Herald948

That actually appears to be a decent installation for a capillary type gauge, with the necessary adapter for the bulb-type sender. Also, with that adapter, it probably avoids the one potential problem with the sender in the thermostat housing, which is that you really need to have a "flat-top" bellows-type thermostat. Modern thermostats would foul on the sender unless some sort of adapter or spacer is used. It's not always easy to find those older bellows thermostats these days. BTW, temp gauges were always fitted at the factory for North American-spec. Heralds.

I don't believe this is an issue of "pattern parts"; rather, it was Lucas who redid the L584 lamp unit. Two significant changes: the obvious one noted here of no "divider" piece, and the fact that there were now LH and RH lenses, much flatter than the rather peaked lenses of the original lamp. (The original lamps were not "sided" as such; one simply flipped over the base to properly orient the flasher part towards the outside of the car.) This might even have been done in the late 1960s, but I'm not sure about that!

That procedure as described in the Workshop Manual is fine, although I prefer to support the car on jack stands once the diff is bolted in and the spring and axle shafts bolted up. I find it easier to do it as described rather than trying to work around tight spaces created once the wheels/tires are on the ground! If you think about it, it's pretty much the same effect either way! However you do it (and perhaps to be overly thorough), leave the spring eye bolts, bolts on both ends of the radius arms, and everything securing the shocks a bit loose, then use a jack to raise the bottom of each vertical link in turn until the car just begins to lift off the jack stands, secure the nuts, do the other side, and you're done!

I dunno; in my time, I've locked up front wheels on all-drum-braked Heralds without Hercluean effort! 😀 Granted, that's not so easy to do after a long descent down a steep mountain road, but.... 😮

Does 155/70R13 even exist as a size? If so, it -- or even a 165/70R13 is going to have a diameter noticeably smaller than an original tire, and most people are not looking for something that essentially further "lowers" the gearing in these cars! A 175/70R13 is pretty close to original diameter and will work on a 4.5" rim.

Well, he was the chap who made them. He's now passed the project onto a Ralph Hansen, who is tooling up to continue manufacture of them.

First time I saw filters on modern Hondas and such, I also was surprised at how small they were compared to the oil filters I was used to: not only the typical spin-on filter of a 1200 Herald but the yet older filters found on 1950s American cars, with a cannister almost the size of a coffee can! But remember, dinosaurs were less refined 50-60 years ago, so the oil they produced wasn't as good.

"They fool you by walking upright!" 🙄

Re: Engine damage. At age 17 or so, in my first Herald, I managed to ignore things long enough that, while driving along, the engine suddenly got very sluggish. I did know enough to shut it down, and I walked the thankfully short distance to the nearest gas station. Long story short: took four quarts (US) of oil to bring the level back up to full. For its last year or so, the Mk3 Spitfire I had used oil at a rate of something like 30 mi./qt! There were times when I had no choice but to motor on with the warning light scowling at me, but that little 1296 never gave me one moment of grief! A few years later, my GT6+ light started to remain on at all times. Replacing the switch fixed the problem. Fast forward to about 10 years ago (different Herald). Engine always seemed fine, but it got to the point where the oil warning light was staying on at higher and higher revs. Once I discovered the pressure switch was LEAKING SLOWLY, I replaced it, and all was fine.

Just a thought: Whether you wire an air horn or an amber Lucas Fog Ranger lamp to the pressure switch, the fact remains that said warning is not going to occur until that pressure drop is down to about 7-10 lbs/sq. in. based on the specs of an original sender. At that point, does it matter, or is the damage (potentially) already done? If I were to go to all this trouble, I think I'd want to try to find a sender that would alert you at a somewhat higher level, say <20 lbs./sq. in? 🤔

This statement is counter to pretty much everything I've read or seen in photographs and films of the assembly line. The statement is true as it pertains to the TR2-6 range, but the "SC" range had complete, bolted together body/chassis units that were painted as such and then fitted with all the mechanical and trim bits. Standard Triumph Factory, Canley. Triumph Herald Production

