chrishawley

Getting cowls to fit nicely, or even reasonably, can entails hours of undiluted joy (!). There are three screwed fasteners, all 7/16 unf: • outer lower corner which is a stud • inner face, short bolt/screw • underside, short bolt/screw. These three tend to 'compete' against each other as tightened and tug the cowl around. So a part of fitting is to 'balance' the tightness of these three for the bext position - gorilla tight is not needed. On the top inner face of the cowl there should be two rebated mouldings (yellow unit, purple arrows). These should clip over the lip of the headlamp bowl quite firmly. Thus good fitting of the cowl presupposes that the bowl is seated in its aperture well. As the three threaded fasteners are tightened they should lock the cowl onto the lip. That's the theory. It gets difficult when there have been more-or-less accurate repairs in the headlamp area. In such cirsumstances improvisation will be needed, for example embiggening the holes with a needle file or packing the headlamp bowl to sit sqaure. Or in the case of my GT6 having to file some metal off the inside face. (Worth checking the the headlamp bowl is correct i.e metal with the lip. And not say 'Mini' type plastic bowl with no lip)

It's only recently I discovered that the mounting of 7 inch units is not, and never was, a universal standard. Comparing the lug arrangments on, say, Minis, Jags, and Triumphs they can be so different as to defy cross fitment even with jiggery pokery. Vendors can be less than meticulous in drawing attention to this (if they are even aware). That said, the correct unit will be a drop in replacement for the outgoing SBU. IMHO worth paying a bit more to buy from a triumph specialist rather than eBay cheapies. That said, even my favourite Triumph seller sent units that didn't fit, but they accepted return without any argument.

Innumerable options at the £60 - £70 price point. My local tyre fitter recommends Uniroyal RainExpert so I've gone with that.

It's very difficult! From your 'photos it looks rather like PO has painted the inside previously and made a moderately reasonable job of it. To improve it further would involve getting a smoother base to accept new paint: p400 wetndry wherever possible, scotchbrite where less accessible. And in utterly inaccessible areas, a waft of adhesion promoter. Bonnet off car for this and many many hours of work. I guess proessionals have two things which help: Firstly, well practised skills in spraying into corners and blind areas. Secondly, expensive guns which provide a broad fan with very fine atomisation. However, £400 - 500 guns are beyond the reach of most of us. But it can help a bit to use a slow harderner and add just a little more thinner than usual. Another possibility is to use a small touch up gun to get into corners before using a 'big' gun for main coverage. Not sure these suggestions solve anything - but possibility might stimulate some further thoughts.

I don't know. But as a generality, a '3/16th' fastener on a Triumph is nearly always a No.10 UNF (32 tpi). Can't say that's certainly right but it's a very likely first candidate.

Any chance of a few 'photos to help with the thinking about this?

Yes, dash can stay in place. The column assembly, once released, drops down and away from the dash panel. If you're not done one before here's a few additional tips. Or to put it another way, mistakes I have made: • Not marking the (or noting) the precise relative position of the coupling ('UJ') at the lower steering coupling (at rack) on disassembly; result disorientated self cancelling on the direction indicators • On reassembly not doing up the pinch bolt on the collaspible portion of the lower column (allen key, v.tight) result is interetsing steering. • On disassembly not noting the exact fitment of the torque (tie) bar ( the H-shaped thingy). Once separated it's not entirely self-evident how it fits. • On reassembly not paying enough attention that the wiring up and around the column sits nicely without strain or pinching. Results include horn coming on unexpectedly. Hope the works proceeds well.

Ditto as above but here's a 'photo to illustrate. The shear bolts (if present) are above the mast and can only really be extracted with the column removed. A detail to take into account is whether the switch mechanims is held in the lock is held in place by a tiiiiiny little screw - some were some weren't. If it is, don't lose screw.

Such a big topic! And opinions can vary according to each person's experience/skills/resources. The Courier had a series of articles over the past year or so by Darren Groves. Well worth a read as they cover much that the new-to-painting person might wish to know. With suitable precuations it's perfectly possible to use 2k in a DIY enviroinment. PPE, of course, but most of all - air flow and air extraction. Something like an 18 inch extractor fan can pull clean air in pretty quickly, suitably mounted. As I understand it it's long term, peristent, exposure which is the problem for professionals doing the work day in, day out. For a single project total exposure can be minimal by comparison. Of course, if one had a pre-existing respiratory condition, asthma or chronic bronchitis, then one wouldn't want to get involved with spraying of anything, be that 2k or cellulose or whatever. Opinions vary, but I reckon that 2k has so many advantages over one pack paints that it's well worth going to the effort of arranging ventilation/extraction such that 2k can be used.

