Ian Foster

Good progress being made. Chassis looks to be in good condition and a nice colour too. Might you paint the rest of the car to match? Is that fuel line routed through the shell. Probably a legacy from the race prep. Normal route is alongside the chassis alongside the brake line in a combination plastic clip. New looms are available from Autosparks (and probably others) and were about £120ish when I rebuilt my car in 2010/11. A bargain in my opinion, considering the work involved. Rubber bobbins are available to isolate the fuel pump from the body. I see you have the original cast exhaust manifold in the spares pile. Keep up the good work. It will get easier as the days lengthen and the weather improves. At least you have a spacious garage and an impressive collection of other cars. Ian

Jim I have a Power-lite unit on my Mk2, which I fitted after the engine rebuild. I had previously cobbled together two Lucas starters and felt it/they had probably had a good innings at 185k miles and it was time for a change. Mine is fitted with the standard spacer. I have kept the original starter solenoid but now just use it as connection point for the starter main feed and starter solenoid, after it started giving problems (probably burnt connections internally). I have a NOS replacement but haven't fitted yet. Good luck if you manage to access both fixing nuts. I couldn't so had to take the tunnel out again (whoopee!) Just be aware that you are meshing with the non-tapered side of the flywheel teeth, so there is a possibility that you might get the occasional clash, although I don't think this is too much of an issue. Hope it goes well. Ian

Ah yes, I see now! Plenty of advice to follow. It will all be wonderful when you have finished Mine's about half a spline out on wheel centering, but the tracking is spot on so I'll live with it for now. Ian

Jim Much discussion here about rack centering, but your original issue was the position of the indicator and headlamp stalks. These are both attached to the outer part of the steering column, so surely this needs to be corrected first. Once that is done and the inner part of the column disconnected at the universal joint, you should be able to rotate it get the cancelling cam in the right position as others have suggested. Ian

Welcome indeed. Looks like a sound basis for a restoration and hopefully rust free having lived in CA. Looks as though you have a tubular exhaust manifold, but not one I would immediately recognize. That side exhaust can't have given much space for silencer(s), so not surprising that it is terrifyingly loud. The plastic fuel lines look a bit scary, but you'll be changing those as part of the carb rebuild. How sound are the plastic spindle connectors. I have a (fairly standard) 1969 Mk2 so will be pleased to offer my tuppence if you need any references. Ian

Iain A quick google suggests bosses might be available second hand. This is a six bolt one, although it doesn't state whether the spline is Triumph compatible (or are all wheels the same?) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384712294055?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=384712294055&targetid=1279902197659&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9045685&poi=&campaignid=14727339348&mkgroupid=127909237815&rlsatarget=pla-1279902197659&abcId=9300672&merchantid=101747245&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgP6PBhDmARIsAPWMq6lXa85aIJJWcsCjf4r_BtBekCMj17iGxFvhfL83a-eXpArT-I6aUGgaAjL5EALw_wcB Ian

Hi Iain Photos attached of wheel and boss. I can't see any markings on the boss, but the wheel is definitely Astrali. PCD of the 6No.bolts is 100mm. The 6mm thick aluminium part of the boss and the 2.8mm thick lip on the shroud are 113.4mm diameter. The shroud tapers from 83.2mm at the lip to 80.3mm at the lower end. hope this might help. Ian

Iain I have a six bolt Astrali wheel on my GT6. It was already on it when I bought the car in 1977. The boss works with a standard Triumph horn push. I can measure up the boss and take a photo for you if it helps. Ian

I have had a set of Magnacor 6007 8mm Electrosports 80 leads on my mk2 GT6 bought about ten years ago through the club shop. Box states TR6 conventional distributor cap. They are a nice blue colour, were handmade by 'Carol' and have been 100% reliable (so far). I'm using them with a Pertronix Ignitor 2, a 45kV Flame thrower coil and Bosch W7-DTC plugs. Ian

What if you've got metric fingers??!! Ian

Chris Sounds like a satisfactory result. 'Castor Rules OK' Ian

Dave In my experience seven years is about an average innings for a modern battery, although some can perform happily for much longer. I suspect it depends on usage and a battery on a daily driver will probably last longer than one that sees intermittent use, unless it kept permanently 'conditioned' on a smart charger. You mentioned that you had had charging issues and this may have affected lifespan. One other nugget...check the earth strap connections (battery to body/body to engine) as these can be a source of voltage robbing resistance. Ian

Glad you appreciated it. OED definition of 'jiggle'=rock or jerk lightly. Nice !! Sorry about the isolation thing. Hopefully you'll be let out in time for Christmas Ian

Are you having a laugh??!! Ian

Clive, sorry, yes Chris....confused me??!!

Clive Pleased that you seem to getting there. Where are you with tyre pressures? Interesting to hear your comments on the change to the thinner (standard Rotoflex) ARB. I definitely found an improved turn-in, ie less understeer, with the thinner bar, albeit I do have a rear spring that has been uprated with the addition of a centre leaf. I presume you have rechecked the toe in after the addition of rear shims. I have always used 175/70 R13's as my car had 5 1/2" rims on it when I bought it back in 1977. Currently shod with Kumho Solus KH17s which are better than you might think. Might be time for another visit to the laser alignment chaps. Ian

Chris Sounds as though you are moving in the right direction. I think I would add one further to the rear on both sides which will give you just a tad more castor and neg camber. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the change to the thinner ARB. Look forward to further reports. Ian

Chris I set to 28f/25r on my Mk2, with 175/70/13 tyres. This is on the basis that the car is front heavy and is in similar proportion to what Nick Jones uses on his Vitesse Mk 1.5 conv. I used to run the same pressure all round and in the low 20s, but I think the current arrangement works better. My car was set up on a very good modern 4 wheel alignment machine as has a bit of neg front camber. Counting shims I have 4r/0f on the o/s and 5r/2f on the n/s. Car tracks and centres well and tyre wear is even. I ran with the thicker 7/8" ARB for many years and prior to rebuild also used a home built rear ARB, but have since uprated the rear spring by adding another leaf (in the centre), which has reduced body roll, which was may original intention when changing/adding ARBs. Turn in (ie less understeer) is defiantly better with the standard 9/16" front ARB. (nb standard ARBs all seem to have a set (twist) built in) Ian

Chris Self centering of the steering comes from castor, which is adjusted on the small chassis cars by adding and subtracting shims from the lower wishbone attachment points. Adding at the rear and subtracting at the front moves the bottom of the vertical link forward increasing castor. Having the rear end out of alignment can also create stability issues which might be detectable by varying (and sometimes scary) behavior coming on/off the power. NB most Red Bull Soapbox steering issues come from lack of castor (and dubious engineering generally). Ian

Paul A search on previous posts (search relays) shows previous discussions. This is one thread Ian

Paul I have mounted my Huco vertically on the front of the n/s suspension turret. Ian

I'm running a Huco sucker on my GT6, mainly due to problems of fuel vaporisation (hot engine block modern fuel). After a long stand, you can clearly hear the carbs filling up. I also allow a bit of cranking before pulling out the choke to help build oil pressure. Ian

I have a small USC which I have used to clean up carburetor parts and I have also lent it to friends for the same purpose. With carb cleaning detergent, it does do a good job I would think 6L would be OK for most jobs. Ian

Think of it as worthwhile exercise for our ageing brains! Also on my GT6 with the overdrive on a column stalk, I can change into third and knock it out of overdrive simultaneously, which is great for roundabouts. Ian

IIRC, Jaguar count from the back!!!??? Ian