Colin Lindsay

When I converted the MK1 GT6 to swing spring I used a 1500 Spitfire spring, which was woeful. Bottomed out far too easily. I bought a NOS late GT6 swing spring from Chic Doig and it was an entire transformation, despite being far thinner and straighter than the hefty curved 1500 version, so looks are very definitely deceptive.

Well you should, it's worth showing off! That's a really really nice place to work. The car is going to look good too!

It appeared quite long in the photo, I was wondering if Pete was just going to bend it 90 degrees and insert it straight into the pump.

I know how you feel! I've no idea where I actually found time to work, and still do everything else. I'm possibly going to find time to start my 1200 convertible (again) - most of the body work done, all the ancillaries refurbished, nearly all the required bits purchased or located, just never had the time to put it all together! Now all that's needed is to get it painted before reassembly and that's almost* been arranged. *painter wants to use my garage to paint it in; that's a non-starter. his shed is much more suitable in that I won't have to clean it all up afterwards. BTW - 2 things - is that fuel pipe long enough to reach the pump, or are you adding a flexible hose in between? Also: do you still have the clips that hold those front pipes to the top of the turrets?

With brown vinyl roof?

Not like the original white, Pete? Metallics can be nice too, there used to be a bright orange Herald 13/60, in some modern metallic or other, displayed at Stafford. It was superb, as was a very nice dark metallic red Spitfire. (and while looking for that one I found a Herald in metallic red too).

It's a great help having a good reference site, but can still sometimes be confusing... I was attempting to buy UNC bolts (sorry - setscrews) earlier today, and the only reason I was trying to buy new was because the ones that came off the car were a mixture of inch and inch + half, and try as I might I couldn't work out which went where in the inlet manifold. None of the major suppliers showed any difference in the length but all supplied the shorter version. I decided to replace all in the shorter length and just hope. Now: Rimmers were 45p each, Paddocks 25p, MGPartsUK 17p, and Brown & Gammons a whopping £1.08, eBay was £1.26, but amazingly the seller was Leacy Classics who on their website was selling the same setscrew for 19p. Quite a variation for the same item! I eventually decided on Paddocks as I'll have them tomorrow.

I hope it doesn't look anything like this... Strawberry blonde.... it's the closest I could get to light tan on Valencia Blue...

Good points. I was going to argue that it was only the earth connector, but then as so many electrical problems occur in our cars through dodgy earths, I don't want to add another. I guess now I need a box of female spade or crimpable bullet connectors, so I can crimp away and get the radio connections finished and the lower dash panel back on again.

I can't get both sets of arms to reach the main chassis rails at the same time, so if I move the car forward slightly - not enough to affect the centre of balance - the front arms will reach the overlap between chassis rails and outrigger. For the other end, where they're about two feet short, I had a heavy steel bridge made up so that it sits around the rubber pads on the end of each arm and can slide freely but not slip off; car goes onto lift, the bridge is slid under, over one pad and across onto the other until it's equally spaced and then pads or blocks are slid on top so that they lift the same points at the rear. Same as the MOT centre does when they place blocks under the car then raise the body to check the suspension / wheels, which is where I got the idea from. The lift does take up quite a bit of room, though; about one and a half car spaces, so there's always something either on it or parked in the space. I've edited the post to attach a photo; the apparent downward angle of the car is because only the rear has been raised to allow rear half-shaft replacement and the front wheels are still on the ground. With the rear arm extensions wound fully down, and the fronts screwed up to match, the 'bridge' falls to the same level as the arms and so the car is usually level when raised.

Like my Estate, which went from black interior to red (needed Estate seats, had none in black, only red or blue.....) Even the carpets are red with white trim, looks nice against Code 19. BTW guys, be careful with 'Ginger'. My niece is ginger, her mother refers to it as 'Strawberry blonde'.... so for years we called our cat ' Strawberry Blonde' instead of his original name... Ginger.

Now I'm hurt. Could you rephrase that to "some cars look better with black wheels"?

Correct Richard and correct Dave, both - yes there is an aux terminal which I had hoped was a spade or screw terminal, but it's rivetted so I'm afraid the only option would be to splice into the pink and white wire, which I'd like to avoid if possible as I'm undoing forty years of PO splicing. Yes, I could attach it to the ignition switch end and string an entire new cable, but I'm hoping it's sound under the protective cover and only the exposed end is damaged by Scotchlocks. I think the preferred option is going to be bullets at the business end as the path of least resistance. No pun intended!

