rlubikey

He means the left knob, of course! So, "CAR" sends air to footwells only (well, just a dribble to the screen), "DEFROST" is screen only. The next should read "PULL MAX" and, as Clive says, you can pull the left knob in any position to switch on the fan - first half and further for full speed. You know what "OFF" does!!! A classic "Gotcha" in our cars is the heat doesn't come on, either because the valve is gummed up or because the cable is stiff and the outer "expands" rather than pushing the valve (forgotten if this is GT6 or Spit). Or... you can't switch the heat OFF because of expanding cable syndrome (Spit has a different sense to GT6 i.e. push is "ON" with one and "OFF" with the other). I mention this because I'm guessing you tried various combinations and got no heat. If so, lift the bonnet and visually check the action of the valve. Cheers, Richard

Have your original re-veneered and they can fill in the holes made by previous owners. Should be easy for a skilled craftsbeing. Richard

Great stuff! But have you measured what difference it makes to the temperature? Richard

The central gauge isn't standard - that's where the light switch was and the (previously rectangular) hole has been enlarged. I'm afraid you'll have to experiment and/or trace the wiring to discover what the previous owner's done. Richard

If the "Boot Rack" feet are too hard, it sounds just like my old boot rack. I searched and found those suckers that fit on the end of tubing. More paint friendly and stays in place while you get the straps tightened. Richard

Peter, it's a Thule ball-mounted one. It seems most of them are these days because modern cars have swan-necks without the mounting plate. The few mounting plate mounted cycle carriers I found weren't EU approved (I was thinking of continental touring) so I went with the Thule. This is all about 10 years ago so the situation may have changed. Richard

Yes. My old Spit-6 had just the "quick" Spit rack and was heavy below about 30 and VERY heavy at parking speeds. New Spit-6 has EPS (Electric Power Steering) - I did the box of tricks to wake it up and set the assistance and an expert did the splicing and welding into the steering column to keep the Triumph look. I used a Corsa-C module but I wish I had investigated the MGF which may have fitted better. They're all designed to have speed sensitivity but I haven't got round to designing that - just needs a sensor somewhere like the g'box output flange bolts and then something to translate the signal similar to Corsa speed pulses. I just leave mine on slightly more than minimum assist and it's fine. Richard

What, a bit like this? Well, it may be a bit wobbly but it's waaaay better than a bootlid mounting bike carrier (had one on my Dolly). You can reduce the wobble by adding extra straps from the bike to the bootlid (red straps in picture) or, better still, cockpit and bumper. The main thing as you can see is that the swing-spring suspension sags with the weight so far back. My new Spit has Monroe Max-Air ride-height air-assist dampers on the back so I can get out the old pump and pump the car level again!!! Richard

Simon, Triumph had to raise the engine 1" (or was it 1.5"?) to get it over the chassis cross member & steering rack. Moving the engine back 6.5" also allows you to lower it to the 4-cylinder position, hence lowering (improving) the c-of-g. Weight distribution? haven't the foggiest! Not much help answering your question, I know. Richard

Andy, look at the thickness of the wire for the compressor and compare with the wire to the back of the cigar lighter. If the compressor's cable is thinner, it's OK. The same ... well, OK for short periods - just a few minutes. Thicker - no, unless you look at the current rating of the compressor and compare with the rating of the *old* cable in your Spit. Hope this helps, Richard

Can you feel it throught the steering? Jack up the back, put in gear and see if it happens with back wheels only turning? Richard

Get in touch with the TSSC office on Tuesday and explain the situation - I'm sure they'll be very helpful. If FJ don't budge, take your business elsewhere - it's the only thing they understand! I see the insurance panel has expanded further so plenty of choice. Richard

Someone on the old board suggested cardboard with a hole - pop-rivet through hole so if/when tool jumps, it won't scratch your lovely paintwork. But maybe the more professional tools like the lazy tongs etc. aren't prone to do this? Richard

Here you go Doug, Tuesday night at the Shire Horse taken on my phone - sorry about the quality. Not quite the dozen ... Cheers, Richard

