Colin Lindsay

A fellow club member is experimenting with a Herald variant and needs a useable rear screen rubber for a Herald or Vitesse saloon. He doesn't want to buy a new one in case it doesn't work out. Anyone got a good s/h one they can spare?

This would be an excellent thread for photos of Triumphs that may be no more.... I just found this one a minute ago, whilst looking for something else. Is it still about?

If you can remember it, you weren't there.... I think I stopped and looked around in 1977, trying to work out what to do with my hair now that the early 70s were over, but not too sure... The pink GT6 is in the background of this photo, but no idea if it's still there on not. This one's not on a chimney, just a container.

The heater is very easy to open up, either just by removing the clamps (Smiths) or unscrewing the cover (Delaney-Gallay). There are two nuts underneath and one self-tapper to the top rear holding it to the car. If it's anything like mine, you'll find it full of dead leaves and Lord knows what else, so removing those has to improve performance. You can fit the blower motor from an early Nissan Micra, no doubt those in the know will tell you exactly which model. The rectangular seal to the bulkhead below the heater is not available from anyone; the round seal to the back is 'supposedly' available but the one I was sent turned out to be only the grey foam spacer which comes around storm drain pipes, it's not waterproof (in fact it holds quite a quantity of water) and never a great fit. Possibly better than nothing, although I'm not sure if they'll do more harm than good. I've debated buying a sheet of suitable waterproof material and making my own using a sharp knife or scalpel; they can't be any worse of a fit....

No no no no and no! You'll be polluting pedestrians as you drive past. We can't have that! Better to use Pete's Aldi teabags. I remember a few years back that C&E (The Customs people, not C of E) seized a batch of counterfeit brake pads made from compressed grass. Unfortunately no doubt someone has since looked at them, decided they're a: organic, b: biodegradable and c: non toxic so no doubt they'll be the norm in a few years. Who cares if they don't actually stop the car? We'll all just have to drive more slowly... BTW remember, Mark, if you go for some of the more 'exotic' pads they also take ages to bed in, unless you're a boy racer. Sadly, I've just checked the Net via a Bing search and found 24 entries on brake pads, 21 of which are for bicycles. Of the actual car sites, one was the RAC who mention 'organic' brake pads. Oh Lord they're here already! We're done for!

Making up a bolt might be easy enough once you have the old one removed from the assembly; possibly a bit of judicious grinding required about the bolt head but you'll know once you've seen the original. It's certainly worth a try if you can't find one. I'd be surprised if a breaker or restorer somewhere doesn't have one; have you tried Chic Doig?

What improvement do you need - are you getting fade, or just poor braking?

Did that myself with an Estate tub which leaned against the wall for about five years, with no problems. There were no overriders fitted so I had to take care not to damage the tubes. With an earlier restoration I made a cradle for the tub and bulkhead, allowing the rolling chassis to fit in underneath; just two lengths of 2 x 4 with supports of the same, screwed to the wall on one side but just nailed to the crosspiece on the other. That saved an entire car-sized space.

I may be getting mixed up with something else but were the carb rings not originally supplied from the factory as more of an oval and therefore sat out further around the circumference, but all we can get these days is round, so it's not the best replacement? I'm talking about the cross section, rather than the shape! You're right in that standard O rings from a selection are never the best fit, so I agree you'll have to go to a specialist for the better ones.

That is one beautiful car! I love the early models.. if you find a MK1, photos please!

That I heartily agree with; many of our charity shops have shelves of old books on car maintenance or repair from the days when people did it themselves! This is one I picked up for 99p: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Servicing-Your-Car-Including-a-step-by-step-12-000-mile-service-Hardback-Book/302412032547?epid=89493071&hash=item4669296a23:g:NfkAAOSwW9RaWEdT This one was my first purchase when I got my first Spitfire but the current price is amazing! (They should change the eBay hint at the bottom to: People who viewed this also viewed their bank balance...!) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-Spitfire-Gt6-Vitesse-Herald-Guide-t-Lindsay-Porter-Accepta/282627671909?hash=item41cdec0765:g:0i4AAOSwkRpZo5Ne The "Everyday Modifications for your Triumph Spitfire" is a real let-down. Most are not everyday mods but quite complicated, assuming you can find or afford the bits recommended.

