Roger K

I have one I'm about to put on t'bay, but you appear to be sorted, so...

Just bit the bullet and ordered a new spring, correct number, from Canley. Why did I buy from Rimmers? Should know better after the wheel stud issue (about which there has been a deafening silence). I've replaced the entire suspension on this car, fitted Konis, blasted and painted everything, it looks like new under there. Apart from the high-rise rear, that is. Thanks for the advice all, I think I knew it was going to go that route in the end, just didn't want to believe it.

Thanks Chris, yes, I know Owen, I am in the middle of fitting a pair of their springs to the XK140DHC that came back from the paintshop last month. If anyone has fitted a spacer, I'd like to know the best way to do so.

I have the long shafts. With enough weight on the car, the ride height is correct and the camber is correct. But I can't drive around with the boot full of concrete blocks and two people sitting over the rear bumper. Nothing was tightened until it was down on the ground and loaded, but it's had two months to settle now and hasn't really moved, so I think I have to try a spacer. Can I fit one with the chassis supported by axle stands (i.e. full droop), access through the floor panel, replace the studs for longer ones and fit the spacer?

I don't think so - I fitted new shafts, in fact everything is new except one of the vertical links and the two radius arms. They were sold by Rimmers as being for late non-roto GT6. Surely the earlier GT6s had a different design for the rotoflex? The car sits high. If I get two people to 'stand' on the rear bumper with the concrete blocks in the boot, the ride height and camber look OK. I guess the spacer choice is a bit hit-and-miss.

The car is a late non-roto Mk3 GT6, and I'm on my second new rear spring to try to get the ride height correct. The car looks quite comical with its tuck-under appearance, so despite the part numbers all being supposedly correct I think I'll have to fit a spacer, at least to start with. I've had four large concrete blocks in the rear luggage bay for a couple of weeks to no effect. My question is, how do you decide on a spacer size? Is it as simple as just going by the gap between tyre and wheelarch? If so I'll need a good inch, but I suspect the answer's more subtle than that. How easy are they to fit - do I have to remove the spring to do it, or can it be (basically) slid between spring and diff? Thanks chaps, Roger

After a lot of consideration, I fitted the Canley kit to my GT6. Way back, I had a trunnion shear on my Vitesse when it was around 6yrs old. On my way home from work in the dark and snow, driving over a cattle grid at walking speed as about to turn right. Bang - and the steering had moved the broken trunnion, effectively locking my car into the cattle grid. The police just put bollards around it until the next morning. For the GT6, I did buy new VLs and trunnions, the best I could find - but I was not impressed with the quality of the machining, no matter what they had stamped on them, so didn't use them. The fact is that new, original parts from the 60s and 70s would probably be fine, but these days quality comes a very poor second to price. Complaining to the suppliers is pointless - Rimmers seem to have forgotten all about the cheese wheel studs they sold me a while back. The Canley ones haven't snapped yet...

Thanks Chris, I slept on it and came back to look at it today. Sometimes you just need to stop and leave it... Yes, careful repositioning has got them both in place. It didn't help that the small bracket fixing them to the glove box brace had been fitted the wrong way around. It's a bit of a monkey puzzle on the LHS, probably because the structure of the car was never designed with all this extra more modern comfort in mind. Thanks for the offer of help, though. Roger

Thanks Doug, that's the diagram from the MkIII parts book, which I have. The problem 'eyeball' is the LH side footwell one, which I think is no.72 in the diagram - but the numbering doesn't make sense to me, as the hose in the correct position for this is 614347, which doesn't attach to anything in the diagram. There isn't room for it anyway, so I think it must be a case of push everything together really hard and hope nothing cracks or gives way.

Can anyone tell me how the fresh air eyeball vent ducting is supposed to go on a Mk3 GT6? For the life of me I cannot get the passenger's side footwell eyeball into position. I've tried all variations on angles of pipe and which goes where, but the two mounting holes into the parcel shelf are nowhere near. They were not properly fastened when I dismantled them, and were not pointing at the footwells so I don't have much to go on. I really don't want to lose these vents but just leaving them off seems the only way at the moment. Anyone any ideas? Thanks, Roger

I might bridle at that suggestion, but it could stirrup some trouble. I'm not sure hoof for, though, as long as it's not me. Let's keep things stable for now and not gallop to any conclusions that might canter act any benefit.

