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DanMi

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Everything posted by DanMi

  1. only the more expensive 5.5j are tubeless (just checked on MWS), but yes if you do buy them get them new as the hubs on the wheels do wear out and originals are now very old but not cheap at £1600 odd for the set. I remember my brother getting a second hand set in the 80s, we left the shop drove down the road and when he put the brakes on the hubs just span, went back and taken straight off. I would get it running well and drive it for a while before spending any money, I personally like the look of the steel wheels with hub caps but would hunt out a set of 4.5j rather than the narrow 3.5j. I have gone back to the standard exhaust, which I think sounds great on the MK2 (my car had a 1500 for many years hence twin exhaust now back to 1147) but it is personal choice
  2. I have a set of wires that I used to use, that have been sitting in my garden for 10 years, put the car back to steels (vitesse so slightly wider) I don't want to open a can of worms but I found that they flexed when cornering, were a pig to balance and I would only ever consider tubeless as modern tyres do not have a smooth inner surface designed for inner tubes oh and unless you are constantly tightening them they clonk. They do look good though if you like cleaning them (I think you guess that I am not a fan)
  3. mk2 had no mirrors bar the rear view as standard so yes they are aftermarket, could be dealer fit but likely fitted later at any point over the last 55 years, can be replaced with anything that fits the holes
  4. I hope you are right but worth a look, you may be right as it doesn't look like the pipe is getting wet but really hard to tell in a video
  5. I am afraid to say this, but if you look carefully in your video, you can actually see a jet of water coming from a bit below the head gasket and hitting the pipe that runs under the manifold. This would indicate to me a cracked block (runs for cover!) As to the engine mounts worn looking originals may be better than the poor quality ones supplied today
  6. http://vitessesteve.co.uk/Servicemanuals this site has loads of good docs inc the parts manual and service guide. If it is a copper gasket I would suggest that it is either been in there a long time or a new old stock one has been used as the one supplied today are no longer copper (asbestos!)
  7. but also check all of the heater hoses in that area for tightness and splits, as it could be that simple. It shouldn't use 2.5l in a years motoring so there is clearly a water leak. Plus have a look at the oil, does it look like mayonnaise, which would indicate that water is getting into the oil (poss head gasket or a crack in the cylinder head itself) a little on the oil cap is ok but not if it is on the dipstick. If the oil looks like mayonnaise don't run it as it could cause more damage.
  8. That looks like a water leak rather than oil, smell should tell you but it looks like steam so that and the bubbling from the joint between engine and head (looks too thin for oil and looks like it has caused a bit of corrosion) would suggest head gasket problems. Fortunately pretty easy to replace (though worth checking the head for flatness when off). You could try just torqueing the head nuts, you might get lucky. oil leaks at the rear of the engine will be one of 3 things 1. rocker box gasket (dead easy fix), 2. leak from the oil channel to the rocker via head gasket ( very common and often ignored but new head gasket). 3. the aluminium pushrod tubes (near spark plugs) and an absolute pig to fix ( Ihave never 100% succeeded so just ignore the slight weep) Oh well shame the roof wasn't there. You will need the soft top cover, the 3 stiffeners that I linked to earlier and a bar that sits in a pocket in the roof and clips into the deck clips
  9. The reason is the flash. If you swap the leads around then if you pull the stalk toward you as a flash it will flash dipped not main, I guess not a huge issue.
  10. well I disagree with the factory, you go to main when you need more light to see because a corner has just appeared ahead far les important if it goes dark when you are trying to reduce the lighting, in fact the best way was what the factory changed to at the MK4, just main and dipped on the stalk, so they clearly realised that it was an issue
  11. I have converted my mk2 spit to work like that as I got fed up with coming to a corner going to put the lights on full beam only to realise they already where when it went dark. why it wasn't side-main - high I never have understood. Not difficult to do
  12. 1500 spit got the later column in about 1978 GT6 finished in about 1974
  13. or on the wrong side, particularly if you have overdrive on a column stalk as I do, they can be replaced with LHD ones, mine have vanished over the years so it's ok
  14. It is very simple as I have done this. just swap the stalks over (ok the light will be upside down unless you buy a left hand drive one) then undo the steering uj from the rack and turn the column 180 degrees so that the cancel lug is now at 9 oclock rather than 3 when straight ahead. No modification to the stalk is needed.
  15. just 6 bolts with a 1/2 inch spanner, 2 in the top of the windscreen frame two on the back deck and 1 either side in the b-post through the tubes where the softop frame sits.
  16. If that is the case then you really need to investigate why. A spitfire with well set up brakes should be able to lock the wheels, so there can be no more braking force applied. Yes they require more leg effort as not boosted but they should stop the car very quickly, and mine has the smaller type 12 callipers. Yes they are very small, light and have no crumple zones etc, so they do need to be driven defensively. Mine will happily sit on the motorway if I want to get somewhere, though it is not their natural habitat and as Pete says big trucks can be daunting.
  17. a comfortable speed would be about 60 at just under 4000 RPM with overdrive similar revs is about 75
  18. Does it have overdrive? from the pics I can only see 1 stalk to the right of the column, which should be indicators and it was optional and not mentioned on the heritage cert, so not there when new. If it doesn't it is a great upgrade if you can find the bits (mine has the OD gearbox from a mk4 so synchro on 1st), I can cruise at 75mph easily. I will tell you that the footwell carpet on the drivers side may be a pain, with the clutch pedal catching on it (you can see the marks). I replace mine with a moulded mk4 new old stock because of this (TD Fitchet) a very minor issue! or some velcro to hold it down. The rest looks good. It will drive just fine, you will use the light stalk to indicate if used to a modern as the indicators are on the right (possibly better on a RHD car) I have swapped mine around and you will find that the brakes need more force as they are not power assisted, but they work fine just takes getting used to and you may find when getting back in the modern that you hit them too hard after using the spit, but you get used to it. You will find the driving position a bit odd to start with as the pedals are all to the right of the column. As to using the button on the handbrake Ford/Jaguar advised that you pull the handbrake on without pushing the button on the MK3 Mondeo / X-type as they had them not hold when people did
  19. soft top is always useful but if just for emergencies a much cheaper vinyl one will work perfectly, mine is now about 30 years old and still fine.
  20. I have had a look at the listing, looks good. As they say that it has a starting handle! (that is the handle to the jack) I would be very surprised if they knew about hood storage. So don't do anything until you pull that rear cockpit panel forward. I did note that it is missing the strap to hold the soft top frame (not a big deal) when not in use. There should be a leather strap on the top centre screw that holds the petrol tank panel in place (in the boot), a small leather dog collar will work perfectly. The frame then sits with the base poles on the wheel arches and the centre attached with the missing strap.
  21. I can't see how the same wind deflector could fit both the mk2 and later cars as the attachments are so different, but I haven't tried fitting one, The MK2 has nothing to bolt to and I see bolts in those kits. My opinion is to get the car and try driving it before even thinking about this. Also if the hood cover isn't there, think about how you will use the car before deciding on a roof type. If as is my case the car is garaged and only driven with the hood down (unless caught in rain) then is it worth paying extra for an expensive material. My money is still on the hood being behind the cockpit panel, very few people know about this storage place
  22. To be fair the cars had a design life of about 10-15 years, so really that manky bit of cable was perfectly adequate, just not up to still being used 40-50 years later
  23. basically the mk1 and 2 bodies are identical with minor changes that happened throughout production run. The only difference that occurred at the mk2 release was the mk2 boot badge and the bonnet grills. Main differences where interior upgrades with carpet and more vinyl trim and the engine had a bit more power due to a different cam and exhaust manifold
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