Ian Foster

Ian You didn't state what carburettor it is for, but I have one on a spare 175 CD-2 which measures 69.5mm overall. Let me know if this is of interest. Ian F

I'll second that. On my GT6, 7"Cibie H180s + Philips vision plus bulbs are amazing. I know the Vitesse has 5"? units but hopefully there are some upgrade options. Ian

Cibie H180s, Philips VisionPlus bulbs and relays = awesome ! BBQ'd roadkill anyone ! Ian

Hi Nick I have the lip type seal on my Mk2. I thought it was OK until last night until I realised that the top section of the seal (ie along the hinges) had flipped itself inwards. I have held it the correct position with some temporary gaffer tape and shut the hatch to try and 're-train' it. Please keep us posted on your investigations, as I think I will have to replace mine eventually. Ian PS Pleased to see you back in the garage where you belong !. PPS -Also posted on Sideways

Hi Guppy Propshaft Services in Feltham, shortened and balanced a non OD shaft for me in about 1980, when I converted my GT6 to OD. It's still on the car today about a 100k miles later, so they must have done a good job !. Ian F

Wayne Totally agree, it is one of the worst jobs on a GT6. I have followed a similar path with hoped for bullet proof components, but have still had to take it out on numerous occasions to fix bl**dy stupid things like cr*p gear lever spherical bearing etc. (one on the eve of the RBRR having put in a new one only 150 miles before). It not just the tunnel cover, its the dash centre, the radio, the dash support and getting the tip of the tunnel past the lower vent hoses is always a real battle. These were a Mk2 retro fix, so no wonder it's all so tight down there. The guys on the Triumph assembly line must have been contortionist midgets ! I have seriously considered a removable section at the base of the gear lever (albeit I think I now have a reliable gear lever bearing) but so far haven't actioned anything as the last time I had it out, I just needed to get it back in quick. I share your pain. Ian

Fiited on the GT6 with good results....as Nick says not hard, but you will need a dial gauge to set end float Ian F

Thanks chaps Gives me something to dwell on. Ian F

I have had mu Gunson one for over 40 years. Just as simple gun with no adjustments, which is fine on the GT6 with its graduated crank pulley. It does show whether the distributor is advancing with revs, which is something that a static time only cannot. I would recommend however that to confirm that your crank pulley is accurate ref TDC, which can be done using a piston stop. Mine is about 1-2 degrees out (found out when I was checking valve timing... which was spot on by the way and reassuring after an engine rebuild by others) I also picked up a dwell/rev meter at Beaulieu AJ a few years ago which is also useful as a' second opinion' on revs. PS has anyone had experience of setting points using a dwell meter? Ian

Richard When I first fitted the Huco pump, I kept the mechanical one in place with the delivery pipework (just in case), but have now removed it and blanked the mounting onto the block. The mechanical pump did make a sort of chuffing sound as it was trying to pump air...poor thing! I could always carry it as a spare part, but probably won't as I think the Huco is good bit of kit. Ian F

Paul I have it in the engine bay, bracketed off the front face of the n/s suspension turret, using existing bolts. So I can't hear it at all above the engine noise, except for the tick-tick, gurgle-gurgle when you first switch on the ignition (or ign + aircraft style isolator switch in may case). Ian F

I have a Huco puller on my GT6, for all the reasons Nick gives. Has been excellent with no re-occurances of fuel vapourisation. Ian F

Hi Richard You should try and get the system as clean as you can, so flushing a chemically cleaning are the top priority. The whole drain tap can be unscrewed which will give you a 1/2" diameter hole to poke through. Stiff wire (eg coat hanger) and a robust cable tie can be used. I have cleaned with Holts Speedflush (single part) and the two part product. Follow the instructions and you will be surprised how much crud will come out. Heater valve open for flushing and refilling. I would keep your existing sender for now, just so that you can monitor whether the cleaning has made any difference. does sound as though your water pump may be past its best and they are fairly cheap to replace. Happy flushing. Do report back. Ian F

Nick 3rd and 4th gate stiffens up slightly on my 3 rail box as it warms up. Nothing drastic but its there. Pulled the remote off to check as you have done, but nothing obvious. Will be interested in your further investigations/analysis/findings as always. Ian F