I think he's right. (Sadly) Back to the original plan which will probably be bullet connectors. It was worth a try though. I may be jumping the gun with the radio, though, miles to go before that gets to be a priority. I've found another errant blue and white cable behind the dash, near the brake switch, and what MAY be the missing green brake switch cable, which shows what you could call some slight evidence of overheating: I suspect that's been caught in a pedal and earthed through the metal.

An excellent suggestion, my good man! It would only be a matter or re-routing the cable out of harm's way around the heater. If I'd had to trim the damaged bits off it would have been left quite short; a bullet connector would have worked ok but this will save me a bit of upside-down soldering. The black ones are earth, I'll repair the existing ones and run another to a good earth point to improve contact. Off to the garage I go to examine the ignition terminal, which is exposed as the cowling has been removed. Thanks, Richard! That coating of Casper's is expensive for all I require (NOT 4 litres, which is what is on sale on eBay!!) but I'm wondering: if it's only cuts and nicks in the plastic coating of an earth cable, why not black rubber sealer from a tube? Flexible and waterproof, and a fraction of the cost...

In some cars there was a preferred choice at the factory, but you could go for special order in your own preferred choice, or subsequent owners may also change the interior to suit availability or budget. The code for the original will be on the car's commission plate; Valencia blue paint was 66, so the next stamped two-digit number will be the trim, either 11 for black or (I think, from memory) 13 for tan. When I restored my white 1200 I couldn't get a full set of trim in black, so changed the interior to red; it's easy to do in our cars.

Concours??? Moi? I'll settle for running and driving. Bullets are the fall-back (backstop? ) as it's only the connectors for the radio / CD player, but I was being lazy and thought it might be possible just to plug in a similar male / female end as required. Fresh wiring is a possibility but at some point it's still going to have to be joined to the loom, so I'm exploring the options. I'll check out John's tape, it may be a good repair as well.

Does anyone know if these plastic 1980s push-connectors are still available to buy anywhere? No ideas of what the name is but if I can get two (at least) I can simply join new cabling to the existing without having to attach any other kind of connector. If not, I'll just solder bullet connectors. Secondly, does anyone know of any kind of rubber or plastic repair paint which can coat cables to repair damage to the existing sheathing (caused by scotch locks - hate those things; you can see the notches in the white / pink cable, and the black earth cable is damaged as well). I could use insulating tape or maybe heatshrink, but a brush-on solution would be easy if one was available.

Par for the course here Chris, but it's all in good fun. Thread drift is a risk you take when posting anything, but just sort through it and you'll find some good replies. Drain your rusty coolant by removing the bottom hose of the radiator, making sure the heater valve is open. Replace the hose, refill, run the car for a few minutes, then cool down and drain again; repeat until the water runs clear. After that, a good blue antifreeze solution will keep things running as they should. As long as the temperature is where it's meant to be and the heater blows hot air, all else is fine.

Given the cramped space in a GT6, probably the buttocks of a tall driver...

Dammit I knew I'd missed something, although I thought it was 'fire it into space and let re-entry eradicate the rust'. Well, I tried! Here you go, Doug - under seal....

Guys, guys, guys. I knew this was coming, hence my rib about the D word. "I use Waxoyl" "Well, I use Dinitrol" "Well, I use Bilthamber but it's expensive." "Well, I get mine dipped before spraying." "Well, I get mine coated in stainless steel." "Well, I get mine bombarded by titanium molecules by NASA." Chris is on a budget after buying the Spitty and wanted a simple cheap solution.... have mercy or he'll wonder why he ever started. BTW Rob doesn't Waxoyl claim to kill existing rust and prevent new? Or is that a porky pie?

Correct, Clive, but it was price I was thinking of! Dinitrol is excellent quality stuff but it's pricey and being a cheapskate myself I just reapply Waxoyl from an aerosol or pump every so often. Tetroseal flows more easily, and doesn't seem to clog the nozzle as quickly as Waxoyl. For a quick fix, until Chris gets the rest of the necessary jobs done and has free cash again, it'll do to keep further corrosion at bay. One of the first jobs I did on that TR I bought recently was to fill every crevice and corner with the stuff... stinks to high heaven for a time but keeps the rust away.

They don't rot THAT fast. honest. (They're not Italian, only Italian styled!) A fiver or so will buy you an aerosol of Waxoyl or Tetroseal, (It's runnier than Waxoyl), spray in behind the wheel arches, inside the door frames, boot floor corners / rear wing lowest points, seams, bonnet nose area and anywhere else that gets the full force of water or where water will gather, including the chassis outriggers etc. It'll kill existing rust and prevent moisture causing any more. It's cheap and it's effective. Just keep it off the brakes. (Sits back and waits for the D word.)

+1 to that, mine flapped about in the wind and ate the paint off my Herald bonnet.