ShaunW

OD split from gbox. Mmm. Doesn't seem to be a cam in there at all! I guess the photo shows the slot for the woodruff key but definitely no cam and definitely didn't drop anything on the floor when I separated it.

Interesting, thanks. I didn't think the fracture looked fresh so it may well have been done for quite some time. I'll get that number written down in my 'useful stuff' notebook.

Thank Pete & Wayne. All received and understood. Would anyone here know the part number of that clutch lever? I've seen one that looks similar advertised for a TR7 but no idea if it's compatible. I might be quite sometime before I see wording in an ad that sounds exactly right. Has anyone here used Quillers ? The seem to have pretty cheap recon ODs but 'recon' means different things to different people, they might just be wiped with an oily rag. I'm not doing anything rash just yet, just sizing up some options. I'm hoping they'll have that clutch fork too but I'm still unsure of what it came from.

Thanks for that. Better to know now than later. I was supposed to be just looking at the OD but now the play in the box is a worry even though it felt OK on the road. Changes are crisp but definitely play between in and out somewhere. Classic case of "while I'm there I'll have a look".....the most expensive phrase going. So......what's the correct name for that lever? Not sure I've ever seen one on the parts sites. Mmm

Is this broken? Sorry about all the posts. It's my first free day for ages so cracking on.

Brilliant info. 19mm - check. I think the wear is tolerable. It'll have to be because I won't have a welder until Santa has been. Identification number is another mystery. Every time I solve 1 I find 2 more. Gbox mounted nicely on my old Coronet lathe. Tiny height difference but think I can rig up a flexible drive. 1.5mm side to side play on input shaft and a couple of degrees of play rotationaly. Not ideal obv but I'm not looking for (can't afford) perfection. Should be OK? Jeez what I wouldn't give for some wise eyes on the job. Internet is not a bad compromise though and was science fiction when these were made.

.. And what's this little pin? There just one in that channel.

Well I've finally got my gbox and OD on the bench. I let a garage do it and I've brought the box home while they store the car for a week or two. One thing that's confusing me is that the code on the gbox is WE27508. Does anyone know where it came from because I can't find it anywhere?

Great general info thanks. It's a great reminder that a minute on the bench measuring is time well spent even if things look the same or are 'surely too simple to get wrong'.

Find half a dozen local ish indy garages. Drive round them and have a chat (not just a phone call) and I bet you can find somewhere where an MOT isn't too scary. Does the group maintain a list of 'historic friendly' garages? I've got one definite and another where the car is today for the first time actually... I'll try and post details later.

That rocker cover really is a thing of beauty. If you post a pic of the bit that's broken, I'm sure you'll get a few cunning ideas for a fix.

I knew the Tony Iommi story because a dear bassist friend of mine (now sadly departed) had a similar story. He dropped his car keys down a drain, lifted up the heavy cover to reach them and the cover fell down before he'd got his whole hand out. Lost 3 fingers. He taught himself to play again lefthanded. Hurry up and get that multimeter Ricky, before this turns into Tales From The Tour Bus

Tony Iommi

Pete, rather than dropping the exhaust to do those checks (probably inconclusive anyway) I've decided to take out the gb and od and have a proper look on the bench. I've chickened out of removing it myself but have a local garage who'll remove it and store my car while I take the box home for a couple of weeks. Then I'll take it back and they can refit it. I can check the clutch and do the leaky gaskets too so it will tick off several jobs. It's all stripped out so it shouldn't take them very long especially as they are ok about me being there to give them some guidance. How long would you think? An hour out and an hour in? Is it right that you have to remove it from the engine with the bell housing but then remove the housing so you can manouver it between the floor and the dash? Like this guy does... Https://youtu.be/irDL1_7v84s

Ditto for the gearbox oil filler.

