Colin Lindsay

Strange that elephants are supposedly dying out, given that there's a hole in the middle of these...

It certainly seems like that; the button starts it but the key doesn't. You haven't dislodged a wire from the rear of the key? You could remove and clean the ignition switch and see if that helps, or err on the side of caution and fit a replacement; however have a look at the spade terminal on the solenoid in case it's not making the best connection due to dirt or movement. It may be worth crimping on a new terminal and cleaning up the solenoid terminal for a better connection.

That's the way I did the GT6 rear brakes, and the pedal is more solid than before; the handbrake seems fine too but I'll only know when I get it to MOT and they confirm that it's fine too.

What I'm wondering is how the Honda version compares with the alloy versions specially made for the Triumph range; it may beat the original radiator by quite a margin but are the proper full-width Herald or Spitfire versions better still, or at the very least equal?

I've a lot that I bought back in the 1990s from shows etc, salted away for my Heralds when they get to that stage and they're pretty hefty. They don't bend much and they're quite difficult to fit over the ends of the bumpers. The originals are more like thin aluminium, soft and light, but these are quite hard to bend without damaging them. I've no experience of the current versions; does anyone know what quality they are these days?

No there isn't!! There may be a lot of converted saloons about but not all of the original convertibles have survived, so I'd guess there's a lot less about but more than there should be. If you get my drift.

Must be the same material as the Herald rubber bumper end caps. When they scratch, it's there for life.

I know I have straight-on photos somewhere... just taking a while to find.

Yep; am now getting to the little jobs that have been put off for years. That tailgate was painted in 2003. I have full sets of letters (new ones, must have been flush at some stage!) plus plenty of little white plastic lugs for the legs. I think if I start with the U in the centre then try to space them as per the photographs they should be more or less there bar a millimetre or two. I was going to buy self-adhesive ones then I could have spelt 'Trumiph', which is what I bought a few years back, going by the ad - a Trumiph Herlad. I'm not worried about water getting in that way, the seal round the rear window will be much more fun. Not available any more so I'll use the best old one with plenty of sealant.

No, that's 'filler and paint'. Worked for me!!

You need to pack out the base of the glass runner with washers; same thing happened on my Mk1 GT6. Just locate the lower fixing screws on the window runners and pack them out as required.

This is going to be nervewracking but I've to drill a painted estate rear door for the Triumph lettering. Seven letters mostly with two locating pegs so that's 14 holes to drill. (Can't remember if the 'M' has three) I've got various reference photos from over the years but some appear to be slightly different - if you look at the two I have in the split photo, on the red car you can see that the 'H' is halfway along the word 'Herald' below, over the letter 'A'. On the blue car, it's not even at the 'H'. The light cowl appears to be the same length so it's not just the angle of the photo. Can anyone confirm what the distance should be between letters? Anyone got a template?

If you can, grip them by the metal rim closest to the body, otherwise this will happen: The rubber will just twist off the metal, which may be seized into the gearbox body, and today's rubber being of terrible standard it will give long before the bobbin starts to rotate.

I meant floats!! FLOATS!! Need more coffee. Some suppliers will stipulate that the repair kit is for ONE carb only - the one on my photo only has one diaphragm, and I didn't want Jeff buying a kit only to find he's an entire carb short, so it pays to check.

It was just the simplest option back in the day, and probably the least expensive. "King Pin Lower Swivel"... hmmm. They've even recommended oil for your oil can, too.

You just couldn't leave it alone!! If you want the easiest option then sand it down, even just wire brush it back to solid metal; mix filler and bridge any holes with filler mesh, then fill, smooth down, sand to the correct profile and a quick coat of paint. Might not look the best, depending on how you do it, but it's the quickest option that doesn't involve repair sections and welding. I'd guess that entire length is gone too, so the option is patch a small area, patch a large area, or replace.

Another tip - don't throw out packaging from anything electrical - the cardboard or expanded polystyrene makes an excellent workstation for dismantled units; this is the cardboard from a deep fat fryer and it has all sorts of little sections for the bits you take off; in this case a Herald petrol pump. Keeps all the parts together and when you're finished you'll know if you have any parts left over by mistake, and if you drop anything it lands in the same container rather than bouncing all over the floor and ending up forty feet away. The cardboard works better than the deep fat fryer does, by the way. Tefal Maxifry. Avoid them.

Most kits are sold for one carb only so you'll need two, and they're basic stuff - diaphragm, maybe the needle valve, o-rings and gaskets. (I've found a few suppliers online now to check and their kit is exactly the same as everyone else's - see photo for parts) They don't usually include float valves, or the case screws and washers, but these are always available elsewhere. You can round the screws off very easily when splitting the carbs, so take care - No2 Pozidrive does it. I'm pretty sure the linkages are unavailable - the plastic clips you tighten onto the spindles to link both carbs - so take care with those. (Unless someone knows of a source?) Most parts are readily available from Gower and Lee or the Carburettor hospital, amongst others. http://www.carburettorspecialists.com/products.htm

I had to read back over all the posts to make sure it wasn't a twin-carb with HS2s fitted, but that's not mentioned. Assuming it's standard Solex then as Pete says the idle adjust screw is on the base of the carb. Rotating the distributor clockwise will advance the timing; best to mark the position it's currently in, white paint or Tippex, just a dab on the block and distributor body so you'll have a reference point and you'll know how much you've adjusted it compared to where you started. It's only a very small amount in any case. Starting point is 15 degrees BTDC and it's a case of dynamic tuning after that, trial on the road and adjusting as the car performs.

No - or rather it shouldn't if the pipe is solely to the heater. Just keep an eye on the gauge and see if it's behaving. I don't know the Vitesse layout but it must be possible to run a parallel pipe to the heater, bypassing the manifold pipe, to see if it's working?

Spot on - I was just looking for a supplier and all of the companies who supply a replacement are selling black fuel hose.

Dunno about that, haven't checked the postage yet...

I had a quick search on eBay and Chic Doig is selling them for 99p each; looks like the proper canvas reinforced ones too. I might just invest in half a dozen then see if thicker ones are required anywhere, which I can cut from the sheet I have and save fitting metal shims.

I think I'd rather sand it off than cut it off, but that would make a real mess, by the time I'd got through 5 - 7mm... the ones I was intending to use are 8mm, but I can only find seven at present. I suspect the others have gone as lower diff mountings... I'll try cutting one or two out with a hole saw and see what happens.

It's funny (and no help to Ian, sorry!) but when I first started on eBay those panels were everywhere; I bought a few different original Stanpart sections, used some, sold some through autojumbles after I didn't need them, for pennies... and then the price went up, and up, and up... and now you don't see them any more! It's the same with a lot of my spares; all bought very cheaply and salted away back in the early to mid-2000s, and now completely impossible to find. If only we'd known... Sorry Ian - back to the thread.