johny

Rad area is always preferable to rows (not sure but by what ratio and of course all the area needs to be exposed to air flow) so I reckon the herald rad will cool better however it needs to fit first.....

could the rad be moved backwards slightly as I believe that will a bit more clearance at both top and bottom plus get more cooling from the fan. Of course you have to take into account any possible engine movement..... Otherwise as Peter says a cheap aluminium version (from 80 pounds delivered?) seems to have the cap a lot lower.

Hi, I take it that you realise that a 3.27 ratio unit is not the standard one for a Vitesse? They had a 3.89 installed on all 2L models and versions.....

No its nothing spectacular just repairing split rubber seals like the Vitesse bonnet to scuttle seal, making my own front wheel arch seals from two pieces to save buying a huge piece of rubber sheet, repairing bonnet location cones (going to try making these myself next time they fail), patchless bicycle inner tube repairs, custom o rings (in fact at work it comes in long length kits which include superglue for joining) etc. The only two things it seems to stick really well are skin (what it was invented for?) and rubber.....

Although with that strange serial number who knows what Triumph were producing in the D to J overdrive change over....

Ive had great success with superglue for repairing/forming rubber components but this is probably beyond that....

yes Clive thats very similar to the correct gearbox for your car and its probably good that youve returned to the original engine as the gearbox, being basically a Herald item, would be at its limit....

yes thats a long shot and difficult to verify. Wonder if its not possible to get onto a rubber seal supplier and make up something to do the job however think thats more likely for the saloon rear quarter than the front as its more complicated due to opening..... Or Martyn your old seals cant be patched up can they?

ha ha buy a few if you get them for 11.60👍

Are you sure thats not a WH? A photo of the gearbox would be useful to identify if its a 3 rail, single rail or a big Triumph box as I believe all could be fitted to your engine....

I suppose we have to consider ourselves lucky that theres sufficient demand to warrant getting somebody in China to manufacture items like this even if the quality might not be up to OE. They make stuff cheap over there but price is still greatly affected by volume of sales and imagine what its like trying to source stuff for an unusual vintage car!

on top of that the quality of the repro parts may be like many new rubber bits: not very good! The saloon rear quarter seals are even more expensive, so look for secondhand ones that have spent most of their life in the dark?

yes 5% was always allowed to be mixed in any petrol even without advising the customer as its deemed not to have any effect. Over that does have to be labelled. The good side is that ethanol actually raises the octane level, the bad, the manufacturers take that into account and lower the octane of the rest of the mix to compensate☹️

I got a thin sheet of rubber (petrol resistant) and cut my own gasket using a paper hole punch to do the screw holes. Worked a treat without sealant and has allowed me to remove the sender multiple times while I try to get it reading more accurately!

ah fan mystery resolved and things are looking better - definitely a case of a picture is worth a 1000 words! No expert on viscous couplings but would imagine that with the engine off and cold the fan should turn easily by hand but with the engine just turned off hot after a good run, the fan will be harder to turn by hand. This is important as believe these couplings can fail and then affect cooling at slow speeds....

so that set up is probably correct isnt it pete?

Thats exactly what you do Dave. Obviously its a combination of getting the door sitting correctly and the seal compressed the right amount all the way round. You could almost remove the seal completely to get the door position correct then refit the seal and tap the flange in or out to ensure it seals well without interfering with its closing. Dont forget that the quarterlight frame is also adjustable (and bendable) to get a good seal on the front edge (and roof on a saloon) which is important as a lot of wind noise can come from this area. I think Universities should offer a degree qualification just in door fitting......

yes its quite a fiddly job but worth spending time on as you want the rubber seal making a good contact (but not too much) with the door all the way round, the door gap the same all the way round, the door line matching the body plus the door flush fitting and latching smoothly....

well one correct arrangement would be a fused supply to an adjustable thermo switch measuring coolant temperature and controlling a fan. However there could be a relay, different types of fan controllers (or none), manual overide switch, indication light etc

yes thats a common mod but it still needs the pipe and bottle to work properly

hmmm door adjustment is done on the hinges to get it sitting correctly and then on the lock mechanism to get it to shut properly. Think you definitely need the Haynes manual....

Ah thats definitely not right. It should have a good fitting rigid plastic pipe leading to the bottle on one side of the rad.

sounds like you have an electric fan which isnt standard fitment. This makes it more complicated because you dont know how its been wired up so I would first work out how this has been done and do a drawing. Once you know this you can work out if its been connected correctly and where the fault might be....

Yes car designed has improved a bit in 50 odd years! Your Spit unlike modern cars hasnt got a closed radiator system so as the engine warms up water is pushed out of that overflow pipe into a reservoir bottle. This bottle should be kept about 50% full when cold and the overflow pipe must must always be well submerged in the coolant so that when the engine cools liquid can be drawn back into the radiator. Dont know about the dipstick but it surprises me that its that difficult to access!

Also you can get quite a good look inside the tank in situ from the level gauge. Obviously you have to get the level low enough beforehand but then with a torch you can get an idea of the state of the tank interior and fuel contamination. I agree with Dave about not overhauling the pump unnecessarily. You can check the diaphragm visually and the valves by blowing/sucking through each one as appropriate.....