Colin Lindsay

You get friends like that. Maybe a quiet word in his ear would help?

Do you remember that feature there used to be in one of the mainstream papers - "Twelve degrees of separation"? Things that don't seem to be in any way related are connected at a distance? Same here, we sort of go off on a tangent and then get gently nudged back on topic.

Currently unavailable but looked to be good enough kit; my NOCO gave up on the first use so I'm charging off a CTEC this weather, and of course it's not portable. I'm not sure why Amazon recommended this item as a cheaper alternative: Maybe you can listen to the radio when your battery goes flat?

Those can be hard to find these days, I had to buy online. Your fuse box should have a couple of slots for spares and they're worth carrying.

Wish I had. I bought a cheapie one and it bent.

Yes; have a look at the profile then buy a length of the same from any good seal supplier. https://coh-baines.co.uk/product-category/classic-car/

Thanks Alan, although you did confuse me with the route of that exhaust until I realised it was upside down..

Just bought a Triumph can opener... might come in handy on bodywork too.

Do you have photos, even of the old ones? I can't visualise them to suggest alternatives, but so far haven't managed to find any for sale just by using the part number.

Did you know they brought out a Titanic vodka a few years back, but decided the advertising slogan was a bit too close to the knuckle? "Titanic Vodka - goes down well with a little ice..."

...and I thought Triumph Lingerie was the limit..

Morning all. It came to me last night, in a dream... not Abu-ben Adhem, awakening from a great dream of peace to see an angel holding a Haynes manual, but it just occurred to me - if the system is live, and the switch earths it then power to 2, earth to 1 and that's it. Ignore the case earth and the extra earth at the washer bottle holder. Exactly as Dave said way back. Sorry guys, sometimes it doesn't sink in first go.

The flat panel on the engine block to the left of the distributor in this cropped photo, (to the right when the engine is fitted) and above the red bit, is the engine number. I can see the first digit which is F. FC, FD, FE, FH,FK and FM are all Spitfire engines. A 1300 Mk3 engine will be FD, FE, whilst the later engines will be FH or FK. FM is 1500.

I think - as always open to correction - that T D Fitchetts have the original tooling, so if they make valences they should be correct. I'd guess that anyone else then buys from them and adds on a whack, or else puts a sheet of tin over a good valence and batters it into roughly the correct shape.

Ok so Hurricane Whore-Gay (George to you and me) is raging away and I'm bored so I started on the wiper motor. Never saw so much black grease in my life; in fact there were odd bits stuck in it when I removed the cover. Have a look at the top of the photo of the gearwheel... no idea how long that's been there, but there's another one in the correct place! So: Dave: if the red wire coming from the bottom right goes to the park then it's connected to terminal 2; this means that the terminal for the power is terminal 1? Terminal 2 had a cut-out for a spade terminal with a lug on top, so it can only fit one way when on the car and it takes the white cable which I would have thought was the ignition circuit? I've ordered new brushes as these are worn almost completely away so will wait for those before trying a battery across the terminals.

There's an interesting thing, Conor - not anything wrong, but still made me think recently when I did the same on my Herald - the rear brake pipe that connects the union to the driver's side hose is unsupported and held there only by its' own rigidity. I noticed the Herald one was inclined to move about and was wondering in any kind of brake clip to the rear of the chassis would help? Just thinking out loud here, must nip out to the garage now that you've put the idea in my head...

No it comes from the Triumph press car in the March Courier - the road test review was published in July 1961, Autosport magazine, but the BMIHT Certificate states the build date as 20th December 1961.The current owner has just sent me confirmation this morning. A very early 1200 convertible. It's entirely possible that Triumph changed numbers about from car to car; the Road Test claims it's a single Solex but the photos show a twin-carb.

Mmmmmmm... Dobbin.

I must put in a word for James Paddock; not a supplier that I ever used much until I bought the TR7, but I've been very impressed with both prices and service, even to the point of phoning me at home to confirm if it was TR7 or Herald parts I needed in one order. Other suppliers, including those mentioned above, have given me mixed results - amazingly high postal rates, for one (International rates to NI?), charging VAT on postage, or having items listed as NLA when others have them in stock, or items missing from orders that I have to chase up; yet I still use them for convenience or when I need something urgently. Moss don't so Herald stuff so I've not used them in years. For very rare or obsolete parts when I can't make sense of Mick Dolphin's website I use Chic Doig; when I'm in Scotland I usually just drop in.

Have you seen the expense?? Not only the initial purchase but also the running costs? Eye-wateringly more expensive than electric cars, and nowhere near as useful. My darling daughter can make hers fly, but she doesn't pay for the fuel...

THAT doesn't matter so long as it's green. In the news this week, the third runway at Heathrow and other road upgrade issues, all binned or postponed as they're not in line with emissions and climate policies.

Indeed they do, I've just received one for a car that was being driven in July 1961, but the build date is December 1961... so I'll have to try a bit of detective work and get to the bottom of that! The Club doesn't keep any records at present due to the minefield of data protection.

It's not often I get a bargain but was in the local Motorfactors this morning buying Fiesta brake pads and they had Mintex Ceratec Paste for £2.06 plus VAT, so it looks like the cars will get that as a trial and the copper grease can sit in the cupboard and sulk.

9 also sounds like constipation....

Go for it, Gary, it's a sad boring world where we're all alike. I just love the look of the Sunbeam, no matter the wheels.