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I'm no expert on the subject but I did read what seemed like a very sensible article recently that said that oil flow was the important thing, not pressure which though easier to read, can be misleading to most of us, including me, having previously assumed that high oil pressure is a good thing. If your oil galleries were blocked with crud, starving your bearings, then the oil pressure would be reassuringly higher as the pump couldn't force the oil through the obstructions. Likewise if the oil is too viscous. High pressure but low flow. Makes sense to me. The author suggested that as a rule of thumb, 10psi per 1000rpm was a healthy reading.

Hi Tom Yeah, have reservations about the Bluetooth too, the sound might be crap out of such a cheap unit, but I see it can be hard wired too, and leaves options open for different phones, even the passenger's, minimises wiring, is unobtrusive and less likely to be nicked and most of all, dirt cheap. I like cheap I take it your Kenwood head unit has a usb input to take the audio signal out of the connector?

Tom I've been toying with this idea too, though haven't done anything about it yet. I'm an iPhone user My thoughts run along the lines of epoxying a lightning plug through the base of the ashtray to provide charging and fitting some foam inside to stop it rattling about. Simple to replace if you get a different shape phone in future. For audio I was looking at this, discreetly mounted under the dash somewhere you can easily reach the knob for volume https://www.amazon.co.uk/ELEGIANT-Bluetooth-Amplifier-Motorcycle-Smartphone/dp/B01K4LLGIE/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1487771426&sr=1-11&keywords=bluetooth+car+amplifier wired up to a couple of cheap speakers somewhere. I like the idea of Bluetooth connectivity Just thinking aloud..

Thanks guys

At the risk of thread hijacking, my 67 Mk 2 Spit had some remnants of a largish b/w sticker on the bonnet underside, but not enough had survived to tell what it was. Have often wondered. See nothing like it on the sites above, or seen any other info. Anyone?

Possibly cheating, but when I did mine I used cable ties in place of those evil hooks. Adjust tension to taste before trimming off the ends. No one will ever see...

Haha, you could be right Doug. And kind of you to blame the PO's size rather than mine

Again topical (see my notes on engine core plugs above) but i just fitted my spit front springs today. And again, not a job I'm in a hurry to repeat. Should be simple, but there's a real knack to getting the buggers back in and lined up.. Took a while for Canley's to supply them as they had problems with their suppliers but I'm glad I persevered as the PO (some time before 1983..) had fitted a pair that it turns out differed in length by well over an inch and god knows what spring rate. Maybe explains the, err, challenging, handling I remember. Anyway, getting the springs onto the shocks is a safe and quick cinch with the right tool, as mentioned above, two plates with appropriate holes pulled together by long bolts, and if Adrian's offer falls through for any reason you are welcome to borrow mine, assuming Herald springs are the same. I'm in Worcestershire but happy to mail it at cost.

I believe they also serve a sacrificial function, in corroding first instead of the iron block. Im not sure brass would be a good idea.

As a matter of interest, why are you thinking of going from dished to cups? I'd be a little dubious that the block borings done for dishes would be exactly the same as for cups and as the latter are only held in by a tight interference fit you might be storing up problems. But I might be wrong. And as someone who refitted the three cups on the manifold side of an 1147 just this weekend, all the dismantling required to access them and then get the straight perpendicular strike needed to drive the new cups in right, make it a job I'm not in a hurry to repeat.. As for removing them, as Pete says. In my case, the front end weeping one was so corroded that driving it through with an old strong screwdriver and levering was as easy as opening a beer bottle. Seeing the state of it and having done the dismantling, it made sense to do the other two. On the rear, driving through was tougher, and levering just tore the centre without shifting the rim. I ended up piercing all the way around the flat to pull away the centre, grabbing with pincers and levering. The whole centre pulled off leaving just the rim still firmly lodged. Duh. Attempting to collapse the rim failed. Luckily the pincers were just of a size that I could get one blade through the hole and lodge it against the back edge of the plug enough to lever it out with the other blade against the block, if that makes sense.. The centre plug resisted three hard strikes with the screwdriver without even denting, so Im taking a gamble its pretty sound and left it alone. I too would love to know if theres a better method. I'm sure a specialist tool could be bought/made but hardly seems worthwhile for such an occasional job. Ingenuity and some brute force seem the way to go.

Err. For the dumb amongst us: What's the magnet on a stick tool thing?

Only you can be the judge of your emotional investment in your car, and what it's worth you you to keep it on the road and looking good (not necessarily the same thing). I guess we all know in our hearts that we are all p*ssing away far too much of our money on a lost cause on an investment basis but doesn't that apply to so many other things? Take, off the top of my head, gardening for example: do we worry how much that new rose bush or shrub will add to the value of our homes? No. It just looks good and gives us pleasure every time we look at it, and keep it alive. I've owned my Mk2 for well over 30 years, it gives me huge pleasure to be restoring it to as good as new, to be saving a bit of engineering and motoring history, maintaining memories of youth and by the by, depriving the Chancellor of the rip-off road tax. Yes, It's cost me a lot, but less than a top of the line BMW or something would depreciate in its first year of ownership. And to me, its far more fun to own and drive. I could equally have spent just as much on restoring a Hillman Imp, Trabant or a Skoda, or even glugging fine wines, but this is how I've chosen to indulge myself. Really, only you can chose

Slight detour, and possibly inappropriate plug, but I had my Spit Mk2 radiator, which obviously is a bit larger, recored by a very nice chap at A1 Radiators in Banbury for about £115. Slightly crap repaint, but cant complain. You might want to ask around a bit more. The smaller GT6 rad might come in a bit cheaper I had bought a new one from Canleys which turned out to be a copy of a US spec 1500 one which while it worked and fitted fine, came to offend me in having a slightly different shape, no fan shield , drain tap or indeed Stanpart name pressing. But I am a tad anal about originality. Can't pass any intelligent comments on GT6 cooling obviously, but I'm happy.

Folk knowlege, and I believe the standard tome on setting our cars up for racing has it that the extra ring creates extra drag hence inhibiting performance. I'm no expert but I've learned over the years to have a healthy respect for the original engineers' wisdom and doubt they'd have gone to the trouble and expense of tooling up the extra ring without any good reason.

Damn, wish I had someone like that.