Colin Lindsay

Sounds good, the reason I pointed that out is my 1200 convertible came off the road for a rolling restoration in 2008, then realised it needed a new chassis as the original was rotten, so off the chassis it came for an estimated 6-month resto. It's still a collection of bits; can't get it to the welder, can't get it to the sandblaster, can't get it to the painter.... one thing after another! Had it still been a complete car: no bother.

Yep, sounds like it. Up around the distributor and behind the dynamo. It should be clamped where it passes close to the fanbelt at the water pump housing by a small metal clip attached to one of the bolts, or at least resting on a metal support (have seen both types.) I've seen it routed behind the thermostat and in front of the rocker cover, but that's not correct and there's no real benefit in it.

We're obviously at cross-purposes here. I assumed it was the early pressed-fibreboard version which had no padded cover, but was just bare paint, as in the photo. Sorry! This one on ebay is a late padded version of pressed card-like manufacture, a different base material altogether that requires a cover as it's too rough to be left raw. You can patch those in any way you like as they'll be covered by the vinyl outer. That's why I mentioned invisible repairs, as anything I tried in this area was very visible on the uncovered version. On my later cars I just reinforced it with very thin panels of shaped wood as reinforcing, with the vinyl cover over the top of it all.

Don't strip down TOO much at once, or you'll end up with a collection of bits that may never see the road again. Keep the car largely complete and rolling unless major work is required, and driveable if possible so that you get some enjoyment, and can take it to a garage or a friend's house / club meeting if necessary. It's no fun having a bare shell taking up room in the garage that you can never find a welder / sprayer / helper for.

Which car? The pump is the opposite side of the block to the manifolds in any of mine so it's as cool as it's going to get. The route up the block and across the front gets the cool air from the engine fan too; any fuel evaporation is at the carbs and rarely the pipe. The only time I rerouted one was when I fitted an Alexander manifold using twin 1.25 Strombergs that had the fuel intake on the opposite side, so routed the pipe up across the rear of the block.

Those are probably padded ones, not the bare early ones. I'll have to go check, myself!

Happened to me, except it was a reconditioned 6-cylinder engine from a major supplier that I collected at Stafford. They had left two of the blanking plugs out of the oilways towards the lower end of the block. Luckily I cranked the engine over using the push-button on the solenoid so saw it happen. It's amazing how far a pint of oil can spread across a floor.

If I could find some kind of filler, or fibreglass compound sort of thing that would fill holes and flatten dimples I'd have a go at repairing one, but nothing looks right.

He can return as a park bench, like all those recycled plastic items, and sit in a park somewhere.

I'd use paint restorer / T-cut type of stuff, it's gentler than stripper, and flake the paint off with a fingernail to avoid damage.

No, that's me after a day spent gearbox oil changing for about 20 cars. Re the bezels, I've stripped about half a dozen black ones in the last few years, all from Dolomites or Spitfires to reuse on GT6 dials, and every one has been chrome underneath, just requiring a light polish. They've all come from different sources over the years so unlikely to be the same batch or year.

Excellent, Shaun, pass on our very best regards for the future. You do realise that it's entirely possible he'll be updating this forum in years to come, starting with "back when I started as an apprentice with..." Sort of like a recycled Pete....

Worrying, as I need a new halfshaft for the GT6 following last Saturday's mishap... and the roads round where I live are much worse than that... Please don't tell me, as with many other parts, that they all come from one supplier.... Oh - and yes, welding the shaft will weaken it, so the mechanic is spot on.

Well I'll be funked!

Saved my bacon more than once, stripping the black paint off an old bezel to find lovely chrome underneath. Incidentally the instrument glass is readily available, both large and small, and can also brighten up an old gauge very easily. Just make sure you don't get fingerprints on the inside as you fit it tho....

You may find the housing solidly blocked with crud that the flusher hasn't removed, but as Pete says it would have made more sense to do this when first drained. It's worth a look for peace of mind though. Make sure you have a new gasket and three new lockwashers for refitting, otherwise it may start to leak after being disturbed.

Absolute hen's teeth in good condition. I know I have one for my 1200 convertible but it's got slight damage from years of use and I reckon that's the best I'll find, unless a NOS one turns up somewhere for £££££££££s. They do, occasionally. I threw one out a while ago that had broken completely across the rear of the screen vent holes, I just couldn't work out how to do an invisible mend other than to have it covered as per the later cars, and in that case I may as well start with a later dash surround. List it in the Parts Wanted section where it'll be visible for browsers who just might have a source.

That's a lovely piece of pipework - it's going to look good on the car. Glad things have sorted themselves. It's always nice to beat something mechanical that won't play ball.

Speak for yourself, I'm still a young git. I see Peter has drifted the thread yet again.... (interesting solution! I can picture it in situ.)

Rear view mirror angle, brake pad pressure, screenwash pressure, under-buttock temperature.... In any case isn't that an MG dash, so they had to have something to take their minds off THAT?

Don't knock rain! Just relabel it as Radiator fluid and Screenwash additive, not to mention car rinse aid, and you'll appreciate it far more! It's free!

Back in the day I thought every home had the AA Book of the Car! Some excellent books in Oxfam; look out for the AA book of Car Care and a large blue-covered hardback called "Servicing your Car". 'The Dashboard Revolution' is also a great read about how dashboards went from one gauge to many, and how to add more to your own car yourself. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Servicing-Your-Car-Various-Book-Club-Associates-1980-Hardcove/272961657392?hash=item3f8dc85a30:g:sT0AAOSwR2RaH8GY https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AA-car-care-book/283097599190?hash=item41e9ee8cd6:g:zbAAAOSwdGFYtwvB https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/THE-DASHBOARD-REVOLUTION-BOOK-SMITHS-GAUGES-jackie-stewart-brockbank/273385673484?hash=item3fa70e530c:g:mWgAAOSwofdbY2ko

Before I'd got to that line I was thinking "It's an earth..." Just string a more permanent earth to a good earthing point and it should be ok, so long as it isn't a short somewhere. Just smell for burning every few minutes. I replaced the GT6 dash lights with white LEDs a few years ago, and lost the original earth cable somewhere down behind the dash in amongst all the other cables. I just made a new one and things worked fine.

No doubt via Italy, Germany and France, then to us under someone's camper van...