Colin Lindsay

Last update before I head off to the International at Stratford. The two lower trailing arms were a nightmare of mud and rust, and I had intended to shop for a good second-hand pair at the show; however it turned out they were more mud than rust and a good clean worked wonders, in fact a good clean followed by a good sandblast and then a good repaint turned them up as new. You can see the difference in the new bearing that I've fitted and the distorted one that hasn't been removed yet. I already had two rear bearings for these so will not be using polybushes on the rears; the fronts depend on availability and price. I'm relieved at the way these have turned out as even second hand a pair would set me back around £100. If my sandblaster had not clogged I would have had both finished, but something is blocking the nozzle so a complete stripdown is now required and as I can't be bothered getting covered in dust today, I'll leave it until after the show, by which time I should have all the required parts to finish the underside of the TR7. Then it will be the interior, and finally - get it running again.

Refurbished, or new? I have some to have tidied up but they'll go to the in-laws Engineering Works and so I'll have someone to shout at if they make a bish. (Never tried baulk rings for braking, they wouldn't fit my hubs.... )

Nice, free, fresh, oily u-joints. A joy to work on. Who's got the video of the rusted solid, pitted and jammed ones?

Tesco and most of our Pound Stores still have it... 99p at most... the places where people go who can't afford a PC, or are too old for this new fangled technology.... When did phones stop taking 2p pieces?

Your light should be good enough to shine onto the pulley from a range greater than that of the fan, but it needs to be close to the ends of the blades so that it actually hits the pulley with the beam. Too far away is no use; if it's too dim for that, any more modern version should do. As johny says, white paint on the pulley marks will help immensely, as will a dark garage.

I've seen Series 3 Landy floors glued in place; they're just flat metal set onto an outer ledge anyway.

I presume you never want to take it apart again?

I never noticed that but yes it says SD on the listing, but not on the actual box; however it does say you have an input for karaoke microphone, so that will be a real boon for your passengers. I also noted that it makes a point of stating that it has 'production optimisation by single person assembly which is the most suitable option for export SKD'. In other words - cheapest. One poor worker labouring for peanuts.

No, not that I've found so far. The only hassle is connecting the wires from the radio loom to those in your Triumph, but otherwise both of mine are fairly straightforward. Just keep the removal pins that come with it somewhere handy; I find these days that every head unit needs a differently shaped set.

That method of enlargement never works, Pete.

...and it should be white, with black trim...

Or you could put the old oil along the top of the fence....

No, it started off with "I don't really understand your idea that the flat part of the tyre naturally rotates to the bottom, the flat part is due to the weight of the car being no longer supported and therefore will extend the footprint of the underinflated tyre to a greater extent that it will when inflated" and more in that vein. I wish I'd kept it. If it was humorous, it went straight over my head. In fact if it was humorous, it was American. Aren't we humourous?

Put an old tin tray in underneath; easy to clean but also very easy to analyse if you really want to work out where the oil is coming from. Plus, if there really is a lot, you can pour it back in again...

I was going to suggest a razor blade but you're reusing it?

If it ends in FH it may be the body number - is it a long thin plate? This one I posted recently from a Spit, it's the long thin plate at the bottom and also ends in FH. It's likely that the one in my photo is a 1300, same shape as the 1500 but more commonly referred to as the Mk iv. I think 1500 Spitfires have an FM prefix to the commission number. (or are they both FH and FM?) The commission number should be on a large black and white rectangular plate above it and it will start with FH or FM depending on the model. You'll also have an engine number on the side of the block that will help, especially if there's a chance that it could be an earlier 1300 that has been upgraded to the bigger engine. Can you post whatever numbers you can find and we'll discuss?

Not to mention the height of some of the posters.

If it doesn't, let us know why and I'll look for an alternative. No point - yet - in case that one fits!

It's the language barrier. I have in the past written articles or posted replies that had just a little throwaway remark in them, only to find someone from across the pond writing me a very detailed and lengthy - and totally serious - reply explaining the thing I was making a joke about. A classic example was when I happened to mention that flat tyres are great in that the flat bit automatically goes to the bottom, so your car is less likely to roll away when you're working on it. I think I got a page and a half reply on that one explaining gravity, the weight of the car and tyre density.

I found almost no difference between Frost Black Engine Enamel and a cheapie engine paint, other than a huge variation in price. A good option I've found relatively recently is a black primer, preferably heat resistant like stove paint, with a gloss coat of aerosol black over the top.

That's normal for a car up on stands or lift; once back on the road they'll sit higher and I'd like to think that under normal driving circumstances they'll never extend so far as to hit the chassis. Put some tape across the chassis then you'll have witness marks that will show if it's making contact when driving.

That's good to know, Dick and Johnny (and Paul who posted the definitive evidence just as I replied!) - I think the GT6 frames are shaped and it's only possible to fit them in one orientation. As for the Herald, well I've a bit of adjustment to do to the floor so the seats will be coming out and then I'll see what option I prefer. I'm not worried about rear seat passengers as to date there hasn't been one since my Coupe back in around 2005... she's too old now to go with me to shows.

That may be badly adjusted rear brakes - it takes more than one pump of the pedal to move the cylinders out enough to hit the drums. I'm not being cheeky but have you adjusted the shoes?

I assume so Johnny and I'll probably leave them as they are, although the estate seats ( the red ones) need to come out in the near future anyway so I'll appraise it then. I find it quite easy to adjust them with the door open as I can lean sideways (not when the car is moving, Pete!) and access to the lever is much easier than trying to feel for it with my head stuck against the steering wheel. Incidentally a workmate of mine wrote his VW Polo off many years ago when a passenger queried a wobble in the steering; he leaned out of the driver's door whilst driving in an attempt to check the front wheel. He fell out and the car plus passenger continued on, ending up in a field.

I didn't know he'd ever listened to them. I hated 'Too Sexy' personally....