Colin Lindsay

Tell him to return my sockets, then!! I'll forgive him!

That's possibly true and as you can see, it's causing a lot of debate even among enthusiasts. However: there's a point raised here - if someone converted a Spitfire before 1992, that's fine if it's THAT car. Does it apply to all conversions since? The legislation says "when THE vehicle was in production or general use"; is that referring to them individually, or to all? In other words, you can show that YOUR car was converted back in the day, but can someone else, who has just done it, use your example to justify his? And in addition: brake upgrades are not a problem, but the absence of them is... it's a whole can of worms and going to be open to a lot of argument and debate.

Fill the entire chassis with Waxoyl until it runs out - and it will, for days afterwards - but at least the inside of the chassis, where water gathers, will be protected. Many of our cars rust from the inside out - seams, double skinned sections, or box sections, so fill the bottoms of doors and wings with a good wax treatment.

A good upholsterer will be able to recover your dash, and possibly to a higher spec than original.

Really? You couldn't go out and get a 6-cylinder spitfire from the dealership, nor could you buy it as a kit at the time, nor is it a simple drop-in conversion. A few people have done it in the years since, but that will not stand up legally, even with Insurance, let alone VHI. "Alternative cubic capacities" means, to me, an engine that may be 1147 in a Herald but 1500 in a Spitfire, with the same cylinders and block. The notable quote here is "If the number of cylinders in an engine is different from the original, it is likely to be, but not necessarily, the case that the current engine is not alternative original equipment." So the owner of a Gitfire may have to prove where he got the engine, when, and how and why it was converted - if he declares uprated brakes, or suspension, then his vehicle becomes more heavily modified and less likely to be eligible for VHI. If he doesn't, and claims they're original, then his Insurance may claim on any payout that he failed to declare modifications. Catch 22! A lot of the 'discussion' on forums at present is owners of heavily modified vehicles trying to convince themselves, and other forum users, before hoping the same arguments will work on the DVA.

That tooth fairy has a weird sense of humour....

Same guys that hide all my 1/2 inch spanners; although at present it's all my 5/8 sockets that are strangely absent.

Well, got it all reassembled... then went to refit the carpet which was pushed out of the way over the driver's seat, after the passenger seat had been removed, way back when the process was started. And, of course, it won't go back in place with the handbrake attached... so had to remove the driver's seat, plus the seatbelt mountings, then refit the carpet, then replace all as before. Sometimes I think this car does things like that deliberately, just to annoy me.

What a difference a day makes.... woke up this morning and remembered, yes the release rod 4 goes over the top of the small lever 2, which hooks into the larger mechanism 7; the trick is to hold it all together long enough to get it in position on the car, whilst fighting against the handbrake cable, and push the long pivot 8 through both the car brackets and the handbrake lever assembly. I'll start just after lunchtime and see how long it takes me. Watch out for blue air on the weather forecast.

I'll say it's different; mine doesn't have all those wires nor headlamps either. However this is me at the top, holding my hands up to my eyes in despair.... Whilst this one is the position I was in for the handbrake:

Ok so probably unwisely I removed mine from a car, many moons ago, and it's now ready to go back in again. Except, as usual, I've forgotten what goes where.... In the diagram, the long rod from the knob - part 4 - won't hook into anything and just drops off each time - am I correct that it grips over the top of part 2? I need more hands than an octopus to get all these bits in place and hold them there.... All help / advice / tips welcome as always.

All brakes are created equal; certain pads make them superior... And just been under mine, poking at the rust and dashing a quick spray of Waxoyl on the stuff. I'll also furtively admit to polishing the petrol line along the main rail of the chassis, which has brass connectors but a metal joiner in the middle that was rusted and let the rest down... so it all got a nice light cleaning and retouching. I want to dazzle the MOT man so that he misses the welding...

Water will and does get in everywhere; the petrol tank drain pipe through the floor; around the rear hatch and screen, through rustholes in the floor..... so you can determine the lowest point and drill a hole to let it all out again if you want. Aidan - I found the photos from that article on the rear lip drains - water does collect there and will rust through the metal, but as to whether or not it's the cause of much ingress inside is anyone's guess. The first photo is of the components used - and I don't have the article any more, so if someone will please publicly thank the member concerned who sent them to me, on my behalf - and the second and third are of the pipe system from top, and underside. I think the small plastic drain pipe simply vented through the floor alongside the petrol tank pipe near the O/s wheelarch.

