johny

yes I reckon in a GT6 OD is probably worthwhile as its a more aerodynamic shape so at speed mechanical noise is more prevalent than wind. The Herald/Vitesse on the other hand is about as slippery as a brick so 60mph is enough for me😁

hmmm I knew the OD would be controversial! Ive done 30+ years without one in this Vitesse (had one previously with OD) and admittedly dont drive fast so noise is mostly wind not mechanical. Also I think our gearboxes are even less robust with OD fitted plus Im not convinced about improved fuel consumption because of the losses due to the OD oil pump and extra gear losses.....

Dont be put off by a lack of overdrive as although many swear by them Im not convinced and so far have resisted installing one. They certainly have pros n cons and your use of the car may decide whether to leave as is, fit one or reduce the diff ratio.....

out of interest did the new drums look the same as the old'uns and which supplier did you get these latest ones from?

well rust obviously is the biggy and although Im no panel beater I believe some areas are worse than others: for example chassis parts, if accessible, arent so bad as the roof leading edge or base of the C posts and valances as problematic as door bottoms. Mechanically suspension, brakes and drive shafts are all pretty easy to deal with but gearboxes are weak and expensive to replace. Its pretty limited as to what you can check on a test unless youre really going to go to town and get it up in the air and remember since May 2018 they havent needed an MOT. The engine might rattle a little on cold start up but hot oil pressure on tickover should maintain 15+psi and if the car doesnt have a gauge like mine (and the owner agrees) you could temporarily screw in a small gauge in place of the oil pressure switch to get a reading. This is useful as it not only shows the state of the pump but also the crankshaft bearings which as they wear cause a drop in pressure. Finally (again with the owners permission) you could try to lever the crankshaft back and forward on the front pulley. Its easier done hot and if theres more than a very slight click in movement the thrust bearings are worn which if left for too long can cause serious damage to the engine. Hope this helps and you might even find someone on here who for a beer would have a look at the car with you....

Hey I dont want to have anything to do with Dougs 'other' forums😵

+1 for a new pump at ~20pounds. Careful with petrol when testing the old one....

As Pete says the float chambers do slowly empty themselves but that cranking time is rather long to refill even completely ones. The mechanical pump has two non return valves in it and if either one doesnt seal well the pump loses effectiveness and its pumping flow rate is reduced which can also cause fuel starvation during high speed runs. The only way I know of testing the valves is by removing the pump filter cover and then sucking on the inlet and blowing through the outlet connections neither of which should allow air to pass.....

Ha I do hope the op gets the same result😉

Certainly make sure the handbrake cables are not under tension with the handbrake released (this should always be the case) before tightening up the adjuster. The handbrake lever should then only need to go 3 or 4 clicks to fully apply the handbrake. Dont forget to adjust both the cross cable AND handbrake cable to maintain the central pivot (which also has its own adjustments which may have been fiddled with.....) around the 90º position. Finally I would argue that although the brakes can be fine our handbrakes are always going to be on the weak side especially compared with a modern......

well I would adjust the handbrake as the manual says.... Also theres someone on ebay who sells custom made extenders for our rear drum handbrake operating levers so that shows how common it is for owners to feel their handbrakes are poor!

with that spark going from cap centre post to the lead terminals I dont think marigolds are going to do so its got to be a pair of rubber North sea diving gloves🤗

ok let us know how it goes...

As you say little chance of home machining success but with the Vitesse/GT6 drums at around 100 pound a pair incl delivery (and then they might later go oval) its probably worth a go! Good point on the flange running true though....

with the power Nicks system seems to be putting out hed better be careful doing tests like that😂

Somebody on another well know site has been running with a bolt in the drain hole with no problems. I think the drain was necessary as this inlet manifold isnt water heated and with a downdraught carb on cold mornings a considerable amount of fuel could condense out before the manifold warmed up sufficiently. Now that our cars tend to avoid cold weather its not such a problem....

my original drums have definitely benefitted from machining so it seems new and old all have the potential to be or go out of round.....

trouble is you wont know if theyre out of round as well until youve put em on the car and then its a bit difficult to ask for your money back......

Ive wondered if the drum cant be bolted the reverse way onto the hub flange (it should still centre correctly) and then rig up an electric hand drill with grind stone (possibly on a pillar assembly mounted horizontally?) so that while an assistance spins the halfshaft steadily by hand the drill can be moved in slowly to surface grind the braking surface..... Got to be worth a go😎

Perhaps we'll get some other feedback from someone..... I believe back in the day there were lots of places capable of doing this machining but now its cheaper to replace than repair so if theres any left theyre difficult to find and probably not close by.....

Fraid the fact that a new set have gone out of round seems to back up my theory Mark. I cant believe theres many manufacturers of the replacement drums now so all available are likely to come from the same source and be prone to distortion. I went to a local machine shop who had a big lathe and they did the pair for a very reasonable 20quid (reckon they underestimated the work). However they couldnt guarantee the results as they had to use the centre hole in the drum as the datum for centering the drum in the chuck. Apparently they didnt have to skim a lot of metal off but it had been enough to cause the intermittent rubbing.....

I had this on my Vitesse and the replacement drums for it are much more expensive. However I believe cast iron can distort after being cast so should be left for sometime before machining but in many cases this isnt done so after installing your new drums they can later become oval again. In the end I got my original items turned in a lathe which has brought about a great improvement even though the machine shop found it difficult to do without the correct mandrel. Probably something suitable could be made using part of an old halfshaft so that the drum could be reverse mounted and then machined perfectly concentric......

yes it looks like on the original brass radiator the inlet pipe was formed into a curve which hasnt been matched by the welded aluminium chinese version. Perhaps the aluminium pipe could be re-welded at the same location but directly angled towards the thermostat outlet?

I would have thought that your Spitfire 1500 has the 'swing spring' back axle set up in which case you can only use 4 studs to fix the spring to the differential casing. Anyway 4 studs is enough to keep everything in place and as you say the other holes should be sealed up....

well Ive never tried turning my engine over with the dizzy cap off but maybe it too would track across the inside. However with a good rotor theres a much easier path to take so this never occurs in normal operation which why I suggested the possibility of a duff rotor....