As well as the load (power), the flasher is also voltage-sensistive (cuz that changes the power). Is the engine running? If not, start engine. If problem occurs with engine running, is the alternator OK? Put an AVO or DVM on the battery and see if the volts rise to about 14V. This would explain a slight difference in the LH bulbs (brand, for example, or grotty contacts) giving constant LH while RH flash OK. Richard

Is it possible to swap over the face from mechanical to electronic tachos? If so it may make your search easier. Also, if you're handy with a soldering iron you can convert between 4- 6- and 8-cylinder Smith's electronic tachos with a resistor change - the voltage-driven ones anyway. Richard

Yes, 12am is midnight. Think of it this way, do you agree that 12:01am is 1-minute after midnight? What about 12:00am and 10-seconds... or 1-second? Maybe 100-nanoseconds? Get ready for your midnight feast! Richard

Yes, it's off a Standard 8 or 10 ... or just possibly an Atlas. The Atlas was never officially offered with overdrive but the 8 and 10 were. Very late 8's & 10's had the gearbox remote we all know but most had a "wand" gear lever emerging from the gearbox cover shown. The gearbox "hung" from a fixing point via a rubber mount in the rear extension eye. That overdrive adaptor is pretty rare as few of these cars had the option - why would you with only 38bhp on tap!!! Richard

The scroll seal isn't a seal as such, just a groove on the shaft that encourages oil back into the g'box when the shaft is turning, i.e. whenever you're moving. I believe there's nothing to replace! But oil *can* get past and into the bell housing if you park on a slope nose down - such as a steepish drive. (Wonder how I know that!) My guess is that this is just 4-1/2 decades of tiny quantities of oil getting past the scroll ... or it's coming from the engine? Hopefully someone far more knowledgeable than I will be along shortly to shed some light. Richard

Assuming the Mk4 is similar to the 1500, one fuse should have permanent 12V, one has 12V via the ignition switch and the third has 12V via light switch (sidelights). The fuse with permanent 12V has a siamesed contact at the live end!!! One side of the fuse cap is live, the other side of the cap goes off to the light switch. So, if you remove the fuse, you disconnect the feed to the switch. All the contacts can be poor due decades of grot, often not helped by previous owners using an abrasive to clean them and taking the plating off in the process which makes the contacts prone to corosion. But the other problem is the siamesed contacts - each is held in the plastic base, which relaxes over time until the contacts are no longer pressing firmly together on the fuse cap. Poor contacts create heat and the plastic relaxes more. When you go down the fuses checking for 12V, make sure you check the contacts not the fuse caps and check the contacts on each side of the fuse cap to locate the permanent 12V and lights feed. Hope this helps, Richard

Yes, I also spoke to BMH 6 years back about the possibility of a new Spit shell. During the conversation they told me they had done many of the TR6 panels using "soft tooling" which is much cheaper to make but doesn't last long. They only made a few shells (20? 50? 100? don't remember) and, as KevingR says, told me they wouldn't be making any more as the tooling had worn out. They also said they weren't happy with the quality - I think that means quite a bit of fettling was required to get the right fit. The outcome of the conversation was that there was absolutely no chance of a Spit shell from them and I was better off looking for a Californian import. I think that means the chances of a new BMH GT6 body materialising is nil-minus. Sorry to be so negative. Richard

I had completely forgotten that detail. The plastic bowls don't have the spring at the centre rear of the bowl as the originals do. Like your inverting the spare wheel modification! Richard

Roger, yes, I bought plastic bowls for the Spit and cut the backs off to fit some enormous bungs I got at Stoneliegh (or somewhere) - about 3" dia. I think. And I've never had a headlamp bulb failure since - result! Richard

... and the thing about incandescent bulbs is, a 10% drop in voltage gives a 30% drop in light output. Try googling "incandescent voltage light life" and search for images. On the plus side, your bulbs last 4-times longer! The wiring is rated to take the current, but minimising voltage drop by *over-rating* the cable gives you more light. Richard EDIT: ... and minimising cable length, hence the relays have a double benefit; not only removing the old contacts but allowing the cable to run almost direct from battery to lamps.

Well, it's in the van!