grease again. I have a couple of NOS Stanpart versions saved for the convertible so must check that they haven't suffered over the years due to a lack of grease, even in the box.

No tax since 2015...

THAT'S the one - thanks Karl. I suspected one part did, but not the lights, which attach to the bonnet support tube. I'd forgotten the horns.

I confused myself with this one; when I went to check reference photos of my Estate the loom was under the front suspension turret, but later photos showed it along the valence and so over the turret - this was probably due to me routing it the same as the GT6 then realising I was wrong, and changing the route. I had to check quite a few photos before I finally found one that even gave me a hint, but it's along the valence, over the suspension turret and then down to the chassis again and off to the bonnet. Early Heralds - which didn't have the valences - went under the turret but the loom was raised for later cars, probably to protect it from dirt and moisture.

Seems to be the switch, alright. They're readily available online or from suppliers. Am I right (I was never a great multimeter user) that it should read zero if the switch is working correctly?

Out of stock. Managed to track one down on eBay - they're shared with MGs and other cars of the period.

Long experience, Stephen. Looks good for a short while, but when it starts to crack and moisture gets in under it, then bits start to fall off, and you can't touch in the rusty bits with paint since you can't match the coating with a brush.... lots of trouble. Here's hoping you're spared any bother, you might just be lucky!

Agreed, and you guys have talked me into one from reading the posts in this forum, so I'll make the move relatively shortly. They're an excellent piece of kit. HOWEVER: the OP doesn't have one and presumably doesn't want to have to choose one, pay the money then wait for fairly erratic postage, all for the sake of a small job like a grease cap... future jobs, yes, but at present... use a screw!!

...and if the OP doesn't have a rivnut gun, or rivnuts?

It seems the entire account is dodgy, but whether or not is been hacked - as it says now - or is a 'front' just to generate interest in the cars, is up for debate. All of his cars are selling for between £40000 and £65000 despite being worth around a tenth of that, if even. He's been a member since 2008, though.. long time for a scam. Here's one from 2015, but I can't see how anyone would bid for a car being sold by a company that doesn't allow private viewings and will only deliver it sight unseen on receipt of the money. I've bought Triumphs off eBay before now, but not from anyone who refused any other details or declined any kind of communication.

I used green coloured decking screws... very coarse thread; any kind of thread will do in fact probably the coarser, the better, as you'll need fewer turns to remove. Woodscrews would be fine.

I have half a dozen badly dented versions where someone has levered them off with a hammer and screwdriver. I must find a suitable dolly and beat them back out again.

Not 100% sure that Spitfire is a scam; the guy is a dealer with lots of other cars for sale and over 1300 other items so it's probably the done thing to phone his business and buy for cash, thereby by-passing eBay's cut, which can be substantial. THIS one had me a bit bemused, I'd have paid £50 for it. I guarantee you it didn't sell for £15000. There's also a TR7 selling locally for almost £19000: THAT'S another example of: 'ring me and we'll discuss the real price'.

Try a longer screw in the hole; longer and maybe slightly thicker. It has to be big enough so that the threads bite and long enough to push against the hub nut; last one I used earlier in the week was about two inches long. Anything else will damage the cap.