Colin Lindsay

Yes, those are they. Take those four off, don't lose the spring washers down into the box, and the whole thing should lift off.

The top part of the detail line is angled downwards from the wing to the outside edge, so I measured from the commencement of the vertical face right beside the b-post to the bottom where it curves back in under before meeting the seam, it seems to be 135 or 136 mm.

Mine hold up the cowl, so I need them, but I've also strung the wiring loom along them which keeps it up off the chassis and the associated dirt and moisture. I don't have louvres but still think they look nice.

I'm still beavering away, hampered by the lack of a sandblaster and the shops being completely empty of masking tape. What on earth is everyone doing whilst stuck at home? They can't all be rebuilding Heralds. Shelves are full of Frogtape, Gorilla tape, repair tape and duct tape but no masking tape, so i've had to find other little jobs to do. The 1200 estate is now back on four wheels and the handbrake set. I've moved to the interior and removed the dashboard, which from the original reassembly had a very nice burr walnut dashboard which I bought at Stafford in the mid 1990s, but which had a few problems (hence the sale, probably) one of which being the speedo didn't fit. The hole is too small and while it's jammed in in this photo it's not right. The dash appears to be modelled on an overdash, which was the optional extra dashboard for early cars and which fitted over the fibreboard fascia. Consequently most of the holes appear to be for switches and knobs which are already in place, and it's just set over them. This is why none of the silver bezels were big enough to clamp the cables or switches, as they couldn't screw properly against the wood; but yet the hole for the speedo is much too tight. It's just not right for a later car. SO: bright idea time. I've got a brand new dash bought from the TSSC Shop back in the early to mid 2000s for the convertible, but never taken out of the packet. Happy days! Then I remembered that when it arrived, sandwiched between two lengths of plywood, I had a quick sneak peek and realised that the ashtray was missing. Back it went into the bubble wrap but for some reason I never complained about it and it's sat on top of the cupboards in the garage ever since. Too late now, thinks I, but I'll make do with a different ashtray front, maybe black or some other colour as there's no chance of matching the veneer. Pity. For the first time since purchase I slit the tape and rolled back the bubble wrap to find... the ashtray, plus the glovebox handle, both nicely veneered and hidden in the packaging! Happy again.. THEN I went to trial fit the speedo to see how it compared with the old dash.. and found this: It's quite badly damaged and given the care that I've taken of it in storage, that happened in transit. There are corresponding cracks in the lower part of the dash. I never checked it fully as there was no point in unwrapping it long before it would ever be used. However; I've trial fitted the speedo and the gauge hides this bit completely, so I'll glue it with one of today's wonder glues and there's a good chance that once fitted, it will never move again. So: more or less happy again, as much as can be. You can see the differences in the size of the holes in the old (upper) dash compared with the newer (lower) one. The upper ignition switch aperture is massive; switch and bezel both disappear down into it unless a plate is screwed across the rear. This one will do for the convertible with the early dashboard, which has a huge metal reinforcement behind it, but I'll have to - very carefully - enlarge the hole for the speedo without ruining the veneer. I'm assuming the club don't sell dashboards any more? No mention of it on the website.

Yep; data protection was a killer for the Registers. There were just too many pitfalls with owner and vehicle data and the secure storage that it fell by the wayside. Would that make yours the oldest, or the youngest, Martyn?

Sad to say I haven't got that far yet, even despite lockdown.. the freshly bored block is sitting under bubble wrap in a corner of the garage, refurbished head beside it. Helicoiling is certainly an option, but then so it fitting a new stud with good threads for that extra bit of bite and sealing it in place with Pete's highly recommended sealer.

Hats off to long-time Northern Ireland member Paul Robinson who attended Stafford in a 1200 coupe with a family of four and full camping gear. THAT was impressive! I always needed an estate car, as much for the spares I brought home as for the stuff I brought with me; hence if I was buying a big Triumph I'd go for the estate.

