Colin Lindsay

MK1 didn't have them, Doug. There's also an additional fusebox on the bulkhead beside the washer bottle that I've now removed for something a little more.... discreet. It was a stopgap after the loom went on fire one day, it took up the gap left by the melted bits... plus I've just noticed the battery clamp missing too. I must have been doing work that day and just replaced the battery for a test run before finishing off. BTW just found this pic on an old CD burned years ago; it shows where the Spitfire cooler was fitted.

My current Herald didn't have tab washers either, so it doesn't mean they're missing - check the parts manual to see if they were originally fitted. As for money... two things here from recent experience: 1) Shop around for parts - I bought engine parts recently from a large supplier only to find them at less than half that price from another very reputable supplier - that order of £80+ could have been purchased elsewhere for £43, a large whack of the original order being postage and handling, but I was lazy and went for the convenience of 'click-and-buy'. I was also able to buy original heavy-duty bearings and valves online for a fraction of the suppliers price, including original Stanpart versions, with free postage. 2) Shop around for services - I was quoted for block bore work from a local engineering company, which I thought was about par for the course, but when I mentioned it to a relative he then pointed me towards a smaller local company who have quoted me a fraction of the larger company's price. Same tools used and by one of their former employees who has gone out on his own. He's got quite a backlog, probably due to his prices. The larger company were "book it in and we'll inspect it and give you a final price." He was: "Bring it over, I'll look at it and tell you what it needs, but a little engine like that won't take much and you may not need much done to it at all." I like that sort of service, where you can talk to him, and he'll show you exactly what he's going to do and how it's done but - to use a local phrase: 'he won't put the arm in'. It definitely pays these days to shop around a bit.

Hi Peter - what, me, bling??? The Mk1 was like that when purchased, a saloon engine block painted red but with everything chromed - I know the rocker was from new, but the timing cover and even the dipstick were too. I've replaced the engine with a proper GT6 version in black, but with the exception of the rocker and the timing cover most of the other bits are either alloy or stainless - distributor pedestal and water pump housing for example are alloy, alternator adjusting bracket is stainless as are the bonnet catches and the bonnet roller slides on each side. It's not bling, just me being lazy and looking for ease of maintenance.

Just soldered wiring for a CD head unit into a Ford Mondeo, nearly gassed by the fumes but it's much neater with shrinkwrap than a huge scotchlok or bullet connector. (Once you get over the problem of where to rest a hot soldering iron in a car interior!) I'm not intending to fly... but as it should be corrosion and shock-free, I reckon it'll do for that kind of wiring.

I'd agree there, Wayne. You have to pay a toll for any success. This was the side of the lower trailing arm bracket, which has a curved lip with the nut / bolt in behind; The spanner slipped and I got the full force of my exertions through a thin strip of metal pressed against the side of the thumb, between the joint and the hand. It's still incredibly sore today but not a mark on it. I suppose it's better my thumb than the bodywork... We're getting older, Doug. Almost everything I do these days hurts.

Have a quick look from the inside - lift the carpets along the inside edges and shine a torch in. They're easy to get at and, if any good, rustproof them asap so that they'll last longer. Don't rustproof them if you're going to do work even in a month / year or two as your welder won't thank you for it! Been there...

Found a photo of mine from about 2001 and you can see where it was mounted on the GT6 between the front rails - a previous owner had already welded a short bracket here, one on either side about an inch wide, and the cooler sat between them with the top 'lip' resting on each before being bolted securely to them. I found it well protected and airflow was good as about half of it hung down below.

You have more than one???? I always liked that line form the movie Erin Brockovich: "As long as I have one a**, and not two, I'll wear what I like.."

That depends on how deep it is - 10 row, or 13? Mine was hung from the top of the chassis rail, but it bridged the gap between them and didn't protrude below by much at all. I felt it was quite well protected here and still got good airflow at speed, as the chassis slopes upward towards the front. It was a 13 row, £105 from the TSSC shop including thermostat back in 1993....

What if she had big hands???

They'll never get into Heaven then. I've started being very facetious with requests for reviews. "How did you find your Mondeo radio fascia adaptor?" "Well I opened the door and the Postman had left it on the mat..."

It will flex to a small extent but any large movement is not good - what condition are the sills? These are the seriously structural parts of the body and if you reckon from your first post yours need work then be careful with the gaps - as with any car bodywork, it's not the rust you can see but what's in behind. As Clive says I'd brace the gaps; a Spitfire hardtop isn't as structural as a GT6 roof and will probably only support or brace a certain amount, so I wouldn't rely on it.

Anyone else feel that these followup requests for reviews are getting a bit too persistent? No matter what I buy these days someone wants a review of it. I was even asked for a review of a chocolate bar... Stena Line sent me a survey concerning my trip to Stratford in August. "Why did you take Stena Line Ferries?" I replied: "Because my car won't fit on the plane...."

