Darren Groves

Just in case anyone is thinking of getting a rear spring from Fitchetts, they no longer sell them.... Darren

All the usual traders list them, just wondering if anyone had experience of who's supplying good quality items or rubbish. Thanks Darren

As part of my list of winter jobs I was thinking about a new rear leaf spring. Any recommendations or places to avoid or just a matter of shopping around for the best price with the usual culprits? Darren

Well I only started hearing it when I took the radio out, I've put it back now May let it develope a bit.... Darren

Bit of an old favourite, rhythmic knocking noise from the rear of my 13/60 that changes with road speed, more noticeable when slowing down but less road/engine noise then. Would have thought a UJ problem, but I can't detect any play in driveshaft UJ's or Prop UJ's. No unusual noises when you spin the wheels with the car jacked up and no witness marks on prop or driveshaft to indicate something might be touching it. Any ideas? Darren

I bought this one to fit on a friends car recently : http://r.ebay.com/Izc7O7 worked just fine. Darren

The old style stabiliser switches volts on and off to achieve the correct output, so if you test with a multimeter the reading tends to ping up and down, but would give you some indication. I would be inclined to fit a solid state jobbie, they give a consistent 10v, they're normally under a tenner on eBay. Keep us posted. Darren

Does the fuel gauge do something similar? They are both fed by a voltage stabiliser and when this goes faulty both gauges can get the full 12v rather than the 10v they need. If you have an original bi-metal one then orientation is important and make sure the gauge it's screwed to is earthed, the modern solid state versions are much more accurate and reliable. Does the engine seem too hot? If not it could also be faulty sender unit, there's plenty of rubbish/incorrect ones out there or cable to the gauge is earthing somewhere it shouldn't be. If you are certain the engine is actually running hot, then maybe an air lock if you've flushed the system, get the nose of the car in the air and run with the rad cap off this will encourage air out. Did the thermostat have a jiggle pin, if not drill a small hole to allow air past. Could also be running too lean or timing way out.... A few bits to start, others will have more ideas I'm sure. Darren

Those tyres are really good value, but only seem to start at 185/14's or am I looking in the wrong place: https://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/performance/tyres/toyo-t1-r-tyre Darren

That's what they are, just like Megajolt. All I mean is that if you are considering Megajolt I'd be inclined to spend a bit more and go Microsquirt, both deal with ignition in a similar way, i.e. Trigger Wheel & VR Sensor on the crank, Coil Pack and EDIS unit if you go the Ford hardware route. Having had both I would say that the Microsquirt is better, and the support for both (which comes from the community of users) is more active, plus if you ever want to add EFI the the Microsquirt will do that to. Either of these options are significantly more work that fitting electronic ignition, so do your research to make sure it's what you want to do. If you want to read about my Megajolt Install, then look here: https://triumphherald1360.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Megajolt - Microsquirt then here: https://triumphherald1360.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Microsquirt You can get all you need from here: http://trigger-wheels.com/store/ or here: http://extraefi.co.uk/ Darren

Go Megasquirt or Microsquirt, can do just ignition but if you ever feel the need to go EFI it's already there. Have used both MJ & MS, MS is a better package in my opinion and better supported. Darren

So spoke to the guys who rebuilt it, they say to drain out the EP90 oil and refill with 20/50 engine oil, EP90 is too heavy apparently. Any thoughts? Darren

Thanks for replies. I have an OD on my own car so get what your saying about getting the change right, but this disengagement is full on thump/bang through the car, far too aggressive for it to be just because I didn't get it right. Will get back to the guys that rebuilt it. Darren

Vitesse 2L MK1 - Recently had a complete gearbox & overdrive rebuild by a reputable company in Norwich. Gearbox is absolutely fine and the OD engages well but when you disengage there is often a bit of a delay and it releases with a real bang. Now it did do this before it went in for a rebuild and I know the cone clutch was shot and needed replacing. I initially thought that a GB mount or something in the drive train hadn't been tightened so have checked all this, all was fine. So before I go back to the guys who rebuilt it, is there anything I should check? Not my car btw, just involved in its recommissioning. Darren

I have MGF seats and have the heat pads ready to fit, this article might be useful: https://www.the-t-bar.com/21-david-aiketgate-s-guides/16625-heated-seats-how-to-fit-heat-pads?limitstart=0 Darren

Probably the brake light switch, take the 2 cables off the switch and touch them together, if the lights come on then you've got your answer. If they don't come on check that you have 12v at the switch, if you don't have 12v you'll need to trace it back to find why not, if you do then the you'll need to check cables going to the rear, there are bullet connectors in the boot area that may be causing a problem. If it is the switch don't waste your money on the cheap plastic ones most of the traders sell, the TSSC Club Shop sell a decent alternative, mine is off some euro box but does the job. Darren

Started up the Herald this morning, first use since Thursday. With the previously fitted B&B filter I would get 3-4 seconds of the death rattle after that sort of period, but not even a hint of it, so early signs are that the Mann filter is doing a good job. Darren

Probably not your problem, but I have been putting up with a light rattling noise coming from the bellhousing which had gotten worse since my last engine swap earlier in the year. Turned out to be the bendix on the starter motor rattling when the engine was running, fitting a high torque starter from the club shop fixed it. Darren

You just need an electronic flasher unit as they'll work with any bulb, no need for diodes. Will outlast the old mechanical type flasher unit. Darren

New double anti-drain valve oil filter went on today. Thank you Clive for supplying the adapter. Darren

I wouldn't take Fitchetts website as being 100% accurate as to what they actually stock, I know from experience that it's not really maintained that well, so they are likely to have far more than what is listed. Darren

That section isn't too difficult to make, the images below show how I done it on my cousin-in-law's Estate, the only 'specialist' tool I used was a shrinker/stretcher. Darren

Happy to help Darren

Thanks for the replies. The Herald is at 74bhp, so only around MK3 Spit figures. The Clutch has only done 2k miles and judders a fair bit particularly when warm, this was a Borg & Beck. I guess there could be bother causes for the judder. Just considering alternatives to B&B, but apart from picking up NOS then there doesn't seem to be much around. Cheers Darren

Thanks for the replies. The Herald is at 74bhp, so only around MK3 Spit figures. The Clutch has only done 2k miles and judders a fair bit particularly when warm, this was a Borg & Beck. I guess there could be bother causes for the judder. Just considering alternatives to B&B, but apart from picking up NOS then there doesn't seem to be much around. Cheers Darren