Aiden The list of checks is certainly growing and it looks as though you are going to have a busy weekend, but it pays to be methodical and thorough. In my experience with float valves, if there is problem it will usually result in the carbs flooding due to not being able to shut off the fuel, in which case fuel will be flowing out of the breather hole. It is possible to remove the valves for cleaning or replacement with the carbs in-situ. You will need to remove the float bowls (make sure to undo all of the screws) pulling it down to get clear of the jet bushing screw (the big brass bit). Be careful not to twist it to much as you might damage the float. The float needs to be released from the pivot and the float valve can then be removed. Clean in carb solution and then check that it closing properly by blowing through it whilst touching the centre pin. Before refitting I would pump a bit of fuel through with the priming lever on the pump which should flush out any debris in the lines if present (collect it in a container and have a look). Refitting is reverse of the above ideally with new float chamber gaskets. Regarding mixture there is no reason why the mixture setting should have changed since last year when you reported it running OK, so I would leave that alone for now. There is a test described in the WSM involving slight lifting of the air valve that should be used to determine whether any adjustment is required. If the car is not running right at present, the plugs will be a poor indicator. (luckily you have the carbs with the easily adjustable jet. I have similar but in CD175 flavour) Is there anyone in your local area that can offer practical or moral support. Further reports awaited with interest. Ian F

Aiden That's the diaphragm out of the Smiths breather valve (looks OK by the way) I actually meant the carburettors diaphragms, which you will need to get at by unscrewing the tops of the carbs. Should be fine if only three years old since rebuild, but you never know. (watch out for spills of dashpot oil and be careful not to bend the needles-diaphragm will only fit in one position on reassembly) Another one to add to the list is dashpot oil, as this is partly controlling mixture (richening) during acceleration It doesn't sound like fuel vaporisation to me. My experience of FV is the engine dying when it gets hot in traffic or not restarting when left after hot running. I my case when it happened, taking the top off the pump I could see the fuel boiling the base of pump. Reassembling the pump and bleeding out the vapour at the carbs allowed normal service to resume. (now finally 'cured' with a Huco electric pump - I hope) I think I would check these fuel items and then concentrate on the ignition bits as above ie:- cap, rotor arm and coil. Do try it with your emergency set of points and condenser, it will be good practice in any case (I had to do it once in anger after 'failing to proceed' off the ferry at Portsmouth, which was annoying as we had been all the way to Florence and back without any problems). Also check the timing as well with a strobe and that it is advancing when you rev it, as balance weights in the distributor can stick. Hope this helps, please report back as you work through the list...and don't change everything at once otherwise when you fix it you will never know what the problem was. Ian F

Aiden So (new trendy way to start every sentence), when you have misfired and jumped your way to 40mph and it settles down, if you then let the speed drop and then accelerate again, does the problem reoccur ?...if so then something doesn't like being on load. Does it idle OK ? Clearly it's either fuel or ignition as long as nothing else has changed. On fuel side I would check that:- tank outlet is clear (floaters in tank blocking outlet) pump filter and any inline filters are clean breather is clear (not sure there is one on the Mk1/2 as I think it vents through the cap carburettor diaphragms are OK carbs are synced On electrics side (I assume Delco distributor):- No experience of H&H Ignition (sorry) Have you tried putting points and known condenser back in (I did this when my ancient Mobelec E/I failed and it runs really quite well with a Shacktune external motorsports condenser) Rotor arm (Accuspark do a red jobbie for Delco) Distributor cap (TD Fitchetts have original Delco caps) Try a coil swop PS others will be along soon. Ian F

Aiden More symptoms please. What's the spec of your ignition system ? Points and condenser or electronic, plug make and number , leads, coil etc. ? Ian F

Paul Sounds as though you have cracked it for now. Just watch out that RSPB don't catch you. So in summary is your solution the spring on the pushrod and the spring on the lever? Pete Are we confident that the release bearing is supposed to spin all the time. Is there a reference source for this ? Ian F

What Nick said ! I have just had mine done and so far so good. (in Poole, Dorset) Stainless steel nuts have gone a fetching shade of light blue, so yes it does get hot ! Ian F

Make sure you road test with the tunnel out , which will be really nice a cosy with the current temperatures !! You wouldn't want to put in in and then take it out again now, would you ! ( I hate that job too, but with a mate we have got it down to quite a fine art), a good job as we had to good in in fading light on the eve of the RBRR to change that stupid plastic ball at the base of the gearstick-now bespoke Delrin one) Hope you have sorted it. Will look forward to your report. Ian F