Good, we're making progress, yes the holes in the mounting plate all line up (a minor miracle) and I can get to the PRV and pump assembly plugs. Exhaust might need to come of but nevermind, it's just a shame I can't get the car up high enough to get the exhaust out properly, but that's not an issue for this job really as I'll only need a couple of inches of clearance and might be able to leave it attached at the front. At least the exhaust will come off easily if necessary, because I've only just put it back on after doing the diff stub axle bearings! I'm pretty sure of what to look for in the PRV and pump assembly hole, but am I right in thinking that it's just something to check before facing up to an od removal, or is there something I can look for to confirm your hunch about the pump cam? Is that spring/ball/seat in the pump assembly hole some sort of non return valve? A pint eh? Make mine a pint of cool refreshing EP90. Actually Pete I think I'll owe you a pint either way if you can lead me to the cause of the problem.

Doug it was only the start of an idea so you'll have to take it it whatever direction it takes you. The idea struck me because I use a separate dab tuner in my daily driver so only ever use the volume control on the head unit.

Another way would be to get a period radio, even if it didn't work or didn't work very well, but actually run your audio and fancy features from your phone to an amp in the boot. With some use of the soldering iron you could even route it via the old radio volume knob. Or... You could have an amp source switch so you could switch between phone for your DAB or Spotify and the old radio in the facia if you wanted to listen to Dick Barton or Pick of the Pops on medium wave.

Thanks, I was just exploring the back roads before admitting the A road is probably the best option.

Clive, You mentioned in an earlier post about the carbs: Maybe switching to a pair of SU HS6 with the short dashpot as used in the Sprint. I've got questions arising from the fact that these are hard to find: 1. Would it be possible to get a pair of std dashpot HS6's and have someone machine a shorter dashpot and shorten the plunger? (or can you buy them?) My father-in-law makes little engines and he might have the skills to do it, he's certainly got the equipment. 2. I saw that people have also used a triple 150 setup like the pic below ...have you any experience of this?...is it a case of getting a new manifold, 1 new 150 and some sort of connecting kit? If there's a thread all about this already I appologise but i can't find it.

Update : 7. Removed the plug on the operating valve. Removed spring, shoe and ball but not the spindle. Ran car up to 30mph....no sign of any oil. Area of doubt : The car was running on rear axle stands which (by my calcs) reduced the level of the oil in the OD by about 10mm Next action: Maybe run the car on front & rear stands or on the road to eliminate concern over oil level? Then 8. Remove plug on the bottom to access the pump valve & check spring & ball/seat After that I suposed it's OD out and investigate along these lines..... When it's fixed and I write this up, I hope my "10 steps to finding an OD fault" will be useful because at this rate I think I'm going all the way to step 10. Pete, do you think my test #7 was OK ? Not ideal but hopefully full - 10mm would be ok. I don't have a cross section drawing to visualise where the pump draws from.

These look the part. No idea about the quality though. Lot's on ebay under 'vintage style car radio"

Thanks for the detective work Clive. The diff is a 389 (and it's non-rotoflex btw), hence my need to get the OD fixed. 3000 rpm @ 50mph and you really feel like you need another gear. It should be a good ratio though for my drag racing starts ...oops I'm not allowed to do those am I?. Rear brakes are indeed Spitfire. Scariest thing I find with the brakes is knowing it's all single line. It's good incentive for keeping your handbrake well adjusted. Hehe I know what you mean about parts. I did the front shocks & springs and when I gently lowered the jack, the car went lower, and lower, and lower and settled about 2" off the ground. I have to say it did look as mean as hell but it was aggravating as you can imagine. So I took the springs off, took them back to Rimmers and they exchanged them. It's blessing and a curse that I live 25mins away from Rimmers. It's a blessing because they're handy, but a curse because they're a bit dear and a bit too handy. It's all too easy to go a dozen times for every little this and that and use £10 in petrol everytime.

The chassis number is on the outrigger on the battery side. I'll definately look into the V888 and Heritage Cert. That sounds interesting. V5 says : Model : Spitfire 1500 Capacity : 2500cc VIN/Chassis/Frame No. : FH82626 Engine number : CP77469HE ...which all seems to be correct.

I'm not sure if this link has been posted before but if you haven't seen it then I know you'll enjoy it. Triumph straight 6 animation