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Bob Horner

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Everything posted by Bob Horner

  1. I've got standard on my GT6 and spitfire and never had an issue. However, recently replaced one on my TR4 (the old one packed up) and at the time couldn't get hold of an original one in time so fitted a new hi torque one from The TR Shop (cost not much different). Must say impressed with how easily and quickly it spins. Had an issue where needed to spin the engine over repeatedly quite a few times (distributor fault) and I reckon with the old one the battery would have given up. Although that may have been because the old one was worn. Bob
  2. Thanks for the replies. I’m setting off on 30th June so just in next month! I think it runs from 30th June to 3 July. The campsite opens on the 30th and was planning to leave Hull on 29th to arrive next day but delayed a day due to son’s graduation - how inconsiderate of him……! Bob
  3. I'm off to Le Mans with the Club next month and I've got an old set of lucas yellow plastic headlamp beam converters. Does anyone know if these are still legal in France (and the Netherlands/ Belgium as well given I'm landing in Rotterdam)? Bob
  4. Thanks chaps. Glad it was not just me being confused. I have some c spanners but not a lot of room to adjust on the car. Bob
  5. I’ve bought new springs (uprated) and gaz height adjustable shocks for the front of my mk3 spitfire - all from the club shop. I set the pans at the same length as my existing shocks but the ride height is too high (previously it was a bit low). Anyway, which way do I screw the adjustable pans to lower ride height - up or down?. Can’t get my head around this and don’t want to get it wrong and have to take it all apart again! Bob
  6. Same experience here. Excellent.
  7. Ok, looking for thoughts. I have a mk3 spit, a TR4 and a Gt6. I have done a bit of regularity rallying in the TR4 and it’s a great and tough car to use. However, feeling that i want to tart up the TR4 and thus thinking of another car to rally in. I considered the spitfire and I think it would be fun and good in tight tests but perhaps not as comfortable,or easy on the regularities? I don’t really want to trash the Gt6. So looking at another triumph if the spitfire is discounted. Perhaps a mk2 vitesse saloon ( rotoflex robust enough)? Quite fancy a 1300 fwd (would it be fast enough - a tc with a tuned engine?). Otherwise a tr7 - Fhc or drop top - fit a sprint engine ? Dolomite sprint - a bit pricy these days? Or perhaps a big saloon? I’d welcome anyone who has practical experience - or indeed anyone who has a view! Bob
  8. One upgrade I do have on all my cars (Spit, GT6 and TR4) is a better valve - the taxi type - the original valves seem unreliable over complex and not very adjustable (well, at least the repro ones are). Bob
  9. Usually best to get the standard stuff working properly. I have found often upgrades are seen as better because they are replacing worn parts that aren't functioning as originally intended. It may appear more time consuming initially but usually its the best bet. I have a TR4 and suppliers sell upgraded heaters for a load of money. My standard heater and one speed fan keep my soft top TR4 as toasty as any one could possibly want in the coldest of weather.
  10. I think it went for £36 k plus premium -£40k. I had a look at it. Looked good but I wouldn’t have guessed it was any better than other nice ones I have seen. The doors didn’t shut properly. I can’t understand why people pay so much for classic cars. Surely they dare not drive them . In my limited experience ones that look good drive like pigs and vice versa. Non standard seats and I prefer the originals. Just can’t see why if cost £97k to restore. Not sure if non standard engine but did have a full roll cage. In a non rally /race car not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Bob
  11. So about 17% increase but still a lot less than Demon Tweeks but a biggish hike. Prices are increasing for all sorts of things significantly. Hard to keep up.