Robin It does sound like an air leak and that you are affecting it with your slight finger pressure on the cover of the Smiths valve . The inlet manifold is putting negative pressure on the whole assembly and I would have thought it beneficial to have clips on the hoses. The top end of your hose from valve to inlet looks a bit squiffy and might be the cause. (on the GT6 we have a funny S bend shaped hose in this location). PS If purchasing a new diaphragm I would avoid RB as one I bought has not really FFP. Ian F

Paul I have just been through a similar exercise with my Mk2 GT6. I was getting a significant on/off 'rattle/thrash', which could be silenced by light clutch pressure (like your 'canary'). When we pulled the gearbox tunnel and road tested, it was immediately obvious it was the cutch fork. I did some online research and found a fair bit of info on Merican TR6 forums (don't have the link to hand at the moment-might have been TR experience). The TR system is more engineered, with the fork carried on cross shaft and appears to have its own set of problems. There was much debate on whether the clutch bearing should be in constant contact with the clutch fingers and 'long story short' it seems that it is somewhat dependant upon the type of bearing used. Various solutions with pull on and pull off springs tried. I did a bit of investigating with an endosope and apart from determining that the bearing carrier can actually spin (it should be prevented from doing so by a detent in the carrier) all seemed OK, although the end of the slave pushrod had a strange angled wear pattern at the point that it contacts the shuttle, suggesting that it may have slipped out of the inverted cone in the rod side face of the shuttle and may have been resting against the cylinder wall. End reshaped and refitted. Anyway I have concentrated on getting the clutch hydraulics back into tip top condition and have actually fitted a replacement master cylinder and new seal in the slave. The silicon fluid in the master cylinder was starting to discolour suggesting that there was some degradation of the seals. The MS was slightly pitted internally which might have been a contributory factor, but there were no leaks. The replacement MS is a TRW version which has a double main seal, plastic internal spring a nasty black plastic cap. It does however have a very positive action and with the system refilled and bled, the pedal feels right, the clutch disengages/engages nicely and the original problem has gone away (for now). I am still concerned about the carrier being able to spin and I have found my original bronze carrier, bought and fitted a new RPH bearing from CW and found a NOS fork on ebay ready to fit when I next pull the gearbox. Hope this helps. Ian F

Ken Well done on finding a nice looking head, it appears to be completely unmolested, which is a good starting point. Now the decisions start:- As you are aware the 219016 head has the smaller exhaust valves (as did my 219015 head). These are smaller than the GT6 valves but may be a contributory factor in the head being un-cracked. Presumably Triumph made the change for a reason and it is suspected that reducing this crack risk was the main one. On my head, as we were having a full 'head job' including unleaded seats, we enlarged the valves to GT6 spec. The main issue will be to decide where you want to end up in terms of compression ratio, as this will determine the amount of skim that you go for. The original GT6 head achieved 9.25:1 and this may well be your target which should hopefully be achievable. Having been there and 'got the tee shirt' I would start with actually measuring the volume of your chambers (once you have the valves) and then base the calculations on that, rather than relying on a theoretical amount of skim based on assumed data. Using VW polo pistons in 75.25mm bore, we have actually ended up with a 9.91:1 CR which was our target. This has resulted in a head depth of 3.280" (ie 0.020" under the standard GT6 head) with a chamber volume of 32.5cc. My VW pistons have a slightly higher compression height that the original with a top of piston to top of block clearance of 0.008" (Nick Jones has 0.005" pop up I recall, because he decked it!) I think with the 219016 head you are starting with a depth of 3.475", so there will be fair bit to skim off unless you are using domed pistons (your 1971 car would have flat pistons originally) and there are potential dangers in skimming this much, as you will be aware and you should take advice from your engineering workshop. (disclaimer alert !!!!) I don't have my CR calculations to hand but can dig them out and let you have a copy. Hope this helps Ian

I thought Mr Jones would be along soon ! I had an almost identical crack on my Mk2 head (No. 1 cylinder by any chance?......) and it was considered terminal, although I have retained the head in case someone invents super glue for cast iron at some time in the (distant) future. We used a 219015 TR6 head, with unleaded seats and reworked ports etc. and ultimately a skim that took it 0.020" under the original GT6 depth which gives a compression ration of 9.9:1. Also opened up some of the water jacket holes to match the GT6 head/block as these were not all present on the TR6 head. I have information on chamber volumes etc available but not currently to hand. (photo of new head attached) Hope this helps. Ian