yorkshire_spam

Is it safe? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzw1_2b-I7A

Hub centre to bottom lip of wheel arch, 12 3/4" rear, 12 1/4" front.

Happy to measure for you next time I'm out in the garage Shaun.... I'm on 175/70r13 on 5.5J minilites (JBW minilights actually) I can't find a picture with the spacers fitted. But here's one of what it looked like with just the springs changed, front end is about half an inch higher now. (https://yorkshire-spitfire.blogspot.com/2017/07/still-not-sure-about-ride-height.html)

On the outside at 1,000,000 to 1. IF the throttle plates don't close properly, but you can't see anything on the carb that's stopping them. Are they fitted correctly? On SUs at any rate it's possible to get the throttle screwed onto the spindle in such a way that they jam before they close... resulting in fast idle that you can't get rid of.

I'm running standard shocks on the front of the Spitfire 1500 but slightly lower 330lbs springs. On the rear standard shocks and a new spring (which needed a lowering block to get it to ride at the right height), but it's too "bouncey" so when I can afford it I'm going for Koni shocks on the back. The first time I ran it at "Autobahn speed" the steering became frighteningly light, but by lowering the front slightly and stiffening a little it's transformed the car at speed. Feels very solid and planted, but at the same time doesn't shake your teeth out on yorkshire roads.

I run "R" spec plugs on both my 1500 Spitfire and my 1973 1850 Dolomite and have no issues with either. I'm not saying I'm right or anything, just saying my experience differs. Both vehicles have some form of electronic ignition (Powerspark on the Spitfire and Optronic on the Dolomite) and good quality coils and HT leads.

Non-bio washing powder... dampen, sprinkle, leave, rinse and scrub. OR Something like Screwfix water based de-greaser.

Result!

I take quite a lot of care of both my Triumphs and yet both had issues on their last MOTs that I hadn't spotted. The Spitfire had a serious imbalance on the rear brakes, upon investigation I found the NS drum and shoes contaminated with grease, further investigation revealed that the wheel bearings were "on their way out".... but I caught the bearing issue long before failure due to the braking issue being spotted on the test. The Dolomite had a leaking front brake hose (a year old!), who knows how long it would have taken me to spot the fluid loss? I'm lucky enough to have a local tester that I trust, as such I'm happy to keep paying them to inspect my car once a year whether I required to by law or not.

I've been going to the same place for 25 years.... They only do MOTs (no repairs) and are quite happy for me to hop down the inspection pit to look at things they point out. I dread to think what I'm going to do if they ever close/retire! If anyone else in the Halifax/Bradford area needs a "classic friendly" MOT station.... go to Moorlea (no connection other than a happy customer of Nigel and Richard for 25 years!)

I have M1144 fitted to my Spitfire 1500 and I'm very very happy with them. No servo, but brakes feel great.

Welcome!

Greetings!

Welcome!

Irony? Is that like coppery, but cheaper per tonne?

Out of interest, what brand were they? Allmakes? Britpart? Bearmach? No-brand?

You can run steels or minilites on a 1500 Spitfire with Freelander studs..... that's what I do. BUT you need different wheel nuts for the steels. I'm running 175/70/r13 on my minilites. (In my experience the brand of studs matters - I bought allmakes and they were the correct threading and chamfer to fit without issue in Spitfire hubs)

Code 82 is indeed Carmine.... http://www.spitlist.info/Paint.html (and anything ending in the digit "2" should be some form of red)

A bit of a re-post from my blog, re-edited into a single post.... In the documentation I got with the car is the original Passport to Service showing that the car was sold to a Mr. S. Ford in Swansea on 24/5/1978. This tallies up nicely with the date of first registration on the V5 - 23/5/1978.To my surprise the Heritage Certificate shows that the car was actually build on 1/11/1977 and left the factory on 9/12/77Another nice surprise was to find that the current engine matches the factory number.And the final surprise, the factory colour. I'd always assumed either Pimento (72) or Vermillion (CAD) based on what I see when I lift the carpets. Nope. Flamenco. Which I think was only available in '77. I've been through all the history I have for the Spitfire recording the mileage against the date. I have no information for 1982, 1991, 1994 and a gap between 2004 and 2011 (accounting for 5,000 miles or thereabouts) The fairly steady rise in miles over the years does however suggest that the 78K currently on the car is actually genuine though. The history also shows that the car was sold new in Swansea (1978) and stayed in Wales until 2002 when it was exported to the Isle of Man. Some time between 2004 and 2007 the car returned to the mainland, but was re-registered with its original registration number.

Owen is a top bloke and his products are always top-notch, it's just a shame that his lead times aren't the best. You might not enjoy the wait, but you won't be unhappy with the goods when they arrive.

I got sick of the poor quality replacement point and condensor units and just put the cheap "SimonBBC" Powerspark unit in. It might not be map-able etc. but it's done good service on 1xRBRR and 2x10CR over a 4 year (about 14K miles) period without any issues. Yes, I still carry a "known good" points unit, screwdriver and feeler gauges in the boot, so far (touch wood) I've never needed them.

I had a new condenser fail on me in 3months.... Depending on the quality 12 months could be "old".

Early signs of coil/condensor breaking down? Just a thought.

When I ran trunnions I used land rover swivel housing grease.... the swivels originally had ep90 spec'd but because of leaks a new semi-fluid grease was developed. It seemed to keep my trunnions happy when I had them. I know they lack originality, but I'm happy with the trunnionless setup I have now.

I found those castrol tubs really useful for filling diffs and stuff, I used to keep an empty one handy to refill and use. Better to be honest than the big oil syringe I have.