Second Saturday in a row I've managed to find time for the TR7.... must be something wrong. Actually I got diverted by a couple of Heralds, including my own 1200 Estate, and stripped both engine and gearbox right down. Gearbox is now complete and waiting time to sandblast the bellhousing but the engine needs a bit of bore work, which I can't do myself, so the TR7 has benefitted as a result. Last Saturday I covered the floor, put on a bio-warfare suit, and Waxoyled the entire underside... which wasn't actually as messy as I thought it would be. I've had a tin of black Waxoyl in the cupboard ever since I mistakenly bought it at a mainland show - fifteen years ago, maybe even longer? - thinking it was clear, so the TR7 is the first car I've used it on. Went on well, once everything was cleaned underneath, and looks good. That left me with no excuse for not refitting the rear axle. I tried it with the wheels on, but nothing would line up, so I took the wheels off and lowered the diff onto a huge block of wood, and that made all the difference. Trailing arms, lower links, and propshaft all went on as planned, and I even refilled the diff. I've to connect the flexible brake pipe and bleed the system, and I also intend to replace the rear shocks at some stage but the current ones are still good. Once I have the handbrake cables reconnected - if I can remember how - all that is required will be the rear anti-roll bar, torque everything up, and it's back onto four wheels again. Gearbox is back in with new mountings so should be leak free. I also was able to locate the marks I made on the prop flanges before disassembly so it's gone back in exactly the same way that it came out. Everything under the car looks new, and amazing when you think of the state it was in when I started it... see comparison photo below... Once down on all four wheels again I need to finish the engine work - get the carbs back on, electronic ignition connected up and everything refilled; then it's the interior including some errant electrics and a passenger seat that won't slide. I also banged my thumb quite hard when a spanner slipped and it's still throbbing... they should teach that in self-defence classes. It's definitely one of those incapacitating pressure points.

Yes, it is NOT damage and does not necessitate the sourcing of a replacement - which also has the dimple. Been there... but in my defence, I was advised by someone who back in those days should have known better!

That will do the job! Thanks for the comment on the ceiling, I'm helped by the fact that dirt travels downwards! I've got a bad back so you should see the state of the floor.

Dave's spot on; if the inners of the pump have failed they may not leak but they just won't pump. Similarly if the valve in the bottle is missing or failed it will take longer for water to reach the jets - that's where I'd start as it's easiest to replace.

One of the last hotels I stayed in had an entire spa / sauna / fitness suite and the guy at the next table had obviously just come straight from it. He was overweight to start with, sweating heavily and wearing a very small t-shirt, and the stench of sweat was overpowering. I made a suggestion on their Tripadvisor review that they might have some kind of minimal dress code... Second best / worst smell I ever experienced in a car (worst ever was a search dog van) was a Minivan in which someone had once thrown up over the dashboard... everytime you put the demisters on the smell came out again.

Remember that the entire thing is dependant on the weakest link! What's the strap that the winch appears to be hanging from? I had a metal bracket made up a few years back (the benefits of having Engineers as in-laws) and it's a slight bit small for this beam in the new garage but still clamps tightly to the H-bar. I still worry about using ropes rather than chains around the block to hook to. You can see the size of the links in the older chain hoist I used to use; you need muscles like Arnie's to even lift it up to the clamp on the beam.

Incidentally - after about another hour's wrestling with these - and I broke a g-clamp on them - I just suddenly wondered: why? Left them where they were, pressed off the bearing and replaced it onto the carrier, and replaced the rollpins. To use a good local phrase: it'll do.

I was in all innocence referring to engines, and don't have any idea of what the term 'double entendre' means. It's not in my WSM.

I've sorted the first part of the query within minutes of posting so had to edit the post again - the short bearing carrier in the photo is Spitfire, and the longer Herald. That explains that! However it's the arms I'm trying to identify. I need to replace one on a 1967 Herald with diaphragm clutch; the two sliding side dowels are seized solid so I'll have to use a spare. If the one with the flatter bearing carrier is Spitfire (in photo) then I have a choice of that one or a spare Herald version for coil clutch. I know coil clutches have a flat faced bearing and diaphragm clutches a curved bearing, but what other differences are there, particularly in the arms themselves? I'll be replacing the carrier and the bearing for a diaphragm version in any case, so it's just differences in the arms that may cause bother. Part numbers appear to be 207907 and 213032 for early and late arms respectively, plus 125374 and 139563 for the bearing carriers. Does anyone know what the exact differences are? I've compared like for like and can't see any differences at all.

I'll bet he started off : "I'll just fit as type 9 gearbox and keep the rest original..." Ohhh that slippery slope's a killer.

Lord, that's one frilly rim. I've dumped wheels that were better than that.

I have two winches, a huge one that would raise the Titanic with massive chains, but when you want to lower it you must hold a small lever back and then rotate the handle against the weight; it can be fiddly especially as the girder it's on is about ten feet up. If you flick the lever and don't hold the handle it will just drop straight to the floor. The other is a lighter version I bought at Stoneleigh for about a tenner, but it's got an internal brake, and you must pull the chain in the opposite direction to lower. It can be nerve wracking sometimes; when I lifted the Herald engine and gearbox out of the car last week and it was suspended eight feet off the ground, it wouldn't lower, only raise, and therefore kept getting higher, and higher...... you really do have to yank on the chain and then it comes free, and you can lower it. Last Herald engine I worked on - prior to the current one - I bolted the backplate to the stand, but as I was using an alloy replacement I wasn't worried about distortion.