  12. No problem. Happy to help. Just to say the rebuilt hubs and rotoflexes are all good. In fact, as well as a bit of running in mileage, I did the 2000 non stop Round Britain Reliability Run shortly after and everything performed faultlessly. Having worked on the rear end of the Gt6 3 times now (swapping a second hand diff, rebuilding hubs and rotoflexes and, just recently, fitting a recon 3.63 diff to replace the first one I fitted, ) it’s got easier each time. The last diff change was pretty painless now I know what I’m doing and I did it on my own. Just need a spring lifter and a couple of jacks properly placed. Shimming the hub is the trickiest part of working on these but you have to do that with a CV conversion. One triumph specialist I know swears that rotoflexes help to preserve the slightly under spec triumph diff. Don’t know if that’s borne out in reality but given how rotoflexes work it seems to make sense. Bob
  13. I’ve taken out the gearbox on a GT6 through the car and also done the same for a TR4. Both were a bit of a PITA. I’ve also done an engine out with a spitfire. However, the second time I did in car it was far easier. After grunting, sweating and swearing the first time you realise there is a knack that makes things much more bearable. I found lining it up to put it back was difficult. All down to relative movement between engine and box - there is a sweet spot when both a jacked up in optimum positions. Any old fashioned decent mechanic will be able to do any job on old cars. They are generally a thoughtful, resourceful and sensible bunch - unlike some modern fitters in the main dealer network. Just recently swapped out a small chassis diff - third time I’ve done this job. This time used a ramp and a transmission jack and took 15 mins to line up and bolt in. I knew the angle of approach best suited for it all to go back. Previously an afternoon of swearing! Problem I find is that often I forget how to do something that I worked out how to do years earlier! That’s where the professionals win. The diff swap was a rotoflex GT6 on which I’d recently rebuilt and shimmed everything.. Having done it recently it’s no pain at all to put the rear end back together using 2 jacks to line up the bolts through the spring with the hub. You’ll see loads of posts saying what a nightmare this can be but that’s because most only do it once or after a gap of many years - or perhaps they have just not hit on the knack.. That’s why whenever I attempt a job, I search the forum for people’s experiences. However, sometimes it leads you astray or puts you off unnecessarily - but rarely! Bob
  14. I had a vibration in my Gt6 which made it horrible. Making sure the gearbox mounts were tight helped but there was still a vibration. Had the prop checked and balanced and completely disappeared. There is also the issue of changing the way the prop is bolted up - there are two possible orientations front and rear. Bob
  15. I had this issue recently. The wishbone bolts came out ok but the radius arm bracket/damper bolt was utterly solid in both. Unfortunately the brackets had sheared so needed replacement. Took them to a local garage. He put them in a press added pressure and then heated them and they slowly exited.. Came out in no time. In fact, I dropped them off on way to work at 9.00am and he dropped them back in a box at my work still warm at 9.45 and said no charge! I bought him a couple of bottles! Bob
  16. Well, spoke to Fitchetts. Because I went for a new CWP they agreed to fit a 3.63 and swap the case over to a 6 stud. Thus same price as a recon new cwp diff and will get the surcharge back on my 3.89. Compared to others, Fitchetts are a good price even for a new CWP and were very helpful. Bob
  17. Gt6 mk2 diff whining a fair bit and there seems to be fair bit of play when taking up drive causing a clunk (worse when warm). Thinking of a rebuild. Also thinking of changing it from 3.89 to 3.63. So, is it Mike Papworth or any other recommends? I’m based in North York’s but don’t think there is anyone nearby unless someone knows otherwise? Any thoughts on the above gratefully received. Bob
  18. Hopefully you’ve sorted it. However I had a similar issue, assumed electrical but in the end turned out to be restricted fuel flow near tank. Fine in normal driving but on a motorway with sustained revs the float chambers couldn’t fill fast enough and it was running out if fuel. Seemed like an intermittent electrical issue as went away off motorway but wasn’t. Tank out and some replacement hoses. Fuel filters all looked fine - no bits and all full by the time I’d got back to the garage after a few runs when thought it was sorted. Bob
  19. Well on a 2000 mile RBRR in a Mk3 spit, the original distributor failed and a swap with a cheapie Ebay electronic one saved the day! I agree never carry any spares around home but on a long trek it can make all the difference but agree the things you want to change at the roadside are pretty limited. Interestingly I got the old distributor rebuilt with points and it failed again - close to home this time - wife delivered the cheapie Ebay one and its still going well! I guess I'll take a new cap with the not quite ok noted above Accuspark and mark up the cylinders on it so I plug in the right leads at night..and in the rain....!! Bob
  20. Hi all Thoughts please. I have an Accuspark distributor fitted to my GT6 and it works well. I’ve got one on my TR4 and it’s lasted well also. However, bought a spare for the GT6 as I’m doing the RBRR with Club triumph and have had to swap a distributor (old points one) on the event once before. Anyway, thought I’d do a trial fit with clamp and all so could quickly swap and the timing would be spot on. However on fitting I couldn’t get it timed properly because to get number 1 cylinder lined up I needed twist It so far clockwise the vacuum unit fouled the block. Looking at it realised that the key way in the distributor was not aligned with the end of the rotor arm. In my experience all my triumph engines have the rotor arm pointing at about 8 o clock for number 1 cylinder in line with the slot in the drive gear but on this distributor it was just beyond 9 o clock when slotted home in the drive which was at 8.00 o clock. I queried this with Accuspark and they said it’s quite common for them to be out of alignment and I should move all the plug leads around one so number 1 was at 9.00 o clock etc. This would work of course but it seems bit of a bodge and somewhat confusing compared to all the other distributors I’ve seen. The Accuspark already fitted has no 1 at 8 o clock. I was going to reply and tell him I wanted to send it back but just wondered if he got difficult, whether I was being awkward myself? welcome any thoughts Bob