Mine got them shortly after I bought it, simply because everyone said the GT6 needed shrouds. I did have the radiator recored and uprated, but again have never had overheating problems. I think it's an individual thing rather than par for the course; some cars will, some cars won't. (Some cars need a lot of lovin' and some car's don't... breaks into song again.)

A good 2000 or 2500 Estate would carry all the paraphrenalia you need for kids, too.

I suppose it's easier to trim oversize to suit your own car, rather than try to stick bits back on to an undersize foam... so they're erring on the side of caution.

Those are supplied, like many these days, for a variety of fitments - one of the dangers of dealing with suppliers who service a variety of marques. Some come with the extra hole blanked off with a grommet, even for the Stromberg versions (pictured.) They may argue that it's correct for the car once you blank off the hole, but they'll probably refund if you return it. I think your car came with two black-painted mesh filters, as shown at the bottom, so no point in looking for a filterbox, unless you want to adapt a later one!

I'm assuming it's the chrome one that I've photographed, with the extension to the rear? (some look the same but are flat) I've got a couple of spares, PM me your address Colin

The two-tone green option for an entire car was always Cactus and Conifer so the side stripe could have been lighter green, or white; I know it was an option for the cars at time of purchase so could have been stipulated by the buyer - or black, if preferred, I've seen a few of those recently. As usual I can't find a photo when I want one...

What big wheels you have, Grandma....!

Cold air only. They were installed to combat the heat in the car cabin, so don't blow warm air unless someone has modified the plumbing!

At one stage I had lots of wheels lying about, maybe two dozen or so, then sold a lot off or gave them away; sadly I forgot to check them and ended up giving away mismatched sets of 4.5s and 3.5s - it was hard to tell with the tyres on and I just grabbed the nearest. I had to buy one 4.5j to make up a set for my GT6 from Chic Doig and it wasn't cheap - he'll have them, as will most of the breakers, but they're more sought after than the 3.5s and the price will reflect that. I was lucky enough to buy a full set of 4.5s at Stafford for £40, and they're going on the Herald, but that was a lucky one-off and I snapped them up on sight. At present I have seven or eight 3.5s, both narrow and wide slot but obviously want a full matching set of four, and this lockdown thing has scuppered most of the shows and autojumbles which I would advise as the first place to look. Easiest way to tell is to place a coin on the lip of the wheel - a 1p overhangs on the 3.5 but sits nicely edge to edge on the 4.5 in the photo.

Six of one and half a dozen of the other, as the saying goes. With the tub off you can get it upside down and work on areas that you can't reach as easily when it's fitted, but then you may have to adjust the gaps. If you weld the panels on with the tub fitted, you can gap it as required but may not have the same easy access. Those lower wing panels should be easy enough to get at with the tub fitted.

Is the solenoid clicking when you turn the key? It may be the heat from the now-running engine that has freed it up, or the push button making a better connection that initially activates it; you may find that once freed up, or warmed up, it will work for a time, then stop again until freed up once more. I'd change the solenoid, if you've already changed the key and found no difference. I suspect that it's sticking and needs a lot of current to activate it, which it gets initially from the new switch then after a time reverts back to normal.

I really must ask the question: do you want them to? The onus is on you to keep your vehicles legal and a letter from the DVA now might not be that welcome when it arrives after all this time... Say nowt, let sleeping dogs or civil servants lie, and think up a good excuse for when the time does come and you have to try to tax them.

Yes, but I'll have to confess... I found that online when I was doing a bit of research on the stuff - prices, quantities etc. I do like Jenolite, though.

Yes, all the same. You can either push them on from below, with fingertips and be prepared with a magnet to fish them out of the door bottom, again and again... or else pull them up with a tool made for the job. I find you just need to get them hanging in place, then you can thump them in with a length of wood and a hammer.

Maybe H3PO4 does?

I just cut out the middleman and sent the bulkhead across to him for restoration. It came back looking so good I had to check to make sure it was the same one I had sent him.

Must give him a heads-up on how to fit brake drums, too...

Problem is that I won't get prosecuted for having no drive...