Ian Foster

Based on my limited investigations, it would appear that there are various flavours of both discs and cams, as reference to two of the three spare carbs I have (courtesy of the late Alan aka-Old Tuckunder), have different markings to the ones fitted in my carb. One of the spares has a 'D' stamped on the cam, a 'P' stamped on the body and an 'R' on the disc. Another has a 'W' on the cam and an 'F' on the body, so there are obviously different combinations for each car application. If I compare the 'R' disc of the spare with the photo in the Buckeye article, it has no first drilling and the fourth drilling looks larger. The Buckeye article (last para) suggests that TR6s (TR250) were fitted with starter boxes on both carbs. There are also a pair of brass plugs or valves on the inside of the inner part of the body, which may be there as a result of the manufacturing process. They look more like plugs than valves to me so are probably not service items like fuel pump valves. If carbs are original to the car, then the combination of parts should be correct, but if the unit has been disassembled before it is quite possible that is has been put together wrongly. Ian

Owen I have 175CD2s on my my GT6 Mk2, but they have the same choke arrangement. I definitely see fuel in the transfer pipe when the choke is on. It is possible to assemble the choke disc incorrectly (180deg out) and there are quite a few small holes and cross drillings in the disc which might just be blocked. If you can get access to an ultrasonic cleaner that would be a great way to give it a really good clean out. I have attached an extract from the Buckeye Triumph (IIRC) website which covers the choke mechanism, which might be of help. Ian Scan_0111.pdf

I think 175/70 R13 might be the closest option. This works well with 5.5" rims but could be a bit wide for 4.5". As you already have two 5.5" rims you could put those on the rear and find one 4.5" to go with your existing one on the front. 5.5" original pattern steel wheels might be difficult to find and expensive. I did have 13x5.5J steels on my GT6 mk2 for many years before changing to Cobra Supaslots. Both now sold, as I am running 13x5.5 Revolutions (+25mm ET with 6mm spacers). Ian

I've settled on using a Mann W713/9, which is 100mm long. Ian

Puglet The Club sells a Gearbox Tunnel Seal Kit, which includes the seal and a replacement set of screws, washers and keyhole plates. Page 14 of the Parts and Accessories book:-Part No. GTSK @ £35 (April 21 edition) Ian

Hi John I might take you up on that next time I have cause to remove the radiator etc. At the moment I am concentrating more on getting the car ready to use this 'season'. I did check my timing marks using a dial gauge last time the head was off and there are pretty accurate. Ian

John I know you have done a lot of testing on this subject and posted previously. Have you considered the practicality and cost of refurbishing dampers, or is the only option in the case of failure to find a better used one? Luckily a have a 2L car where any slip does not affect the timing marks. Ian

On my GT6 I have got mine pretty well sealed now and have added marks on the overflow bottle to show normal cold and hot levels. The difference is about 50mm. Ian

Bruce Nick Jones will be along any minute to explain how easy it is! Ian

Hi Kevin Thanks for the feedback. I think that there are a few of us with a interest in this. Ian

Gleders I would recommend Christchurch Tyres (now Protyre I think). They have a Hunter 4 wheel alignment machine which is the top of the range kit. They set up my GT6 Mk2 (CV conversion of the Rotoflex setup at the rear) and are quite used to Triumphs. Ian

Kevin Is this one of the new remanufactured ones supplied by Rimmers ? If so what are thoughts on quality and fit? Ian

Pete Be careful, using MG parts on a Triumph could invalidate your warranty. Ian

No worries. Wonder why they changed it. Possibly being a later car they had seen an opportunity to save money, or is it typical of the whole Spitfire range? Ian

Alan This is the arrangement on my GT6, which has the short section of hard line as Jonny suggests. Ian

I'm 6 foot with fairly 'standard' length legs. I have my seat fully back. I have a lovely 'little' 12" Astrali wheel on my Mk2 GT6, which was already on the car when I bought it back in 1977. It has a slight dish. With 175/70 tyres at 27psi front (24psi rear) it is fine on the move and manageable for maneuvering, as long as you don't expect to be able to turn the wheels like a modern p/s car. I also have a 14.5" Triumph slotted spoke wheel (originally used when my wife was driving it regularly) which has virtually no dish. I recently tried it again (after tearing my right rotator cuff) , but had to sit and work with knees spread to get clearance. Didn't like it, so I'm back with the little one and working hard on the physio. Ian