My practical, real-life experience with twin-carb installations on otherwise stock Herald 1147cc engines seems to parallel that of others here, as well as the "conventional wisdom" I've read in several places over the years. Only adding the dual SUs (without any other modifications) does seem to be good for a bit of extra power at higher revs, but the price for that is a bit of a loss of "low-end grunt"! I actually have the opposite problem: One of my Heralds came to me with a Spitfire Mk2 block and head installed with the original "12/50-style" manifold and single Solex. It's fine, but I have been meaning to throw some proper Spitfire dual carbs and manifolds on to see what I might "gain back" from doing so!

I don't know that the average mechanic gets any more of that "£80-£130 per hour" rate in a modern dealership than they would at a restoration shop. What the shop charges and what they pay their help are two different things. That said, I agree otherwise. I'm often amazed at people who might balk at paying, say, £15 for an OE-quality wheel cylinder for a Triumph but don't blink when shelling out many, many times that much for...whatever...on their modern car! Beyond that, what we'll truly lose when it's only those "top end restoration businesses" is the knowledge base of people like Mark as well as their attention to details. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here, but wasn't ADU1B deemed so "correct" that it was ultimately accepted as more or less the "real thing" and not simply a replica?

One could only hope that another Triumph specialist could, at least, pick up where Mark left off?

Murphy's Law and all that.... (Were Murphy and Sod related?)

Quick thoughts: I agree with others that your oil pressure likely is just fine! On the dynamator, can I assume that your original dynamo (generator) would've been a C40L and that the new dynamator more nearly resembles the shorter C40 dynamo?

I don't know what, if anything, this relates to, but FDU75001 and later US-spec. Spitfires had the mechanical linkage attached to the single Stromberg rather than the dual SUs.

Perhaps you've been lucky, Doug, esepcially if your engine hasn't been running towards the hot side! I've often encountered similar "blockage" there; invariably, I would keep at it until I'd broken through the crud and silt and rust and coolant started gushing out as it should. Just as invariably, that action would (for me) bring running temperatures down significantly!

I'm not sure what the veneer was. The circles you feel in the steel are a holdover from the GT6's fresh-air vents. You'd have to mark and cut the wood appropriately, but they do make for an easy way to add extra gauges to the dash!

My biggest fear at this point is that any further attempts to run the engine might well result in an unplanned "inspection hole" in the side of the block. 🙁

I thought the original Vitesse 6 had 3.5" wheels?

"Roto-flex" or "swing-axle / swing-spring" suspension?

The glass itself of the later windshield is taller, but the overall height of the windshield frame is pretty much the same. The difference is that the glass goes "deeper" into the bottom of the integral frame of the MkIV/1500 Spitfires and MkIII GT6, as I recall.

I have experienced this, and I know of others who have as well. However, the typical result is holding pressure AFTER brake application, rather than BLOCKING pressure as brakes are applied. But I'm sure it's possible either way. Also, newer replacement hoses simply don't seem to be of the quality and durability of OE Girling hoses (and even those probably shouldn't be trusted after all these years). So, even five-year-old hoses might be due for renewal again?

Actually, no. The earliest Vitesse 6 models did not have a temperature gauge (except for the "Sports 6" version in the USA). It was not until sometime in 1963 when the more common "small dial" dashboard replaced the single large speedometer with smaller speedo, tach, and separate fuel and temp gauges, which happened around HB15001, I believe. I'm looking at the same early Vitesse 6 SPC, which has the diagram shown above, and I see no mention of a temp "transmitter" (or, for that matter, even the thermostat housing/elbow)! There is, however, full detailing of the gauge and wiring! Anyway, from a few photos I've saved over the years, it appears that the sender on the US-spec. Sports 6 would have gone in that threaded hole where the later cars had the heater hose. Remember, these early cars also originally had the Solex semi-downdraught carbs with no manifold pre-heater, so no need for a coolant takeoff for same.) I hope this helps sort things out; I'm assuming your car has the later twin Strombergs, right?