Colin Lindsay

I tried the same whilst boarding an on-coming boat off another... I thought as they came head-on together I could grip a rail and bring them gently to a stop, side by side. It nearly dislocated my elbow.

Yes, I'm the same. I don't use the gun for anything else so just keep it full of fresh grease. Also had to buy 100 XL rubber gloves at the weekend due to greasing bearings by hand, too. Much more hands-on...

I suspected the Herald ones would be smaller, but now I know what to keep an eye out for. Not wanting to sidetrack the thread too much, but found these on eBay - are they REALLY worth £500 second-hand? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1970-Triumph-Spitfire-MK3-O-S-N-S-Front-Wilwood-Brake-Calipers-Brackets-JR/362608673447?hash=item546d2942a7:g:V6EAAOSwjrFcNcW5

We still don't have exemption over here, although travelling for nearly ten miles behind a classic commercial lorry on Monday past was time enough for me to find out - a few times almost the hard way - that he had no brake lights. I mentioned it to the driver at the show we both ended up at and he just laughed and told me it was MOT exempt. There's definitely still some confusion about it!

I think it's reappeared given the price of new bolts.... some suppliers have one heck of a mark-up on the things as opposed to local hardware stores (if you can find UNF in your local).

Plugs £16, postage £14.95? Must be a cheaper way....

The club shop £105 is a used distributor with bearings replaced, all components checked and wiring, bushes, cap clips etc replaced. That's what I went for, but went straight to H+H and I think it only cost me £110 with electronic ignition, about four or five years ago. My Delco unit was causing problems so I sent off an old Lucas version and was so impressed when it returned that I fitted it, then sent off the Delco version too. I see very little point in going for new, as besides some small marks on the casing, which is repainted anyway, the reconditioned versions are as good as. The Accuspark version I have no experience of, other than their small electronic points-replacing modules. Bear in mind that some cheaper four-cylinder dizzies sold a few years back as suitable for Heralds had the incorrect springs and weights so that whilst they may have fitted, and run up to a point, they weren't optimum for the Triumph range, so be sure of buying new that they're the correct models for your car. Here's a photo of the spare one, taken out of its' box for the first time since about 2014.

And one more small point - I spent ages trying to work out how to fit the anti-roll bar, wondering why the clamps were handed and how they fitted at such an angle.... then I realised they're not. One of mine was bent way out of shape - the centre one in the photo. I suspect old accident damage as this was the side that had received the replacement strut. Replacement clamp now sourced so I can crack on with that job.

You mean these thingies? These are from my early Herald which was a drum to disc brake conversion; are the Vitesse ones the same size? Must go check the roofspace stores...

Even with my seriously reduced hearing - which has been down to 5% in recent weeks - I heard that!

The least amount of tax that is legally possible is the maximum amount that the Government can legally take from us, so it's a question of half-full / half-empty. I'll pay my share, but i wish a lot of others in our society would too.

I went directly to H+H for the GT6 dizzy and it was superb, so much so that I had a spare reconditioned, just in case... which sounds like a contradiction given my faith in the quality of work on the first unit, but I had one lying in bits so now have one Lucas and one Delco. I reckon they'll last a lifetime. Or two.

You've narrowed it down to the circuit between the key and the solenoid. There's intermittent power reaching the solenoid, and insufficient when cold to operate it. Check your ignition switch as the starter terminal may be corroded, and not allowing full power to flow; similarly, the solenoid may be corroded, and the heat from the engine causing components to expand overcomes this. I'd suspect this end of the circuit more than the switch. My first instinct would be to dismantle the entire circuit, both ignition switch and solenoid, then clean all the contacts and reassemble. Second would be to try another solenoid, and see if that fixes the issue. If not, try a different ignition switch. Now you know why my garage is full of spare items..

Well it will certainly outrun mine at present, anyway...

+1 to that; there's something about using a really solid, old tool for a job as opposed to the modern lightweight versions that are probably more efficient but don't have the same feel. I was at a great show on Monday, my first of the year so far, and being a lorry / tractor-based show there were loads of boxes of old tools and sockets in the autojumble. As a contrast, some of the stalls were selling modern spanners and pliers, and they were already rusting just sitting on the display...

What is the current situation regarding replacement shoes? I know that when I had my drum-brake Herald they were almost impossible to source, and the only option was to have the backplates re-lined. Have you had any difficulty sourcing any?

Interesting! I thought it was akin to a die but it says the threads are recovered by a 'squeezing action'; is this just another term for sharpening / redefining the thread and means exactly the same thing? The one in that link has now sold.

Try Chic Doig; he seems to be able to make repair sections of almost any part these days and he'd be my first point of call.

I reckon I need to update this restoration, after such a long break! (I couldn't really go along to the In-laws' Engineering Works and say something along the lines of: 'Okay so we've had a rough month but it's no excuse for not finishing my strut tops....) However: they did, last Friday, and the Ford Granada bearings have now been inserted and are working well. This will really lighten the steering, in place of the original friction washer and nylon bush. Since everything else was sitting, ready to go, it was the work of only a few hours to have the entire front of the car reassembled again. Fully rebuilt struts, all rubber bits replaced and everything nicely painted; new bearings and brake discs, track rod ends and ball joints. The subframe has been replaced with poly bushes all round and filled with Waxoyl, so if it rusts now, there's no hope for the rest of the car. I made one slight error in that I fitted the steering rack first, then replaced the subframe, but forgot to attach the steering column to the rack. I'll have to experiment to see if the column will move upwards sufficiently to allow the joint to fit, or will I need to drop the subframe again? It's quite an amazing transformation, when you look at the before and after shots. A mass of rust with not one single rubber component left intact; now it's almost like new. Sadly, I now have to do the same to the rear axle and wheelarches...

Possibly! I cleaned everything thoroughly, damp-proofed it all and reassembled, then cleared the code using an OBD reader, it never came back, nor did the smell of fuel. Petrol consumption is 36.9 MPG which seems to be same as usual. I think I'm slightly down on power - very slightly - but then as I'm always hauling trailers or carrying bootfuls of hardware it's hard to tell...

Can anyone post a photo? Memory is hazy but at least I'll know what to look out for!

That's what a number of the manufacturers claim - paint, let it dry, then cure by running the engine.

Same as I did, and although it was quite a few years ago now, the propshaft shortening and rewelding cost very little, about £20, while the balancing was more expensive at £30.80. The reason I remember that was because I had £30 cash in my wallet, and the gentleman behind the counter made me go out and get the 80p from an ATM - four or five streets away - before he would hand over the prop.

Thank the Lord, as despite BT's claims, I can't get wi-fi in the loo.

Cross bars with rubber blocks to match the spacing of the main chassis rails do the job, or wooden blocks wrapped in non-slip rubber coating, as I've used here. Like the rubber blocks on Herald front seats you can rotate them to give different degrees of lift.