Mine just closed down on February 5th. One of those great shops with bins of bolts and screws that you just took your old one to and compared like for like without having to be an engineering graduate and be able to quote length, thickness and thread type, and they always cost 5p or 10p each and not £50000000 for a blister pack of six as in larger chain stores. In some of those it was actually cheaper to drill a hole through a 10p and use that, than buy the washers. Machine Mart never made it over here; I used to call into the one in Carlisle on the way to the ferry and stock up with stuff.

The bodies on those two look quite different; I hope it's just the angle of the shot but the new ones looks a lot beefier and the pulley may not slide down sufficiently? I've just sent one off to EP Services for a refurb, so I'll report on that one once it appears back with me.

Well you did call it DAMSEL Red.... Start a new restoration thread, then we can all watch and admire.

To help Pete steer back: I only recently discovered Maplins; they never had any great number of shops over here and my nearest is 35 miles away, but close to where my daughter has her student accommodation. I've wandered about it many times since finding it and found things on the shelves that I never thought were available, which you can't do so easily on-line. You have to know something exists before you can search for it!

Don't always believe the label, I bought bird seed once, it grew into plants instead.

Not that difficult if you have one to use as a template, but as with any car accessory the factory option will always be worth more than a copy. That one looks to be in great condition. They may be impractical but the the rear seats of an MGB GT are impossible to sit in, either, and they're handy for setting things on. I've just found a local upholsterer who claims he can exactly replicate the covers on my Herald convertible rear seat - I'm to supply one which he can copy - so I reckon the GT6 seat would be a similar job. I'll report in due course...

It's the usual NIMBY solution. Burn stuff somewhere else to give us energy here. Sometimes I think we're in more danger from the fumes given off by decorative candles than motor vehicles.

I'd say you're correct in that fuel is evaporating. I don't think that the air filters will make much difference if the car is stationary; pipes from the front of the engine bay will bring in cold air when the car is moving, but not when parked. Many owners fit an electric fan to cool the engine, especially if it can run on after the car has stopped. You can also try fitting shields below the carbs in an attempt to deflect the hot air from rising straight to the carbs. Keep the airflow to the carbs and around them as obstruction-free as you can. As Aidan says, opening the bonnet will help the process but it's annoying when you have to do it every time when the car needs restarted.

Don't tell me: the oil came out of the engine faster than it could drain into the container, and it all overflowed? Happened to me too.... I have one of the frying-pan versions that works if you keep an eye on it.... but you always get that annoying really thin trickle at the end that the wind catches and blows everywhere. (I can just hear the incontinence jokes flooding in.. or is that out? )

I can post it over, if you want? PM me.

I've had a Harmann Kardon (not a Karmann Hardon) Onyx speaker in the garage for three years now, and the sound is amazing. I got it free from O2 with the daughter's latest phone, but they're £99 to buy new these days. They also run cordless, which I only found out last month, so all those years of extension leads were wasted... however they're still a great portable sound and the daughter herself got one for Christmas past, to make up for me pinching hers back then. They'll run from any bluetooth device, I'm not sure how they'd sound in the car, having never tried it, but I'm well pleased with mine. Incidentally if you buy one make sure it's not the mini version which is quite a bit smaller than the original.

There may be, Richard, but I never looked... Ashford Chroming e-mailed me just at exactly the right time, so I thought I'd give them a try. They haven't made contact with me yet, I was expecting a survey-type email from them as they bombarded me with e-mails before and during the process. 21 in fact! I suppose I should let them know but it's the old typical British attitude of complaining, but not complaining... ie we'll complain ABOUT things, but not TO people...

Is that the same as / a later version of the Practical Classics Spitfire Restoration book? I do have one of those.

No, Brexit is responsible for 'Emma' (can't remember if it's a storm or a hurricane)which is blowing up from Portugal. If you breathe into the wind you can smell the lemons. The Russkies are responsible for the 'Beast from the East' so that we'll buy more Russian gas. At least in mainland UK they are. Over here the lack of a Stormont Assembly is responsible for everything, as when we had a local assembly there were always blue skies and sunshine.