Darren Groves

Ideal, thank you. Found it now I'm looking for the right thing. Darren

The Single Rail OD Gearbox I'm rebuilding seems to have the inhibitor switch in the gearlever housing in the area circled in the pic, it's broken so needs replacing, but can't seem to find it shown or listed anywhere online.....anyone know if these are available and if so where from or even a part number. Thanks Darren

The good news is that Mike has confirmed it's a 1500 Gear set in there with a completely random input/first motion shaft, so easily sorted by fitting the correct one. Mike just needs to see the laygear to ensure it's correctly matched and we can the sort what we need. Darren

Is there any practical way of bench testing a J Type Overdrive? Darren

The 3 rail input shaft I have is needed, as the 3 rail 'box will be going into my Herald at some point in the future, the single rail into the Spitfire project. The correct input shafts seem to be available, so if this is all that is needed to make it fit then I'll just have to go that route. Not the end of the world, I picked up the Gearbox for a good price and expected to have to spend money on it to get it sorted. Darren

It's just as well I was stripping 2 gearboxes side by side, probably wouldn't have noticed until I came to fit it to the engine otherwise, that would have been a bugger. Everything else internally seems to be correct when compared to the 3 Rail/4 synch box I also have here, so it does look like someone has just swapped out the input shaft to make it fit something else....The gears and synchro rings should be with MP either today or tomorrow and I have explained the situation to him, so I'm sure he will provide an honest assessment of what's best to do. Darren

OK, so the casing states it's a 'YD' gearbox, so Dolomite 1500 which lists the same input shaft as a Spitfire. I guess there's no guarantee this hasn't been messed with in the past by a PO. Darren

I'll check the number stamped on the casing tomorrow, should be able to identify from that. The gears and synchro rings for both boxes are currently on their way to Mike Papworth, so I'll ask him to see if he can identify and suggest a solution... Darren

It was sold as a Spitfire Gearbox but removed from a Dolomite 1500....the seller supplied with a Spitfire Bellhousing & Gear lever (in a separate box) and it was only when I laid the 2 input shafts down together I spotted the difference. I'll go back to the seller to see if he can provide more info. Darren

As advised above I got hold of a Dolly 1300 Clutch Plate so, that's all sorted. I've been in the process of stripping both a single and 3 rail gearbox together, but was surprised to see such a difference in size of the input shafts. I've never worked on a single rail gearbox, but was expecting them to be the same length? Is the difference in length correct? Darren

Thanks for all the replies. Would the simplest solution be to order matching leaf spring & drive shafts, then I know I have the correct set-up. Is there anything else that would affect the geometry or just these 2 items?. Cheers Darren

It is a 1972 (L reg) car with a plastic dash and I have measured the drive shafts and they are the short ones, but before the car was stripped it had a lot of positive camber at the back even when rolled to settle the suspension. I thought this might be down to seized rear trunions but all came apart easy when disassembled. Using short drive shafts instead of the long would give the same camber issues I guess, and as this is a car from the changeover year it is possible the wrong ones were fitted unknowingly by a PO.....I was just wondering if there was a definitive way of knowing which is correct for the car. Darren

At what point in Spitfire production did Triumph go from short to long rear drive shafts. Darren

I bought some NOS pistons for my Spitfire project, seem well made but have never seen them with a split in the skirt and the extra lower ring. Any ideas behind the thinking for this? Darren

My Spitfire project has the 2 seatbelts located in different positions, which is correct? Darren

Sorry, still a bit confused...?..... Does this mean all 4 synchro gearboxes, whether 3 rail or single rail use the later synchro ring 150328 and just the 3 Rail/3 Synchro gearboxes use 113797/148409.....looking at Canleys & Rimmers website, that's what they seem to list. Darren

Thanks Pete Out of interest then, why did 148409 supersede 113797, the later is listed for 3rd/4th Hub but NLA. Darren

Are the synchro rings in the 3 Rail/3 Synchro gearbox interchangeable with those in the 3 Rail/4 Synchro gearbox.

So finally fitted these spacer after living with brake pad knock back for a fair while. Fitting them was simple and the difference to the brake pedal is really quite noticeable, the pedal feel is firmer and completely consistent every time.

I've used a 52mm hole cutter several times, the fit was always perfect.

How about drilling the 1300 Flywheel to accept the 1500 Pressure Plate? Think I have read that before somewhere..... Darren

Seems the Dolly 1300 Clutch Kits are pricey compared to a Spitfire 1500. Spitfire 1500 flywheels can be picked up cheaply, so would a changing the Flywheel be a simpler long term option....is it a straight swap with the 1300 Flywheel? Darren

Sorry should have given a little more info.......It's not for my Herald, but a 1300 MKIV Spitfire project (https://photos.app.goo.gl/M3J8mU4aRLS31o9q6) that currently has a 3 rail non-OD box, I have been offered a single rail OD box. I'll get a new prop anyway, but just wondered about clutch/flywheel arrangements. So friction plate is the fine spline 1500 type, so can I use the 1300 Pressure Plate or do I need to use a 1500 Flywheel & Pressure Plate. Thanks

What's need to put a Single Rail Gearbox onto a MK3 1300 Engine?

So just got myself a little Spitfire Project - https://photos.app.goo.gl/M3J8mU4aRLS31o9q6 - it's a MKIV, but has a MK3 engine in it. The carbs are in need of a refurb, but was wondering what needles would be recommended. They currently have AAT's, but neither MK3's or MK4's seem to have these as the usual fitment. The car will be standard except for SS exhaust manifold. Thanks