Colin Lindsay

Only on vehicles first registered before 1973. Anything registered after 1.1.73 MUST display white front and yellow rear plates with black letters, regardless of the fact that it may now be classed as historic. It's also a matter of personal choice for anything older than 1973; my Herald Coupe was 1962 and looked much better with more modern plates, and my Herald Estate despite being 1967 will also have coloured plates, as these were fitted when I got it and were optional before being made compulsory in 1973.

No it don't, it comes from pigs. Almost every country has a few of their own. Some of them even smoke bacon, but I always found it hard to light.

An excellent day's driving, started at the end of the M1 / A1 at Lisburn then to The South and a museum visit in Meath, then on to Carlingford in Louth, back across the dotted line to Newry, Warrenpoint and Kilkeel and finally Annalong for food and ice-cream in Newcastle. Must have been around 200 miles but a great day out.

Have a look at my TR7 restoration on the 'My Restoration' section and you'll have some idea of what happens when you buy a car sight unseen, going only by the vendor's description.

It all depends on how - and why - it's been done. Peel back door rubbers, or look behind trims, or under the carpet. If it's been simply a blow-over respray on the cheap, was it to hide defects? I can understand owners wanting a shiny red car instead of a more unusual brown colour but it needs to have been done properly and for the right reasons, or problems will soon work their way through it. An MOT only tells you it's roadworthy, not that it's worth anything and certainly not that it's been maintained correctly. You'll only know when you see it. The phrase 'in good condition for age' covers a lot of sins... back in 2015 I went to look at a car that the seller's description claimed: no scratches or dents anywhere on the car. It was a mass of marks, dents and scuffs and the power steering failed on the test drive. The seller first tried to tell me the marks would polish out, and then admitted if he'd listed them in the ad, no-one would have come near it... plus: it had just passed MOT two weeks before. It may turn out to be a good car, but keep your eyes open.

Going by this shot (Thanks Rimmers!) the arms are straight and the brackets angled, with no angled or offset mounts on the radius arms either.

Sometimes a non-member with bacon trumps a member with no bacon, hands-down.

No!! I Said SLIVERS!

I've got a garage full of 'gimmicks' for bleeding brakes - Eezibleeds that use tyre pressure, vacuum pumps that use both hand pump or compressor-driven vacuum, and I've practically binned them all in favour of pedal pressure and a short length of plastic tube. I say practically because I'm experimenting with one of these: I saw one in operation recently draining brake fluid from cars that were being prepared for crushing and was impressed by the flow rate and pressure - a nice slow steady speed that would work very well if filling a system for the first time; as for bleeding, I'll test it over the next week or so and report back. It's not the sort of high-speed flow that would empty a master cylinder in seconds and is controllable by the switch on the unit, so it's very manageable by one person. I think it cost me £11.99.

Never, Tony mate! Puzzled, Concerned, Intrigued, but never Grumpy. When I'm Grumpy, I don't post at all... Karl - stainless welding might be a different kettle of fish, but possible! A thick washer would be a much easier solution, but maybe welding is simple enough? I'll wait until next time the in-laws pause to draw breath, then I'll step in.

They have different mounting points so you'll need to drill the floorpans but assuming GT6 seats aren't much narrower, yes they should fit ok.

Good thread Shaun and of course it won't be hijacked. On-site catering was dreadful - 45 minutes to get breakfast, and another 45 minutes to grab a coffee at lunchtime. The girls at the coffee-dispensing Landrover dithered about, and chatted, and wandered away, regardless of the enormous queue, and the wasp-coated sugar bowl was a test along the lines of 'I'm a Celebrity...'! It was basic, unhygienic and very unprofessional. I think I found the TSSC stand - I was looking for Bern, who I never found - but it was not really a draw for potential new members. John - I'll second that - these days we need to pool our resources together and more importantly our finances, but it was still quite expensive hence the fact I went for only one day, so anything that keeps the prices down and attracts vendors is a must. It's interesting that you should want an alternative to Triumphs, at a Triumph show... didn't we hear the same about Donington (you can watch the cars go really fast!) with the result that the venue never took off and died a very quick death? I don't think there are too many events held for any hobby or sport where people attend only to go do something completely different. If we have an event we need to support it fully, not just park a car beside a tent and go off elsewhere, and for many this is the only all-Triumph show they'll attend in the year so needs to be immersive and attractive and keep the interest in-ground. As for Duxford... well it's too far for me, even before we start, and that's not even in a Triumph. I think this was the reason that the SEM never took off as the main event - too many members from elsewhere in the country couldn't reach it? Pete's show seems to have been a big success, which is great given the effort put into it, but I think that once again, having a Triumph event with the idea that attendees pay lip-service to it whilst disappearing off to something else is why a lot of potential visitors don't see the point in attending.