Gaskets and oil seals, core plugs, timing chain, oil pump, and a good coat of paint. Unless there's something drastically wrong it'll soldier on for years with clean oil regularly changed. Once you enter the realms of disturbing things - pistons, cams etc - you're into the bigger money so unless you either need or want to, don't.

Don't cut or grind vertically whilst looking down, as you'll be getting all the debris that's being cut out - cut or grind horizontally so that all debris flies out sideways and away from you, or if you need to cut or grind a vertical surface, stand to the side. Keep vital parts out of the line of fire, remember that metal fragments are hot and can burn clothing (and the glass of nearby cars!) and they'll spend a lifetime on an eyeball, making reading very annoying when small black dots bounce about in your vision. Brother-in-law has been hospitalised twice due to metal grindings coming in around a mask, and he's a professional engineer with top quality equipment.

It hasn't been on the road since 2012, due to said welded patch. Plus, even though it legally doesn't require an MOT, it's still not going on the road until the patch is welded properly, and if my intended MOT test of April 20th tells me it's not a pass, then it's off again. I've just replaced all four braided brake hoses as despite showing no signs of wear, they've been fitted for fifteen years; flushed and replaced the brake fluid, replaced both handbrake cables and the rear shoes, none of which really required doing, so I don't think I'll be cutting any corners with or without an MOT. I'll be more concerned about the lowers and modifiers who will have a field day once they're no longer required to be checked annually.

I'm getting a bit miffed as I'm TRYING desperately to get an MOT, despite not needing one, but a tiny bit - the least, most insignificant bit - of welding is causing me all sorts of nightmares, on a car that no longer requires one.

Talk to Pete and Doug about that. That looks like neat stuff, might try some in the same area on my Herald.

It may be a moot point now, I was out checking a while ago and I don't think it can be done on the car with the gearbox in situ? The plate won't drop past the chassis on the GT6 as there's not enough room on the driver's side of things to drop the bolts out. That being the case I just refilled the oil and ticked another job off the list.

Thanks Dave, that's excellent and it's confirmed that I need the larger filter NKC53 and not 53S. The only query now is the gasket: this diagram shows NKC7 but Rimmers list the gaskets as NKC76 while NKC76 above is a washer.... however I'll believe Rimmers, who have a photo of said gasket, and order from them. I'll almost place a bet that when one arrives, I've got one already somewhere....

Back in about 2001 I used a Dolomite 1850 overdrive unit for my GT6 O/D conversion. The car is now getting a serious amount of servicing prior to the first MOT in six years, (although the chassis welding may not pass and it may all be a waste of time) I'm replacing the gearbox oil and before I attempt any cleanup of the O/D unit itself - from underside, on the car - I need to know what's available before I break what I have. It's been running fine up until now. I'm simply intending to remove the lower plate, clean up what I can including the magnetic strip and the filter, and replace with a new filter and gasket. I'm assuming the actual unit exterior is the same regardless of whatever species of car it was fitted to, so all filters etc are the same? I don't want to order Spitfire parts only to find they don't fit the Dolly version, which they're not listed for... for example the filter is listed as 8mm and 11mm outlets. Any ideas?

You'll have to modify your dream a bit - annoying, but worth the wait in the long run.... Don't go for a Spitfire or GT6 - the SPORTS image is the deathknell for young drivers. Go for something boring and family-like, like a Herald, or even a Standard, which even the Insurance companies agree are less of a risk. By the time you're able to get a good price on Insurance on your intended car, you'll know all the mechanicals of the Triumph range inside out as they're all so similar. You may not even want to change. The other alternative - and sadly there are no cheap alternatives - is to go for a boring Eurobox along the lines of my daughter's Peugeot 107 - Group 3 Insurance and £20 annual road tax - and get yourself a Triumph as a project car, which you can work on somewhere safe until you can afford to get it on the road. This way you get some of both worlds - a car to go on runs in, and a Triumph to own and work on. As John says, explore options for young drivers and see what discounts you can obtain for black boxes, limited mileage, curfews, etc. Did you know that some companies will offer daily insurance, so you can insure a specific car for one day at a time only? I'm not completely sure how that works but a workmate of mine used to insure his 17 year old son to drive his car on single, special days, I think up to a maximum of 12 or so per year... so it may be worth looking into.

It's been off the road since 2012, but just applied for an MOT this morning... so fingers crossed!

THAT'S what I meant! T'would be nice to see how 'delicately' it's been done....

Most of my tyres get changed due to cracks in the sidewall rather than tread wear. I think my current GT6 ones are Goodyear, less than 2000 miles on the road but eight years at least on the car, so they need checked periodically for deterioration.