Overiders respond quite well to painting with either 2-pack paint from a gun or just rattle cans. Paint won't stick to the plastic directly so it needs keying up first (400 or 600 WetnDry) then an application of spray adhesion promoter. Then a waft of primer, then matt or satin black according to taste. Ordinary body filler can also be used after keying to take up any obtrusive nicks or chips. Won't last forever but cost effective compared with forking out on a new pair. In my experience spoliers don't take well to painting because of the grained surface and can end up looking ....errr.... painted. But may perk up with a wax type black, but reapply periodically. Oh, and can be worth a try just with black shoe polish if to hand.

Would this by any chance be a pair of SUs on a Vitesse 2L engine? Yup, more context would be really helpful. At a first punt; needing added fuel on cold start (but not on a warm restart) does suggest that close inspection of the choke interlinkages might be helpful and that the mechanism is acting equally on jet and throttle on both carbs. But if this is a fresh installation of newly refurbed carbs then there are quite a number of issues that may have to be picked through (of the non-serious sort). More info please!

Apols if this is me being slow on the uptake..... On the periphery on the camshaft sprocket at the 1 o'clock position, would that be another punched point with a scribed line? Wouldn't that usually fall at 7 o'clock in relation to the corresponding marking on the crankshaft sprocket? I must be missing something. Can you illuminate?

I'd be interested to know what the tags on a fully original vehicle say. As far as the books go: Ops manual for GT6 say that CDSEVs were used on the 'late' models - that'll be 3507. But Haynes seems to suggest that 3432 (CDSE) was also possible up to 1974. So much for books! Only difference between the two is that SEVs have a float chamber vent valve. Otherwise the same including the same needle spec (B5CF). I'm pondering your non-starting situation. What remedies have been tried thus far?

Thanks Pete. With that prompt I think I'll take 10.9 as a 'generic' standard (and keep on trying to dissuade fellow enthusiasts from using s/s fastners where they don't belong!).

Something I notice from the 'photos is that there is no hose on the breather pipe on the right hand side of the rocker cover. This could be significant in relation to poor running. It goes like this: If it's a 1500 engine then it should have HS4 carburettors. And Spitfire HS4 carbs each had a stubby pipe on the side with a plastic adaptor then a short run on rubber hose, then a t-piece, then joined on to the rocker cover. If the breathers on the carbs are left open then it can never run right due to the uncontrolled intake of air. Would you be able to say whether those pipes are present on the carbs? (see photo for example). Also are the numbers on the i.d. plates (on the float chambers) legible? That could be some help as well (a common fitment was FZX 1258). MIght be that the carbs are fine. The authenticity/provenance issue seems challenging but I'll leave that matter to those with greater knowledge than myself.

Well done you: Elephant in room Nail hit on head Nettle needing to be grasped etc It so very much warrants discussion since so many ecological problems bear relationship to excessive population. But, paradoxically, decline in birth rates and (native) population reduction is beginning to be seen in many countries: Scandanavia, Italy, Japan and even China for example. And Wales. Too much thinking about the world makes my brain hurt!!

Worth a look at AutoElectricSupplies pgae https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/752/category/124 A standard Lucas starter motor on 'our' cars has a free running current draw of 60amps but on cold cranking could transiently peak at 300amp or so. But only transiently. So a cable with 10 to 12mm o.d. would be well specified for the job. Less than 8mm would be worrisome. Empirical test is to get an assistant to crank the engine while feeling the cable. If it gets hot to the touch then it's too skinny.

Just a quickie. Having a bit of a discussion/debate today about the suitable (tensile) grade of fasteners from propshafts/halfshafts and suchlike. For moderate applications such as 'our' cars is it reasonable to say metric grade 8.8 is suitable and roughly equivalent to British 'S' and American '5'? Ideas? Thanks

Yup, as above: GT6/Spitfires have a very tight full lock which is in practice unusable in low speed manouvering. Normal.

Now, that get's me curious. But before going off on one I suppose I should check out whether my suppositions are remotely correct (or possibly not!) Let's say a youngish tree picks up 10kg/year as a very broad guesstimate. Then 1000 trees is roughly 10,000kg CO2 per year. Petrol, let's say, produces about 10kg/gallon of CO2. So in that respect 1000 trees is 'worth' a 1000 gallons of fuel. On a yearly basis. For a point of comparison let's say 1 ton of cement produces 1000kg of CO2. And that the UK uses up about 15 million tons of cement a year. So that would be 15,000 million tons CO2 or if Tarmac followed the FBHVC initiative would necessiate planting 1500 million trees per year. Surely that has to be wrong??? For if so it makes 'offsetting-by-tree' look facile.

