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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.

Hey Mat. 900 sounds reasonable, well done. As I said its taken me a few years to pull together all the parts at reasonable cost. Haven't kept track of the costs stupidly (prefer not to know, or the wife to find out, to tell the truth..) but its probably around that. I had to get round indicator repair patches let into Mk3 rectangular hole quarter valances at high cost before those "correct" valences became available. but hey ho Haven't started the rebuild job yet, waiting for warmer weather and more time, and can't find any descriptions of the process online, but my current plan to mitigate alignment issues is to start by removing the support tubes of my existing bonnet to clean them up along with the top panel and front grille area, which are sound but tatty. I'll then replace the tubes to the existing marks to keep alignment before cutting away the rotted wings, wheel arches and sidelight areas and replacing with new, based on the datum points of the pivot brackets and the rear strengthener which links the back of the top with the rear edge of the wings, which I'll retain. Hopefully it will all line up on reassembly and drop straight back on. I'm mainly using a spot welder so working out the original panel assembly order in order to get access to the right seam at the right time, particularly around the D plate area, is a bit of a mind bender right now but I hope enlightenment dawns at the right time. Unless anyone out there has done this before and can share their experience?

Can you recommend an adhesive John? Was poised to just use regular Evostik

Hi Mike Im doing the same thing on my Mk2 and have been doing a lot of research on this. I haven't gone down the plastic overlay route because Ive yet to find anyone who's been truly happy with one. Cant specifically comment on the Rimmer one. So, having eventually worked out how to get the s*(%ing thing off, (long story) Ive filled the cracks with Gorilla Glue which foams up quite nicely with a touch of water mist, is as strong as hell, and any excess can be trimmed and sanded smooth quite easily if you don't leave it too long. Pretty pleased with the result, its strong straight and smooth. Other building type spray foams may work but all the ones I experimented with didn't have the control, strength or rigidity. At your own risk of course, I'd recommend doing a few tests first to see if it works for you.. Following advice from another forum I'll be going down the Park Lane route as well. Some suggest a layer of 1/8 inch foam under the vinyl but my original has come up so well now I'm hoping to avoid that and its extra thickness, and still get a smooth result.

Ive been on the lookout for a better Mk2 bonnet myself for years without luck. I saw TD Fitchett used to do a Mk3 one for about 1100 quid (believe they have all the original pressing tools) but their web site is crap so I can't check now. Maybe worth a call? A rebuild will be my next big job, Ive managed to now assemble all the requisite bits over the years. The round holed quarter valances which always rot were unobtanium for ages but someone seems to be remaking them now, albeit not very tidily. It may be Paddocks? I did see a NOS GT6 one on the bay of evil for a mere 2800 or so, that might still available but they won't ship to the UK for some reason...

Again, can only speak from my limited experience and a lot of googling, but both methods have their issues. Blasting, even with soft media, can distort panels, is a bugger to clean up from and can't penetrate box sections which are likely to rot. Dipping is expensive and I've read reports of the corrosive fluid lurking in crevices and sections to come back and screw up fresh paintwork, among other issues. On my project I cut out and replaced all the rot I could find, rubbed back all the surface rust with a strip disc and/or wire brush and then gave it a good coating of metal-prep ( basically phosphate) before epoxy primer. So far so good. Enclosed box sections I've drenched with copious amounts of Dinitrol on a warm day and with lots of turning so it coats all internal surfaces. Still cost me a lot less than dipping and I'm pretty confident it will do the job. Others no doubt will disagree.

I'd highly recommend a pair of adjustable door gap braces based on my experience, which admittedly involved a chassis transplant and some serious sill/floor repair. Buy second hand and flog them on again later, will cost you hardly anything if you are lucky. Remember that these cars were not built by robots but practically by hand and to very loose tolerances, and the tubs can flex enormously once removed. If you hope to have good door/panel gaps on completion being able to open or close the door gap a little during fettling can make all the difference. And also keep the H shaped dash support in place as much as you can: that also stops the frontal area from sagging or folding in itself. I'd also suggest getting, or welding up if you have the skills, a rotisserie to hang the tub on if you are taking it off. Makes restoration a lot easier. I got one off t'interweb for around 200 notes and sure I will have no trouble in moving it on when the time comes I come to my senses and realise I never want to restore another Spittie. Just my $0.02