I'm not happy... (well, which of the seven dwarves am I then?) I drilled out the mounting hole for the bump stop ever so slightly and was able to fit it much more easily, so both now fitted. However there is a slight problem, in that the metal of the original was much thicker than the replacement. Although the basic metal shape is stronger and heavier, the original had a reinforcing plate where the bumpstop goes; the lack of this on the new units means the bumpstop is loose and wobbles about. It won't drop out but still doesn't look as tidy as I'd like. I think I'll add a washer or clamp in behind to space it properly. The bit that I'm not happy with is the fit of the bolt that will hold the lower trailing arm on. When working on Herald front suspension I've always used a bolt that goes right through the metal leaving the threads clear with all of the weight supported by the unthreaded body of the bolt; this to me is safer and less likely to wear. When I removed the old bolt this is how it looked, and I've been resupplied with an identical one, but to me it's not right. I must shop around to see who can supply me with an M12 bolt with the correct length of unthreaded section before I refit the other one and regret it later.

Yes, I had assumed the OP didn't have one to fit and was looking for either an original bracket plus speaker, or a replacement unit like the consoles that were about in the 1960s or 70s. I searched over a coffee this morning and couldn't find any consoles - plenty of period radios, just nothing to mount them in or on. This is the sort of thing that would do if an original isn't forthcoming; both will fit the Herald or Vitesse:

I have one of the modern stainless radio brackets (currently for sale on eBay) that will hold the unit only but not the speaker; if you want one with a built-in speaker they may be harder to find, and the original ones are real hen's teeth. I've found them online before now, but they're getting rarer. This one is the closest I could find to the sort of thing I was looking for, and it was big money. I wonder if anyone makes new fibreglass or plastic versions? Something like this one may be adaptable? Otherwise, it's just a question of waiting until the right one comes along. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-1970-s-RARE-BLACK-PLASTIC-CLASSIC-CAR-STEREO-CENTRE-CONSOLE-IN-USED-COND/293113722423?hash=item443ef07637:g:f-IAAOSw~G5c-Y9p

Well spotted. I saw one of each at each bullet connector and thought - yep, they're attached - the mixed colours never clicked!! Paul - get someone to move the wiring about with the lights switched on, as you watch from the front. If they press each bullet connector in turn, or wiggle each length of cable, you may be able to see a flicker, or an actual illumination, as the problem part is reconnected by the movement. But follow Doug's advice and reconnect the wires correctly first.

That photo reminds me of the horror pictures of teeth you see in the Dentist's. Probably after too many Quality Street.

Sorry...was delayed by reading the long pause at the bottom of Marcus' post. I wonder why Polybushes always supply a tube of grease with their bushes, if one of the team states they don't need any? (J Y Kelly... wasn't he the inventor of Irish vaseline?)

There are two different rockers in that photo; the new one is a closer match to the one to the right. Do you have the approximation of the left-hand one in the top photo? As Johnny says there are two different rockers, left hand crank and right hand crank or odd and even. You can see the offset of each in my photo at the bottom. Hope it helps in illustrating. Incidentally the part number is the same regardless of supplier, so Paddocks and Rimmers may have different manufacturers of the same part.

Standard are fine, unless the uprated ones are easier to fit... but your horn issue is definitely a short (the bushes won't affect that) between the steering wheel boss and the column. Isn't the horn meant to sound when you lean on it? Or do you mean the entire wheel? Take the horn push out and see if it's shorting against the wheel; it should be insulated until depressed.

Have they stopped selling those? I'll check locally for you tomorrow, there may be an unloved one sitting on the shelves.

Possibly just carbs running rich and requiring the mixture weakened; although one thing struck me about any kind of load on the engine ie going uphill - have you checked the timing? Have you checked the plugs for rich running? Pull one and see if it's black and sooty.

Thanks Doug - I was looking for a link to one of those! They're good and remove the need to drill the bodywork. Re Mark's original query - you can either mount an aerial on the front of the bulkhead, by the windscreen, or on the rear deck area - this photo shows a blanking grommet where the aerial would be just below the windscreen.

One little warning about LIDL tools which I just found out yesterday - I took my car to a mate's yard to get two new tyres, and whilst I knew mine were poor (they were getting embarrassing if not downright dangerous!) I was surprised to find that they were badly worn in the centre section which is a sign of overinflation. We checked them on his professional gauge and found all were just over 40psi. I ended up fitting four new tyres and with all set to 32psi I went home and checked them with my LIDL inflator with built-in gauge only to find they were reading 24psi. I had to dig out an old mechanical gauge which confirmed they are still at 32. One of the GT6 tyres which looked a bit soft was allegedly at 15 on the LIDL gauge but 24 on the mechanical gauge. I've used this inflator for years now and even my daughter's 107 tyres were too high when checked, so I've now checked all the tyres in the house with the mechanical gauge and set them correctly. If any of you are using one of these you might want a second opinion for safety's sake.

I did that once, Doug - the removable panel over the brushes was just too tempting. I think I made a hoo-hah of it and it's now a collection of parts somewhere. If I'm right something wouldn't come off as expected and a little too much force was applied... I might revisit that one if I can cannibalise the insides from other spare units.