Hope I'm not getting the context wrong here, but ...... I'm assuming you have the fuel tank with the bottom exit for the petrol rather than a siphon-type top mounted fuel pick up. The filling cap assembly has two breathers. One runs from the underisde of the cap and exits through the floor pan behind the left (rear) wheel arch, sealed by a diaphragm grommet (or similar subsitute). This is really a drain for fuel spillage at the cap. Then there is a breather proper which runs upward from the cap, behind the trim board, before looping down again into the left front side of the boot floor, under the tank, where it is connected to a right angled piece which exits the boot floor and sealed by a diaphragm grommet. Then there is the fuel exit point from the tank (downward neck). Originally this was supported and sealed by a chunky foam ring compressed between the tank and the floor: Part number 144510 (unavailable) but any softish foam will do. But can only be fitted with tank removed. So improvisation, as per Pete's suggestion above is more practicable for this.

Possibly not. It is hard to say that any particular seal would the a 'correct' one for a GT6 tailgate because of the variability with which the 'gate can sit in the aperture. It took me four goes to get mine right using bubble type seal with upstands ranging from 8mm to 14mm; but in conjuction with adjustment of the latch/striker and more or fewer shims on the hinges. So it's a bit bespoke - perhaps worth buying some short samples and trying for fit in the first instance.

For doubtful connections the metal surface can be cleaned/keyed with any handy abrasive paper then a decent smear of Blue Hyalomar all round before refitting the hose. Worm drive clamps (i.e. Jubilee) tend, when tight, may tend to pull slightly out of round so too tight can be counterproductive. Firm for sure but not necessarily gorilla tight.

There’s a great deal to think about. I hope it’s ok if I offer a few observations I know that ‘photos don’t tell the whole story and are only a snapshot in time. But it does appear that the gap between the rear edge of the door and the forward edge of the wing is very tight. The ‘general gap’ on a Spit is 5/32 to 3/16 inch and this applies quite importantly to the rear edge of door gap. One possibility is that the door needs to go forward somewhat and possibly this would reduce the 10mm excess at the front. Next the ‘general gap’ measurement does not apply particularly well to the gap between the front edge of the door and the rear face of the sill in the A-post position. This is because as the door is opened the its front edge swings forward (due to the geometry of the hinge location). Thus, the gap at this particular point needs to be just that bit more generous to allow for that swing. So, of the 10mm excess at the front a couple of mil would be taken up by allowing the sill to sit a tiny bit more forward. Now the sill front closing panel: Can’t say I’m super keen on attaching the closing panel externally. Sure, it’s possible, but the aesthetic might be a bit doubtful. For myself I’d prefer that the closing panel is attached to the sill prior to fitment with welds made from the reverse. But there are two features of the scuttle panel in this area of importance. Firstly that the scuttle panel is at no point flat – even at it’s most flat it’s still a compound curve. Secondly the inner edge of the closing panel (where it has the lip) should sit in quite a deep, matching, rebate in the scuttle panel (a bit like a very deep joddled edge). Can’t say how deep – but easily a couple of mil. Ot to put it another way; the scuttle may need to be worked to accept the closing panel rather than forcing the closing panel to fit on to the scuttle. Related to this, and judging form the ‘photos, the folded down lip on the sill top looks very poorly pressed. It should have a crisp egde, straight, and running at a right angle to the length of the sill. Maybe the lip can be corrected/worked giving a closing panel a better chance to sit nicely. I hope I’m not torturing the details too much. I greatly sympathise with the difficulties involved when dealing with repro panels of marginal quality. I’ve had worse!!! I recently had some repair panels for an XJ6 that bore no relationship to the authentic shape whatsoever and were binned straightway.

From the photos looks to me like the sill replacement are a long way off straight and would be a real problem if persuaded to fit as they are. It's no easy thing to achieve, but to be correct the bottom lip of the sill should run straight as a die front to back in both plan and elevation. Looking at you photos slightly gives me the shudders of all the things that can (and did for me) go wrong at this stage of repairs. Errors included: fixing the front of the sill panel too low on one side of the scutlle: not offering the rear wing and sill panel up together to see how one flowed into the other: not trial fitting the doors early enough in proceedings to asses gaps. Learnt the hard way only to minimally/provisionally attach new panels untill the overall shape and struture is proving to be good. Do you have a plan of what to do about the not-very -straight sill panels?