On my Mk2 GT6, I changed to a Huco electric pump due to problems of fuel vaporisation in the mechanical pump. After a 'failure to proceed' on a hot day in traffic, I took the top off the pump to see fuel boiling in the bowl. The Huco has been very reliable and I have fitted an impact cutoff switch. I have mounted the pump on the front side of the n/s suspension turret and the impact switch on the main bulkhead behind the battery. You can clearly hear the fuel being pumped into the carbs, which is particularly noticeable after a longish period of non use. Ian

I noted with interest on page 8 of the November Courier, that Rimmers are now offering remanufactured GT6 fuel tanks, which have been 'commissioned' by the TSSC. This could be a worthy long term investment as my tank is original to my 69 Mk2 and has had work! Does anyone have experience of these yet and if so what is the quality like and do they fit? Ian

IIRC the plates can be be removed by accessing through the hole on the inside of the A post. The plates are held loosely in place by clips. Southern Triumph in Southbourne did mine on the drivers side. It's a bit of a 'pig job', like most jobs on a GT6. (does anyone remember the 'pig job of the month' in the GT6 section of the Courier) Ian

Don't know how concerned you are about originality, but technically only the Mk1 GT6 had a chromed rocker cover.

Front one should actually be a bolt, rather than a stud washer and nut. Ian

Checking my files, I actually bought my rocker set from Moss Europe. They were offering a discount at the time and are a 'honed to fit' set. Rockers Arms & Rocker Shaft Kit - TR5-6 The standard rocker arms were never bushed, and the tolerances specified are based to the cast iron on steel interface. This translates to a clearance of 0.0028" to 0.0033". If your rockers are worn, both the rockers and the rocker shaft must be replaced. If the bore diameter in the new rocker is on the high side, and your rocker shaft is on the small side of the tolerance, the clearance will be close to the maximum allowed. In addition, the standard components will wear more quickly than rocker arms fitted with bushings. We have arranged for bushed rocker arms to be made for us by a specialist supplier here in the UK. The rockers are identical to the OE rocker in shape, but they are sized for and fitted with a bronze bushing. They must be matched to a specific rocker shaft by honing the bushings. The advantages are numerous. With bushings honed to fit, the rocker arms and the rocker shaft will last longer. With the tighter tolerances, you will not lose as much oil pressure as you would with the standard un-bushed rocker arms. The other critical area for wear is the tip, which comes in contact with the valve stem. The tips are very hard, 50-52HRC (Rockwell C scale), which is the same as new unused rocker arms. Our kit offers matched sets of rocker arms and rocker shafts, with the bushings already honed to give a clearance of 0.002". This kit should be used with existing rocker pedestals and can be used with our solid rocker spacer kit. https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/shop-by-model/triumph/tr5-6/engine/engines-components/rockers-arms-rocker-shaft-kit-214559xktr-gp.html With one of their % off deals it was cheaper than buying the parts separately and then reaming/honing. Has made quite a difference to valve train noise. Ian

+1 for CTM (Charlie Mahoney). He actually built me a modified TR6 head as my original GT6 head was cracked between the valve seats (not unusual). He built it with new valves (Cosworth s/s), springs (Swedish wire) and bronze valve guides with valve stem oil seals. The standard cam for a Mk2 GT6/Vitesse is a 308788 generally thought to be the best standard cam for carbs. I actually have a Chris Witor CW3021, which is the 308788 profile but ground to give an addition 0.030" lift on the inlets (IRRC). https://www.chriswitor.com/products.php?cat=254&sortby=4 Rimmers offer new rocker shaft with close tolerance bronze bushed rockers, which would be a good option if you are starting from scratch. I bought one to replace my 210k miles original rockers. Ian

I bought one a few years ago at a Beaulieu autojumble (£3 IIRC). I used the dwell function to check that a standard points gap gave the book value of dwell, but haven't used it since as I now have EL. It does have a rev counter which is of some use setting up idle. Ian

Steve I used Koni 80-1717 on my GT6 mk2. I think these would be OK with the standard chassis mount, although we fabricated an extension bracket which gets the unit slightly more vertical and accommodates the slight fore/aft misalignment alignment between the original mount and the roto vertical link. Drawing attached in case of interest. Ian GT6-Damper Bracket.pdf