Colin Lindsay

I'll start you with a couple of old ones! top one very early, lower one is more common.

+1 to that. Hate the stuff; looks good for a year or two then falls off in large flakes and the metal behind rusts like billy-o.

Glue the rubber mounts to the chassis first; the manual says 'mastic' but we've moved on forty years or so... Only use spacers where you need to, it's not a case of one pad and one spacer per bolt so see how the pads go first. I bought mine off Chic Doig, the canvas reinforced versions that shouldn't compress too much. What way did you end up finishing the underside? Looks excellent from here!

I'm assuming Spitfire? If headlights flash, that shows power is getting through to the circuit, but through the flasher arm, not the main dashboard switch - that's where I'd start, especially if the horn sounds when the lights are flashed. These all operate through the same fuse (brown wire circuit) and are on the same fuse as the hazards and the interior courtesy light. Check the wiring in behind the fusebox and dash, but especially round the steering column; I suspect a short that's allowing power through the headlamp flasher but not affecting either the switch or the fuse, and if that's okay suspect the lightswitch itself, although if the tail lights illuminate I still reckon it's a short somewhere. Even wiggling the cables about, especially at joints, can cause the lights to flicker and point to a problem, so have someone keep an eye out or try it at night where you can see the glow from inside the car. Do the indicators work? (Different fuse circuit but it rules out a bad earth to the sidelights).

Got to be less harmful than road dirt and rain, and it'll dry out again in warm weather. You could also wrap it in plumbers grease-impregnated tape which would protect from both road damage and water. (Might try that myself!!)

I'd be inclined to add oil; even if you don't clear out the old grease it will soften and dilute it down, thereby giving a bit of improved protection. I'd be concerned that even adding the Landrover swivel grease on top of the old grease, if it's not cleaned out, won't do much good.

...and it's gone... collected on a transporter yesterday, it's off to Omagh and a home alongside a 1947 Riley and a few other exotics. I must admit when rolled out into the sunlight it looked great. I still can't get used to the empty space in the garage but will NOT - NOT! NOT! NOT! be buying anything else to fill it. I have two Heralds to finish and if I could get the lift free again, three moderns to service this week. I've already started the ball rolling as far as lockdown permits with the convertible Herald, so things should move a bit from here on. So: over and out from the TR7, and on to something a little older and simpler.

Personally I hate the stuff especially in areas that are hard to get at. It's hard to remove after application, and will hang about in seams and crevices for ages. Very very messy and not a great finish. You can stonechip the entire bonnet no problem; it's up to you and will be out of sight, but bear in mind the engine heat so get something that will tolerate extremes. I just use it in wheelarches and on leading edges such as the front chassis outriggers, and rear suspension tunnel, but I don't see why it can't be used over larger areas.

Steering grease nipple is in the centre of the large nut, right at the bottom where the steering column joins the rack. This one has the earth strap attached to the nipple so you can see it more easily: Note that the track rod end to the extreme left is sealed and has a flat top, others have a grease nipple on the top.

Sounds like a good solution; you can also cut a short length of any rubber tube of the correct diameter - hosepipe, for example - or any good cigar tube (plastic or metal) will protect the drain from the worst of road dirt and weather. No-one ever sees it...!

Dig it out with a match or similar; you'll soon know by the texture if it's grease or oil. You can clean it off with petrol, back to the bare threads of both vertical link and trunnion, and reoil if the threads are still good (It means removing the brake disc shield tho, can't unscrew them with that in place.)

Fiddly, bends copper but struggles with kunifer, and the plastic formers drop off if it gets worn. You can make quite tight curves with it, but it can be sore on the fingers as it's just metal with no padding for the grips. It does the job; for a one-off use it's fine but there are other tools and pliers that are more comfortable to use.

I remember reading somewhere a while back that Darren Groves found he was running a 96 degree thermostat in his car... 😮

I knew I had a photo of mine somewhere about; they mount using the same screws as the glovebox.

Found this photo whilst - of course - looking for something else this morning.

As some of my green filters had melted over the years I just changed all of mine on the GT6 to white, not green. The difference is quite startling at night, but quite pleasant, and while I'd like to try green LEDS just to see how they compare, I've no intention of taking the dash out again. White also matches the display on the CD unit too so that's a bonus.

Hopefully the owner will spot it on here and let us know the exact shade, but the white is probably as you say Triumph White code 19. NOT Old English White which is an MG colour which some paint shops will claim it's the same, but there's a definite difference.

Back in the days of 'Your Classic' (remember that one?) they merged it with 'Classic and Sportscar' claiming you'll have all the great features of your favourite magazine with extra content... and so the subscriptions were quietly shunted to another magazine - no option of cancelling or refund - which for about two issues carried the banner 'incorporating 'Your Classic' after which it was never heard of again. They were quite surprised when I didn't renew the next subscription, but I didn't move in the proper social circles for C&S....

It's a real disappointment to me, I always thought it was an actual film with clipped British Pathe News tones throughout. "Sit up straight at the back, there!"

First thing that comes to mind is ceramic tile edging strip in chromed plastic; it's got a long flat backing piece to hold it in place behind the door cars and you can get it in a variety of sizes... all you would see would be the curved top piece coming down over your lower card edge. Might be worth a try?

Do you shake it in time to the music? I need two tins of Triumph White, will probably go to the Club Shop after my only experience at Halfords, where the young lad mixing a litre for me didn't have a clue and presented me with a small plastic bottle of what looked like flour and water paste.

Pod speakers in each glove box under the dash work very well; they project the sound straight toward you rather than sideways.

You can certainly do it for a rough starting point when reassembling; mark the steering arm then count how many turns it takes to remove the track rod end; the theory is that the same number of turns of the replacement part will take you back to the same point. From there you can fine tune as necessary.

Yes; large amounts of money are surgically removed from your wallet. They work out at about £400 for a car set. Trunnionless involves replacing the uprights with specially-made versions that use a different joint at the bottom, so they don't require greased - sorry oiled - but just a little lubrication squirted over them from time to time. Some owners go for the conversion, others stick with the originals, it's down to personal choice.

I actually just posted an edit while you were replying; as this question concerns the handbrake it seemed the easiest way to post it, but I've amended to say that it's not the one directly acted upon by the handbrake ie the handbrake lever moves the front shoe, which then causes actions which move the rear shoe, so it's 'led' by the other and is 'trailed'... as old mechanics would say. Do any of our cars use the opposite ie where the rear is the leading shoe?