DerekS

Hello all, I'm spending a few nights in the warmth organising the paperwork for my !500 Spit. It's one of these things I've put off doing and now I'm really getting in to it; enjoying doing it. I'm trying to find the exact date that the very last one was built (Pete, are you there? I think you answered this for me some time back and I've lost the note I made...sorry.) Any book I have just says "August 1980". (Mine was built on the 1st of August.) Internet searches get the same result. Presumably there was also a time on that date that someone decided it was all over, or did they just work to a normal day's finish time? The other question I have concerns the Commission numbers, the final one being 009898. Were all numbers allocated to cars built and in sequence? Was it a simple system? So, for example, if a car has the C/no: 008898 was there actually another 100 cars built? Or 007898, 200 cars built? Etc etc. Factory codes can be confusing to the outsider. Daft questions, I know but I would love to have a clear understanding of the process. Thankyou for your patience...

Am sure you'll get sorted Darren, interesting wee job to get sorted, thanks for the reply, Cheers!

Hello Darren, I rebuilt my Lucas alternernator 2years ago with a full kit from an outfit in Northern Ireland, (on ebay,) Mid-Ulster Rotating Electrics. Thoroughly recommend them, £21 for the full kit delivered, if I remember correctly, the next day. They also responded to an enquiry regarding the wiring within an hour with an emailed photo! Very helpful people. I'm sure there must be others... Best regards, Derek. P.S. website= www.rotatingelectrics.co.uk

Clive/Pete and all, further to the oil spec thread, I was in our local Wilkos today and they keep Comma EP80/90 GL4, £3:50 a litre, so I grabbed a couple. Comma have a technical department and I fired off an email to see what they have to say. I was impressed with the speed and enthusiasm of the response. They reckon while GL4 will do perfectly well, GL5 is actually nearer to original service spec. I'll listen to what you guys have said though and go with the GL4, as always I'm in danger of thinking myself into a corner. Many thanks to all for your thoughts!

Thankyou for all your comments re the EP90, very interesting indeed. I have a small job to do on the overdrive, the filter gasket has a small weepage, and I'll take the opportunity to change the oil and give EP90 a go. Apart from the GL4 spec, are there any brands preferred? I see the club shop has Millers...

Good morning, I'm a bit confused here, I seem to remember reading on the forum some years ago and possibly the Moss catalogue, that EP90, I.e. an extreme pressure oil as recommended by Triumph, was actually the wrong oil. I've used Penrite 40, recommended by them for O/Ds with no problems. And added bonus is no smell. Can anyone clarify this, please?

Pete, you're right, the other thing that i didn't mention is that I went mad and covered it BOTH sides with bitumen-coated sound proofing felt, designed for engine bays. (Done the rest of the car, too) Triumph's attempt at soundproofing was unbelievably crude. Obviously I had to play about with regards to clearances but generally it was easy and straightforward. It's amazing how much quieter the car is but also how much cooler on the feet, too. Great in Summer but it will be a miss in Winter...

Hopefully attached is a pic of my solution. Hopefully. But I'm not convinced. P.S. Sorry for hijacking this lead. I was never able to publish photos on the old site, this is the first time I've tried, no problem at all. Time to say thankyou very much indeed and very well done to all involved in the site rebuild!

Robin, if you are removing the tunnel cover for any reason, it's well worth taking a little more time and making access provision for your gearbox filler plug; a small, easily removable plate or whatever. It was one of the first jobs I did when I got my car and it has saved soooooo much grief... well worth doing.

Good evening, you can do this easily with a home-made tool. You need a (spare) Jubilee clip (worm-drive hose clip), 2" or bigger, open it right up and straighten it out, bend the end over with pliers and have a play with the pliers to get it to be a decent fit on the clip. A decent size blob of grease will hold the clip in place while you lower it in to the door, position it and lift it to engage the clip. The first job I did on my spit! You'll manage! Best regards, Derek.

Hello Andy, I also used the blue comfort grade Polybushes in my 1500 Spit. I am delighted with the transformation, very comfortable and very happy with the handling, also quite a bit quieter. Sorry though, I can't comment on the difference in manufacturers.

Thanks for the reply , Pete, I will leave the spacer on for a while and see how it goes. Meanwhile I would welcome any comments, good or bad! Best regards.

Good evening, this is the first time that I've posted a question on the new website. It's about a second washer on the left-hand side of the front diff mounting plate, described in the official British Leyland Parts Catalogue and Rimmers catalogue, as a distance washer, part number 134603. Bear with me! I run a 1980 spitfire 1500, one of the last made. When I bought the car it had been fitted with a replacement diff and rear spring. Very often after a long run, when reversing, the car would judder, shaking the exhaust. I replaced the rubber mounting bushes last year with Polybush ones; it was obvious they hadn't been changed when the diff was done. While it has more or less cured the judder, it still isn't as smooth as I would like and it was only by chance that I was looking through a couple of parts catalogues when I noticed this distance washer, which was missing from my car. I ordered one on Friday from Rimmers and it arrived yesterday morning. In the catalogues it is shown as being fitted below the normal washer, i.e. the ones that are fitted to both sides; but the hole in the washer itself is the same size as the Polybush (the captive stud is stepped in diameter to suit) which suggests that it is fitted under the Polybush and then the normal washer under that, then the nut. If it was fitted as shown in the catalogues, given the different diameters, it would not be effective at all.That is how I have fitted it although it must be compressing the Polybush mountings on that side to some degree. The car is fitted throughout with Blue "Comfort" grade polybushes. (Superb.) I take that it is there to stop the diff twisting under torque in reverse? Sorry for being so long-winded! So the big question is have I got it right? I have a variety of workshop manuals but none of the mention it!!!As always, your experience, thoughts and comments would be appreciated!