I find that my motoring decisions are getting weirder the longer I am retired. With the GT6 still not quite done (ahem), and the XK shell back from the paintshop in a week or two, I seem to have bought a pre-war Riley special. I may be too old to learn how to use an Armstrong preselector, time will tell. These are definitely the busiest days of my life...

I counted down to retirement from week 2 of starting work, in 1979... Retired from clinical work in 2015, and retired as NHSE adviser in 2016. I'm now a full-time car mechanic, worked off my feet. I've just bought a 1937 Riley, not entirely sure why...

The cable's actually still attached to the speedo. When I say 'bench', I mean trying to attach it to the angle drive with the angle drive not mounted on the gearbox. Maybe there's a difference in the cable inner length for an overdrive cable? The one I'm trying to attach the angle drive to is the original non-o/d cable, which I left in as it's plenty long enough. Maybe that's the problem.

Thanks Pete - I'll fit a copper washer inside the retaining cap to the gearbox. Does it matter what thickness? If the cable goes under the solenoid, I don't need to trim the floor, but it's an absolute sod to attach the cable to the angle drive with the solenoid in the way. Any ideas why the cable won't go all the way into the angle drive, even on the bench? It's a good 1/8" off the outer seating on the angle drive body, and I don't want to force it. Cutting the end off the cable inner isn't ideal, as the square forming to the end of the cable inner is set and sawing through it will fray the end strands out making life difficult.

Just tried to fit the speedo angle drive, no luck... Two things: does the required washer go between the angle drive and the gearbox, or the angle drive and the speedo cable? I presumed it was the gearbox side, but the cable I have won't go fully into the angle drive. Is that where the washer should be? Secondly, how should the angle drive be orientated? Should it be nose down, so the cable passes beneath the solenoid? If I try to fit so the cable goes over the solenoid, the top screw on the angle drive is pressed up hard against the floorpan, see photo.

Pete, do you mean 3/8"? Just tried a 7/16" and it's too big. What type of washer - steel, copper or fibre? I think there is a sealing surface inside the right angle drive, and a simple stamped-out 3/8" steel washer might allow a leak.

Thanks - so I want just a little bit of play at the pedal to master cyl clevis, so the master cyl is fully relaxed.

I may not have been clear enough - I have an adjustable master cylinder pushrod, the clutch slave cylinder pushrod is fixed. I can't rotate the adjustable master cyl pushrod as it has a clevis fork to the pedal. So, the advice is to set the length of the master cylinder pushrod to just before the slave cylinder pushrod goes tight - i.e. can still be rotated easily? The master cyl piston may be slightly compressed to achieve this.

That's interesting - the old pushrod was an adjustable one, which had been (badly) welded solid at some time. The new cylinder I bought is a genuine Girling one which came with an adjustable pushrod ready fixed, of the correct length. I guess I just adjust it to get the pedals level, just off moving the pushrod. The new springs from Canley are fine, same shape as the old but actually a bit stronger (maybe just newer).

Thanks, I'll add one. Is there a setting for the adjustable pushrod on the clutch master cylinder? I can't find any mention of how to set it in the workshop manual.

Should the clutch pedal have a return spring inside the car, like the brake and accelerator have? Mine didn't have one, but I think the parts book shows one.

No, I'm not fitting an MX5 'box! Just the standard 'D' type overdrive 'box in place of a straight 4-speed. Quite by chance, Nick's car looks to be Carmine as well as mine which confuses matters. Thanks all, I've cut the tunnel to give minimal clearance whilst I come to a decision about which cover plate to use. The gearbox is back in, new clutch engaged nice and easily and tomorrow I'll get all the bellhousing bolts back in properly. One more question - the parts book seems to show that b/h bolts go through from the back facing forwards, nuts on the engine side. Rather oddly, the spring washer is shown under the head of the bolt, on the aluminium bellhousing side, and just a full nut on the engine side. Is that right? Seems an odd way of doing it to me, I'd expect the spring washer under the nut on the engine bay side. Colin, those dimensions are brilliant, thanks very much. I may well go that route - but would you mind measuring the other cover, 611938, so that I can do a comparison? Sorry to ask for more...

Wow, that's radical. Thanks Nick. For the more usual D-type box, apart from the cut out at the top of the tunnel, did the factory cut any metal away for the speedo right-angle drive? Not sure it's strictly necessary.