  21. Just a quick post hopefully to help someone who is fitting a moto lita wheel. I had real problems fitting it without the horn sounding either constantly or intermittently as the metal wheel earthed against the horn ring. The trick for me was to make sure the sliding joint that moves the steering wheel backwards and forwards was pulled far enough back by releasing the lock nut and loosening the Allen bolt so when the wheel was tightened on to the splines and taper there was enough clearance to stop the wheel contacting the horn ring. Also, if you remove the wheel and, like me tap the inner column with a drift to break the taper, don’t forget that doing so will probably push the inner column inwards and reduce the afore mentioned clearance and cause the horn to sound again. Took me a while to work that one out! You also you may find positioning the outer column nearer the dashboard helps get a bit more clearance. Hopefully may help someone work all this out quicker than me!! Bob
  22. Cheap borrowed money and idiots who don’t know enough buying them means a high price is always possible. That’s absolutely shocking panel fit and would cost a few grand to sort at a specialist. Dread to think how naff the interior will be. Still, good car to get you to a Michelin starred restaurant! At least it means you’ll be used to paying for pretentious overpriced crap! Bob
  23. One of the car's radius arm brackets had sheared on my rotoflex GT6. I supposed I could simply remove the existing bracket and fit new. As many with more experience will know, that was a vain hope. I therefore took off the hubs and in doing so, realised the rotoflexes were a bit cracked so decided to go the whole hog and rebuild the lot. Before I did this, I looked in depth at all the posts on here and elsewhere and they were very helpful and, when you get your head around how it all works and fit's together, its a logical, if slightly time consuming job. The purpose of this post is to point out a few issues I had and perhaps fill in some of the gaps in what I could find on the web. Getting the drive shafts off is pretty straightforward but you really need a spring lifter to do this. One man job. You also need to jack up the hub as well as the spring to get the spring eye bolt out easily - there is a sweet spot of alignment that a combination of the two produces it seems. I used a decent sized trolley jack under the lift and a smaller trolley under the hub/vertical link (see later for reassembly) Getting out the radius arm bracket bolt than runs through the hub is impossible without a press (or it was for me and countless others). I ended up giving them to my friendly local garage and it took him 5 mins and cost a bottle of wine. He told me that he put it on a press, applied pressure then heated it and they slipped out. I got 2 new brackets from what used to be Jigsaw on Ebay. The wishbone bolts came out fine and replaced with polybush from Paddocks. Fitted ok but supplied with 4 washers. I assumed one at each end and one at either inside end of the bushes but could not get those two in. In the end loft them off. Long bolts all treated to copper slip. Rotoflexes genuine from Robush - there is a thread on here about that. One of the reasons I rebuilt the hubs was because I didn't trust the previous restorer. It turned out that on one drive shaft the threaded end had been shortened and thus the nut was no where near fully engaged (presumably stripped it trying to put it together without a press). I had to buy a replacement near side vertical link (completely mullered - as was the wishbone - presumably trying to get it off). There was only a spacer and no shims on the shaft so not certain end float was correct. One of the hubs had seen better days so bit bullet and bought 2 new ones from Canleys (far cheaper than Rimmers). I pulled the hubs with the TSSC hub puller. I'm glad I had one as not sure if a normal three legged putter would have done it (a lot of people say it should but I was glad of the heftier item). The new hubs were far tighter on the shaft than the old ones. I found it impossible to get them fully on the shaft without using a press (only needed a couple of tons). Doing the job without a press would have been impossible for me and it certainly helps as you need to put it together and pull it apart a few times. It also means you don't knacker the driveshaft threads by using them to pull everything into place. In terms of shimming the hub, there is loads of helpful stuff on line. I used the Canley method but I found it hard getting an accurate measure using feelers. It looked like I didn't need spacers but on assembly and checking against the back plate with a dial gauge I ended up with a spacer. I found it confusing the talk of inner/ outer races and bearing cups etc. However, basically you need to fit the cups and bearings and then press through the hub to check the measurement. One point to remember is not to mix up your backplates! I did and had to take is all apart. Doh! The Canley end nuts and washers were a good investment (see another thread on this). Putting it back together was ok once I lined up the two jacks as noted above. At one point the angles are just right so you can slip a bolt through (a tap or two on the top of the link may be needed to get it all aligned) No brute force needed but I did need to get the car low enough a the rear to get enough lift on the spring (I have a hydraulic ramp). The other option would be to stand the spring lifting trolley jack on blocks. All in all, not as bad a job as is made out in my experience. The trickiest bit is the shimming and I would invest in a press if I didn't have one. Bob
  24. Thanks Pete. I suppose a lot of club members may buy from the usual suspects and get non original parts unwittingly and then end up it costing a fortune replacing them again in short order. Especially painful (financially at least!) if paying someone else to do it! Bob
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