Paulfc

What an excellent and outstanding rebrand/remodelling/relaunch of the Courier! And all best wishes to Paul Guinness in the editorship role. Thanks to all who put in the hard work to produce and create the “new” house/Club magazine.

I don’t remember “Tyersoles” but often visited Birkenhead market with my Dad to buy leather for him to repair the family’s shoes. You could also buy rubber stick-on soles with the resplendent name of “R-Soles”!

I’ve had my 6 since 2019. Limited use over the winter when I tend to service/uprate/modify and generally tinker. I try to take it out at least once a month for a run but occasionally it sits for a couple months between startings. As an example, I started it last night having replaced the tachometer cable and, as I probably won’t be able to take it for a run for at least a week or so, wanted to ensure all was well. It was previously out and about mid December. Switched on the ignition and let the Bosch pump prime for 30 seconds, pulled the “choke” fully out and it fired first time. The 30 second prime period definitely seems to make a difference. Also, as has been mentioned, a “cheap” trickle charger is an excellent investment. Paul

Hi Chris, Thank you for the advice. Paul

As I work around the underside of the car I use Gravitex on wheel arches, chassis etc. overpainting whatever is there having first cleaned away oil, grease and the like. The car doesn’t get a huge amount of use and this approach suits my driving regime and, I have to say, I find Gravitex really good. It does dry matt black. I have some minor damage to the black stonechip that’s exposed bare metal on the lower sills which I may cover with Gravitex. Can anyone please advise me if I do this, and maybe also the entire under sill, can I overpaint it, and with what, to achieve a gloss finish? Thanks

Out of genuine interest, does anyone know (and can explain) how this is achieved? Paul

Hi Stu, I’m not a Herald owner but if you google vitessesteve you’ll find access to an extensive resource of all things Triumph, and more besides. Depending what you help yourself to consider dropping Steve a donation. Paul

Apologies if this has been referred to elsewhere: there’s a really interesting piece in the November issue of practical CLASSICS on the topic of synthetic fuel. Maybe all is not doom and gloom. Paul

Thanks all. My original loom definitely has some spade connectors that are slightly larger or smaller than modern equivalents. No matter though, as I’ve opted to “chop and change” where necessary.

Thanks Colin. I’ll dig around for a little longer before reaching for the cutters.

Is it possible to still buy imperial sized male/female/piggyback etc. connectors? Don’t want to start chopping and re-ending things unless I have to. Thanks, Paul

If you are a Windows user and keep the OS up to date it’s pretty robust from a security perspective. Of course, there are absolutely no guarantees against rogue operators but sensible precautions will generally keep you safe. I, too, got caught with a security software provider and it took me quite sometime to extricate myself from their “contract” and ended up giving them almost twelve months notice and then ignoring the bombardment of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) messages telling me all sorts of catastrophes that were about to befall me if I didn’t renew. OS security won’t, of course, keep you safe from Mail scams but common sense will go a long way to keeping safe.

Great to see it coming together. Paul

Steve, Glad you’re on your way to sorting it. Life’s never dull with a Triumph! Paul

Steve, I measured mine and it’s ~ 184mm. I then dug out from deepest recesses of my garage the original box that’s still attached to a section of original cross member and it’s the same - see image. You may like to try this technique to align the boxes on the cross member. I was taught this by a a guy who has restored many small chassis Triumphs and is still doing so. If you’re familiar with it my apologies. Get a piece of straight timber no less than 18mm thick and about 140mm deep and about 900mm long. Mark the centre point of the length. From there mark either side at approx. 349mm, this being the centres for the bolts that the bonnet hinges on. Drill two holes in the timber for each box and bolt the boxes to the timber. Test, measure and adjust until you’re happy the two boxes are aligned the same on the timber. You’ve then got them laterally positioned and can position them on the cross member both at the same time and adjust etc. Providing the cross member is straight and at the correct height you should be able to get them within the stated tolerances. Obviously you can clamp and tack weld them before removing the timber. Hope this helps and let’s know how you get on. If this doesn’t make sense please let me know and I’ll try and clarify. Paul

Kevin, Thanks for clarifying. It just goes to show, you never stop learning. Paul

Ouch!! Hi Kevin, The diagram is from the WSM (purchased from the Club many years ago) page 5.104. Page 5.106 details the differences with Mk I and II. These were certainly the dimensions used by myself as I have no other reference. As you can see from the images it all goes together as it should. Clearly dimension 2 is incorrect while 3 is correct. Steve, My sincere apologies for apparently misleading you! Should you want to continue I’m happy to supply dimensions from my car but I’m the first to admit there are many more experienced than I on here who, I’m sure, will happily guide you. Paul

Steve, I got out and have taken some pics. What I can’t see on your pics are the bracketry that connects to the inner wings and goes into the hinge boxes to provide the pivot points. It’s made up of parts 911108/7 and 911150 as shown on parts diagram. Assuming your boxes are set equidistant from the centre of the cross member the distance between bolt centres is 690mm. The distance between the outside edges of the boxes is 760mm. The gap tween the bottom from edge of the bonnet and the horizontal top of the box is 90mm, The outer edges of the boxes extend out from the cross member 190mm. Does any of this help? If not and you additional images/dimensions please let me know. Paul

Hi, The attached are the correct dimensions for the GT6 MkIII. These are what I used to set my new cross member and position the hinge boxes. I still haven’t been able to get an hour in the garage but will try again tomorrow and get some dimensions and pics. Any issues with the attached let me know and I’ll resend. Paul

Hi, I’ll take a look as soon as I can at my car and take some measurements, tomorrow hopefully. The chassis diagram you say is a Spitfire and certainly is significantly different to GT6 dimensions in the WSM. Not meaning to be pretentious, but are you sure the boxes are mounted to the cross member correctly? Also, are they GT6 III boxes?

Hi, Happy to help but can’t immediately get to the car. Any chance you can send me a couple of images? When you say too low - measured from where? Paul

On my TR6 I have a battery isolator and a steering wheel lock. However, it has an original petrol tank cap which is not lockable. Leaving it anywhere frightens the heebie-geebies out of me. So a lockable version is high on my list. I agree with Colin, the greater risk is from vandalism rather than theft.

+1

Hi, If you enter your query on one of the general search engines you’ll almost certainly be directed to forums where similar issues have been discussed previously. Paul

Mark, If SWMBO is happy travelling in the horsebox surely you’ve solved the problem? Paul