petegardner_901

“Skulls”…? As in, more than one? wow - cool. Two heads!!!

It’ll be, “Does it vape?” soon.

Hi all Any comments on this … checked the compression on the engine (done properly, engine warmed, throttle open etc) and got 120 psi on each cylinder - virtually identical. (It’s a 998cc A series) I poured a little oil in one cylinder and then got 140 psi. Now, does this mean there is a lot of bore wear - or an acceptable amount? I’m not too worried if the engine has to come out for a rebore but obviously if it’s not necessary then fine. Thanks!

What a clever idea - I’d never have thought of that…👀 I’ve now done the bleeding - on my back with a sawn down ring spanner to fit the bleed (ing) nipple… all good but thanks to both for comments cheers pete

Hi This may be a silly one but on my Spitfire 1500 are the bleed nipple and feed pipe from master cylinder interchangeable on the slave cylinder? I was going to bleed the clutch but the bleed nipple is above the feed pipe so tricky to get at. If I undo both and swap them round the bleed nipple is much more accessible

Just had one!!!

Thanks all as usual loads of excellent comments- don’t know what I’d do without the forum….!

Oh I know I haven’t connected the vacuum hose yet!!

Hi all just fitted a servo to the Spitfire- no problems- but just wondering when it comes to bleeding the brakes should I have the engine running or doesn’t it matter???

Well…… For those of you still interested (!) the final saga in all this…. I discovered there was NO circlip on the old cup, so it could simply be levered out upwards… Turns out it is shorter than the new on (see pic - new one on left with circlip attached ) so it was pretty simple to tap the new one down and clip the circlip on underneath - crimped it together nice and tight with mole grips - and now the gear-lever feels beautiful. So nice when you get a tricky job out the way. Many thanks for the responses - it’s good to know you’re out there!!!

Ha! Is that possible or are you jesting…?? 🤪

I shall have a go tomorrow… only worry is if I destroy the old getting it out I am past the point of no return…! I am thinking then that from what you’ve said the lip on the plastic cup stops it dropping down and the circlip stops it pulling up. therefore, if I grind/saw/ cut/bite the lip off the old one it should push down and out. THEN, I might be able to fit the circlip first to the new one and tap it down - although I suppose the idea is the circlip is slightly too big to fit the hole at the top. so as Pete said, then I have a faff fitting the circlip. wondering if it actually NEEDS. a circlip - could the cup move upwards during normal use without it??

Thanks Colin! Ok - here are four pics. Pic 1 shows the top plate (as I mentioned - a different shape to the Canley diagram - and it IS an overdrive) Pic 2 shows the new cup and circlip Pic 3 is a pic of the end of the remote (single rail) showing the existing plastic cup embedded in the metal seat. Pic 4 shows a shot underneath the plastic cup. Now, (if you're still reading...!!) I can't get enough access to the plastic cup as it won't slide back any further. I assumed I would have to remove the circlip from the bottom of the existing cup to lever it out, but looking at it, it seems the circlip is not visible, so does this mean I literally use brute force to lever the old one out, fit the circlip BEFORE I put the new cup on, and tap the whole lot home? Or am I just mad.

Thanks for the comments. I really am confused… the pic from Canley Pete shows has a different shaped top plate to mine and the circlip appears to be above the plastic cup..? mine seems to be below and I can’t shift the housing that holds the cup enough to get at the clip… I’ll take a couple of pics and pop them up on the site. Beginning to wonder if I should be allowed to handle spanners…<sigh>

Should I go down this route... This is a single rail, overdrive gearbox in my 1500 Spit... I bought the plastic cup and circlip for the bottom of the gearlever hoping it would be an easy job to replace it... Haha. I can't quite get at the circlip to enable me to remove the old plastic cup, so, I have taken the top cover off the top of the remote (tight squeeze) in the hope of releasing the selector fork on the end of the rail that the gearlever moves, thus sliding the whole rail out backwards... It's a very tight squeeze and can't quite see what's what - the selector fork is held on the rail by what looks like a square headed bolt. I've stopped at this point as I don't want to do something that ends up me taking the whole gearbox out... Tempted to put the whole thing back together and live with a sloppy gear lever. Anyone? Is there a way of getting the plastic cup out simply?? P

Yoo hoo all, I can’t seem to find any replacement bits to sort the sloppy gear lever on the Spit. Single rail. Any ideas? It’s like stirring a bowl of porridge. I’ve taken the transmission tunnel out anyway to replace clutch slave so full access to it all. I had a look at Rimmers site but can’t find anything. thanks Pete

Hi anyone familiar with this part? it’s the shaped piece that closes the front of the sill - I bought one to weld in place but the piece itself has a shaped angle piece that I can’t see does anything. see photo! I was thinking I’d just cut it off as I could then weld the end cap in place more easily. am I missing something here?

Excellent! Make sure the solenoid is perfect before you bung the whole unit in the car as the lower attachment screw for the solenoid is almost impossible to get at afterwards…😩

Right Next question… thought about fitting an electric fuel pump - SU type - to my Mk3 GT6 as it takes ages cranking up to get the fuel into the carbs. got this reply from Burlen: “The pump most suitable will be an AZX 1308, high pressure 12volt rear mounted pump.This has a minimum flow of 15 gals/hour at up to 3.8psi.” I was hoping to be able to fit it under the bonnet but this would be a pain under the tank at the back. Any thoughts p

Brilliant thanks all p

Sorry if this is a dimwit query but how do I tell which gearbox I have? Single or 3 rail? 1979 late Spitfire 1500 p

Hi I have found this advert on eBay for a "genuine QH fuel pump" Any thoughts? Pete

Standard replacement bush….£6.12 Uprated one…………………..…….£25.50 Which one should I go for?!!!!!

Paranoia I think is the main problem… I’ve just fitted a new thermostat, topped up and gone for a run - several miles so up to temp. All seems good. I’m not yet 100% sure because as I said last time there was a good stream of bubbles in the overflow bottle and it took about 3 or 4 pints. But this time fine. I love my car. 😳🔫

Still having overheating problems here. I drove it for several miles with no thermostat to see if that was causing the trouble but the water was literally boiling in the overflow bottle when I got in. Head gasket is ok, no thermostat in, no leaks, electric fan working properly….. could a dodgy radiator cap cause this?