johny

good point so heres a few easy but useful things you could check/do while its out: tighten all casing joint bolts, replace front and rear oil seals, replace bronze spigot bush (slides in end of crank to support the tip of the gearbox input shaft) and check clutch friction plate wear (if removing it you will have to realign it on reassembly though)....

Believe its to do with the direction of current flow as each electron (which being negatively charged actually flow from -ve to +ve) can take with them a microscopic piece of the metal it leaves. This causes metal to be depleted on one side of the connection and deposited on the other which means one loses its protective surface and is open to corrosion. So by carefully selecting the connector material and having the electrons flow in the right direction using neg earth the effects of this process can be avoided.....

yes with a bit of luck that should sort it out but let us know what you find anyway....

as said previously sounds very much like theres excessive play in the linkage so although youre pushing the lever into position that movement isnt being completely transferred into the engaging the gear. This means that when the power is applied the mechanism is free to jump out and the solution is to ensure all the linkage bushes plus lever pivot are in good condition. If the problem isnt here then the next possibility is that one of the spring loaded detents that positively locate the '3 rails' during their movements isnt working correctly (for example if its spring has broken) so that the first gear selector fork is freer to move.....

yes Richard says in his post above that Canleys are listing the anti-burst catch again but if so theyve hidden them really well on their website or theyve sold out already!

yes as Pete says they are a machined ally block that comes in different thickness (the deepest require longer studs to be used) that fit between the top of the diff and the leaf spring. http://www.jamespaddock.co.uk/rear-spring-lowering-block-12-mk3-driveshafts-2 As the spring sits higher the halfshafts point more upwards so giving the wheels more negative camber. However its unusual to need one as the spring flattens with use and wheel camber is good so maybe yours is very new, is the wrong one or has been installed incorrectly.....

is that after its been jacked up and lowered back onto the ground or is it always like that? On another topic it looks like your wheel bearings might have received a lot of grease sometime and theres a risk it has also pushed out inside the drum brake assembly where it can contaminate the brake shoes. Worth removing the drums to check......

yes and I thought we had reached the conclusion in other threads on here that the bearings are likely to be the generators of diff whine rather than the gears themselves or their engagement....

hmmm sorry cant see the casing bolts making much difference as the pinion and CW is all held in the front half so movement of the rear casing could affect only the alignment of the stub shafts and their bearings....

A roll bar would be nice but theres plenty of our convertibles out there that dont have any protection..... Jug if you do decide to remove the roof youll probably find that bitumastic sealant has been used onto the rear deck which is a bit of a pain to get off. This of course does help maintain a good seal but also I found keeps the roof more solidly located - now after bolting it back in place without sealant I do get more creaks and squeeks as I drive along☹️

In either case it looks to me as if one of the critical factors for any replacement fan is that ends up running as close as possible to the air intake hole to ensure a good 'seal' and minimise wasted air circulation inside the heater box. This of course depends on any replacement fan having the same depth as the original and Im not sure how or if this was achieved on that original Herald/Vitesse modification.....

I thought the spark just jumps to the closest prong (or possibly where the intervening gas has lowest resistance) then when that prong has worn a little and the gaps opened up it goes to the next nearest. In terms of gap this type of plug should last 4 times as long as a conventional one with each of the 4 prongs wearing away equally at a 1/4 of the rate of a single one. Should avoid ever having to adjust the gap which with todays labour rates is quite a saving however somethings wrong if youve found 3 prongs gone and one left!

There is an argument that the more dangerous a car is in terms of how injured you will get in an accident the more care people take when driving it😵

yes, both those so if youre really risk averse you probably should have the most modern 4x4 available or maybe not drive at all......

what are you saying! My engine is the most beautiful thing to have been created by man😍

yes where ever it goes its not going to be pretty. Ive gone to a bigger bore master cylinder 0.75" which makes the pedal need even more of a shove but with asbestos pads so the braking is now pretty good. However I still wonder about a servo as its reported that in some accidents (admittedly involving modern cars) drivers reacted quick enough and could have stopped in time but just didnt brake as hard as they could have done.....

I always think the biggest risk is driving a 50+yr old car😲

yes thanks I saw that however Id like to keep my current battery size which takes up the full tray. Also I cant believe it'd be much work to install one of those universal battery trays in the boot and run a beefy cable or two back to the solenoid....

The price of these has certainly come down a lot in the last few years, a 1.9 unit is only 67pounds delivered on ebay now! If only they didnt look such a mess when installed in our engine bays - I think Id be tempted to put the battery in the boot and then mount one in its place.....

as space is tight it should be easier to fit a lower ratio unit with my calculation making the 2.3 servo a 1/5 bigger in cross sectional area than a 1.9 - I would probably go for the latter on my Vitesse.......

These 3 servos are all the same except that the boost ratios (and correspondingly tank diameters) are different. The first is definitely the biggest at 2.3:1 while the second is 1.9:1 and the last is probably the same although there is also a smaller 1.65:1 available. All of them come with a non return valve which is usually in the plastic connector where the vac hose goes onto the tank - they must have these so that you can still get assisted braking (for a short while) after stopping the engine. You need to decide which ratio you want as its possible to be unhappy with too much boost using a unit that is designed for heavier faster cars. I cant see a problem splitting the vac take off point but there should be instructions with the unit explaining the best set up or maybe Clive can explain the downside.....

they might foul a bit easier but that can be mitigated by driving harder😍

I take it the noise wasnt produced by the original pads and the news ones are the correct type (believe the GT6 had two versions of the type 16 calipers fitted)?

Well for running in the oil doesnt want to be too good so definitely no synthetics or additives....

As contact with the fan is the problem I go with Pete's suggestion of rotaing the top hose. Loosen the clip on the thermostat housing and twist the hose round on the exit pipe and its middle should rise or lower depending on rotation direction....